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Late-type galaxies observed with SAURON: two-dimensional stellar and emission-line kinematics of 18 spirals
We present the stellar and gas kinematics of a sample of 18 nearbylate-type spiral galaxies (Hubble types ranging from Sb to Sd), observedwith the integral-field spectrograph SAURON at the 4.2-m WilliamHerschel Telescope. SAURON covers the spectral range 4800-5380Å,allowing us to measure the Hβ, Fe, Mgb absorption features and theemission in the Hβ line and the [OIII]λλ4959,5007Å and [NI]λλ5198, 5200Å doublets over a 33× 41-arcsec2 field of view. The maps cover the nuclearregion of these late-type galaxies and in all cases include the entirebulge. In many cases the stellar kinematics suggests the presence of acold inner region, as visible from a central drop in the stellarvelocity dispersion. The ionized gas is almost ubiquitous and behaves ina complicated fashion: the gas velocity fields often display morefeatures than the stellar ones, including wiggles in the zero-velocitylines, irregular distributions, ring-like structures. The line ratio[OIII]/Hβ often takes on low values over most of the field,probably indicating a wide-spread star formation.
| Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions of Nearby Galaxies
The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) is carrying out acomprehensive multiwavelength survey on a sample of 75 nearby galaxies.The 1-850 μm spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are presented usingbroadband imaging data from Spitzer, 2MASS, ISO, IRAS, and SCUBA. Theinfrared colors derived from the globally integrated Spitzer data aregenerally consistent with the previous generation of models that weredeveloped using global data for normal star-forming galaxies, althoughsignificant deviations are observed. Spitzer's excellent sensitivity andresolution also allow a detailed investigation of the infrared SEDs forvarious locations within the three large, nearby galaxies NGC 3031(M81), NGC 5194 (M51), and NGC 7331. A wide variety of spectral shapesis found within each galaxy, especially for NGC 3031, the closest of thethree targets and thus the galaxy for which the smallest spatial scalescan be explored. Strong correlations exist between the local starformation rate and the infrared colors fν(70μm)/fν(160 μm) and fν(24μm)/fν(160 μm), suggesting that the 24 and 70 μmemission are useful tracers of the local star formation activity level.Preliminary evidence indicates that variations in the 24 μm emission,and not variations in the emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbonsat 8 μm, drive the variations in the fν(8.0μm)/fν(24 μm) colors within NGC 3031, NGC 5194, andNGC 7331. If the galaxy-to-galaxy variations in SEDs seen in our sampleare representative of the range present at high redshift, thenextrapolations of total infrared luminosities and star formation ratesfrom the observed 24 μm flux will be uncertain at the factor of 5level (total range). The corresponding uncertainties using theredshifted 8.0 μm flux (e.g., observed 24 μm flux for a z=2source) are factors of 10-20. Considerable caution should be used wheninterpreting such extrapolated infrared luminosities.
| The Molecular Interstellar Medium of Dwarf Galaxies on Kiloparsec Scales: A New Survey for CO in Northern, IRAS-detected Dwarf Galaxies
We present a new survey for CO in dwarf galaxies using the ARO Kitt Peak12 m telescope. This survey consists of observations of the centralregions of 121 northern dwarfs with IRAS detections and no known COemission. We detect CO in 28 of these galaxies and marginally detectanother 16, increasing by about 50% the number of such galaxies known tohave significant CO emission. The galaxies we detect are comparable instellar and dynamical mass to the Large Magellanic Cloud, althoughsomewhat brighter in CO and fainter in the far-IR. Within dwarfs, wefind that the CO luminosity LCO is most strongly correlatedwith the K-band and the far-infrared luminosities. There are also strongcorrelations with the radio continuum (RC) and B-band luminosities andlinear diameter. Conversely, we find that far-IR dust temperature is apoor predictor of CO emission within the dwarfs alone, although a goodpredictor of normalized CO content among a larger sample of galaxies. Wesuggest that LCO and LK correlate well because thestellar component of a galaxy dominates the midplane gravitational fieldand thus sets the pressure and density of the atomic gas, which controlthe formation of H2 from H I. We compare our sample with moremassive galaxies and find that dwarfs and large galaxies obey the samerelationship between CO and the 1.4 GHz RC surface brightness. Thisrelationship is well described by a Schmidt law withΣRC~Σ1.3CO. Therefore,dwarf galaxies and large spirals exhibit the same relationship betweenmolecular gas and star formation rate (SFR). We find that this result isrobust to moderate changes in the RC-to-SFR and CO-to-H2conversion factors. Our data appear to be inconsistent with large (orderof magnitude) variations in the CO-to-H2 conversion factor inthe star-forming molecular gas.
| Rotational Widths for Use in the Tully-Fisher Relation. I. Long-Slit Spectroscopic Data
We present new long-slit Hα spectroscopy for 403 noninteractingspiral galaxies, obtained at the Palomar Observatory 5 m Hale telescope,which is used to derive well-sampled optical rotation curves. Becausemany of the galaxies show optical emission features that aresignificantly extended along the spectrograph slit, a technique wasdevised to separate and subtract the night sky lines from the galaxyemission. We exploit a functional fit to the rotation curve to identifyits center of symmetry; this method minimizes the asymmetry in thefinal, folded rotation curve. We derive rotational widths using bothvelocity histograms and the Polyex model fit. The final rotational widthis measured at a radius containing 83% of the total light as derivedfrom I-band images. In addition to presenting the new data, we use alarge sample of 742 galaxies for which both optical long-slit and radioH I line spectroscopy are available to investigate the relation betweenthe H I content of the disks and the extent of their rotation curves.Our results show that the correlation between those quantities, which iswell established in the case of H I-poor galaxies in clusters, ispresent also in H I-normal objects: for a given optical size, starformation can be traced farther out in the disks of galaxies with largerH I mass.
| 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.
| A Catalog of Neighboring Galaxies
We present an all-sky catalog of 451 nearby galaxies, each having anindividual distance estimate D<~10 Mpc or a radial velocityVLG<550 km s-1. The catalog contains data onbasic optical and H I properties of the galaxies, in particular, theirdiameters, absolute magnitudes, morphological types, circumnuclearregion types, optical and H I surface brightnesses, rotationalvelocities, and indicative mass-to-luminosity and H I mass-to-luminosityratios, as well as a so-called tidal index, which quantifies the galaxyenvironment. We expect the catalog completeness to be roughly 70%-80%within 8 Mpc. About 85% of the Local Volume population are dwarf (dIr,dIm, and dSph) galaxies with MB>-17.0, which contributeabout 4% to the local luminosity density, and roughly 10%-15% to thelocal H I mass density. The H I mass-to-luminosity and the H Imass-to-total (indicative) mass ratios increase systematically fromgiant galaxies toward dwarfs, reaching maximum values about 5 in solarunits for the most tiny objects. For the Local Volume disklike galaxies,their H I masses and angular momentum follow Zasov's linear relation,expected for rotating gaseous disks being near the threshold ofgravitational instability, favorable for active star formation. We foundthat the mean local luminosity density exceeds 1.7-2.0 times the globaldensity, in spite of the presence of the Tully void and the absence ofrich clusters in the Local Volume. The mean local H I density is 1.4times its ``global'' value derived from the H I Parkes Sky Survey.However, the mean local baryon densityΩb(<8Mpc)=2.3% consists of only a half of the globalbaryon density, Ωb=(4.7+/-0.6)% (Spergel et al.,published in 2003). The mean-square pairwise difference of radialvelocities is about 100 km s-1 for spatial separations within1 Mpc, increasing to ~300 km s-1 on a scale of ~3 Mpc. alsoWe calculated the integral area of the sky occupied by the neighboringgalaxies. Assuming the H I size of spiral and irregular galaxies to be2.5 times their standard optical diameter and ignoring any evolutioneffect, we obtain the expected number of the line-of-sight intersectionswith the H I galaxy images to be dn/dz~0.4, which does not contradictthe observed number of absorptions in QSO spectra.
| The ISOPHOT 170 μm Serendipity Survey II. The catalog of optically identified galaxies%
The ISOPHOT Serendipity Sky Survey strip-scanning measurements covering≈15% of the far-infrared (FIR) sky at 170 μm were searched forcompact sources associated with optically identified galaxies. CompactSerendipity Survey sources with a high signal-to-noise ratio in at leasttwo ISOPHOT C200 detector pixels were selected that have a positionalassociation with a galaxy identification in the NED and/or Simbaddatabases and a galaxy counterpart visible on the Digitized Sky Surveyplates. A catalog with 170 μm fluxes for more than 1900 galaxies hasbeen established, 200 of which were measured several times. The faintest170 μm fluxes reach values just below 0.5 Jy, while the brightest,already somewhat extended galaxies have fluxes up to ≈600 Jy. For thevast majority of listed galaxies, the 170 μm fluxes were measured forthe first time. While most of the galaxies are spirals, about 70 of thesources are classified as ellipticals or lenticulars. This is the onlycurrently available large-scale galaxy catalog containing a sufficientnumber of sources with 170 μm fluxes to allow further statisticalstudies of various FIR properties.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.Members of the Consortium on the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey (CISS) areMPIA Heidelberg, ESA ISO SOC Villafranca, AIP Potsdam, IPAC Pasadena,Imperial College London.Full Table 4 and Table 6 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/422/39
| The Hα galaxy survey. I. The galaxy sample, Hα narrow-band observations and star formation parameters for 334 galaxies
We discuss the selection and observations of a large sample of nearbygalaxies, which we are using to quantify the star formation activity inthe local Universe. The sample consists of 334 galaxies across allHubble types from S0/a to Im and with recession velocities of between 0and 3000 km s-1. The basic data for each galaxy are narrowband H\alpha +[NII] and R-band imaging, from which we derive starformation rates, H\alpha +[NII] equivalent widths and surfacebrightnesses, and R-band total magnitudes. A strong correlation is foundbetween total star formation rate and Hubble type, with the strongeststar formation in isolated galaxies occurring in Sc and Sbc types. Moresurprisingly, no significant trend is found between H\alpha +[NII]equivalent width and galaxy R-band luminosity. More detailed analyses ofthe data set presented here will be described in subsequent papers.Based on observations made with the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias.The full version of Table \ref{tab3} is available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/414/23 Reduced image datafor this survey can be downloaded fromhttp://www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/HaGS/
| SINGS: The SIRTF Nearby Galaxies Survey
The SIRTF Nearby Galaxy Survey is a comprehensive infrared imaging andspectroscopic survey of 75 nearby galaxies. Its primary goal is tocharacterize the infrared emission of galaxies and their principalinfrared-emitting components, across a broad range of galaxy propertiesand star formation environments. SINGS will provide new insights intothe physical processes connecting star formation to the interstellarmedium properties of galaxies and provide a vital foundation forunderstanding infrared observations of the distant universe andultraluminous and active galaxies. The galaxy sample and observingstrategy have been designed to maximize the scientific and archivalvalue of the data set for the SIRTF user community at large. The SIRTFimages and spectra will be supplemented by a comprehensivemultiwavelength library of ancillary and complementary observations,including radio continuum, H I, CO, submillimeter, BVRIJHK, Hα,Paα, ultraviolet, and X-ray data. This paper describes the mainastrophysical issues to be addressed by SINGS, the galaxy sample and theobserving strategy, and the SIRTF and other ancillary data products.
| 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.
| The Kinematic State of the Local Volume
The kinematics of galaxies within 10 Mpc of the Milky Way isinvestigated using published distances and radial velocities. Withrespect to the average Hubble flow (isotropic or simple anisotropic),there is no systematic relation between peculiar velocity dispersion andabsolute magnitude over a range of 10 mag; neither is there any apparentvariation with galaxy type or between field and cluster members. Thereare several possible explanations for the lack of variation, though allhave difficulties: either there is no relationship between light andmass on these scales, the peculiar velocities are not produced bygravitational interaction, or the background dynamical picture is wrongin some systematic way. The extremely cold local flow of 40-60 kms-1 dispersion reported by some authors is shown to be anartifact of sparse data, a velocity dispersion of over 100 kms-1 being closer to the actual value. Galaxies with a high(positive) radial velocity have been selected against in studies of thisvolume, biasing numerical results.
| 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.
| Distribution of star-forming complexes in dwarf irregular galaxies
We study the distribution of bright star-forming complexes in ahomogeneous sample of 72 late-type (``irregular'') dwarf galaxieslocated within the 10 Mpc volume. Star-forming complexes are identifiedas bright lumps in B-band galaxy images and isolated by means of theunsharp-masking method. For the sample as a whole the radial numberdistribution of bright lumps largely traces the underlyingexponential-disk light profiles, but peaks at a 10 percent smaller scalelength. Moreover, the presence of a tail of star forming regions out toat least six optical scale lengths provides evidence against asystematic star formation truncation within that galaxy extension.Considering these findings, we apply a scale length-independentconcentration index, taking into account the implied non-uniform randomspread of star formation regions throughout the disk. The numberprofiles frequently manifest a second, minor peak at about two scalelengths. Relying on a two-dimensional stochastic self-propagating starformation model, we show these secondary peaks to be consistent withtriggered star formation; for a few of the brighter galaxies a peculiarpeak distribution is observed that is conceivably due to the onset ofshear provided by differential rotation. On scales between 100 and 1000pc, and by taking into account exponential-disk structure, bright lumpsreveal cluster dimensions between 1.3 and 2, with a weak trend to higherdimensions for brighter galaxies. Cluster dimension weaklyanticorrelates with the lumpiness index (the fraction of the totalgalaxy light due to the light contributed by the lumps), the latterindex showing no dependence on luminosity. Lump spreading within thedisk, as measured by the concentration index, and lump clustering, asgiven by the cluster dimension, are not linked to each other.Interpreting cluster dimension in terms of porosity of a self-similarintragalactic medium, we derive a relation between current starformation rate, scale length, and porosity.
| ``Sloshing'' Librations in Lopsided Disk Galaxies
A combined particle-mesh N-body/gridded hydrodynamics/stellar evolutioncode is employed to model the response of a galaxy disk to an impulsiveperturbation. The resulting galaxy is examined for asymmetry inmorphology and dynamics to answer the question of whether free``sloshing'' librations in the plane of the disk can explain therelatively large proportion of asymmetric field spirals. The simulationproduced a perturbed disk containing streamers of gas and stars, gasshocks, and m=1 and m=2 spiral structure. Strong kinematic peculiaritieswere generated as well. However, although the resulting disk reproducedmany of the kinematic features observed in H I synthesis maps, theeffects are relatively short-lived, lasting only on the order of adynamical timescale. The similarities between the model and the tidallydeformed galaxy NGC 5474, however, do leave open the possibility offorced sloshing modes playing a role in galaxies undergoing tidalinteractions.
| 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.
| Structure and stellar content of dwarf galaxies. VII. B and R photometry of 25 southern field dwarfs and a disk parameter analysis of the complete sample of nearby irregulars
We present B and R band surface photometry of 25 Southern field dwarfgalaxies within a distance of 10 Mpc. For each galaxy we give theessential model-free photometric parameters and, by fitting exponentialsto the surface brightness profiles, the central extrapolated surfacebrightness and the exponential scale length, in both colour bands.Surface brightness and colour profiles are shown. One of the objects, avery faint dwarf elliptical in the vicinity of NGC 2784, has beendiscovered in the course of this work. Drawing on the data from this andall previous papers of this series, we construct a complete sample of 72late-type (``irregular'') dwarf galaxies in nearby groups and the fieldwithin the 10 Mpc volume, to study the exponential-disk parameterrelations of these galaxies with respect to galaxy environment. Weconfirm our previous finding of statistically lower scale lengths/highercentral surface brightnesses for field and group galaxies as compared tocluster galaxies. However, using a clear-cut definition of ``group''versus ``field'' environment, we find no significant difference in thephotometric structure of group and field irregulars. A difference in thestar formation history may partly account for this structure-environmentrelation: for a given luminosity cluster dwarfs are on average redderthan field and group galaxies. We also report evidence for the colourgradients of dwarf irregulars being roughly inversely proportional tothe disk scale lengths. Supplementing our photometric data withkinematic data from the literature, we study possible relations withkinematic properties of the inner disk. Applying the dark matter scalingrelations for a Burkert halo we show that for field and group galaxiesof a given luminosity faster-than-mean disk rotational velocities at aradius of about two scale lengths are correlated with larger-than-meandisk scale lengths. Based on observations collected at the EuropeanSouthern Observatory, La Silla, Chile. Table 3 containing ``BRphotometry and kinematic data for the 72 irregular dwarf galaxies of ourcomplete sample'' is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/388/29
| 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.
| Statistical Properties of Circumnuclear H II Regions in Nearby Galaxies
We analyze the statistical properties of the circumnuclear H II regionsof a sample of 52 nearby galaxies (v<1000 km s-1) fromarchival HST/NICMOS H-band and Paα (1.87 μm) observations atunprecedented spatial resolutions of between 1 and 30 pc. We catalog HII regions from the continuum-subtracted Paα images and find H IIregions in the central regions of most galaxies, and more than a hundredin each of eight galaxies. In contrast to disk H II regions, thephysical properties (luminosity and size) of individual circumnuclear HII regions do not vary strongly with the morphological type of the hostgalaxy, nor does the number of circumnuclear H II regions per unit area.The Hα luminosity within the central kiloparsec, as derived from HII region emission, is significantly enhanced in early-type (S0/a-Sb)galaxies. We find evidence that bars increase the circumnuclear starformation, presumably by funneling gas from the disk toward the nucleus.Barred galaxies exhibit enhanced luminosities of the brightest H IIregion, the central kiloparsec Hα luminosities (an effect mostlydue to the early-type galaxies in our sample), and the star formationrates per unit stellar mass (which could also be understood as theintegral equivalent widths of Paα) over the central kiloparsecwith respect to nonbarred galaxies. We fit the luminosity functions(LFs) and diameter distributions of the circumnuclear H II regions ineight galaxies where we can catalog enough H II regions to do so in ameaningful way. We use power laws and find that the fitted slopes of theH II region LF are exactly in the previously found ranges and evenconfirm a trend with steeper slopes in galaxies of earlier morphologicaltype. This implies that the physical processes giving rise to enhancedstar formation in the circumnuclear regions of galaxies must be similarto those in disks. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute, which is operated by the Association of Universities forResearch in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| Arecibo imaging of compact high-velocity clouds
Ten isolated compact high-velocity clouds (CHVCs) of the type catalogedby Braun & Burton (\cite{brau99}) were imaged with the Arecibotelescope and were found to have a nested core/halo morphology. We arguethat a combination of high-resolution filled-aperture and synthesis datais crucial to determining the intrinsic properties of the CHVCs. Weidentify the halos as Warm Neutral Medium surrounding one or more coresin the Cool Neutral Medium phase. These halos are clearly detected andresolved by the Arecibo filled-aperture imaging, which reaches alimiting sensitivity (1sigma ) of NHIa\sim 2 1017cm-2 over the typical 70 kms-1 linewidth at zerointensity. The FWHM linewidth of the halo gas is found to be 25kms-1, consistent with a WNM thermal broadening within104 K gas. Substantial asymmetries are found at highNHI (>$1018.5 cm-2) levels in 60% ofour sample. A high degree of reflection-symmetry is found at lowNHI (<1018.5 cm-2) in all sourcesstudied at these levels. The column-density profiles of the envelopesare described well by the sky-plane projection of a sphericalexponential in atomic volume density, which allows estimating thecharacteristic central halo column density,NHIa(0)=4.1±3.2 1019 cm-2, andcharacteristic exponential scale-length, hB=420±90arcsec. For plausible values of the thermal pressure at the CNM/WNMinterface, these edge profiles allow distance estimates to be made forthe individual CHVCs studied here which range between 150 and 850 kpc.An alternate method of distance estimation utilizing the meanexponential scale-length found in nearby low mass dwarf galaxies,hB=10.6±4.0 kpc, yields distances in the range 320 to730 kpc. A consequence of having exponential edge profiles is that theapparent size and total flux density of these CHVCs will be stronglydependent on the resolution as well as on the sensitivity of the dataused; even a relatively deep observation with a limiting sensitivity of~1019 cm-2 over 70 kms-1 will detectonly the central 30% of the source area and less than 50% of the totalflux density. The exponential profiles also suggest that the outerenvelopes of the CHVCs are not tidally truncated. Several CHVC coresexhibit a kinematic gradient, consistent with rotation. The halos appearkinematically decoupled from the cores, in the sense that the halos donot display the velocity gradients shown by the dense cores; thegradients are therefore not likely to be due to an external cause suchas tidal shear. The much higher degree of symmetry observed in the halosrelative to the cores also argues against an external cause ofasymmetries in the cores.
| Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups
In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.
| Departures From Axisymmetric Morphology and Dynamics in Spiral Galaxies
New H I synthesis data have been obtained for six face-on galaxies withthe Very Large Array. These data and reanalyses of three additional datasets make up a sample of nine face-on galaxies analyzed for deviationsfrom axisymmetry in morphology and dynamics. This sample represents asubsample of galaxies already analyzed for morphological symmetryproperties in the R band. Four quantitative measures of dynamicalnonaxisymmetry are compared with one another and to the quantitativemeasures of morphological asymmetry in H I and the R band to investigatethe relationships between nonaxisymmetric morphology and dynamics. Wefind no significant relationship between asymmetric morphology and mostof the dynamical measures in our sample. A possible relationship isfound, however, between morphology and dynamical position angledifferences between approaching and receding sides of the galaxy.
| Photometric distances to six bright resolved galaxies
We present photometry of the brightest stars in six nearby spiral andirregular galaxies with corrected radial velocities from 340 to 460 kms-1. Three of them are resolved into stars for the firsttime. Based on luminosity of the brightest blue stars we estimate thefollowing distances to the galaxies: 5.0 Mpc for NGC 784, 9.2 Mpc forNGC 2683, 8.9 Mpc for NGC 2903, 4.1 Mpc for NGC 5204, 6.8 Mpc for NGC5474, and 8.7 Mpc for NGC 5585. Data available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The Early Palomar Program (1950-1955) for the Discovery of Classical Novae in M81: Analysis of the Spatial Distribution, Magnitude Distribution, and Distance Suggestion
Data obtained in the 1950-1955 Palomar campaign for the discovery ofclassical novae in M81 are set out in detail. Positions and apparent Bmagnitudes are listed for the 23 novae that were found. There is modestevidence that the spatial distribution of the novae does not track the Bbrightness distribution of either the total light or the light beyond anisophotal radius that is 70" from the center of M81. The novadistribution is more extended than the aforementioned light, with asignificant fraction of the sample appearing in the outer disk/spiralarm region. We suggest that many (perhaps a majority) of the M81 novaethat are observed at any given epoch (compared with, say,1010 years ago) are daughters of Population I interactingbinaries. The conclusion that the present-day novae are drawn from twopopulation groups-one from low-mass white dwarf secondaries of closebinaries identified with the bulge/thick disk population, and the otherfrom massive white dwarf secondaries identified with the outer thindisk/spiral arm population-is discussed. We conclude that the M81 dataare consistent with the two population division as argued previouslyfrom (1) observational studies on other grounds of nearby galaxies, (2)Monte Carlo simulations of novae in M31 and in the Galaxy, and (3)population synthesis modeling of nova binaries. Two different methods ofusing M81 novae as distance indicators give a nova distance modulus forM81 as (m-M)0=27.75, consistent with the Cepheid modulus thatis the same value.
| The QDOT all-sky IRAS galaxy redshift survey
We describe the construction of the QDOT survey, which is publiclyavailable from an anonymous FTP account. The catalogue consists ofinfrared properties and redshifts of an all-sky sample of 2387 IRASgalaxies brighter than the IRAS PSC 60-μm completeness limit(S_60>0.6Jy), sparsely sampled at a rate of one-in-six. At |b|>10deg, after removing a small number of Galactic sources, the redshiftcompleteness is better than 98per cent (2086/2127). New redshifts for1401 IRAS sources were obtained to complete the catalogue; themeasurement and reduction of these are described, and the new redshiftstabulated here. We also tabulate all sources at |b|>10 deg with noredshift so far, and sources with conflicting alternative redshiftseither from our own work, or from published velocities. A list of 95ultraluminous galaxies (i.e. with L_60μm>10^12 L_solar) is alsoprovided. Of these, ~20per cent are AGN of some kind; the broad-lineobjects typically show strong Feii emission. Since the publication ofthe first QDOT papers, there have been several hundred velocity changes:some velocities are new, some QDOT velocities have been replaced by moreaccurate values, and some errors have been corrected. We also present anew analysis of the accuracy and linearity of IRAS 60-μm fluxes. Wefind that the flux uncertainties are well described by a combination of0.05-Jy fixed size uncertainty and 8per cent fractional uncertainty.This is not enough to cause the large Malmquist-type errors in the rateof evolution postulated by Fisher et al. We do, however, find marginalevidence for non-linearity in the PSC 60-μm flux scale, in the sensethat faint sources may have fluxes overestimated by about 5per centcompared with bright sources. We update some of the previous scientificanalyses to assess the changes. The main new results are as follows. (1)The luminosity function is very well determined overall but is uncertainby a factor of several at the very highest luminosities(L_60μm>5x10^12L_solar), as this is where the remainingunidentified objects are almost certainly concentrated. (2) Thebest-fitting rate of evolution is somewhat lower than our previousestimate; expressed as pure density evolution with density varying as(1+z)^p, we find p=5.6+/-2.3. Making a rough correction for the possible(but very uncertain) non-linearity of fluxes, we find p=4.5+/-2.3. (3)The dipole amplitude decreases a little, and the implied value of thedensity parameter, assuming that IRAS galaxies trace the mass, isΩ=0.9(+0.45, -0.25). (4) Finally, the estimate of density varianceon large scales changes negligibly, still indicating a significantdiscrepancy from the predictions of simple cold dark matter cosmogonies.
| Galaxy Interactions in the Local Volume
We consider a sample of 240 galaxies with V0 < 500 km/s.At the present its completness is expected to be about 60%. Being almostdistance limited, the sample ( = Local Volume = VL) has the mean numberdensity ~0.25 gal/Mpc3. According to Vorontsov-Velyaminov andArp a fraction of interacting galaxies in the LV consists of 7%, butdrops to 2% when confusions with isolated irregular galaxies are takeninto account. A relative number of apparent mergers in the LV sampleseems to be ~3%. We use a quantitative approach, where each of the LVgalaxies has a "tidal index" TI = MAX Mi /Ri3, i = 1,... N expressed via masses andseparations of the galaxy neighbours. We present a total list of the LVgalaxies with their "Main Disturbers" ( = MD) and give properties of theLV sample: * Being ranked according to their MDs the LV galaxies form"nests" with a population "k" from 1 to 22 members. The quantity "k"plotted against the MD mass shows a relation: k propto M1/2.* The whole sample contains 64 MDs, but only 7 the most massive of themcontrol 51% of the LV population. * There is no clear evidence for masssegregation on a scale of [0.3 -- 3] Mpc. * Almost all of the galaxieshaving high TI lie within 0.5 Mpc respect to the Supergalactic plane,while isolated objects are distributed over the whole LV. * About 35% ofthe galaxies have so low TI, their crossing time with respect to theirMDs exceeds the cosmological time, 1/H.
| 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.
| The NICMOS Snapshot Survey of Nearby Galaxies
We present ``snapshot'' observations with the Near-Infrared Camera andMulti-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope(HST) of 94 nearby galaxies from the Revised Shapley Ames Catalog.Images with 0.2" resolution were obtained in two filters, a broadbandcontinuum filter (F160W, roughly equivalent to the H band) and anarrowband filter centered on the Paα line (F187N or F190N,depending on the galaxy redshift) with the 51^''x51^'' field of view ofthe NICMOS camera 3. A first-order continuum subtraction is performed,and the resulting line maps and integrated Paα line fluxes arepresented. A statistical analysis indicates that the average Paαsurface brightness in the central regions is highest in early-type(Sa-Sb) spirals.
| Eccentric Behavior of Disk Galaxies
A theory is developed for the dynamics of eccentric perturbations(~exp+/-iφ) of a disk galaxy residing in a spherical dark matterhalo and including a spherical bulge component. The disk is representedas a large number N of rings with shifted centers and with perturbedazimuthal matter distributions. Account is taken of the dynamics of theshift of the matter at the galaxy's center which may include a massiveblack hole. The gravitational interactions between the rings and betweenthe rings and the center is fully accounted for, but the halo and bulgecomponents are treated as passive gravitational field sources. Equationsof motion and a Lagrangian are derived for the ring+center system, andthese lead to total energy and total angular momentum constants of themotion. We first study the eccentric motion of a disk consisting of tworings of different radii but equal mass, M_d/2. For small M_d the tworings are stable, but for M_d larger than a threshold value the ringsare unstable with a dynamical timescale growth. For M_d sufficientlyabove this threshold, the instability acts to decrease the angularmomentum of the inner ring, while increasing that of the outer ring. Theinstability results from the merging positive and negative energy modeswith increasing M_d. Second, we analyze the eccentric motion of one ringinteracting with a radially shifted central mass. In this caseinstability sets in above a threshold value of the central mass (for afixed ring mass), and it acts to increase the angular momentum of thecentral mass (which therefore rotates in the direction of the diskmatter), while decreasing the angular momentum of the ring. Third, westudy the eccentric dynamics of a disk with an exponential surfacedensity distribution represented by a large number of rings. The innerpart of the disk is found to be strongly unstable. Angular momentum ofthe rings is transferred outward and to the central mass if present, anda trailing one-armed spiral wave is formed in the disk. Fourth, weanalyze a disk with a modified exponential density distribution wherethe density of the inner part of the disk is reduced. In this case wefind much slower, linear growth of the eccentric motion. A trailingone-armed spiral wave forms in the disk and becomes more tightly wrappedas time increases. The motion of the central mass if present is smallcompared with that of the disk.
| Differential Rotation and Turbulence in Extended H I Disks
When present, extended disks of neutral hydrogen around spiral galaxiesshow a remarkably uniform velocity dispersion of ~6 km s^-1. Sincestellar winds and supernovae are largely absent in such regions, neitherthe magnitude nor the constancy of this number can be accounted for inthe classical picture in which interstellar turbulence is driven bystellar energy sources. Here we suggest that magnetic fields withstrengths of a few microgauss in these extended disks allow energy to beextracted from galactic differential rotation through MHD-driventurbulence. The magnitude and constancy of the observed velocitydispersion may be understood if its value is Alfvénic. Moreover,by providing a simple explanation for a lower bound to the gaseousvelocity fluctuations, MHD processes may account for the sharp outeredge to star formation in galaxy disks.
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