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The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. VIII. The Nuclei of Early-Type Galaxies
The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey is a Hubble Space Telescope program toobtain high-resolution imaging in widely separated bandpasses (F475W~gand F850LP~z) for 100 early-type members of the Virgo Cluster, spanninga range of ~460 in blue luminosity. We use this large, homogenous dataset to examine the innermost structure of these galaxies and tocharacterize the properties of their compact central nuclei. We presenta sharp upward revision in the frequency of nucleation in early-typegalaxies brighter than MB~-15 (66%<~fn<~82%)and show that ground-based surveys underestimated the number of nucleidue to surface brightness selection effects, limited sensitivity andpoor spatial resolution. We speculate that previously reported claimsthat nucleated dwarfs are more concentrated toward the center of Virgothan their nonnucleated counterparts may be an artifact of theseselection effects. There is no clear evidence from the properties of thenuclei, or from the overall incidence of nucleation, for a change atMB~-17.6, the traditional dividing point between dwarf andgiant galaxies. There does, however, appear to be a fundamentaltransition at MB~-20.5, in the sense that the brighter,``core-Sérsic'' galaxies lack resolved (stellar) nuclei. A searchfor nuclei that may be offset from the photocenters of their hostgalaxies reveals only five candidates with displacements of more than0.5", all of which are in dwarf galaxies. In each case, however, theevidence suggests that these ``nuclei'' are, in fact, globular clustersprojected close to the galaxy photocenter. Working from a sample of 51galaxies with prominent nuclei, we find a median half-light radius of=4.2 pc, with the sizes of individual nucleiranging from 62 pc down to <=2 pc (i.e., unresolved in our images) inabout a half-dozen cases. Excluding these unresolved objects, the nucleisizes are found to depend on nuclear luminosity according to therelation rh L0.50+/-0.03. Because the largemajority of nuclei are resolved, we can rule out low-level AGNs as anexplanation for the central luminosity excess in almost all cases. Onaverage, the nuclei are ~3.5 mag brighter than a typical globularcluster. Based on their broadband colors, the nuclei appear to have oldto intermediate age stellar populations. The colors of the nuclei ingalaxies fainter than MB~-17.6 are tightly correlated withtheir luminosities, and less so with the luminosities of their hostgalaxies, suggesting that their chemical enrichment histories weregoverned by local or internal factors. Comparing the nuclei to the``nuclear clusters'' found in late-type spiral galaxies reveals a closematch in terms of size, luminosity, and overall frequency. A formationmechanism that is rather insensitive to the detailed properties of thehost galaxy properties is required to explain this ubiquity andhomogeneity. The mean of the frequency function for thenucleus-to-galaxy luminosity ratio in our nucleated galaxies,=-2.49+/-0.09 dex (σ=0.59+/-0.10), isindistinguishable from that of the SBH-to-bulge mass ratio,=-2.61+/-0.07dex (σ=0.45+/-0.09), calculated in 23 early-type galaxies withdetected supermassive black holes (SBHs). We argue that the compactstellar nuclei found in many of our program galaxies are the low-masscounterparts of the SBHs detected in the bright galaxies. If thisinterpretation is correct, then one should think in terms of ``centralmassive objects''-either SBHs or compact stellar nuclei-that accompanythe formation of almost all early-type galaxies and contain a meanfraction ~0.3% of the total bulge mass. In this view, SBHs would be thedominant formation mode above MB~-20.5.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS5-26555.
| A Fundamental Relation between Compact Stellar Nuclei, Supermassive Black Holes, and Their Host Galaxies
Imaging surveys with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have shown that~50%-80% of low- and intermediate-luminosity galaxies contain a compactstellar nucleus at their center, regardless of host galaxy morphologicaltype. We combine HST imaging for early-type galaxies from the ACS VirgoCluster Survey with ground-based long-slit spectra from KPNO to showthat the masses of compact stellar nuclei in Virgo Cluster galaxies obeya tight correlation with the masses of the host galaxies. The samecorrelation is obeyed by the supermassive black holes (SBHs) found inpredominantly massive galaxies. The compact stellar nuclei in the LocalGroup galaxies M33 and NGC 205 are also found to fall along this samescaling relation. These results indicate that a generic by-product ofgalaxy formation is the creation of a central massive object(CMO)-either an SBH or a compact stellar nucleus-that contains a meanfraction, ~0.2%, of the total galactic mass. In galaxies with massesgreater than Mgal ~ a few × 1010Msolar, SBHs appear to be the dominant mode of CMOformation.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc.,under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. IX. The Color Distributions of Globular Cluster Systems in Early-Type Galaxies
We present the color distributions of globular cluster (GC) systems for100 early-type galaxies observed in the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey, thedeepest and most homogeneous survey of this kind to date. On average,galaxies at all luminosities in our study (-22
| Virgo Cluster Early-Type Dwarf Galaxies with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. On the Possible Disk Nature of Bright Early-Type Dwarfs
We present a systematic search for disk features in 476 Virgo Clusterearly-type dwarf (dE) galaxies. This is the first such study of analmost-complete, statistically significant dE sample, which includes allcertain or possible cluster members with mB<=18 that arecovered by the optical imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DataRelease 4. Disk features (spiral arms, edge-on disks, or bars) wereidentified by applying unsharp masks to a combined image from threebands (g, r, and i), as well as by subtracting the axisymmetric lightdistribution of each galaxy from that image. Fourteen objects areunambiguous identifications of disks, 10 objects show ``probable disk''features, and 17 objects show ``possible disk'' features. The numberfraction of these galaxies, for which we introduce the term ``dEdi,''reaches more than 50% at the bright end of the dE population anddecreases to less than 5% for magnitudes mB>16. Althoughpart of this observed decline might be due to the lower signal-to-noiseratio at fainter magnitudes, we show that it cannot be caused solely bythe limitations of our detection method. The luminosity function of ourfull dE sample can be explained by a superposition of dEdis and ordinarydEs, strongly suggesting that dEdis are a distinct type of galaxy. Thisis supported by the projected spatial distribution: dEdis show basicallyno clustering and roughly follow the spatial distribution of spirals andirregulars, whereas ordinary dEs are distributed similarly to thestrongly clustered E/S0 galaxies. While the flattening distribution ofordinary dEs is typical for spheroidal objects, the distribution ofdEdis is significantly different and agrees with their being flat oblateobjects. We therefore conclude that the dEdis are not spheroidalgalaxies that just have an embedded disk component but are instead apopulation of genuine disk galaxies. Several dEdis display well-definedspiral arms with grand-design features that clearly differ from theflocculent, open arms typical for late-type spirals that have frequentlybeen proposed as progenitors of dEs. This raises the question of whatprocess is able to create such spiral arms-with pitch angles like thoseof Sab/Sb galaxies-in bulgeless dwarf galaxies.
| The Advanced Camera for Surveys Virgo Cluster Survey. V. Surface Brightness Fluctuation Calibration for Giant and Dwarf Early-Type Galaxies
As part of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Virgo Cluster Survey,we have measured surface brightness fluctuations (SBFs) in a sample of100 early-type Virgo galaxies. Distances derived from these measurementsare needed to explore the three-dimensional structure of the VirgoCluster, study the intrinsic parameters of globular clusters associatedwith the program galaxies, and compare with the galaxy distances derivedfrom globular cluster luminosity functions. Our SBF measurements havebeen performed in the F850LP bandpass of the Wide Field Channel of theACS on the Hubble Space Telescope. These are the first measurements ofthis kind, and we present the first SBF calibration for this bandpass.The measured fluctuations depend on galaxy stellar populationvariations, which we quantify by galaxy color(g475-z850)0, where g475 andz850 are the galaxy magnitudes in the F475W and F850LP ACSfilters, respectively. We derive the calibration for the absolute SBFmagnitudeM850=-2.06+/-0.04+(2.0+/-0.2)[(g475-z850)0-1.3]in the range1.3<(g475-z850)0<=1.6, andM850=-2.06+/-0.04+(0.9+/-0.2)[(g475-z850)0-1.3]in the range1.0<=(g475-z850)0<=1.3. Thequoted zero-point uncertainty here includes all sources of internalerror; there is an additional systematic uncertainty of ~0.15 mag, dueto the uncertainty in the distance scale calibration. Physically, thetwo different color regimes correspond to different galaxy types: giantellipticals and S0s at the red end, and early-type dwarfs at the blueend. For the first time in SBF studies, we are able to provide a firmempirical calibration of SBF in early-type dwarf galaxies. Our resultsagree with stellar population model predictions from Bruzual &Charlot in the range1.3<(g475-z850)0<=1.6, while ourempirical slope is somewhat steeper than the theoretical prediction inthe range 0.9<=(g475-z850)0<=1.3.
| The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. II. Data Reduction Procedures
The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey is a large program to carry out multicolorimaging of 100 early-type members of the Virgo Cluster using theAdvanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. DeepF475W and F850LP images (~SDSS g and z) are being used to study thecentral regions of the program galaxies, their globular cluster systems,and the three-dimensional structure of Virgo itself. In this paper, wedescribe in detail the data reduction procedures used for the survey,including image registration, drizzling strategies, the computation ofweight images, object detection, the identification of globular clustercandidates, and the measurement of their photometric and structuralparameters.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555.
| The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. I. Introduction to the Survey
The Virgo Cluster is the dominant mass concentration in the LocalSupercluster and the largest collection of elliptical and lenticulargalaxies in the nearby universe. In this paper, we present anintroduction to the ACS Virgo Cluster Survey: a program to image, in theF475W and F850LP bandpasses (~Sloan g and z), 100 early-type galaxies inthe Virgo Cluster using the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the HubbleSpace Telescope. We describe the selection of the program galaxies andtheir ensemble properties, the choice of filters, the field placementand orientation, the limiting magnitudes of the survey, coordinatedparallel observations of 100 ``intergalactic'' fields with WFPC2, andsupporting ground-based spectroscopic observations of the programgalaxies. In terms of depth, spatial resolution, sample size, andhomogeneity, this represents the most comprehensive imaging survey todate of early-type galaxies in a cluster environment. We brieflydescribe the main scientific goals of the survey, which include themeasurement of luminosities, metallicities, ages, and structuralparameters for the many thousands of globular clusters associated withthese galaxies, a high-resolution isophotal analysis of galaxiesspanning a factor of ~450 in luminosity and sharing a commonenvironment, the measurement of accurate distances for the full sampleof galaxies using the method of surface brightness fluctuations, and adetermination of the three-dimensional structure of Virgo itself.ID="FN1"> 1Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by the association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Spectroscopic Data
We present central velocity dispersions and Mg2 line indicesfor an all-sky sample of ~1178 elliptical and S0 galaxies, of which 984had no previous measures. This sample contains the largest set ofhomogeneous spectroscopic data for a uniform sample of ellipticalgalaxies in the nearby universe. These galaxies were observed as part ofthe ENEAR project, designed to study the peculiar motions and internalproperties of the local early-type galaxies. Using 523 repeatedobservations of 317 galaxies obtained during different runs, the dataare brought to a common zero point. These multiple observations, takenduring the many runs and different instrumental setups employed for thisproject, are used to derive statistical corrections to the data and arefound to be relatively small, typically <~5% of the velocitydispersion and 0.01 mag in the Mg2 line strength. Typicalerrors are about 8% in velocity dispersion and 0.01 mag inMg2, in good agreement with values published elsewhere.
| Star Formation Histories of Early-Type Galaxies. I. Higher Order Balmer Lines as Age Indicators
We have obtained blue integrated spectra of 175 nearby early-typegalaxies, covering a wide range in galaxy velocity dispersion andemphasizing those with σ<100 km s-1. Galaxies havebeen observed both in the Virgo Cluster and in lower densityenvironments. The main goals are the evaluation of higher order Balmerlines as age indicators and differences in stellar populations as afunction of mass, environment, and morphology. In this first paper, ouremphasis is on presenting the methods used to characterize the behaviorof the Balmer lines through evolutionary population synthesis models.Lower σ galaxies exhibit a substantially greater intrinsicscatter, in a variety of line-strength indicators, than do higherσ galaxies, with the large intrinsic scatter setting in below aσ of 100 km s-1. Moreover, a greater contrast inscatter is present in the Balmer lines than in the lines of metalfeatures. Evolutionary synthesis modeling of the observed spectralindexes indicates that the strong Balmer lines found primarily among thelow-σ galaxies are caused by young age, rather than by lowmetallicity. Thus we find a trend between the population age and thecentral velocity dispersion, such that low-σ galaxies have youngerluminosity-weighted mean ages. We have repeated this analysis usingseveral different Balmer lines and find consistent results from onespectral indicator to another.
| Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Circular-Aperture Photometry
We present R-band CCD photometry for 1332 early-type galaxies, observedas part of the ENEAR survey of peculiar motions using early-typegalaxies in the nearby universe. Circular apertures are used to tracethe surface brightness profiles, which are then fitted by atwo-component bulge-disk model. From the fits, we obtain the structuralparameters required to estimate galaxy distances using theDn-σ and fundamental plane relations. We find thatabout 12% of the galaxies are well represented by a pure r1/4law, while 87% are best fitted by a two-component model. There are 356repeated observations of 257 galaxies obtained during different runsthat are used to derive statistical corrections and bring the data to acommon system. We also use these repeated observations to estimate ourinternal errors. The accuracy of our measurements are tested by thecomparison of 354 galaxies in common with other authors. Typical errorsin our measurements are 0.011 dex for logDn, 0.064 dex forlogre, 0.086 mag arcsec-2 for<μe>, and 0.09 for mRC,comparable to those estimated by other authors. The photometric datareported here represent one of the largest high-quality and uniformall-sky samples currently available for early-type galaxies in thenearby universe, especially suitable for peculiar motion studies.Based on observations at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF);European Southern Observatory (ESO); Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory(FLWO); and the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak.
| Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies. I. The ENEARc Cluster Sample
This paper presents data on the ENEARc subsample of the larger ENEARsurvey of nearby early-type galaxies. The ENEARc galaxies belong toclusters and were specifically chosen to be used for the construction ofa Dn-σ template. The ENEARc sample includes newmeasurements of spectroscopic and photometric parameters (redshift,velocity dispersion, line index Mg2, and the angular diameterdn), as well as data from the literature. New spectroscopicdata are given for 229 cluster early-type galaxies, and new photometryis presented for 348 objects. Repeat and overlap observations withexternal data sets are used to construct a final merged catalogconsisting of 640 early-type galaxies in 28 clusters. Objectivecriteria, based on catalogs of groups of galaxies derived from completeredshift surveys of the nearby universe, are used to assign galaxies toclusters. In a companion paper, these data are used to construct thetemplate Dn-σ distance relation for early-typegalaxies, which has been used to estimate galaxy distances and derivepeculiar velocities for the ENEAR all-sky sample. Based on observationsat Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, operated under agreement betweenthe Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de laRepública Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata,Córdoba, and San Juan; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory,National Optical Astronomical Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation; the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO), partially under the ESO-ON agreement; theFred Lawrence Whipple Observatory; the Observatório do Pico dosDias, operated by the Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísicaand the MDM Observatory at Kitt Peak.
| The UZC-SSRS2 Group Catalog
We apply a friends-of-friends algorithm to the combined Updated ZwickyCatalog and Southern Sky Redshift Survey to construct a catalog of 1168groups of galaxies; 411 of these groups have five or more members withinthe redshift survey. The group catalog covers 4.69 sr, and all groupsexceed the number density contrast threshold, δρ/ρ=80. Wedemonstrate that the groups catalog is homogeneous across the twounderlying redshift surveys; the catalog of groups and their membersthus provides a basis for other statistical studies of the large-scaledistribution of groups and their physical properties. The medianphysical properties of the groups are similar to those for groupsderived from independent surveys, including the ESO Key Programme andthe Las Campanas Redshift Survey. We include tables of groups and theirmembers.
| Kinematical data on early-type galaxies. VI.
We present the result of spectroscopic observations of a sample of 73galaxies, completing the database published in this series of articles.The sample contains mostly low-luminosity early-type objects, includingfour dwarfs of the Local Group (in particular, deep spectra of NGC 205),15 dEs or dS0s in the Virgo cluster, and UGC 05442, a spheroidal dwarfof the M 81 group. We have measured the central velocity dispersion forall but one object, and determined the major-axis rotation andvelocity-dispersion profiles for 59 objects. For the current sample ofdiffuse (or dwarf) elliptical galaxies, we have compared stellarrotation to velocity dispersion; the analysis suggests that theseobjects may be nearly rotationally flattened, and therefore thatanisotropy may be less important than previously thought. Based onobservations collected at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. Table 1 isalso, and Tables 2 and 4 only, available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/384/371
| Total Magnitudes of Virgo Galaxies. I. Construction of a Self-Consistent Reference Dataset Spanning 8th to 18th Magnitude
The main objectives of this series of papers are: (1) to demonstrate theexistence of serious mutual disagreements between established total (andother integrated) magnitude scales for Virgo galaxies; (2) to attempt toquantify both the systematic and random errors present within thesemagnitude scales; (3) to investigate the origins of any large erroruncovered; and thereby (4) to encourage the general adoption of rigoroustotal-magnitude measurement procedures by the astronomical community.The ramifications of the findings presented in this series of paperswill be discussed in detail at a later date. In this paper, the first inthe series, a self-consistent dataset of trustworthy total-magnitudemeasurements is compiled for a sample of Virgo galaxies spanning a rangeof 10 000 in apparent brightness, based on only the most reliablemeasurements and photometry currently available. This reference dataset,which includes luminosity profile shape information, will be used insubsequent papers as one of the bases for assessing existing magnitudescales for Virgo galaxies. As most published magnitudes are based onB-band observations, this series of papers will also focus primarily onB-band measurements.
| 2D modelling of the light distribution of early-type galaxies in a volume-limited sample - II. Results for real galaxies
In this paper we analyse the results of the two-dimensional (2D) fit ofthe light distribution of 73 early-type galaxies belonging to the Virgoand Fornax clusters, a sample volume- and magnitude-limited down toMB=-17.3, and highly homogeneous. In our previous paper(Paper I) we have presented the adopted 2D models of thesurface-brightness distribution - namely the r1/n and(r1/n+exp) models - we have discussed the main sources oferror affecting the structural parameters, and we have tested theability of the chosen minimization algorithm (MINUIT) in determining thefitting parameters using a sample of artificial galaxies. We show that,with the exception of 11 low-luminosity E galaxies, the best fit of thereal galaxy sample is always achieved with the two-component(r1/n+exp) model. The improvement in the χ2due to the addition of the exponential component is found to bestatistically significant. The best fit is obtained with the exponent nof the generalized r1/n Sersic law different from theclassical de Vaucouleurs value of 4. Nearly 42 per cent of the samplehave n<2, suggesting the presence of exponential `bulges' also inearly-type galaxies. 20 luminous E galaxies are fitted by thetwo-component model, with a small central exponential structure (`disc')and an outer big spheroid with n>4. We believe that this is probablydue to their resolved core. The resulting scalelengths Rh andRe of each component peak approximately at ~1 and ~2kpc,respectively, although with different variances in their distributions.The ratio Re/Rh peaks at ~0.5, a value typical fornormal lenticular galaxies. The first component, represented by ther1/n law, is probably made of two distinct families,`ordinary' and `bright', on the basis of their distribution in theμe-log(Re) plane, a result already suggested byCapaccioli, Caon and D'Onofrio. The bulges of spirals and S0 galaxiesbelong to the `ordinary' family, while the large spheroids of luminous Egalaxies form the `bright' family. The second component, represented bythe exponential law, also shows a wide distribution in theμ0c-log(Rh) plane. Small discs (orcores) have short scalelengths and high central surface brightness,while normal lenticulars and spiral galaxies generally have scalelengthshigher than 0.5kpc and central surface brightness brighter than20magarcsec-2 (in the B band). The scalelengths Reand Rh of the `bulge' and `disc' components are probablycorrelated, indicating that a self-regulating mechanism of galaxyformation may be at work. Alternatively, two regions of theRe-Rh plane are avoided by galaxies due todynamical instability effects. The bulge-to-disc (B/D) ratio seems tovary uniformly along the Hubble sequence, going from late-type spiralsto E galaxies. At the end of the sequence the ratio between the largespheroidal component and the small inner core can reach B/D~100.
| Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups
In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.
| 1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. III. observations of 558 galaxies with the TIRGO 1.5 m telescope
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm ) surface photometry of 558galaxies in the Coma Supercluster and in the Virgo cluster. This dataset, obtained with the Arcetri NICMOS3 camera ARNICA mounted on theGornergrat Infrared Telescope, is aimed at complementing, withobservations of mostly early-type objects, our NIR survey of spiralgalaxies in these regions, presented in previous papers of this series.Magnitudes at the optical radius, total magnitudes, isophotal radii andlight concentration indices are derived. We confirm the existence of apositive correlation between the near-infrared concentration index andthe galaxy H-band luminosity Based on observations taken at TIRGO(Gornergrat, Switzerland). TIRGO is operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy. Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| 1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. V. Profile decomposition of 1157 galaxies
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm) surface brightness profiledecomposition for 1157 galaxies in five nearby clusters of galaxies:Coma, A1367, Virgo, A262 and Cancer, and in the bridge between Coma andA1367 in the ``Great Wall". The optically selected (mpg≤16.0) sample is representative of all Hubble types, from E to Irr+BCD,except dE and of significantly different environments, spanning fromisolated regions to rich clusters of galaxies. We model the surfacebrightness profiles with a de Vaucouleurs r1/4 law (dV), withan exponential disk law (E), or with a combination of the two (B+D).From the fitted quantities we derive the H band effective surfacebrightness (μe) and radius (re) of each component, theasymptotic magnitude HT and the light concentration indexC31. We find that: i) Less than 50% of the Ellipticalgalaxies have pure dV profiles. The majority of E to Sb galaxies is bestrepresented by a B+D profile. All Scd to BCD galaxies have pureexponential profiles. ii) The type of decomposition is a strong functionof the total H band luminosity (mass), independent of the Hubbleclassification: the fraction of pure exponential decompositionsdecreases with increasing luminosity, that of B+D increases withluminosity. Pure dV profiles are absent in the low luminosity rangeLH<1010 L\odot and become dominantabove 1011 L\odot . Based on observations taken atTIRGO, Gornergrat, Switzerland (operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy) and at the Calar Alto Observatory (operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy). Table 2 and Figs. 2, 3, 4are available in their entirety only in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Arcsecond Positions of UGC Galaxies
We present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.
| Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
Not Available
| Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
| Is the shape of the luminosity profile of dwarf elliptical galaxies an useful distance indicator?
The shape of the surface brightness profile of dE galaxies, quantifiedby parameter n of Sersic's generalized profile law, has recently beenput forward as new extragalactic distance indicator (Young & Currie1994). Its application to the Virgo cluster has subsequently led to theclaim that the Virgo dEs are not lying in the cluster core but aredistributed in a prolate structure stretching from 8 to 20 Mpc distance(Young & Currie 1995). This claim is refuted here. We have fitted aSersic law to the surface brightness profiles of 128 Virgo cluster dEsand dS0s from the photometry of Binggeli & Cameron (1991). Thedispersion of the n - M relation is indeed large (sigma_rms ~ 0.9 mag).However, we argue that this scatter is not due to the depth of the Virgocluster, but is essentially intrinsic. Contrary to what one would expectfrom the cluster depth hypothesis, there is no clearvelocity-``distance'' relation for a sample of 43 Virgo dEs and dS0swith known redshifts. The analysis of Young & Currie (1995) ishampered by the use of low-resolution photometry and flawed by theassumption that the n - M and n - R relations can be used independently.By combining different Sersic law parameters, the scatter of the scalingrelations can be reduced somewhat, but never below sigma_rms ~ 0.7 mag,at least for the Virgo cluster. For the purpose of distancemeasurements, this falls short of the well-established Tully-Fisher andD_n - sigma methods, and it is comparable to what one can get alreadyfrom the < mu >_eff - M relation for dEs, which does not requireany profile modelling.
| Distance calibration for E-galaxies. I. Elliptical calibrators.
We present a sample of elliptical galaxies selected in nearby groups ofgalaxies having unbiased distances. These galaxies can be considered assecondary calibrators for the extragalactic distance scale. Their meanerror in absolute magnitude is less than 0.4mag.
| Morphological segregation of early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster
We present evidence for a morphological segregation of early-typegalaxies with different isophote shapes in the Virgo cluster. Comparinglocal projected densities around galaxies, we find that, independentlyof their classification as elliptical or lenticular, galaxies with boxyisophotes are located in local density enhancements, while galaxies withdiscy isophotes lie in regions of lower local densities. Thissegregation is therefore not just the reflection of ordinarymorphological segregation between elliptical and lenticular galaxies,and it shows that the property of galaxies that is more sensitive to theenvironment is the presence or not of a stellar disc, rather than thebulge-to-disco ratio (and therefore the classification as an E or an S0galaxy).
| The nature of elongated ellipticals
We have analyzed the isophotal shapes of a sample of 63 elongatedelliptical galaxies, previously classified E4, 5, 6 or 7. We sorted themaccording to their isophotal class, defined by the type of deviationsfrom perfectly elliptical isophotal contours. These deviations areexpected to appear clearly, because of the very favorable orientation ofthese galaxies. We find the following results, after exclusion of 6non-elliptical galaxies: A large percentage (56%) of elongated E's aredisky objects with pointed isophotes, while only 35% have either boxy orirregular isophotes, in equal proportions, and the remaining 6 galaxies(10%) are diffucult to classify. Furthermore, 38% of disky Es's alsoshow slightly boxy spheroids. In almost all the galaxies of the sample,there is an angular range where the deviations are of the disk-type. Thefour galaxies not showing this effect are among the roundest ones in thesample, which suggests that projection effects hide detailed structuresof this kind in many ellipticals. The correlations already reported inthe literature between isophotal class and radio, X-ray emission andkinematical behavior are confirmed. In particular, there is a clear-cutcorrelation between velocity anisotropy and isophotal shape. The mostelongated Hubble types tend to be disky E's. Boxy/irregular E's rarelyexceed ellipticities of 0.45 while the maximum ellipticity of half ofthe disky Es's exceeds this value. These results confirm the dichotomyof E's, which fall roughly into two classes, disky and boxy/irregularellipticals. They also show a physical continuity between disky E's andSO's and suggest that the Hubble types are strongly correlated withdisk-to-bulge ratios throughout the Hubble sequence, even at itsearly-type end (round E's), for which the disk is hidden by orientationeffects Galaxies escaping the correlations are the boxy/irregular Es's,resulting probably from strong merging processes.
| Distribution of the spin vectors of the disk galaxies of the Virgo cluster. I. The catalogue of 310 disk galaxies in the Virgo area.
Not Available
| On the Shape of the Light Profiles of Early Type Galaxies
We have obtained the best fit to the light profiles of a luminosity-limited sample of elliptical and S0 galaxies with a power law r^1/n^,letting the exponent remain free rather than keeping it fixed at 1/n =1/4 as in the well-known de Vaucouleurs formula. The introduction of afree parameter in the fitting formula (ranging from n = 0.5 for (r_e_) =0.3 kpc to n = 16 for (r_e_) = 25 kpc) is justified by the existence ofa good correlation between n and the global galaxian parameters, such astotal luminosity and scale-radius. This result seems to be in line withthe segregation of properties between the `ordinary' and `bright'families of early-type galaxies, and has consequences for the claimedindependence of the shape of galaxy profiles with respect to theFundamental Plane parameters.
| A revised catalog of CfA1 galaxy groups in the Virgo/Great Attractor flow field
A new identification of groups and clusters in the CfA1 Catalog ofHuchra et al. is presented, using a percolation algorithm to identifydensity enhancements. It is shown that in the resulting catalog,contamination by interlopers is significantly reduced. The Schechterluminosity function is redetermined, including the Malmquist bias.
| General study of group membership. II - Determination of nearby groups
We present a whole sky catalog of nearby groups of galaxies taken fromthe Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database. From the 78,000 objects in thedatabase, we extracted a sample of 6392 galaxies, complete up to thelimiting apparent magnitude B0 = 14.0. Moreover, in order to considersolely the galaxies of the local universe, all the selected galaxieshave a known recession velocity smaller than 5500 km/s. Two methods wereused in group construction: a Huchra-Geller (1982) derived percolationmethod and a Tully (1980) derived hierarchical method. Each method gaveus one catalog. These were then compared and synthesized to obtain asingle catalog containing the most reliable groups. There are 485 groupsof a least three members in the final catalog.
| Dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II - Photometric techniques and basic data
Results are presented of photographic surface photometry carried out for305 (mostly dwarf) galaxies in the Virgo cluster, in which the galaxyimages were digitized on 14 of the 67 du Pont plates used for the Virgocluster survey. Azimuthally averaged surface brightness profiles areshown for all galaxies. The following model-free photometric parametersare derived and listed for each galaxy: total apparent blue magnitude,mean effective radius and surface brightness, and various isophotalradii, ellipticity, and position angle. Most galaxies were fitted by anexponential form and/or a King model profile. The best-fittingparameters, including the 'nuclear' (central residual) magnitudes fordE+dS0 galaxies, are listed.
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