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Discovery of Water Maser Emission in Eight AGNs with 70 m Antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network
We report the discovery of water maser emission in eight active galacticnuclei (AGNs) with the 70 m NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas atTidbinbilla, Australia, and Robledo, Spain. The positions of the newlydiscovered masers, measured with the VLA, are consistent with theoptical positions of the host nuclei to within 1 σ (0.3" radio and1.3" optical) and most likely mark the locations of the embedded centralengines. The spectra of two sources, NGC 3393 and NGC 5495, display thecharacteristic spectral signature of emission from an edge-on accretiondisk, with orbital velocities of ~600 and ~400 km s-1,respectively. In a survey with DSN facilities of 630 AGNs selected fromthe NASA Extragalactic Database, we have discovered a total of 15 watermaser sources. The resulting incidence rate of maser emission amongnearby (vsys<7000 km s-1) Seyfert 1.8-2.0 andLINER systems is ~10% for a typical rms noise level of ~14 mJy over 1.3km s-1 spectral channels. As a result of this work, thenumber of nearby AGNs (vsys<7000 km s-1)observed with <20 mJy rms noise has increased from 130 to 449.
| Extragalactic H_2O masers and X-ray absorbing column densities
Having conducted a search for the λ 1.3 cm (22 GHz) water vaporline towards galaxies with nuclear activity, large nuclear columndensities or high infrared luminosities, we present H2O spectra for NGC2273, UGC 5101, and NGC 3393 with isotropic luminosities of 7, 1500, and400 Lȯ. The H2O maser in UGC 5101 is by far the mostluminous yet found in an ultraluminous infrared galaxy. NGC 3393 revealsthe classic spectrum of a "disk maser", represented by three distinctgroups of Doppler components. As in all other known cases except NGC4258, the rotation velocity of the putative masing disk is well below1000 km s-1. Based on the literature and archive data, X-rayabsorbing column densities are compiled for the 64 galaxies withreported maser sources beyond the Magellanic Clouds. For NGC 2782 andNGC 5728, we present Chandra archive data that indicate the presence ofan active galactic nucleus in both galaxies. Modeling the hard nuclearX-ray emission, NGC 2782 is best fit by a high energy reflectionspectrum with NH 1024 cm-2. ForNGC 5728, partial absorption with a power law spectrum indicatesNH 8 × 1023 cm-2. Thecorrelation between absorbing column and H2O emission is analyzed. Thereis a striking difference between kilo- and megamasers with megamasersbeing associated with higher column densities. All kilomasers (L_H_2O< 10 Lȯ) except NGC 2273 and NGC 5194 areCompton-thin, i.e. their absorbing columns are <1024cm-2. Among the H{2}O megamasers, 50% arise fromCompton-thick and 85% from heavily obscured (>1023cm-2) active galactic nuclei. These values are not larger butconsistent with those from samples of Seyfert 2 galaxies not selected onthe basis of maser emission. The similarity in column densities can beexplained by small deviations in position between maser spots andnuclear X-ray source and a high degree of clumpiness in thecircumnuclear interstellar medium.
| Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei: Past, Present and Future Research
This review discusses the current status of supermassive black holeresearch, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since theearly ‘90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launchof the Hubble Space Telescope, the commissioning of the VLBA andimprovements in near-infrared speckle imaging techniques, have not onlygiven us incontrovertible proof of the existence of supermassive blackholes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the mass of thecentral singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy. It isthanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in aposition to understand the origin, evolution and cosmic relevance ofthese fascinating objects.
| Water-Vapor Maser Survey for Active Galactic Nuclei: A Megamaser in NGC 6926
We made a survey of water-vapor maser emission for 93 AGNs with theNobeyama 45-m and Mopra 22-m telescopes from 1999 to 2002. A megamaserwas detected in a Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 6926, at a distance of 80Mpc, in2002 June. [Greenhill et al. (2003a) have also reported a detection ofthe megamaser at the close date.] The peak flux density was 110mJy, andthe total isotropic luminosity was 340 Lȯ. The masershows triply peaked spectrum, suggesting an edge-on disk. A narrow-linefeature of the maser components at VLSR = 6001 kms-1 was strongly variable with a time scale of a few tens ofdays, and the variation should be of intrinsic origin. We also showed apossibility of variability of water-vapor maser emission of a megamaserpreviously detected in a Seyfert/ultraluminous FIR galaxy, NGC 6240.
| New H2O masers in Seyfert and FIR bright galaxies
Using the Effelsberg 100-m telescope, detections of four extragalacticwater vapor masers are reported. Isotropic luminosities are ~50, 1000, 1and 230 Lȯ for Mrk 1066 (UGC 2456), Mrk 34, NGC 3556 andArp 299, respectively. Mrk 34 contains by far the most distant and oneof the most luminous water vapor megamasers so far reported in a Seyfertgalaxy. The interacting system Arp 299 appears to show two maserhotspots separated by approximately 20´´. With these newresults and even more recent data from Braatz et al. (2004, ApJ, 617,L29), the detection rate in our sample of Seyferts with known jet-NarrowLine Region interactions becomes 50% (7/14), while in star forminggalaxies with high (S100~μ m>50 Jy) far infrared fluxesthe detection rate is 22% (10/45). The jet-NLR interaction sample maynot only contain “jet-masers” but also a significant numberof accretion “disk-masers” like those seen in NGC 4258. Astatistical analysis of 53 extragalactic H2O sources (excluding theGalaxy and the Magellanic Clouds) indicates (1) that the correlationbetween IRAS Point Source and H2O luminosities, established forindividual star forming regions in the galactic disk, also holds forAGN-dominated megamaser galaxies; (2) that maser luminosities are notcorrelated with 60 μm/100 μm color temperatures; and (3) that onlya small fraction of the luminous megamasers (L_H_2O > 100Lȯ) detectable with 100-m sized telescopes have so farbeen identified. The H2O luminosity function (LF) suggests that thenumber of galaxies with 1 Lȯ < L_H_2O < 10Lȯ, the transition range between“kilomasers” (mostly star formation) and“megamasers” (active galactic nuclei), is small. The overallslope of the LF, ~-1.5, indicates that the number of detectable masersis almost independent of their luminosity. If the LF is not steepeningat very high maser luminosities and if it is possible to find suitablecandidate sources, H2O megamasers at significant redshifts should bedetectable even with present day state-of-the-art facilities.
| Stellar populations and dust extinction in non-active and Seyfert spiral galaxies
Metallicity and age gradients of the stellar populations and dustextinction are studied for a sample of 32 non-active, seven type 1Seyfert (S1) and 17 type 2 Seyfert (S2) spiral galaxies. The samplegalaxies cover the whole range from face-on to edge-on view, and thevariation of the optical and near-infrared colour gradients in the discas a function of the inclination angle is investigated in order toseparate colour changes caused by population gradients from those due todust effects.The measurements show that the observed colour gradients in the discs ofthe non-active galaxies are significantly larger than those found forthe S1 and S2 galaxies. In the near-infrared wavelengths, however, thesedifferences disappear, and the colour gradients are the same for allthree galaxy types. No systematic differences are found between thecolour gradients of the discs of the S1 galaxies and those of the S2galaxies.The data are compared to model images of dusty galaxies with a varietyof age and metallicity gradients in the disc. The radial variations ofthe optical and near-infrared colours of the model galaxies arecalculated from the radial changes of the ages and the metallicities ofthe stars, using broad-band colours of a single stellar population. Thestellar content at a given position in the disc is determined by theaverage age, the metallicity and the star formation history.For the non-active galaxies, the observed colour gradients arerepresented best by a model with a metallicity gradient, with the innerregions of the stellar disc being more metal-rich than the outerregions. However, the presence of an age gradient, with the innerregions of the stellar disc being older than the outer regions, cannotbe ruled out. For the S1 and S2 galaxies, the comparison between dataand models indicates that the age and metallicity gradients in thestellar disc are small. As far as the internal dust extinction isconcerned, the comparison between data and models indicates that boththe non-active and the S2 galaxies show significant dust extinction, butthey are not optically thick.
| An IRAS High Resolution Image Restoration (HIRES) Atlas of All Interacting Galaxies in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
The importance of far-infrared observations for our understanding ofextreme activity in interacting and merging galaxies has beenillustrated by many studies. Even though two decades have passed sinceits launch, the most complete all-sky survey to date from which far-IRselected galaxy samples can be chosen is still that of the InfraredAstronomical Satellite (IRAS). However, the spatial resolution of theIRAS all-sky survey is insufficient to resolve the emission fromindividual galaxies in most interacting galaxy pairs, and hence previousstudies of their far-IR properties have had to concentrate either onglobal system properties or on the properties of very widely separatedand weakly interacting pairs. Using the HIRES image reconstructiontechnique, it is possible to achieve a spatial resolution ranging from30" to 1.5m (depending on wavelength and detector coverage), whichis a fourfold improvement over the normal resolution of IRAS. This issufficient to resolve the far-IR emission from the individual galaxiesin many interacting systems detected by IRAS, which is very importantfor meaningful comparisons with single, isolated galaxies. We presenthigh-resolution 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm images of 106 interactinggalaxy systems contained in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS,Sanders et al.), a complete sample of all galaxies having a 60 μmflux density greater than 5.24 Jy. These systems were selected to haveat least two distinguishable galaxies separated by less than threeaverage galactic diameters, and thus we have excluded very widelyseparated systems and very advanced mergers. Additionally, some systemshave been included that are more than three galactic diameters apart,yet have separations less than 4' and are thus likely to suffer fromconfusion in the RBGS. The new complete survey has the same propertiesas the prototype survey of Surace et al. We find no increased tendencyfor infrared-bright galaxies to be associated with other infrared-brightgalaxies among the widely separated pairs studied here. We find smallenhancements in far-IR activity in multiple galaxy systems relative toRBGS noninteracting galaxies with the same blue luminosity distribution.We also find no differences in infrared activity (as measured byinfrared color and luminosity) between late- and early-type spiralgalaxies.
| COLA. II. Radio and Spectroscopic Diagnostics of Nuclear Activity in Galaxies
We present optical spectroscopic observations of 93 galaxies taken fromthe infrared-selected COLA (compact objects in low-power AGNs) sample.These are all galaxies for which we have previously obtainedlow-resolution radio observations and high-resolution (<0.05")Australian Long Baseline Array snapshots. The sample spans the range offar-IR luminosities from normal galaxies to luminous infrared galaxiesand contains a significant number of galaxies involved in galaxy-galaxyinteractions. Of the galaxies observed, 78 (84%) exhibit emission linesindicating that they are either AGNs or actively forming stars(starburst galaxies). Using a newly developed, theoretically based,optical emission line scheme to classify the spectra, we find that 15%of the emission-line galaxies are Seyfert galaxies, 77% are starbursts,and the rest are either borderline AGN/starburst or show ambiguouscharacteristics. We find little evidence for an increase in the fractionof AGNs in the sample as a function of far-IR (FIR) luminosity, incontrast to previous studies, but our sample covers only a small rangein infrared luminosity(1010.5Lsolar<=LFIR<=1011.7 Lsolar), and thus a weak trend may be masked. Instead,as the infrared luminosity increases, so does the fraction of metal-richstarbursts, objects that on more traditional diagnostic diagrams wouldhave been classified as weak, low-ionization, narrow emission lineregions. As a whole the Seyfert galaxies exhibit a small, butstatistically significant, radio excess on the radio-FIR correlationcompared to the galaxies classified as starbursts. Compact (<0.05")radio cores are detected in 55% of the Seyfert galaxies, and thesegalaxies exhibit a significantly larger radio excess than the Seyfertgalaxies in which compact cores were not detected. Our results indicatethat there may be two distinct populations of Seyfert galaxies,``radio-excess'' Seyfert galaxies, which exhibit extended radiostructures and compact radio cores, and ``radio-quiet'' Seyfertgalaxies, in which the majority of the radio emission can be attributedto star formation in the host galaxy. No significant difference is seenbetween the IR and optical spectroscopic properties of Seyfert galaxieswith and without radio cores.
| The Discovery of H2O Maser Emission in Seven Active Galactic Nuclei and at High Velocities in the Circinus Galaxy
We report the discovery of H2O maser emission at 1.35 cmwavelength in seven active galactic nuclei (at distances of up to 80Mpc) during a survey conducted at the 70 m diameter antenna of the NASADeep Space Network near Canberra, Australia. The detection rate was ~4%.Two of the maser sources are particularly interesting because theydisplay satellite high-velocity emission lines, which are a signature ofemission from the accretion disks of supermassive black holes when seenedge-on. Three of the masers are coincident, to within uncertainties of0.2", with continuum emission sources that we observed at aboutλ=1.3 cm. We also report the discovery of new spectral featuresin the Circinus galaxy H2O maser that broaden the knownvelocity range of emission therein by a factor of ~1.7. If the newspectral features originate in the Circinus accretion disk, thenmolecular material must survive at radii ~3 times smaller than had beenbelieved previously (~0.03 pc or ~2×105 Schwarzschildradii).
| The IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
IRAS flux densities, redshifts, and infrared luminosities are reportedfor all sources identified in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample(RBGS), a complete flux-limited survey of all extragalactic objects withtotal 60 μm flux density greater than 5.24 Jy, covering the entiresky surveyed by IRAS at Galactic latitudes |b|>5°. The RBGS includes629 objects, with median and mean sample redshifts of 0.0082 and 0.0126,respectively, and a maximum redshift of 0.0876. The RBGS supersedes theprevious two-part IRAS Bright Galaxy Samples(BGS1+BGS2), which were compiled before the final(Pass 3) calibration of the IRAS Level 1 Archive in 1990 May. The RBGSalso makes use of more accurate and consistent automated methods tomeasure the flux of objects with extended emission. The RBGS contains 39objects that were not present in the BGS1+BGS2,and 28 objects from the BGS1+BGS2 have beendropped from RBGS because their revised 60 μm flux densities are notgreater than 5.24 Jy. Comparison of revised flux measurements forsources in both surveys shows that most flux differences are in therange ~5%-25%, although some faint sources at 12 and 25 μm differ byas much as a factor of 2. Basic properties of the RBGS sources aresummarized, including estimated total infrared luminosities, as well asupdates to cross identifications with sources from optical galaxycatalogs established using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Inaddition, an atlas of images from the Digitized Sky Survey with overlaysof the IRAS position uncertainty ellipse and annotated scale bars isprovided for ease in visualizing the optical morphology in context withthe angular and metric size of each object. The revised bolometricinfrared luminosity function, φ(Lir), forinfrared-bright galaxies in the local universe remains best fit by adouble power law, φ(L)~Lα, withα=-0.6(+/-0.1) and α=-2.2(+/-0.1) below and above the``characteristic'' infrared luminosityL*ir~1010.5Lsolar,respectively. A companion paper provides IRAS High Resolution (HIRES)processing of over 100 RBGS sources where improved spatial resolutionoften provides better IRAS source positions or allows for deconvolutionof close galaxy pairs.
| The infrared supernova rate in starburst galaxies
We report the results of our ongoing search for extincted supernovae(SNe) at near-infrared wavelengths. We have monitored at 2.2 mu m asample of 46 Luminous Infrared Galaxies and detected 4 SNe. The numberof detections is still small but sufficient to provide the firstestimate of supernova rate at near-infrared wavelengths. We measure a SNrate of SNNIR_r=7.6+/- 3.8 SNu which is an order of magnitudelarger than observed in quiescent galaxies. On the other hand, theobserved near-infrared rate is still a factor 3-10 smaller than thatestimated from the far-infrared luminosity of the galaxies. Amongvarious possibilities, the most likely scenario is that dust extinctionis so high (AV>30) to obscure most SNe even in thenear-IR.The role of type Ia SNe is also discussed within this context. We derivethe type Ia SN rate as a function of the stellar mass of the galaxy andfind a sharp increase toward galaxies with higher activity of starformation. This suggests that a significant fraction of type Ia SNe areassociated with young stellar populations.Finally, as a by-product, we give the average K-band light curve ofcore-collapse SNe based on all the existing data, and review therelation between SN rate and far-infrared luminosity.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (proposal 66.B-0417), at the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo(TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Centro Galileo Galileiof the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica), and at the StewardObservatory 61'' telescope.
| Star Formation Rates in Interacting Starburst Galaxies
By narrowband imaging in Hα and in the adjacent red stellarcontinuum we have studied the rate and distribution of star formation in43 systems of luminous and ultraluminous IR galaxies currentlyundergoing interaction and merging. These galaxies are amongst the mostluminous at 60 μm and range in distance from ~50 up to 100 Mpc. Herewe present the Hα and the adjacent red-continuum narrowbandimages, and we compare the star formation rates derived from Hαwith those estimated from the IR luminosity. We find clear evidence forsubstantial extinction and obscuration of star-forming regions in theoptical. Without correction for reddening in the host galaxy orcorrection for [N II] contamination, the star formation rates derivedfor Hα are typically 0.5-1.0 dex lower than those estimated fromthe IR flux, and the scatter in the correlation is very large. However,an unexpected result is that when spectroscopic data are used toeliminate objects dominated by an active nucleus, to determine thegalaxian extinction, and to correct the Hα flux for both reddeningand for the contamination by the [N II] emission, a remarkably goodcorrelation emerges between the star formation rates estimated from theHα flux and those derived from the FIR continuum. In addition, astrong correlation is found between the extinction in the line-emittingregion, AHα, and the rate of star formation. Ourresults invalidate the use of Hα imaging as a reliable indicatorof star formation in starburst galaxies unless spectroscopic data arealso available. This has important implications for the determination ofstar formation rates in high-redshift galaxies. Finally, we find nocorrelation between the measured star formation rates, and theinteraction class, suggesting that the enhanced star formation ratestriggered by the interaction continue throughout the whole of themerging sequence.
| First Results from the COLA Project: The Radio-Far-Infrared Correlation and Compact Radio Cores in Southern COLA Galaxies
We present the first results from the COLA (compact objects in low-powerAGNs) project, which aims to determine the relationship between onefacet of AGN activity, the compact radio core, and star formation in thecircumnuclear region of the host galaxy. This will be accomplished bythe comparison of the multiwavelength properties of a sample of AGNswith compact radio cores to those of a sample of AGNs without compactcores and a matched sample of galaxies without AGNs. In this paper wediscuss the selection criteria for our galaxy samples and present theinitial radio observations of the 107 southern(δ<0deg) galaxies in our sample. Low-resolution ATCAobservations at 4.8, 2.5, and 1.4 GHz and high-resolution,single-baseline snapshots at 2.3 GHz with the Australian Long BaselineArray (LBA) are presented. We find that for the majority of the galaxiesin our sample, the radio luminosity is correlated with the far-infrared(FIR) luminosity. However, a small number of galaxies exhibit a radioexcess causing them to depart from the FIR-radio correlation. Compactradio cores are detected at fluxes greater than 1.5 mJy in nine of the105 galaxies observed with the LBA. The majority (8/9) of these galaxiesexhibit a radio excess, and 50% (7/14) of the galaxies that lie abovethe radio-FIR correlation by more than 1 σ have compact radiocores. The emission from the compact cores is too weak to account forthis radio excess, implying that there are radio structures associatedwith the compact cores that extend farther than the 0.05" resolution(corresponding to a linear scale 11-22 pc) of the LBA. There is noevidence that the radio luminosity of the compact cores is correlatedwith the FIR galaxy luminosity, indicating that the core contributeslittle to the overall FIR emission of the galaxy. The galaxies withcompact cores tend to be classified optically as AGNs, with two-thirds(6/9) exhibiting Seyfert-like optical emission line ratios, and theremaining galaxies classified either as composite objects (2/9) orstarburst (1/9). The galaxies classified optically as AGNs also exhibitthe largest radio excesses, and we therefore conclude that a large radioexcess on the radio-FIR correlation is a strong indication of an AGNwith a compact radio core.
| 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.
| Disc scalelengths of non-active and active spiral galaxies
Disc scalelengths rD are determined for a sample of 32non-active and 28 active spiral galaxies from optical CCD images. For 21of the 32 non-active galaxies and 20 of the 28 active galaxies B, V, Rand I data have been obtained, while for the remaining galaxies only Band I images have been taken. For 18 of the 21 non-active galaxies,which are measured in all four passbands, rD decreasessystematically from B to I, whereas such a decrease is found for onlyfour of the 20 active galaxies with BVRI data. For the non-activegalaxies, the ratios rD(B)/rD(I),rD(V)/rD(I) and rD(R)/rD(I)increase systematically with increasing apparent ellipticity ɛof the galaxies. For the active galaxies, no systematic variation of anyof the ratios with increasing ɛ is found. The variation ofrD(B)/rD(I) with ɛ is compared with modelcalculations. For the non-active galaxies, the data are represented bestby a model with a stellar disc that has an intrinsic colour gradient andwith a central optical depth in the B band for face-on view ofτ0B=3. For the active galaxies, the best agreement between data andmodels is found for models with a stellar disc with no intrinsic colourgradient and no dust. The best-fitting model for the non-active galaxiesdoes not reproduce the data of the active galaxies. The main conclusionof this work is that structural differences seem to exist between thediscs of non-active and active galaxies. The non-active galaxies showsignificant colour gradients within their discs, whereas the activegalaxies do not. These gradients are probably caused by a combination ofan intrinsic colour gradient within the stellar disc, and dustextinction. Furthermore, the measurements indicate that the non-activegalaxies show significant dust extinction in the centre, but they areoptically thin in the outer regions. The active galaxies do not seem tohave intrinsic colour gradients within the stellar disc and they areoptically thin throughout the disc.
| Near-Infrared Observations of Type 2 QSO at z=0.9
Results of near-infrared (NIR) observations of a type 2 QSO, AXJ08494+4454, at z=0.9, which was identified in our optical follow-upobservations of the ASCA Lynx deep survey, are presented. NIR J-bandspectroscopic observations show presence of a narrow (FWHM=470 kms-1) Hα emission line and no strong broad component,which confirms that this object is type 2, as suggested in the previousoptical spectroscopy (no broad Hβ emission). IC andK-band imaging observations reveal that this object has a significantlyredder color (IC-K=3.4 mag) than normal type 1 QSOs but has asimilar color to those of nearby type 2 Seyfert galaxies and starburstgalaxies. The absolute magnitude of this object in B band is muchfainter than M*B for the type 1 QSO luminosityfunction at z~0.9, but about 1.5 mag brighter thanM*B of the luminosity function for field galaxiesat z~0.9. The red color and the faint optical magnitude may be a resultof dust extinction, or we may be seeing the host galaxy with a hiddenactive nucleus. Based on observations with the United Kingdom InfraredTelescope (UKIRT), which is operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre onbehalf of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council U.K., andthe University of Hawaii 2.2 m Telescope, HI.
| 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.
| Kinematics of the local universe. VII. New 21-cm line measurements of 2112 galaxies
This paper presents 2112 new 21-cm neutral hydrogen line measurementscarried out with the meridian transit Nan\c cay radiotelescope. Amongthese data we give also 213 new radial velocities which complement thoselisted in three previous papers of this series. These new measurements,together with the HI data collected in LEDA, put to 6 700 the number ofgalaxies with 21-cm line width, radial velocity, and apparent diameterin the so-called KLUN sample. Figure 5 and Appendices A and B forcorresponding comments are available in electronic form at thehttp://www.edpsciences.com
| 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.
| Influence of a partial incompleteness of the sample on the determination of the Hubble constant.
This paper presents a study of the Malmquist bias effect in thedetermination of the Hubble constant from the method of "sosies"(look-alike) galaxies. It is shown that a bias appears when a partialincompleteness exists in the sample. A new method, based on the use ofthe completeness curve, is proposed to correct for such a bias. Afterthis correction, the Hubble constant drops of about 20% just because ofthe existence of the partial incompleteness. From the present resultsand on the acceptance of the distance modulus of primary calibrators,the value of the Hubble constant would be: H_0_=~60km/s/Mpc with aninternal statistical error of about 2km/s/Mpc.
| A 1.425 GHz Atlas of the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample, Part II
Galaxies with δ >= -45^deg^ and |b| >= 10^deg^ in the IRASBright Galaxy Sample, Part II, were observed at 1.425 GHz by the VeryLarge Array in its B, CnB, C, DnC, and D configurations. An atlas ofradio contour maps and a table listing the principal radio sourceparameters (position, flux density, angular size) are given. This atlasof 187 galaxies supplements the 1.49 GHz atlas of 313 galaxies in therevised Bright Galaxy Sample, Part I. Together, they are complete forextragalactic sources stronger than S = 5.24Jy at λ = 60 micronsin the area |b| > 10^deg^, δ > -45^deg^. To the extent thatthe far-infrared and radio brightness distributions overlap, these radiomaps provide the most accurate positions and high-resolution images ofthe brightest extragalactic far-infrared sources.
| Optical Spectroscopy of Luminous Infrared Galaxies. II. Analysis of the Nuclear and Long-Slit Data
A spectroscopic survey of a sample of 200 luminous IRAS galaxies (LIGs:L_ir_^7^ > 3 x 10^10^ L_sun_; H_0_ = 75 km s^-1^ Mpc^-1^) was carriedout using the Palomar 5 meter and University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescopes.Kim et al. (1995) described the data-taking and data-reductionprocedures and presented line and continuum measurements extracted fromthe nucleus of these objects. In this paper, the nuclear data arecombined with circumnuclear measurements on 23 of these galaxies toinvestigate the properties of the line-emitting gas and underlyingstellar population in and out of the nucleus. The nuclear spectra ofthese galaxies were classified as H II region-like" or "AGN-like" usinga large number of line-ratio diagnostics corrected for the underlyingstellar absorption features. This correction is an important source oferrors in some previous studies. The emission-line spectra of many AGNswere found to-be of relatively low ionization level and were thereforeclassified as LINER. We confirm that both the fraction of LIGs with AGNspectra and the fraction of Seyferts among the AGN increase withinfrared luminosity, reaching values of 62% and 54% at the highestobserved luminosities, respectively. The fraction of LINERs, on theother hand, is relatively constant at ~27%. The source of the ionizationof the emission-line gas often is a function of the distance from thenucleus. Based on the emission-line ratios and the strengths of thestellar absorption features, circumnuclear starburst activity is acommon feature of LIGs, regardless of their nuclear spectral types. Theemission-line, absorption-line, continuum, radio, and IRAS properties ofthe LINERs suggest that most of the LINER emission in theseinfrared-selected galaxies is produced through shock ionization ratherthan photoionization by a genuine active nucleus. The nuclear region ofSeyfert LIGs is found to be slightly less reddened than that of theLINERs and H II galaxies. The dust distribution generally isconcentrated toward the nucleus, in agreement with the often peakydistribution of the molecular gas observed in these galaxies. Inverteddust profiles in which the nucleus appears less dusty than thecircumnuclear region are observed in only three LIGs, all of which haveAGN emission-line characteristics (one Seyfert 2 galaxy and two LINERs).Low nuclear dust content appears to favor the detection of activenuclei. This may be due to selection effects or may reflect realphysical differences between these classes of objects: galaxies withSeyfert emission lines may be at a more advanced stage of dustdestruction/expulsion than H II LIGs. Complex optical depth effects mayalso explain these results without invoking a smaller amount of dust inthe nucleus. The Hβ and Mg I b absorption features are stronger inthe nuclei of AGNs (especially among the LINERs) than in H II LIGs,suggesting that AGN LIGs are at a more advanced stage of stellarevolution than H II LIGs. Further support for this scenario comes fromthe fact that AGNs are found more frequently in advanced mergers than HII galaxies (only two Seyfert galaxies are detected in systems withwell-separated nuclei). However, this last result may be a luminosityeffect rather than an effect related to the dominant nuclear source ofionization. Moreover, the absorption-line data may simply reflect thefact that galaxies with powerful H II regions show evidence for youngstars while galaxies with AGNs do not. The radial variations of theHβ and Mg I b absorption features indicate the presence of a strongsource of featureless continuum in the nucleus of nearly all LIGs,regardless of their nuclear spectral types. Contamination by thecircumnuclear starburst prevents us from determining the extent of thiscontinuum source. The [O III] profiles of both Seyfert and LINER LIGswere found to be broader on average than those of H II objects. Nearly20% of the LIGs in our sample have line widths larger than 600 km s^-1^.We find that most of the galaxies in which we could determine the radialvariations of the [O III] line width present broader profiles in thecircumnuclear region than at the nucleus. When combined with publisheddata on a few other well-studied LIGs, these results suggest thatlarge-scale nuclear winds are common in these objects and are anefficient way of getting rid of the obscuring material in the nuclearregion. The spatially extended LINER emission observed in many of theseobjects is probably due to shock ionization resulting from theinteraction of the wind-accelerated gas with the ambient material of thehost galaxy.
| Optical Spectroscopy of Luminous Infrared Galaxies. I. Nuclear Data
A spectroscopic survey of a large sample of luminous infrared galaxies[log (L_ir_/L_sun_)^7^ ~ 10.5-12.5; H_0_ = 75 km s^-1^ Mpc^-1^] has beencarried out using the Palomar 5 m telescope,, and the University ofHawaii 2.2 m telescope. Long-slit spectra covering 375o-8000 A at aresolution of ~10 A were obtained of 200 IRAS galaxies, including 114objects from the IRAS Bright Galaxy Survey, and 86 objects with fainterinfrared fluxes selected on the basis of their "warm" far-infrared(S_60_/S_100_) colors. The methods of observation and data reduction arediscussed. An atlas of the spectra extracted from the nuclear region ofthese objects is presented along with a large number of parametersdescribing the properties of the emission lines, the stellar absorptionlines, and the continuum emission that were measured from the spectra.An analysis of these data is presented in a companion paper (Veilleux etal. 1995) along with a discussion of the spatial variations of theseparameters in a subsample of twenty-three objects.
| The IRAS Bright Galaxy Survey - Part II: Extension to Southern Declinations (delta ~< -30), and Low Galactic Latitudes (f<|b|
Complete IRAS Observations and redshifts are reported for all sourcesidentified in the IRAS Bright Galaxy Survey-Part II (hereafter referredto as BGS_2_). Source positions, radial velocities, optical magnitudes,and total flux densities, peak flux densities, and spatial extents at12, 25, and 100 ,microns are reported for 288 sources having 60 micronflux densities > 5.24 Jy, the completeness limit of the originalBright Galaxy Survey [Soifer et al., AJ, 98,766(1989)], hereafterreferred to as BGS_1_. These new data represent the extension of theIRAS Bright Galaxy Survey to southern declinations,δ<~-30^deg^, and low Galactic latitudes,5^deg^<|b|<30^deg^. Although the sky coverage of the BGS_2_ (~19935 deg^2^) is 37% larger than the sky coverage of the BGS_1_, thenumber of sources is 8% smaller due primarily to large scale structurein the local distribution of galaxies. Otherwise, the sources in theBGS_2_ show similar relationships between number counts and flux densityas observed for the 313 sources in the BGS_1_. The BGS_2_ along with theearlier BGS, represents the best sample currently available for definingthe infrared properties of galaxies in the local (z <~ 0.1) Universe.
| Arm structure in normal spiral galaxies, 1: Multivariate data for 492 galaxies
Multivariate data have been collected as part of an effort to develop anew classification system for spiral galaxies, one which is notnecessarily based on subjective morphological properties. A sample of492 moderately bright northern Sa and Sc spirals was chosen for futurestatistical analysis. New observations were made at 20 and 21 cm; thelatter data are described in detail here. Infrared Astronomy Satellite(IRAS) fluxes were obtained from archival data. Finally, new estimatesof arm pattern radomness and of local environmental harshness werecompiled for most sample objects.
| Northern dwarf and low surface brightness galaxies. II - The Green Bank neutral hydrogen survey
The paper reports neutral hydrogen observations of a large sample ofdwarf and other low surface brightness galaxies. A detailed discussionand error analysis of the observations are presented, and spectra aredisplayed for 329 galaxies detected for the first time, or detected withsubstantially better signal-to-noise ratios than achieved previously.The positions on the sky of 667 galaxies meeting the present selectioncriteria north of delta = 38 deg are shown. The distribution of theredshifts of galaxies detected at Green Bank is illustrated. The GreenBank detections tapered off strongly below the median H I flux of 3.7 Jykm/s detected at Arecibo: only 12 percent of the Green Bank sample wasdetected with smaller fluxes.
| Hydroxyl in galaxies. I - Surveys with the NRAO 300 FT telescope
Results are presented of a search for 1667- and 1665-MHz mainline OHtransitions for 321 galaxies, which were observed during four separatesessions at the NRAO 300-ft telescope in the period 1984-1987. Threedetections of OH megamasers are reported, as well as detections of threenew OH absorption sources. The observational sample contains sourcesfrom a variety of catalogs and represents different criteria. Theresults for the whole sample confirm that FIR luminosity and colorcriteria used for these surveys are indeed optimized for findingmegamasers. The results also confirm that detecting distant highluminosity OH megamasers is considerably more successful than findingnearby weak masers.
| Infrared properties of interacting IRAS galaxies
This paper presents near-infrared photometry and coadded IRAS data for asample of 19 interacting and merging galaxy systems selected by IRASflux and morphological criteria. The far-infrared activity LFIR/LB riseswith interaction strength. There are also changes in the far-infraredcolors: log(f12/f25) is lower and log(f60/f100) higher for stronginteractions. This behavior can be understood in the context oftwo-component models of the far-infrared emission as an increase in thecontribution of active star formation to the infrared activity. Thenear-infrared colors of the galaxies are studied, and the use of K-Lcolor excesses to search for far-infrared emission is justified. Thedistribution of infrared activity in binary galaxies is analyzed withthe help of K-L color excesses and confirmed using IRAS data. Contraryto some earlier studies, it is found that enhanced activity in bothcomponents of an interacting system is frequent. The implications ofthis behavior for the conditions necessary to trigger starbursts arediscussed. The occurrence of a significant number of systems withinfrared activity in both galaxies suggests that disturbances of thegaseous component leading to starbursts may be less sensitive to therelative orientation of the interacting galaxies than disturbances ofthe stellar component leading to prominent tidal tails.
| An 18-cm OH and 21-cm H I survey of luminous far-infrared galaxies. II - H I properties
As a part of the present 18-cm OH and 21-cm H I survey of luminousfar-infrared galaxies, the paper provides H I data obtained at Nancayfor 88 IRAS galaxies, with FIR luminosity above 10 to the 10th solarluminosity. Among them, 64 are measured here for the first time. Whenrestricting to radial velocities smaller than 11,000 km/s, the detectionrate is equal to 85 percent, independent of the distance. These galaxiesappear as giant ones in dimension, total mass and total blue luminosity.All these parameters increase with increasing FIR luminosity. ExtremeFIR luminosity is thus related to gigantism, which could be the resultof mergers. These galaxies are also deficient in their relative H Icontent, in the sense that their global relative H I content issignificantly smaller than in classical galaxies of the Hubble sequence.
| Arm classifications for spiral galaxies
The spiral arm classes of 762 galaxies are tabulated; 636 galaxies withlow inclinations and radii larger than 1 arcmin were classified on thebasis of their blue images on the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS),76 SA galaxies in the group catalog of Geller and Huchra were alsoclassified from the POSS, and 253 galaxies in high-resolution atlaseswere classified from their atlas photographs. This spiral armclassification system was previously shown to correlate with thepresence of density waves, and galaxies with such waves were shown tooccur primarily in the densest galactic groups. The present sampleindicates, in addition, that grand design galaxies (i.e., those whichtend to contain prominent density wave modes) are physically larger thanflocculent galaxies (which do not contain such prominent modes) by afactor of about 1.5. A larger group sample confirms the previous resultthat grand design galaxies are preferentially in dense groups.
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