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HI content in galaxies in loose groups
Gas deficiency in cluster spirals is well known and ram-pressurestripping is considered the main gas removal mechanism. In some compactgroups too gas deficiency is reported. However, gas deficiency in loosegroups is not yet well established. Lower dispersion of the membervelocities and the lower density of the intragroup medium in small loosegroups favour tidal stripping as the main gas removal process in them.Recent releases of data from the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) andcatalogues of nearby loose groups with associated diffuse X-ray emissionhave allowed us to test this notion. In this paper, we address thefollowing questions: (i) do galaxies in groups with diffuse X-rayemission statistically have lower gas content compared to the ones ingroups without diffuse X-ray emission? (ii) does HI deficiency vary withthe X-ray luminosity, LX, of the loose group in a systematicway? We find that (i) galaxies in groups with diffuse X-ray emission, onaverage, are HI deficient, and have lost more gas compared to those ingroups without X-ray emission; the latter are found not to havesignificant HI deficiency; (ii) no systematic dependence of the HIdeficiency with LX is found. Ram-pressure-assisted tidalstripping and evaporation by thermal conduction are the two possiblemechanisms to account for this excess gas loss.
| Type I Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: Transition Stage from ULIRGs to QSOs
We examine whether the ultraluminous infrared galaxies that contain atype 1 Seyfert nucleus (a type I ULIRG) are in the transition stage fromULIRGs to quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). To investigate this issue, wecompare the black hole (BH) mass, the bulge luminosity, and thefar-infrared luminosity among type I ULIRGs, QSOs, and ellipticalgalaxies. As a result, we find the following results: (1) The type IULIRGs have systematically smaller BH masses in spite of the comparablebulge luminosity relative to QSOs and elliptical galaxies. (2) Thefar-infrared luminosity of most type I ULIRGs is larger than theEddington luminosity. We show that the above results do not changesignificantly for three type I ULIRGs for which we can estimate thevisual extinction from the column density. Also, for all eight type IULIRGs, we investigate the effect of uncertainties of BH massmeasurements and our sample bias to make sure that our results are notaltered even if we consider the above two effects. In addition, Anabukirecently revealed that their X-ray properties are similar to those ofthe narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. These would indicate that activegalactic nuclei (AGNs) with a high mass accretion rate exist in type IULIRGs. On the basis of all of these findings, we conclude that it wouldbe a natural interpretation that type I ULIRGs are the early phase of BHgrowth, namely, the missing link between ULIRGs and QSOs. Moreover, bycomparing our results with a theoretical model of a coevolution scenarioof a QSO BH and a galactic bulge, we show clearly that this explanationcould be valid.
| On the Correlations of Massive Black Holes with Their Host Galaxies
We address the correlations of black hole (BH) mass with four differenthost-galaxy properties from 11 existing data sets. For the purpose ofguiding theoretical understanding, we first try to quantify thetightness of the intrinsic correlations. We assume that all of therelations are power laws and perform linear regressions that aresymmetric in the two variables on the logarithms of the data points.Given the estimated measurement errors, we evaluate the probabilitydistribution of the residual variance in excess of that expected fromthe measurement errors. Our central result is that the current data setsdo not allow definite conclusions regarding the quality of the truecorrelations because the obtained probability distributions for theresidual variance overlap for most quantities. Velocity dispersion ascollected by Merritt & Ferrarese (σMF) and galaxylight concentration as measured by Graham and coworkers (CRe)are consistent with zero residual variance. Taken at face value, thismeans that these two correlations are better than the others, but thisconclusion is highly sensitive to the assumed measurement errors andwould be undone if the present estimated errors were too large. We thenconsider which of the relations offer the best inferences of BH masswhen there is no direct measurement available. As with the residualvariances, we find that the probability distribution of expecteduncertainty in inferred BH masses overlaps significantly for most of therelations. Photometric methods would then be preferred because the dataare easier to obtain, as long as bulge-disk decomposition or detailedmodeling of the photometric profile (as studied by Graham and coworkers)do not present problems. Determining which correlation offers the bestinferences requires reducing the uncertainty in the expected error inthe inferred BH masses (the ``error on the error''). This uncertainty iscurrently limited by uncertainty in the residual variance for all of therelations. The only quantities for which BH mass inferences are limitedby measurement error are σMF and CRe.Therefore, if these relations are truly better than the others, thennew, improved measurements should allow improved inferences of BHmasses. If they do not, the conclusion must be that the present lowresidual variances for these two relations result from overestimatederror bars.
| Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes
Central black hole masses for 117 spiral galaxies representingmorphological stages S0/a through Sc and taken from the largespectroscopic survey of Ho et al. are derived using Ks-banddata from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Black hole masses are foundusing a calibrated black hole-Ks bulge luminosity relation,while bulge luminosities are measured by means of a two-dimensionalbulge-disk decomposition routine. The black hole masses are correlatedagainst a variety of parameters representing properties of the nucleusand host galaxy. Nuclear properties such as line width (FWHM [N II]), aswell as emission-line ratios (e.g., [O III]/Hβ, [O I]/Hα, [NII]/Hα, and [S II]/Hα), show a very high degree ofcorrelation with black hole mass. The excellent correlation with linewidth supports the view that the emission-line gas is in virialequilibrium with either the black hole or bulge potential. The very goodemission-line ratio correlations may indicate a change in ionizingcontinuum shape with black hole mass in the sense that more massiveblack holes generate harder spectra. Apart from theinclination-corrected rotational velocity, no excellent correlations arefound between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. Significantdifferences are found between the distributions of black hole masses inearly-, mid-, and late-type spiral galaxies (subsamples A, B, and C) inthe sense that early-type galaxies have preferentially larger centralblack holes, consistent with observations that Seyfert galaxies arefound preferentially in early-type systems. The line width distributionsshow a marked difference among subsamples A, B, and C in the sense thatearlier type galaxies have larger line widths. There are also cleardifferences in line ratios between subsamples A+B and C that likely arerelated to the level of ionization in the gas. Finally, aKs-band Simien & de Vaucouleurs diagram shows excellentagreement with the original B-band relation, although there is a largedispersion at a given morphological stage.
| 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.
| The X-ray emission properties and the dichotomy in the central stellar cusp shapes of early-type galaxies
The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a dichotomy in the centralsurface brightness profiles of early-type galaxies, which havesubsequently been grouped into two families: core, boxy, anisotropicsystems; and cuspy (`power-law'), discy, rotating ones. Here weinvestigate whether a dichotomy is also present in the X-ray propertiesof the two families. We consider both their total soft emission(LSX,tot), which is a measure of the galactic hot gascontent, and their nuclear hard emission (LHX,nuc), mostlycoming from Chandra observations, which is a measure of the nuclearactivity. At any optical luminosity, the highest LSX,totvalues are reached by core galaxies; this is explained by their beingthe central dominant galaxies of groups, subclusters or clusters, inmany of the logLSX,tot (ergs-1) >~ 41.5 cases.The highest LHX,nuc values, similar to those of classicalactive galactic nuclei (AGNs), in this sample are hosted only by core orintermediate galaxies; at low luminosity AGN levels, LHX,nucis independent of the central stellar profile shape. The presence ofoptical nuclei (also found by HST) is unrelated to the level ofLHX,nuc, even though the highest LHX,nuc are allassociated with optical nuclei. The implications of these findings forgalaxy evolution and accretion modalities at the present epoch arediscussed.
| Density-potential pairs for spherical stellar systems with Sérsic light profiles and (optional) power-law cores
Popular models for describing the luminosity-density profiles ofdynamically hot stellar systems (e.g. Jaffe, Hernquist, Dehnen) wereconstructed with the desire to match the deprojected form of anR1/4 light profile. Real galaxies, however, are now known tohave a range of different light-profile shapes that scale with mass.Consequently, although highly useful, the above models have implicitlimitations, and this is illustrated here through their application to anumber of real galaxy density profiles. On the other hand, theanalytical density profile given by Prugniel & Simien closelymatches the deprojected form of Sérsic R1/n lightprofiles - including deprojected exponential light profiles. It is thusapplicable for describing bulges in spiral galaxies, dwarf ellipticalgalaxies, and both ordinary and giant elliptical galaxies. Moreover, theobserved Sérsic quantities define the parameters of the densitymodel. Here we provide simple equations, in terms of elementary andspecial functions, for the gravitational potential and force associatedwith this density profile. Furthermore, to match galaxies with partiallydepleted cores, and better explore the supermassive black hole/galaxyconnection, we have added a power-law core to this density profile andderived similar expressions for the potential and force of this hybridprofile. Expressions for the mass and velocity dispersion, assumingisotropy, are also given. These spherical models may also proveappropriate for describing the dark matter distribution in haloes formedfrom ΛCDM cosmological simulations.
| Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Nearby Galaxies from ROSAT High Resolution Imager Observations I. Data Analysis
X-ray observations have revealed in other galaxies a class ofextranuclear X-ray point sources with X-ray luminosities of1039-1041 ergs s-1, exceeding theEddington luminosity for stellar mass X-ray binaries. Theseultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) may be powered by intermediate-massblack holes of a few thousand Msolar or stellar mass blackholes with special radiation processes. In this paper, we present asurvey of ULXs in 313 nearby galaxies withD25>1' within 40 Mpc with 467 ROSAT HighResolution Imager (HRI) archival observations. The HRI observations arereduced with uniform procedures, refined by simulations that help definethe point source detection algorithm employed in this survey. A sampleof 562 extragalactic X-ray point sources withLX=1038-1043 ergs s-1 isextracted from 173 survey galaxies, including 106 ULX candidates withinthe D25 isophotes of 63 galaxies and 110 ULX candidatesbetween 1D25 and 2D25 of 64 galaxies, from which aclean sample of 109 ULXs is constructed to minimize the contaminationfrom foreground or background objects. The strong connection betweenULXs and star formation is confirmed based on the striking preference ofULXs to occur in late-type galaxies, especially in star-forming regionssuch as spiral arms. ULXs are variable on timescales over days to yearsand exhibit a variety of long term variability patterns. Theidentifications of ULXs in the clean sample show some ULXs identified assupernovae (remnants), H II regions/nebulae, or young massive stars instar-forming regions, and a few other ULXs identified as old globularclusters. In a subsequent paper, the statistic properties of the surveywill be studied to calculate the occurrence frequencies and luminosityfunctions for ULXs in different types of galaxies to shed light on thenature of these enigmatic sources.
| Origin of Radio Emission from Nearby Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei
We use the observational data in radio, optical, and X-ray wave bandsfor a sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with measured black holemasses to explore the origin of radio emission from nearbylow-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs). The maximal luminosityof an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) can be calculated for agiven black hole mass, as there is a critical accretion rate above whichthe ADAF is no longer present. We find that the radio luminosities arehigher than the maximal luminosities expected from the ADAF model formost sources in this sample. This implies that the radio emission ispredominantly from the jets in these sources. The radio emission from asmall fraction of the sources (15/60; referred to as radio-weak sources)in this sample can be explained by the ADAF model. However, comparingthe observed multiband emission data with the spectra calculated for theADAF or adiabatic inflow-outflow solution (ADIOS) cases, we find thatneither ADAF nor ADIOS models can reproduce the observed multibandemission simultaneously, with reasonable magnetic field strengths, forthese radio-weak sources. A variety of other possibilities arediscussed, and we suggest that the radio emission is probably dominatedby jet emission even in these radio-weak LLAGNs.
| The Centers of Early-Type Galaxies with Hubble Space Telescope. V. New WFPC2 Photometry
We present observations of 77 early-type galaxies imaged with the PC1CCD of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2. ``Nuker-law'' parametricfits to the surface brightness profiles are used to classify the centralstructure into ``core'' or ``power-law'' forms. Core galaxies aretypically rounder than power-law galaxies. Nearly all power-law galaxieswith central ellipticities ɛ>=0.3 have stellar disks,implying that disks are present in power-law galaxies withɛ<0.3 but are not visible because of unfavorable geometry. Afew low-luminosity flattened core galaxies also have disks; these may betransition forms from power-law galaxies to more luminous core galaxies,which lack disks. Several core galaxies have strong isophote twistsinterior to their break radii, although power-law galaxies have interiortwists of similar physical significance when the photometricperturbations implied by the twists are evaluated. Central colorgradients are typically consistent with the envelope gradients; coregalaxies have somewhat weaker color gradients than power-law galaxies.Nuclei are found in 29% of the core galaxies and 60% of the power-lawgalaxies. Nuclei are typically bluer than the surrounding galaxy. Whilesome nuclei are associated with active galactic nuclei (AGNs), just asmany are not; conversely, not all galaxies known to have a low-level AGNexhibit detectable nuclei in the broadband filters. NGC 4073 and 4382are found to have central minima in their intrinsic starlightdistributions; NGC 4382 resembles the double nucleus of M31. In general,the peak brightness location is coincident with the photocenter of thecore to a typical physical scale of <1 pc. Five galaxies, however,have centers significantly displaced from their surrounding cores; thesemay be unresolved asymmetric double nuclei. Finally, as noted byprevious authors, central dust is visible in about half of the galaxies.The presence and strength of dust correlates with nuclear emission;thus, dust may outline gas that is falling into the central black hole.The prevalence of dust and its morphology suggest that dust clouds form,settle to the center, and disappear repeatedly on ~108 yrtimescales. We discuss the hypothesis that cores are created by thedecay of a massive black hole binary formed in a merger. Apart fromtheir brightness profiles, there are no strong differences between coregalaxies and power-law galaxies that demand this scenario; however, therounder shapes of core, their lack of disks, and their reduced colorgradients may be consistent with it.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc.,under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated withGO and GTO proposals 5236, 5446, 5454, 5512, 5943, 5990, 5999, 6099,6386, 6554, 6587, 6633, 7468, 8683, and 9107.
| A sample of X-ray emitting normal galaxies from the BMW-HRI Catalogue
We obtained a sample of 143 normal galaxies with X-ray luminosity in therange 1038{-}1043 erg s-1 from thecross-correlation of the ROSAT HRI Brera Multi-scale Wavelet (BMW-HRI)Catalogue with the Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database (LEDA). We findthat the average X-ray properties of this sample are in good agreementwith those of other samples of galaxies in the literature. We selected acomplete flux limited serendipitous sample of 32 galaxies from which wederived the log N-log S distribution of normal galaxies in the fluxrange 1.1{-} 110 × 10-14 erg cm-2s-1. The resulting distribution is consistent with theEuclidean -1.5 slope. Comparisons with other samples, such as theExtended Medium Sensitivity Survey, the ROSAT All Sky Survey, theXMM-Newton/2dF survey, and the Chandra Deep Field Survey indicate thatthe log N -log S distribution of normal galaxies is consistent with aEuclidean slope over a flux range of about 6 decades.
| Radio sources in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. IV. Radio luminosity function, importance of jet power, and radio properties of the complete Palomar sample
We present the completed results of a high resolution radio imagingsurvey of all ( 200) low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs) andAGNs in the Palomar Spectroscopic Sample of all ( 488) bright northerngalaxies. The high incidences of pc-scale radio nuclei, with impliedbrightness temperatures ≳107 K, and sub-parsec jetsargue for accreting black holes in ≳50% of all LINERs andlow-luminosity Seyferts; there is no evidence against all LLAGNs beingmini-AGNs. The detected parsec-scale radio nuclei are preferentiallyfound in massive ellipticals and in type 1 nuclei (i.e. nuclei withbroad Hα emission). The radio luminosity function (RLF) of PalomarSample LLAGNs and AGNs extends three orders of magnitude below, and iscontinuous with, that of “classical” AGNs. We find marginalevidence for a low-luminosity turnover in the RLF; nevertheless LLAGNsare responsible for a significant fraction of present day massaccretion. Adopting a model of a relativistic jet from Falcke &Biermann, we show that the accretion power output in LLAGNs is dominatedby the kinetic power in the observed jets rather than the radiatedbolometric luminosity. The Palomar LLAGNs and AGNs follow the samescaling between jet kinetic power and narrow line region (NLR)luminosity as the parsec to kilo-parsec jets in powerful radio galaxies.Eddington ratios {l_Edd} (=L_Emitted/L_Eddington) of≤10-1{-}10-5 are implied in jet models of theradio emission. We find evidence that, in analogy to Galactic black holecandidates, LINERs are in a “low/hard” state (gas poornuclei, low Eddington ratio, ability to launch collimated jets) whilelow-luminosity Seyferts are in a “high” state (gas richnuclei, higher Eddington ratio, less likely to launch collimated jets).In addition to dominating the radiated bolometric luminosity of thenucleus, the radio jets are energetically more significant thansupernovae in the host galaxies, and are potentially able to depositsufficient energy into the innermost parsecs to significantly slow thegas supply to the accretion disk.
| ASCA Compilation of X-Ray Properties of Hot Gas in Elliptical Galaxies and Galaxy Clusters: Two Breaks in the Temperature Dependences
Utilizing ASCA archival data of about 300 objects of ellipticalgalaxies, groups, and clusters of galaxies, we performed systematicmeasurements of the X-ray properties of hot gas in their systems, andcompiled them in this paper. The steepness of the luminosity-temperature(LT) relation, LiX ∝ (kT)α, in therange of kT 1.5 ‑ 15 keV is α = 3.17 ± 0.15,consistent with previous measurements. In the relation, we find twobreaks at around ICM temperatures of 1 keV and 4 keV: α = 2.34± 0.29 above 4 keV, 3.74 ± 0.32 in 1.5-5 keV, and 4.03± 1.07 below 1.5keV. Such two breaks are also evident in thetemperature and size relation. The steepness in the LT relation at kT> 4 keV is consistent with the scale-relation derived from the CDMmodel, indicating that the gravitational effect is dominant in richerclusters, while poorer clusters suffer non-gravity effects. The steep LTrelation below 1keV is almost attributed to X-ray faint systems ofelliptical galaxies and galaxy groups. We found that the ICM mass withinthe scaling radius R1500 follows the relation ofMgas ∝ T2.33±0.07 from X-ray faintgalaxies to rich clusters. Therefore, we speculate that even such X-rayfaint systems contain a large-scale hot gas, which is too faint todetect.
| Nuclear activity and the dynamics of elliptical galaxies
This Letter looks for any correlation between the internal dynamics ofelliptical galaxies and the relatively mild nuclear activity found inmany such systems. We show that there is such a relation in the sensethat the active ellipticals tend to be significantly less rotationallysupported than their inactive cousins. The correlation can partly berelated to the galaxies' luminosities: the brightest galaxies tend to bemore active and less rotationally supported. However, even at lowerluminosities the active and inactive galaxies seem to havesystematically different dynamics. This variation suggests that thereare significant large-scale structural differences between active andinactive elliptical galaxies, and hence that the existence of both typesof system cannot just be the result of random sporadic nuclear activity.
| Cold Dust in Early-Type Galaxies. I. Observations
We describe far-infrared observations of early-type galaxies selectedfrom the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) archive. This ratherinhomogeneous sample includes 39 giant elliptical galaxies and 14 S0 (orlater) galaxies. These galaxies were observed with the array photometerPHOT on-board the ISO satellite using a variety of different observingmodes-sparse maps, mini-maps, oversampled maps, and singlepointings-each of which requires different and often rather elaboratephotometric reduction procedures. The ISO background data agree wellwith the COBE-DIRBE results to which we have renormalized ourcalibrations. As a further check, the ISO fluxes from galaxies at 60 and100 μm agree very well with those previously observed with IRAS atthese wavelengths. The spatial resolution of ISO is several timesgreater than that of IRAS, and the ISO observations extend out to 200μm, which views a significantly greater mass of colder dust notassessable to IRAS. Most of the galaxies are essentially point sourcesat ISO resolution, but a few are clearly extended at FIR wavelengthswith image sizes that increase with FIR wavelength. The integratedfar-infrared luminosities do not correlate with optical luminosities,suggesting that the dust may have an external, merger-related origin. Ingeneral, the far-infrared spectral energy distributions can be modeledwith dust at two temperatures, ~43 and ~20 K, which probably representlimits of a continuous range of temperatures. The colder dust componentdominates the total mass of dust, 106-107Msolar, which is typically more than 10 times larger than thedust masses previously estimated for the same galaxies using IRASobservations. For S0 galaxies we find that the optically normalizedfar-infrared luminosity LFIR/LB correlatesstrongly with the mid-infrared luminosityL15μm/LB, but that correlation is weaker forelliptical galaxies.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, theNetherlands, and United Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS andNASA.
| Core Depletion from Coalescing Supermassive Black Holes
New measurements of the stellar-mass deficits at the centers of luminouselliptical galaxies are presented. These were derived considering thefollowing observational facts. First, ``core'' galaxies, which arethought to have had their inner region depleted from the coalescence ofsupermassive black holes, show an abrupt downward deviation of theirinner light profile relative to their outer Sérsic profile.Second, ``power-law'' galaxies, having undisturbed profiles and nopartially depleted core, have inner light profiles that display nodeparture from the inward extrapolation of their outer Sérsicprofile. The central stellar deficits have therefore been derived fromthe difference in flux between the Hubble Space Telescope observedgalaxy light profiles and the inward extrapolation of each galaxy'souter Sérsic profile. This approach gives flux deficits ~0.1% ofthe total galaxy light and mass deficits that are ~2 times each galaxy'scentral supermassive black hole mass. These results are in agreementwith the theoretical expectations of mass ejection from binary blackhole mergers and also with popular ΛCDM models of hierarchicalgalaxy formation. It is also explained why this result is some 10 timessmaller than current observational estimates of the central mass deficitand therefore implies a merger history for giant elliptical galaxiesthat is 1 order of magnitude less violent than previously suggested.
| On the Black Hole Mass-Bulge Mass Relation
We have reexamined the relation between the mass of the central blackholes in nearby galaxies, Mbh, and the stellar mass of thesurrounding spheroid or bulge, Mbulge. For a total of 30galaxies bulge masses were derived through Jeans equation modeling oradopted from dynamical models in the literature. In stellarmass-to-light ratios, the spheroids and bulges span a range of a factorof 8. The bulge masses were related to well-determined black hole massestaken from the literature. With these improved values forMbh, compared to Magorrian et al., and our redetermination ofMbulge, we find that the Mbh-Mbulgerelation becomes very tight. We findMbh~M1.12+/-0.06bulge with an observedscatter of <~0.30 dex, a fraction of which can be attributed tomeasurement errors. The scatter in this relation is therefore comparableto the scatter in the relations of Mbh with σ and thestellar concentration. These results confirm and refine the work ofMarconi & Hunt. For Mbulge~5×1010Msolar the median black hole mass is 0.14%+/-0.04% of thebulge mass.
| Evidence for a New Elliptical-Galaxy Paradigm: Sérsic and Core Galaxies
We fitted the surface-brightness profiles of 21 elliptical galaxiesusing both the Sérsic function and a new empirical model thatcombines an inner power law with an outer Sérsic function. Theprofiles are combinations of deconvolved Hubble Space Telescope (HST)profiles from the literature and ellipse fits to the full WFPC2 mosaicimages and thus span a radial range from ~0.02" to about twice thehalf-light radius. We are able to accurately fit the entire profilesusing either the Sérsic function or our new model. In doing so,we demonstrate that most, if not all, so-called ``power-law'' galaxiesare better described as ``Sérsic galaxies''-they are well modeledby the three-parameter Sérsic profile into the limits of HSTresolution-and that ``core'' galaxies are best understood as consistingof an outer Sérsic profile with an inner power-law cusp, which isa downward deviation from the inward extrapolation of the Sérsicprofile. This definition of cores resolves ambiguities that result whenthe popular ``Nuker law'' is fitted to the profiles of ellipticals andbulges, particularly at lower luminosities. We also find that using theNuker law to model core-galaxy nuclear profiles systematicallyoverestimates the core radii by factors of 1.5-4.5 and underestimatesthe inner power-law slope by ~20%-40% or more.
| Peculiarities and populations in elliptical galaxies. I. An old question revisited
Morphological peculiarities, as defined from isophote asymmetries andnumber of detected shells, jets or similar features, have been estimatedin a sample of 117 E classified galaxies, and qualified by an ad hocΣ2 index. The overall frequency of ``peculiar'' objects(Pec subsample) is 32.5%. It decreases with the cosmic density of theenvironment, being minimal for the Virgo cluster, the densestenvironment in the sampled volume. This environmental effect is strongerfor galaxies with relatively large Σ2.The Pec subsample objects are compared with ``normal'' objects (Nopsubsample) as regards their basic properties. Firstly, theysystematically deviate from the Fundamental Plane and the Faber-Jacksonrelation derived for the Nop subsample, being too bright for their mass.Secondly, the dust content of galaxies, as estimated from IRAS fluxes,are similar in both subsamples. Third, the same is true of the frequencyof Kinematically Distinct cores (KDC), suggesting that KDC andmorphological peculiarities do not result from the same events in thehistory of E-galaxies.Using the Nop sample alone, we obtain very tight reference relationsbetween stellar population indicators (U-B, B-V, B-R, V-I,Mg2, Hβ, , Mgb) and the central velocitydispersion σ0. The discussion of the residuals of theserelations allows us to classify the Pec galaxies in two families i.e.the YP or NGC 2865 family, and the NP or NGC 3923 one. Galaxies in thefirst group show consistent evidence for a younger stellar populationmixed with the old one, in agreement with classical results (Schweizeret al. \cite{Schweizer1990}; Schweizer & Seitzer\cite{Schweizer1992}). The second group, however, has ``normal``, orreddish, populations. It is remarkable that a fraction (circa 40%) ofmorphologically perturbed objects do not display any signature of ayoung population, either because the event responsible for thepecularity is too ancient, or because it did not produce significantstar formation (or eventually that the young sub-population has highmetallicity).A preliminary attempt is made to interpret the populations of Pecobjects by combining a young Single Stellar Population with a Nopgalaxy, with only limited success, perhaps largely due to uncertaintiesin the SSP indices used.Based in part on observations collected at the Observatoire deHaute-Provence.Figures \ref{fig1}-\ref{fig3} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.orgTable 10 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/423/833
| BeppoSAX observations of the quasar Markarian 205
We present the first BeppoSAX observation (0.1 to 220 keV) of the quasarMrk 205. We have searched for the unusual Fe lineprofile observed in the XMM-Newton spectrum which has been widelydiscussed in the recent literature. We find no evidence for a broad,ionized Fe line component in our data. We detect for the first time aCompton hump in this object. When this component is included in the fit,the line strength diminishes, in agreement with a recent re-analysis ofthe XMM-Newton data, but with better constraints on the reflectioncomponent thanks to the PDS instrument (15-220 keV). We interpret thisfact as another indication for illumination of distant, cold materialrather than reprocessing in the highly ionized inner part of anaccretion disk. We cannot constrain the presence of a high energy cutoffbut we confirm the existence of a variable soft excess (one year timescale).
| Chandra observations of the Mice
Presented here are high spatial and spectral resolution Chandra X-rayobservations of the famous interacting galaxy pair, the Mice, a systemsimilar to, though less evolved than, the well-known Antennae galaxies.Previously unpublished ROSAT High Resolution Imager data of the systemare also presented.Starburst-driven galactic winds outflowing along the minor axis of bothgalaxies (but particularly the northern one) are observed, and spectraland spatial properties, and energetics are presented. That such aphenomenon can occur in such a rapidly evolving and turbulent system issurprising, and this is the first time that the very beginning - theonset, of starburst-driven hot gaseous outflow in a full-blown disc-discmerger has been seen.Point-source emission is seen at the galaxy nuclei, and within theinteraction-induced tidal tails. Further point-source emission isassociated with the galactic bar in the southern system. A comparison ofthe source X-ray luminosity function and of the diffuse emissionproperties is made with the Antennae and other galaxies, and evidence ofa more rapid evolution of the source population than the diffusecomponent is found. No evidence for variability is found between theChandra and previous observations.
| X-ray scaling properties of early-type galaxies
We present an analysis of 39 X-ray luminous early-type galaxies observedwith the ROSAT PSPC. Using multicomponent spectral and spatial fits tothese data, we have measured halo abundance, temperature, luminosity andsurface brightness profile. We compare these measurements to similarresults from galaxy groups and clusters, fitting a number of relationscommonly used in the study of these larger objects. In particular, wefind that the σ-TX relation for our sample is similarto that reported for clusters, consistent with βspec= 1,and that the LX-TX relation has a steep slope(gradient 4.8 +/- 0.7) comparable with that found for galaxy groups.Assuming isothermality, we construct three-dimensional models of ourgalaxies, allowing us to measure gas entropy. We find no correlationbetween gas entropy and system mass, but do find a trend forlow-temperature systems to have reduced gas fractions. We conclude thatthe galaxies in our sample are likely to have developed their haloesthrough galaxy winds, influenced by their surrounding environment.
| An X-Ray Atlas of Groups of Galaxies
A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshiftgalaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse,extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximatelyone-third of these detections have not been previously reported in theliterature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of thevirial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain anintragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that containat least one early-type galaxy.
| Kinematics of 10 Early-Type Galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope and Ground-based Spectroscopy
We present stellar kinematics for a sample of 10 early-type galaxiesobserved using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboardthe Hubble Space Telescope and the Modular Spectrograph on the MDMObservatory 2.4 m telescope. These observations are a part of an ongoingprogram to understand the coevolution of supermassive black holes andtheir host galaxies. Our spectral ranges include either the calciumtriplet absorption lines at 8498, 8542, and 8662 Å or the Mg babsorption at 5175 Å. The lines are used to derive line-of-sightvelocity distributions (LOSVDs) of the stars using a maximum penalizedlikelihood method. We use Gauss-Hermite polynomials to parameterize theLOSVDs and find predominantly negative h4 values (boxy distributions) inthe central regions of our galaxies. One galaxy, NGC 4697, hassignificantly positive central h4 (high tail weight). The majority ofgalaxies have a central velocity dispersion excess in the STISkinematics over ground-based velocity dispersions. The galaxies with thestrongest rotational support, as quantified withvmax/σSTIS, have the smallest dispersionexcess at STIS resolution. The best-fitting, general, axisymmetricdynamical models (described in a companion paper) require black holes inall cases, with masses ranging from 106.5 to 109.3Msolar. We replot these updated masses on theMBH-σ relation and show that the fit to only these 10galaxies has a slope consistent with the fits to larger samples. Thegreatest outlier is NGC 2778, a dwarf elliptical with relatively poorlyconstrained black hole mass. The two best candidates for pseudobulges,NGC 3384 and NGC 7457, do not deviate significantly from the establishedrelation between MBH and σ. Neither do the threegalaxies that show the most evidence of a recent merger, NGC 3608, NGC4473, and NGC 4697.Based in part on observations made 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. These observations are associatedwith proposal GO-7388.
| The Relation between Black Hole Mass, Bulge Mass, and Near-Infrared Luminosity
We present new accurate near-infrared (NIR) spheroid (bulge) structuralparameters obtained by a two-dimensional image analysis of all galaxieswith a direct black hole (BH) mass determination. As expected, NIR bulgeluminosities Lbul and BH masses are tightly correlated, andif we consider only those galaxies with a secure BH mass measurement andan accurate Lbul (27 objects), the spread ofMBH-Lbul is similar toMBH-σe, where σe is theeffective stellar velocity dispersion. We find an intrinsic rms scatterof ~=0.3 dex in logMBH. By combining the bulge effectiveradii Re measured in our analysis with σe,we find a tight linear correlation (rms~=0.25 dex) betweenMBH and the virial bulge mass(~Reσ2e), with~0.002. A partial correlationanalysis shows that MBH depends on both σeand Re and that both variables are necessary to drive thecorrelations between MBH and other bulge properties.
| Measuring Distances and Probing the Unresolved Stellar Populations of Galaxies Using Infrared Surface Brightness Fluctuations
To empirically calibrate the IR surface brightness fluctuation (SBF)distance scale and probe the properties of unresolved stellarpopulations, we measured fluctuations in 65 galaxies using NICMOS on theHubble Space Telescope. The early-type galaxies in this sample includeelliptical and S0 galaxies and spiral bulges in a variety ofenvironments. Absolute fluctuation magnitudes in the F160W (1.6 μm)filter (MF160W) were derived for each galaxy using previouslymeasured I-band SBF and Cepheid variable star distances. F160W SBFs canbe used to measure distances to early-type galaxies with a relativeaccuracy of ~10%, provided that the galaxy color is known to ~0.035 magor better. Near-IR fluctuations can also reveal the properties of themost luminous stellar populations in galaxies. Comparison of F160Wfluctuation magnitudes and optical colors to stellar population modelpredictions suggests that bluer elliptical and S0 galaxies havesignificantly younger populations than redder ones and may also be moremetal-rich. There are no galaxies in this sample with fluctuationmagnitudes consistent with old, metal-poor (t>5 Gyr, [Fe/H]<-0.7)stellar population models. Composite stellar population models implythat bright fluctuations in the bluer galaxies may be the result of anepisode of recent star formation in a fraction of the total mass of agalaxy. Age estimates from the F160W fluctuation magnitudes areconsistent with those measured using the Hβ Balmer-line index. Thetwo types of measurements make use of completely different techniquesand are sensitive to stars in different evolutionary phases. Bothtechniques reveal the presence of intermediate-age stars in theearly-type galaxies of this sample.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| A Search for ``Dwarf'' Seyfert Nuclei. VI. Properties of Emission-Line Nuclei in Nearby Galaxies
We use the database from Paper III to quantify the global and nuclearproperties of emission-line nuclei in the Palomar spectroscopic surveyof nearby galaxies. We show that the host galaxies of Seyferts, LINERs,and transition objects share remarkably similar large-scale propertiesand local environments. The distinguishing traits emerge on nuclearscales. Compared with LINERs, Seyfert nuclei are an order of magnitudemore luminous and exhibit higher electron densities and internalextinction. We suggest that Seyfert galaxies possess characteristicallymore gas-rich circumnuclear regions and hence a more abundant fuelreservoir and plausibly higher accretion rates. The differences betweenthe ionization states of the narrow emission-line regions of Seyfertsand LINERs can be partly explained by the differences in their nebularproperties. Transition-type objects are consistent with being composite(LINER/H II) systems. With very few exceptions, the stellar populationwithin the central few hundred parsecs of the host galaxies is uniformlyold, a finding that presents a serious challenge to starburst orpost-starburst models for these objects. Seyferts and LINERs havevirtually indistinguishable velocity fields as inferred from their linewidths and line asymmetries. Transition nuclei tend to have narrowerlines and more ambiguous evidence for line asymmetries. All threeclasses of objects obey a strong correlation between line width and lineluminosity. We argue that the angular momentum content of circumnucleargas may be an important factor in determining whether a nucleus becomesactive. Finally, we discuss some possible complications for theunification model of Seyfert galaxies posed by our observations.
| Axisymmetric Dynamical Models of the Central Regions of Galaxies
We present axisymmetric, orbit superposition models for 12 galaxiesusing data taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and ground-basedobservatories. In each galaxy, we detect a central black hole (BH) andmeasure its mass to accuracies ranging from 10% to 70%. We demonstratethat in most cases the BH detection requires both the HST andground-based data. Using the ground-based data alone does provide anunbiased measure of the BH mass (provided that they are fitted withfully general models), but at a greatly reduced significance. The mostsignificant correlation with host galaxy properties is the relationbetween the BH mass and the velocity dispersion of the host galaxy; wefind no other equally strong correlation and no second parameter thatimproves the quality of the mass-dispersion relation. We are also ableto measure the stellar orbital properties from these general models. Themost massive galaxies are strongly biased to tangential orbits near theBH, consistent with binary BH models, while lower mass galaxies have arange of anisotropies, consistent with an adiabatic growth of the BH.
| Lensing and the Centers of Distant Early-Type Galaxies
Gravitational lensing provides a unique probe of the inner 10-1000 pc ofdistant galaxies (z~0.2-1). Theoretical studies have predicted that eachstrong lens system should have a faint image near the center of the lensgalaxy, which should, in principle, be visible in radio lenses but hasnever been detected. We study the predicted ``core'' images using modelsderived from the stellar distributions in nearby early-type galaxies. Wefind that realistic lens galaxies produce a remarkably wide range ofcore images, with magnifications spanning some 6 orders of magnitude.More concentrated galaxies produce fainter core images, although notwith any model-independent relation between the galaxy properties andthe core images. Some real galaxies have diffuse cores that should yieldbright core images (magnification μcore>~0.1), but morecommon are galaxies that yield faint core images(μcore<~0.001). Thus, stellar mass distributions aloneare probably concentrated enough to explain the lack of observed coreimages. Observational sensitivity may need to improve by an order ofmagnitude before detections of core images become common. Two-imagelenses should tend to have brighter core images than four-image lenses,so they will be the better targets for finding core images andexploiting these tools for studying the central mass distributions ofdistant galaxies.
| Metallicity distributions of globular cluster systems in galaxies
We collected a sample of 100 galaxies for which different observers havedetermined colour indices of globular cluster candidates. The sampleincludes representatives of galaxies of various morphological types anddifferent luminosities. Colour indices (in most cases (V-I), but also(B-I) and (C-T_1)) were transformed into metallicities [Fe/H] accordingto a relation by Kissler-Patig (1998). These data were analysed with theKMM software in order to estimate similarity of the distribution withuni- or bimodal Gaussian distribution. We found that 45 of 100 systemshave bimodal metallicity distributions. Mean metallicity of themetal-poor component for these galaxies is < [Fe/H]> = -1.40 +/-0.02, of the metal-rich component < [Fe/H]> = -0.69 +/- 0.03.Dispersions of the distributions are 0.15 and 0.18, respectively.Distribution of unimodal metallicities is rather wide. These data willbe analysed in a subsequent paper in order to find correlations withparameters of galaxies and galactic environment.
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