Contents
Images
Upload your image
DSS Images Other Images
Related articles
Faint supernovae and supernova impostors: case studies of SN 2002kg/NGC 2403-V37 and SN 2003gm
Photometric and spectroscopic observations of the faint Supernovae (SNe)2002kg and 2003gm, and their precursors, in NGC 2403 and NGC 5334,respectively, are presented. The properties of these SNe are discussedin the context of previously proposed scenarios for faint SNe: low-massprogenitors producing underenergetic SNe; SNe with ejecta constrained bya circumstellar medium; and outbursts of massive Luminous Blue Variables(LBVs). The last scenario has been referred to as `Type V SNe', `SNimpostors' or `fake SNe'.The faint SN 2002kg reached a maximum brightness of MV =-9.6, much fainter than normal Type II SNe. The precursor of SN 2002kgis confirmed to be, as shown in previous work, the LBV NGC 2403-V37.Late-time photometry of SN 2002kg shows it to be only 0.6 mag fainter at500 d than at the epoch of discovery. Two spectra of SN 2002kg, with anapproximately 1-yr interval between observations, show only minordifferences. Strong FeII lines are observed in the spectra of SN 2002kg,similar to both the LBV NGC 2363-V1 and the Type IIn SN 1995G. Thespectrum of SN 2002kg does show strong resolved [NII] atλλ6549,6583 Å. The identified progenitor of SN2003gm is a bright yellow star, consistent with a F5-G2 supergiant,similar to the identified progenitor of SN 2004et. SN 2003gm, at theepoch of discovery, was of similar brightness to the possible fake SN1997bs and the Type IIP SNe 1999br and 2005cs. Photometrically SN 2003gmshows the same decrease in brightness, over the same time period as SN1997bs. The light curve and the spectral properties of SN 2003gm arealso consistent with some intrinsically faint and low-velocity Type IISNe. The early-time spectra of SN 2003gm are dominated by Balmeremission lines, which at the observed resolution, appear similar to SN2000ch. On the basis of the post-discovery photometric and spectroscopicobservations presented here, we suggest that SN 2003gm is a similarevent to SN 1997bs, although the SN/LBV nature of both of these objectsis debated. At 226 d post-discovery the spectrum of SN 2003gm isstrongle contaminated by HII region emission lines, and it cannot beconfirmed that the precursor star has disappeared. The presence ofstrong [NII] lines, near Hα, is suggested as a possible means ofidentifying objects such as SN 2002kg/NGC 2403-V37 as being LBVs -although not as a general classification criterion of all LBVsmasquerading as SNe.
| An Atlas of Hα and R Images and Radial Profiles of 29 Bright Isolated Spiral Galaxies
Narrowband Hα+[N II] and broadband R images and surface photometryare presented for a sample of 29 bright (MB<-18 mag)isolated S0-Scd galaxies within a distance of 48 Mpc. These galaxies areamong the most isolated nearby spiral galaxies of their Hubbleclassifications as determined from the Nearby Galaxies Catalog.
| A Comparison of Hα and Stellar Scale Lengths in Virgo and Field Spirals
The scale lengths of the old stars and ionized gas distributions arecompared for similar samples of Virgo Cluster members and field spiralgalaxies via Hα and broad R-band surface photometry. While theR-band and Hα scale lengths are, on average, comparable for thecombined sample, we find significant differences between the field andcluster samples. While the Hα scale lengths of the field galaxiesare a factor of 1.14+/-0.07 longer, on average, than their R-band scalelengths, the Hα scale lengths of Virgo Cluster members are, onaverage, 20% smaller than their R-band scale lengths. Furthermore, inVirgo, the scale length ratios are correlated with the size of thestar-forming disk: galaxies with smaller overall Hα extents alsoshow steeper radial falloff of star formation activity. At the sametime, we find no strong trends in scale length ratio as a function ofother galaxy properties, including galaxy luminosity, inclination,morphological type, central R-band light concentration, or bar type. Ourresults for Hα emission are similar to other results for dustemission, suggesting that Hα and dust have similar distributions.The environmental dependence of the Hα scale length placesadditional constraints on the evolutionary process(es) that cause gasdepletion and a suppression of the star formation rate in clusters ofgalaxies.
| The structure of galactic disks. Studying late-type spiral galaxies using SDSS
Using imaging data from the SDSS survey, we present the g' and r' radialstellar light distribution of a complete sample of ~90 face-on tointermediate inclined, nearby, late-type (Sb-Sdm) spiral galaxies. Thesurface brightness profiles are reliable (1 σ uncertainty lessthan 0.2 mag) down to μ27 mag/''. Only ~10% of all galaxies havea normal/standard purely exponential disk down to our noise limit. Thesurface brightness distribution of the rest of the galaxies is betterdescribed as a broken exponential. About 60% of the galaxies have abreak in the exponential profile between 1.5-4.5 times thescalelength followed by a downbending, steeper outer region. Another~30% shows also a clear break between 4.0-6.0 times thescalelength but followed by an upbending, shallower outer region. A fewgalaxies have even a more complex surface brightness distribution. Theshape of the profiles correlates with Hubble type. Downbending breaksare more frequent in later Hubble types while the fraction of upbendingbreaks rises towards earlier types. No clear relation is found betweenthe environment, as characterised by the number of neighbours, and theshape of the profiles of the galaxies.
| Classifications of the Host Galaxies of Supernovae, Set III
A homogeneous sample comprising host galaxies of 604 recent supernovae,including 212 objects discovered primarily in 2003 and 2004, has beenclassified on the David Dunlap Observatory system. Most SN 1991bg-likeSNe Ia occur in E and E/Sa galaxies, whereas the majority of SN1991T-like SNe Ia occur in intermediate-type galaxies. This differenceis significant at the 99.9% level. As expected, all types of SNe II arerare in early-type galaxies, whereas normal SNe Ia occur in all Hubbletypes. This difference is significant at the 99.99% level. A smallnumber of SNe II in E galaxies might be due to galaxy classificationerrors or to a small young-population component in these mainly oldobjects. No significant difference is found between the distributionsover the Hubble type of SNe Ibc and SNe II. This confirms that both ofthese types of objects have similar (massive) progenitors. The presentdata show that in order to understand the dependence of supernova typeon host-galaxy population, it is more important to obtain accuratemorphological classifications than it is to increase the size of thedata sample.
| The Distribution of Bar and Spiral Arm Strengths in Disk Galaxies
The distribution of bar strengths in disk galaxies is a fundamentalproperty of the galaxy population that has only begun to be explored. Wehave applied the bar-spiral separation method of Buta and coworkers toderive the distribution of maximum relative gravitational bar torques,Qb, for 147 spiral galaxies in the statistically well-definedOhio State University Bright Galaxy Survey (OSUBGS) sample. Our goal isto examine the properties of bars as independently as possible of theirassociated spirals. We find that the distribution of bar strengthdeclines smoothly with increasing Qb, with more than 40% ofthe sample having Qb<=0.1. In the context of recurrent barformation, this suggests that strongly barred states are relativelyshort-lived compared to weakly barred or nonbarred states. We do notfind compelling evidence for a bimodal distribution of bar strengths.Instead, the distribution is fairly smooth in the range0.0<=Qb<0.8. Our analysis also provides a first look atspiral strengths Qs in the OSUBGS sample, based on the sametorque indicator. We are able to verify a possible weak correlationbetween Qs and Qb, in the sense that galaxies withthe strongest bars tend to also have strong spirals.
| Structure and star formation in disk galaxies. III. Nuclear and circumnuclear Hα emission
From Hα images of a carefully selected sample of 57 relativelylarge, Northern spiral galaxies with low inclination, we study thedistribution of the Hα emission in the circumnuclear and nuclearregions. At a resolution of around 100 parsec, we find that the nuclearHα emission in the sample galaxies is often peaked, andsignificantly more often so among AGN host galaxies. The circumnuclearHα emission, within a radius of two kpc, is often patchy inlate-type, and absent or in the form of a nuclear ring in early-typegalaxies. There is no clear correlation of nuclear or circumnuclearHα morphology with the presence or absence of a bar in the hostgalaxy, except for the nuclear rings which occur in barred hosts. Thepresence or absence of close bright companion galaxies does not affectthe circumnuclear Hα morphology, but their presence does correlatewith a higher fraction of nuclear Hα peaks. Nuclear rings occur inat least 21% (±5%) of spiral galaxies, and occur predominantly ingalaxies also hosting an AGN. Only two of our 12 nuclear rings occur ina galaxy which is neither an AGN nor a starburst host. We confirm thatweaker bars host larger nuclear rings. The implications of these resultson our understanding of the occurrence and morphology of massive starformation, as well as non-stellar activity, in the central regions ofgalaxies are discussed.
| Bar-induced perturbation strengths of the galaxies in the Ohio State University Bright Galaxy Survey - I
Bar-induced perturbation strengths are calculated for a well-definedmagnitude-limited sample of 180 spiral galaxies, based on the Ohio StateUniversity Bright Galaxy Survey. We use a gravitational torque method,the ratio of the maximal tangential force to the mean axisymmetricradial force, as a quantitative measure of the bar strength. Thegravitational potential is inferred from an H-band light distribution byassuming that the M/L ratio is constant throughout the disc. Galaxiesare deprojected using orientation parameters based on B-band images. Inorder to eliminate artificial stretching of the bulge, two-dimensionalbar-bulge-disc decomposition has been used to derive a reliable bulgemodel. This bulge model is subtracted from an image, the disc isdeprojected assuming it is thin, and then the bulge is added back byassuming that its mass distribution is spherically symmetric. We findthat removing the artificial bulge stretch is important especially forgalaxies having bars inside large bulges. We also find that the massesof the bulges can be significantly overestimated if bars are not takeninto account in the decomposition.Bars are identified using Fourier methods by requiring that the phasesof the main modes (m= 2, m= 4) are maintained nearly constant in the barregion. With such methods, bars are found in 65 per cent of the galaxiesin our sample, most of them being classified as SB-type systems in thenear-infrared by Eskridge and co-workers. We also suggest that as muchas ~70 per cent of the galaxies classified as SAB-types in thenear-infrared might actually be non-barred systems, many of them havingcentral ovals. It is also possible that a small fraction of the SAB-typegalaxies have weak non-classical bars with spiral-like morphologies.
| A New Nonparametric Approach to Galaxy Morphological Classification
We present two new nonparametric methods for quantifying galaxymorphology: the relative distribution of the galaxy pixel flux values(the Gini coefficient or G) and the second-order moment of the brightest20% of the galaxy's flux (M20). We test the robustness of Gand M20 to decreasing signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and spatialresolution and find that both measures are reliable to within 10% forimages with average S/N per pixel greater than 2 and resolutions betterthan 1000 and 500 pc, respectively. We have measured G andM20, as well as concentration (C), asymmetry (A), andclumpiness (S) in the rest-frame near-ultraviolet/optical wavelengthsfor 148 bright local ``normal'' Hubble-type galaxies (E-Sd) galaxies, 22dwarf irregulars, and 73 0.05
| Deprojecting spiral galaxies using Fourier analysis. Application to the Ohio sample
We use two new methods developed recently (Barberàet al.\cite{bar03}, A&A, 415, 849), as well as information obtained fromthe literature, to calculate the orientation parameters of the spiralgalaxies in the Ohio State University Bright Galaxy Survey. We comparethe results of these methods with data from the literature, and find ingeneral good agreement. We provide a homogeneous set of mean orientationparameters which can be used to approximately deproject the disks of thegalaxies and facilitate a number of statistical studies of galaxyproperties.Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/421/595
| Properties of isolated disk galaxies
We present a new sample of northern isolated galaxies, which are definedby the physical criterion that they were not affected by other galaxiesin their evolution during the last few Gyr. To find them we used thelogarithmic ratio, f, between inner and tidal forces acting upon thecandidate galaxy by a possible perturber. The analysis of thedistribution of the f-values for the galaxies in the Coma cluster leadus to adopt the criterion f ≤ -4.5 for isolated galaxies. Thecandidates were chosen from the CfA catalog of galaxies within thevolume defined by cz ≤5000 km s-1, galactic latitudehigher than 40o and declination ≥-2.5o. Theselection of the sample, based on redshift values (when available),magnitudes and sizes of the candidate galaxies and possible perturberspresent in the same field is discussed. The final list of selectedisolated galaxies includes 203 objects from the initial 1706. The listcontains only truly isolated galaxies in the sense defined, but it is byno means complete, since all the galaxies with possible companions underthe f-criterion but with unknown redshift were discarded. We alsoselected a sample of perturbed galaxies comprised of all the diskgalaxies from the initial list with companions (with known redshift)satisfying f ≥ -2 and \Delta(cz) ≤500 km s-1; a totalof 130 objects. The statistical comparison of both samples showssignificant differences in morphology, sizes, masses, luminosities andcolor indices. Confirming previous results, we found that late spiral,Sc-type galaxies are, in particular, more frequent among isolatedgalaxies, whereas Lenticular galaxies are more abundant among perturbedgalaxies. Isolated systems appear to be smaller, less luminous and bluerthan interacting objects. We also found that bars are twice as frequentamong perturbed galaxies compared to isolated galaxies, in particularfor early Spirals and Lenticulars. The perturbed galaxies have higherLFIR/LB and Mmol/LB ratios,but the atomic gas content is similar for the two samples. The analysisof the luminosity-size and mass-luminosity relations shows similartrends for both families, the main difference being the almost totalabsence of big, bright and massive galaxies among the family of isolatedsystems, together with the almost total absence of small, faint and lowmass galaxies among the perturbed systems. All these aspects indicatethat the evolution induced by interactions with neighbors would proceedfrom late, small, faint and low mass Spirals to earlier, bigger, moreluminous and more massive spiral and lenticular galaxies, producing atthe same time a larger fraction of barred galaxies but preserving thesame relations between global parameters. The properties we found forour sample of isolated galaxies appear similar to those of high redshiftgalaxies, suggesting that the present-day isolated galaxies could bequietly evolved, unused building blocks surviving in low densityenvironments.Tables \ref{t1} and \ref{t2} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Deprojecting spiral galaxies using Fourier analysis. Application to the Frei sample
We present two methods that can be used to deproject spirals, based onFourier analysis of their images, and discuss their potential andrestrictions. Our methods perform particularly well for galaxies moreinclined than 50° or for non-barred galaxies moreinclined than 35°. They are fast and straightforward touse, and thus ideal for large samples of galaxies. Moreover, they arevery robust for low resolutions and thus are appropriate for samples ofcosmological interest. The relevant software is available from us uponrequest. We use these methods to determine the values of the positionand inclination angles for a sample of 79 spiral galaxies contained inthe Frei et al. (\cite{frei96}) sample. We compare our results with thevalues found in the literature, based on other methods. We findstatistically very good agreementTable 7 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/415/849
| Structure and star formation in disc galaxies - I. Sample selection and near-infrared imaging
We present near-infrared imaging of a sample of 57 relatively large,northern spiral galaxies with low inclination. After describing theselection criteria and some of the basic properties of the sample, wegive a detailed description of the data collection and reductionprocedures. The Ksλ= 2.2-μm images cover most ofthe disc for all galaxies, with a field of view of at least 4.2 arcmin.The spatial resolution is better than 1 arcsec for most images. We fitbulge and exponential disc components to radial profiles of the lightdistribution. We then derive the basic parameters of these components,and the bulge/disc ratio, and explore correlations of these parameterswith several galaxy parameters.
| 2003gm in NGC 5334
IAUC 8167 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Supernova 2003gm in NGC 5334
IAUC 8164 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| The Relationship between Stellar Light Distributions of Galaxies and Their Formation Histories
A major problem in extragalactic astronomy is the inability todistinguish in a robust, physical, and model-independent way how galaxypopulations are physically related to each other and to their formationhistories. A similar, but distinct, and also long-standing question iswhether the structural appearances of galaxies, as seen through theirstellar light distributions, contain enough physical information tooffer this classification. We argue through the use of 240 images ofnearby galaxies that three model-independent parameters measured on asingle galaxy image reveal its major ongoing and past formation modesand can be used as a robust classification system. These parametersquantitatively measure: the concentration (C), asymmetry (A), andclumpiness (S) of a galaxy's stellar light distribution. When combinedinto a three-dimensional ``CAS'' volume all major classes of galaxies invarious phases of evolution are cleanly distinguished. We argue thatthese three parameters correlate with important modes of galaxyevolution: star formation and major merging activity. This is arguedthrough the strong correlation of Hα equivalent width andbroadband colors with the clumpiness parameter S, the uniquely largeasymmetries of 66 galaxies undergoing mergers, and the correlation ofbulge to total light ratios, and stellar masses, with the concentrationindex. As an obvious goal is to use this system at high redshifts totrace evolution, we demonstrate that these parameters can be measured,within a reasonable and quantifiable uncertainty with available data outto z~3 using the Hubble Space Telescope GOODS ACS and Hubble Deep Fieldimages.
| Galaxy classification using fractal signature
Fractal geometry is becoming increasingly important in the study ofimage characteristics. For recognition of regions and objects in naturalscenes, there is always a need for features that are invariant and theyprovide a good set of descriptive values for the region. There are manyfractal features that can be generated from an image. In this paper,fractal signatures of nearby galaxies are studied with the aim ofclassifying them. The fractal signature over a range of scales proved tobe an efficient feature set with good discriminating power. Classifierswere designed using nearest neighbour method and neural networktechnique. Using the nearest distance approach, classification rate wasfound to be 92%. By the neural network method it has been found toincrease to 95%.
| A search for Low Surface Brightness galaxies in the near-infrared. I. Selection of the sample
A sample of about 3800 Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies wasselected using the all-sky near-infrared (J, H and Ks-band)2MASS survey. The selected objects have a mean central surfacebrightness within a 5'' radius around their centre fainter than 18 magarcsec-2 in the Ks band, making them the lowestsurface brightness galaxies detected by 2MASS. A description is given ofthe relevant properties of the 2MASS survey and the LSB galaxy selectionprocedure, as well as of basic photometric properties of the selectedobjects. The latter properties are compared to those of other samples ofgalaxies, of both LSBs and ``classical'' high surface brightness (HSB)objects, which were selected in the optical. The 2MASS LSBs have aBT_c-KT colour which is on average 0.9 mag bluerthan that of HSBs from the NGC. The 2MASS sample does not appear tocontain a significant population of red objects.All tables and Figs. 2a-c are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Bar Galaxies and Their Environments
The prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment.
| An Infrared Space Observatory Atlas of Bright Spiral Galaxies
In this first paper in a series we present an atlas of infrared imagesand photometry from 1.2 to 180 μm for a sample of bright spiralgalaxies. The atlas galaxies are an optically selected,magnitude-limited sample of 77 spiral and S0 galaxies chosen from theRevised Shapley-Ames Catalog (RSA). The sample is a representativesample of spiral galaxies and includes Seyfert galaxies, LINERs,interacting galaxies, and peculiar galaxies. Using the Infrared SpaceObservatory (ISO), we have obtained 12 μm images and photometry at60, 100, and 180 μm for the galaxies. In addition to its imagingcapabilities, ISO provides substantially better angular resolution thanis available in the IRAS survey, and this permits discrimination betweeninfrared activity in the central regions and global infrared emission inthe disks of these galaxies. These ISO data have been supplemented withJHK imaging using ground-based telescopes. The atlas includes 2 and 12μm images. Following an analysis of the properties of the galaxies,we have compared the mid-infrared and far-infrared ISO photometry withIRAS photometry. The systematic differences we find between the IRASFaint Source Catalog and ISO measurements are directly related to thespatial extent of the ISO fluxes, and we discuss the reliability of IRASFaint Source Catalog total flux densities and flux ratios for nearbygalaxies. In our analysis of the 12 μm morphological features we findthat most but not all galaxies have bright nuclear emission. We find 12μm structures such as rings, spiral arm fragments, knotted spiralarms, and bright sources in the disks that are sometimes brighter thanthe nuclei at mid-infrared wavelengths. These features, which arepresumably associated with extranuclear star formation, are common inthe disks of Sb and later galaxies but are relatively unimportant inS0-Sab galaxies. Based on observations with the Infrared SpaceObservatory (ISO), an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA MemberStates (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, andUnited Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.
| Arm and Interarm Star Formation in Spiral Galaxies
We present an outline of our study of the effects of star formation onthe different components of the interstellar medium in the discs ofspiral galaxies, both globally and as a function of arm and interarmenvironment. We are in the process of obtaining images of 57 spiralgalaxies at low inclinations, and analysing them to study thedistribution of recent massive star formation, old stars, young stars,gas and dust. We will dissect the images into arm and interarm regionsand compare and contrast the morphology and scale lengths within theseregions in H_α, HI, the near infrared, optical and (whereavailable) CO. Modelling will show how the scale lengths are affected bystar formation, how this differs between arms and interarms, and whetherthe Schmidt Law varies from the global values in the arm and interarmregions.
| The Asymmetry of Galaxies: Physical Morphology for Nearby and High-Redshift Galaxies
We present a detailed study of rotational asymmetry in galaxies for bothmorphological and physical diagnostic purposes. An unambiguous methodfor computing asymmetry is developed, which is robust for both distantand nearby galaxies. By degrading real galaxy images, we test thereliability of this asymmetry measure over a range of observationalconditions, e.g., spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (S/N).Compared to previous methods, this new algorithm avoids the ambiguityassociated with choosing a center by using a minimization method andsuccessfully corrects for variations in S/N. There is, however, a strongrelationship between the rotational asymmetry and physical resolution(distance at fixed spatial resolution): objects become more symmetricwhen less well-resolved. We further investigate asymmetry as a functionof galactic radius and rotation. We find the asymmetry index has astrong radial dependence that differs vastly between Hubble types. As aresult, a meaningful asymmetry index must be specified within awell-defined radius representative of the physical galaxy scale. Weenumerate several viable alternatives, which exclude the use ofisophotes. Asymmetry as a function of angle (Aφ) is alsoa useful indicator of ellipticity and higher order azimuthal structure.In general, we show that the power of asymmetry as a morphologicalparameter lies in the strong correlation with B-V color for galaxiesundergoing normal star formation spanning all Hubble types fromellipticals to irregular galaxies. The few interacting galaxies in ourstudy do not fall on this asymmetry-color ``fiducial sequence,'' asthese galaxies are too asymmetric for their color. We suggest this factcan be used to distinguish between ``normal'' galaxies and galaxiesundergoing an interaction or merger.
| Structural and Photometric Classification of Galaxies. I. Calibration Based on a Nearby Galaxy Sample
In this paper we define an observationally robust, multiparameter spacefor the classification of nearby and distant galaxies. The parametersinclude luminosity, color, and the image-structure parameters: size,image concentration, asymmetry, and surface brightness. Based on aninitial calibration of this parameter space using the ``normal'' Hubbletypes surveyed in 1996 by Frei et al., we find that only a subset of theparameters provide useful classification boundaries for this sample.Interestingly, this subset does not include distance-dependent scaleparameters such as size or luminosity. The essential ingredient is thecombination of a spectral index (e.g., color) with parameters of imagestructure and scale: concentration, asymmetry, and surface brightness.We refer to the image structure parameters (concentration and asymmetry)as indices of ``form.'' We define a preliminary classification based onspectral index, form, and surface brightness (a scale) that successfullyseparates normal galaxies into three classes. We intentionally identifythese classes with the familiar labels of early, intermediate, and late.This classification, or others based on the above four parameters, canbe used reliably to define comparable samples over a broad range inredshift. The size and luminosity distribution of such samples will notbe biased by this selection process except through astrophysicalcorrelations between spectral index, form, and surface brightness.
| 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.
| Galaxy Structural Parameters: Star Formation Rate and Evolution with Redshift
The evolution of the structure of galaxies as a function of redshift isinvestigated using two parameters: the metric radius of the galaxy(R_eta) and the power at high spatial frequencies in the disk of thegalaxy (chi). A direct comparison is made between nearby (z~0) anddistant (0.2<~z<~1) galaxies by following a fixed range in restframe wavelengths. The data of the nearby galaxies comprise 136broadband images at ~4500 Å observed with the 0.9 m telescope atKitt Peak National Observatory (23 galaxies) and selected from thecatalog of digital images of Frei et al. (113 galaxies). Thehigh-redshift sample comprises 94 galaxies selected from the Hubble DeepField (HDF) observations with the Hubble Space Telescope using the WideField Planetary Camera 2 in four broad bands that range between ~3000and ~9000 Å (Williams et al.). The radius is measured from theintensity profile of the galaxy using the formulation of Petrosian, andit is argued to be a metric radius that should not depend very stronglyon the angular resolution and limiting surface brightness level of theimaging data. It is found that the metric radii of nearby and distantgalaxies are comparable to each other. The median value of the radius ofthe local sample is ~5+/-1 kpc, and the median radius ofthe HDF sample is ~6+/-2 kpc for q_0=0.5, H_0=65 km s^-1Mpc^-1 however, for q_0=0.1, ~7 kpc and for q_0=1,~5 kpc. In the HDF, galaxies with redshifts larger thanz>0.6 have flatter R_eta distributions than galaxies with redshiftssmaller than z<=0.6. However, the median R_eta values of high- andlow-redshift galaxies are consistent with each other. This result isconsistent with the simulations of galaxy images at redshifts z=0.35,z=0.5, and z=0.9, which show that the metric sizes can be recoveredwithin +/-2 kpc. The flocculency or power at high spatial frequencies isquantified using a simple method that is based on surface photometry inone band and that depends on the size of the star-forming regions and onthe intensity profile of the galaxy. In nearby galaxies, the flocculencyis found to trace the star formation rate as chi is correlated withoptical colors (B-V) and the strength of the hydrogen recombinationlines (Hα). In the HDF, galaxies at redshifts smaller than z~1 andwith fluxes brighter than B=25 have values of chi similar to what ismeasured in nearby galaxies and to what is expected from simulations ofdistant galaxy images. Among the HDF galaxies, I find that at most 4%can be identified as dwarf galaxies with rates of star formation similarto NGC 4449 and NGC 1569. Most HDF galaxies are giants with starformation rates similar to those in nearby giant galaxies. In summary,in this study I have introduced a method to measure the metric sizes andflocculency of the two-dimensional light distribution of galaxies. As aresult, I find that the high spatial frequency power is related to thestar formation rate. Further, I find that the sizes and power at highspatial frequencies of HDF galaxies remain largely unchanged between thepresent epoch and redshifts lower than z~1.
| A strong correlation between bar strength and global star forming activity in isolated barred galaxies
I have studied the relation between the global star formation activityand the bar structure in a sample of isolated barred galaxies. The starformation activity was quantified via the ratio between the IRAS fluxesat 25 mu m and 100 mu m. Two parameters were chosen to define the barstructure: the strength of the bar and the relative projected barlength. The strength of the bar was defined by epsilon_ {b}=10(1-b/a),where a and b are the projected semi-major and semi-minor bar axis. Therelative bar length was defined as: 2Lb/D25, whereL_ {b} is one half of the projected total bar length and D25is the diameter of the 25 mag arcsec-2 magnitude isophote inthe B band. We found a strong correlation between the star formationactivity and epsilon_ {b}. The regression line is given bylog(I25/I100)=-1.81+0.093 epsilon_ {b}, with acorrelation coefficient of 0.9. The link is not so evident between therelative projected bar length and the star formation activity. But, itis noted that there is enhanced star formation activity in galaxies withstrong bars and small relative bar lengths,0.1<2Lb/D25<0.22.
| The Southern Sky Redshift Survey
We report redshifts, magnitudes, and morphological classifications for5369 galaxies with m_B <= 15.5 and for 57 galaxies fainter than thislimit, in two regions covering a total of 1.70 sr in the southerncelestial hemisphere. The galaxy catalog is drawn primarily from thelist of nonstellar objects identified in the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog (GSC). The galaxies have positions accurate to ~1"and magnitudes with an rms scatter of ~0.3 mag. We compute magnitudes(m_SSRS2) from the relation between instrumental GSC magnitudes and thephotometry by Lauberts & Valentijn. From a comparison with CCDphotometry, we find that our system is homogeneous across the sky andcorresponds to magnitudes measured at the isophotal level ~26 magarcsec^-2. The precision of the radial velocities is ~40 km s^-1, andthe redshift survey is more than 99% complete to the m_SSRS2 = 15.5 maglimit. This sample is in the direction opposite that of the CfA2; incombination the two surveys provide an important database for studies ofthe properties of galaxies and their large-scale distribution in thenearby universe. Based on observations obtained at Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatories,operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation;Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, operated under agreement between theConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de laRepública Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata,Córdoba, and San Juan; the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla, Chile, partially under the bilateral ESO-ObservatórioNacional agreement; Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory;Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, Brazil; and the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory.
| The Morphologies of Distant Galaxies. II. Classifications from the Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey
The morphological properties of high-redshift galaxies are investigatedusing a sample of 507 objects (I < 22.0 mag) from the Hubble SpaceTelescope (HST) Medium Deep Survey. Independent visual morphologicalclassifications for each galaxy are used to quantify the statisticaluncertainties in the galaxy classifications. Visual classifications arefound to agree well for I < 21 mag. Fainter than I = 21 magsignificant disagreements are seen in the independent visualclassifications of late-type systems with T > 7, merging systems, andpeculiar galaxies. The classifications of these systems are shown to besome- what subjective. Objective classifications based upon measurementsof central concentration and asymmetry for the Medium Deep Survey sampleare presented. These classifications are calibrated using measurementsof structural parameters for an artificially redshifted sample of localobjects. Morphologically segregated number counts using both sets ofvisual classifications and objective classifications support theconclusion that the observed galaxy counts agree with no-evolutionpredictions for the elliptical and spiral populations, as reported inGlazebrook et al. (1995a). A major conclusion is that the largeoverdensity of merging/peculiar/irregular galaxies relative to thepredictions of no-evolution models (reported by Glazebrook et al. 1995a)is confirmed. However, the shape of the faint-end (I > 21.0 mag)number count relation for peculiar objects is sensitive to the largesystematic uncertainties inherent in the visual classification of theseobjects. Despite this caveat, the frequency of objects showing clearevidence for tidal interactions (e.g., tidal tails) in the HST sample isat least 50% larger than it is among nearby galaxies, at the 2 σlevel. Relatively few "chain galaxies" are seen among the sample ofpeculiar objects, suggesting that these systems do not form a largecomponent of the peculiar galaxy population at I < 22 mag.
| A Catalog of Digital Images of 113 Nearby Galaxies
We present a digital catalog of images of 113 galaxies in this paper.These galaxies are all nearby, bright, large, and well resolved. Allimages were recorded with charge coupled devices (CCDs) at the PalomarObservatory with the 1.5 m telescope and at the Lowell Observatory withthe 1.1 m telescope. At Palomar we used the Thuan-Gunn g,r, and iphotometric bands [Thuan & Gunn, PASP, 88,543(1976)] to take 3images each of 31 spiral galaxies; at Lowell we used the B_J_ and Rbands (2 images per galaxy) of the photometric system by Gullixson etal. [ApJS, 99, 281(1995)] to observe 82 spirals and ellipticals. Thegalaxies were selected to span the Hubble classification classes. Alldata are photometrically calibrated with foreground stars removed.Important data on these galaxies published in the Third ReferenceCatalog of Bright Galaxies (de Vaucouleurs et al. 1991) are recorded inthe FITS file headers. All files are available through www athttp://astro.princeton.edu/~frei/galaxy-catalog.html, and PrincetonUniversity Press will soon publish the data on CD-ROM.
| An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.
A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.
|
Submit a new article
Related links
Submit a new link
Member of following groups:
|
Observation and Astrometry data
Catalogs and designations:
|
