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A Survey of Merger Remnants. II. The Emerging Kinematic and Photometric Correlations
This paper is the second in a series exploring the properties of 51optically selected, single-nuclei merger remnants. Spectroscopic datahave been obtained for a subsample of 38 mergers and combined withpreviously obtained infrared photometry to test whether mergers exhibitthe same correlations as elliptical galaxies among parameters such asstellar luminosity and distribution, central stellar velocity dispersion(σ0), and metallicity. Paramount to the study is totest whether mergers lie on the fundamental plane. Measurements ofσ0 have been made using the Ca triplet absorption lineat 8500 Å for all 38 mergers in the subsample. Additionalmeasurements of σ0 were made for two of the mergers inthe subsample using the CO absorption line at 2.29 μm. The resultsindicate that mergers show a strong correlation among the parameters ofthe fundamental plane but fail to show a strong correlation betweenσ0 and metallicity (Mg2). In contrast toearlier studies, the σ0 values of the mergers areconsistent with objects that lie somewhere between intermediate-mass andluminous giant elliptical galaxies. However, the discrepancies withearlier studies appear to correlate with whether the Ca triplet or COabsorption lines are used to derive σ0, with the latteralmost always producing smaller values. Finally, the photometric andkinematic data are used to demonstrate for the first time that thecentral phase-space densities of mergers are equivalent to those inelliptical galaxies. This resolves a long-standing criticism of themerger hypothesis.Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. KeckObservatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among theCalifornia Institute of Technology, the University of California, andthe National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory wasmade possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. KeckFoundation.
| Group, field and isolated early-type galaxies - II. Global trends from nuclear data
We have derived ages, metallicities and enhanced-element ratios[α/Fe] for a sample of 83 early-type galaxies essentially ingroups, the field or isolated objects. The stellar-population propertiesderived for each galaxy correspond to the nuclear re/8aperture extraction. The median age found for Es is 5.8+/-0.6 Gyr andthe average metallicity is +0.37+/-0.03 dex. For S0s, the median age is3.0+/-0.6 Gyr and [Z/H]= 0.53+/-0.04 dex. We compare the distribution ofour galaxies in the Hβ-[MgFe] diagram with Fornax galaxies. Ourelliptical galaxies are 3-4 Gyr younger than Es in the Fornax cluster.We find that the galaxies lie in a plane defined by [Z/H]= 0.99logσ0- 0.46 log(age) - 1.60, or in linear terms Z~σ0× (age) -0.5. More massive (largerσ0) and older galaxies present, on average, large[α/Fe] values, and therefore must have undergone shorterstar-formation time-scales. Comparing group against field/isolatedgalaxies, it is not clear that environment plays an important role indetermining their stellar-population history. In particular, ourisolated galaxies show ages differing by more than 8 Gyr. Finally weexplore our large spectral coverage to derive log(O/H) metallicity fromthe Hα and NIIλ6584 and compare it with model-dependent[Z/H]. We find that the O/H abundances are similar for all galaxies, andwe can interpret it as if most chemical evolution has already finishedin these galaxies.
| Group, field and isolated early-type galaxies - I. Observations and nuclear data
This is the first paper of a series on the investigation of stellarpopulation properties and galaxy evolution of an observationallyhomogeneous sample of early-type galaxies in groups, field and isolatedgalaxies.Here we present high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) long-slit spectroscopyof 86 nearby elliptical and S0 galaxies. Eight of them are isolated,selected according to a rigorous criterion, which guarantees a genuinelow-density subsample. The present survey has the advantage of coveringa larger wavelength range than normally found in the literature, whichincludes [OIII]λ5007 and Hα, both lines important foremission correction. Among the 86 galaxies with S/N >= 15 (perresolution element, for re/8 central aperture), 57 have theirHβ-index corrected for emission (the average correction is 0.190Åin Hβ) and 42 galaxies reveal [OIII]λ5007 emission,of which 16 also show obvious Hα emission. Most of the galaxies inthe sample do not show obvious signs of disturbances nor tidal featuresin the morphologies, although 11 belong to the Arp catalogue of peculiargalaxies; only three of them (NGC 750, 751 and 3226) seem to be stronglyinteracting. We present the measurement of 25 central line-strengthindices calibrated to the Lick/IDS system. Kinematic information isobtained for the sample. We analyse the line-strength index versusvelocity dispersion relations for our sample of mainly low-densityenvironment galaxies, and compare the slope of the relations withcluster galaxies from the literature. Our main findings are that theindex-σ0 relations presented for low-density regionsare not significantly different from those of cluster E/S0s. The slopeof the index-σ0 relations does not seem to change forearly-type galaxies of different environmental densities, but thescatter of the relations seems larger for group, field and isolatedgalaxies than for cluster galaxies.
| A Deep K-Band Photometric Survey of Merger Remnants
We present K-band photometry for 51 candidate merger remnants to assessthe viability of whether spiral-spiral mergers can produce bona fideelliptical galaxies. Using both the de Vaucouleurs r1/4 andSérsic r1/n fitting laws, it is found that the stellarcomponent in a majority of the galaxies in the sample has undergoneviolent relaxation. However, the sample shows evidence for incompletephase mixing. The analysis also indicates the presence of ``excesslight'' in the surface brightness profiles of nearly one-third of themerger remnants. Circumstantial evidence suggests that this is due tothe effects of a starburst induced by the dissipative collapse of thegas. The integrated light of the galaxies also shows that mergers canmake L* elliptical galaxies, in contrast to earlier infrared studies.The isophotal shapes and related structural parameters are alsodiscussed, including the fact that 70% of the sample show evidence fordisky isophotes. The data and results presented are part of a largerphotometric and spectroscopic campaign to thoroughly investigate a largesample of mergers in the local universe.
| Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Spectroscopic Data
We present central velocity dispersions and Mg2 line indicesfor an all-sky sample of ~1178 elliptical and S0 galaxies, of which 984had no previous measures. This sample contains the largest set ofhomogeneous spectroscopic data for a uniform sample of ellipticalgalaxies in the nearby universe. These galaxies were observed as part ofthe ENEAR project, designed to study the peculiar motions and internalproperties of the local early-type galaxies. Using 523 repeatedobservations of 317 galaxies obtained during different runs, the dataare brought to a common zero point. These multiple observations, takenduring the many runs and different instrumental setups employed for thisproject, are used to derive statistical corrections to the data and arefound to be relatively small, typically <~5% of the velocitydispersion and 0.01 mag in the Mg2 line strength. Typicalerrors are about 8% in velocity dispersion and 0.01 mag inMg2, in good agreement with values published elsewhere.
| A catalogue and analysis of local galaxy ages and metallicities
We have assembled a catalogue of relative ages, metallicities andabundance ratios for about 150 local galaxies in field, group andcluster environments. The galaxies span morphological types from cD andellipticals, to late-type spirals. Ages and metallicities were estimatedfrom high-quality published spectral line indices using Worthey &Ottaviani (1997) single stellar population evolutionary models. Theidentification of galaxy age as a fourth parameter in the fundamentalplane (Forbes, Ponman & Brown 1998) is confirmed by our largersample of ages. We investigate trends between age and metallicity, andwith other physical parameters of the galaxies, such as ellipticity,luminosity and kinematic anisotropy. We demonstrate the existence of agalaxy age-metallicity relation similar to that seen for local galacticdisc stars, whereby young galaxies have high metallicity, while oldgalaxies span a large range in metallicities. We also investigate theinfluence of environment and morphology on the galaxy age andmetallicity, especially the predictions made by semi-analytichierarchical clustering models (HCM). We confirm that non-clusterellipticals are indeed younger on average than cluster ellipticals aspredicted by the HCM models. However we also find a trend for the moreluminous galaxies to have a higher [Mg/Fe] ratio than the lowerluminosity galaxies, which is opposite to the expectation from HCMmodels.
| 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.
| Cold gas in elliptical galaxies
We explore the evolution of the cold gas (molecular and neutralhydrogen) of elliptical galaxies and merger remnants ordered into a timesequence on the basis of spectroscopic age estimates. We find that thefraction of cold gas in early merger remnants decreases significantlyfor ~1-2Gyr, but subsequent evolution toward evolved elliptical systemssees very little change. This trend can be attributed to an initial gasdepletion by strong star formation, which subsequently declines toquiescent rates. This explanation is consistent with the merger picturefor the formation of elliptical galaxies. We also explore the relationbetween the HI-to-H2 mass ratio and spectroscopic galaxy age,but find no evidence for a statistically significant trend. Thissuggests little net HI-to-H2 conversion for the systems inthe present sample.
| Cold gas and star formation in a merging galaxy sequence
We explore the evolution of the cold gas (molecular and neutralhydrogen) and star formation activity during galaxy interactions, usinga merging galaxy sequence comprising both pre- and post-mergercandidates. Data for this study come from the literature, but aresupplemented by some new radio observations presented here. First, weconfirm that the ratio of far-infrared luminosity to molecular hydrogenmass (LFIRM(H2); star formation efficiency)increases close to nuclear coalescence. After the merging of the twonuclei there is evidence that the star formation efficiency declinesagain to values typical of ellipticals. This trend can be attributed toM(H2) depletion arising from interaction induced starformation. However, there is significant scatter, likely to arise fromdifferences in the interaction details (e.g., disc-to-bulge ratio,geometry) of individual systems. Secondly, we find that the centralmolecular hydrogen surface density, ΣH2,increases close to the final stages of the merging of the two nuclei.Such a trend, indicating gas inflows caused by gravitationalinstabilities during the interaction, is also predicted by numericalsimulations. Furthermore, there is evidence for a decreasing fraction ofcold gas mass from early interacting systems to merger remnants,attributed to neutral hydrogen conversion into other forms (e.g., stars,hot gas) and molecular hydrogen depletion resulting from ongoing starformation. The evolution of the total-radio to blue-band luminosityratio, reflecting the total (disc and nucleus) star formation activity,is also investigated. Although this ratio is on average higher than thatfor isolated spirals, we find a marginal increase along the mergingsequence, attributed to the relative insensitivity of disc starformation to interactions. However, a similar result is also obtainedfor the nuclear radio emission, although galaxy interactions arebelieved to significantly affect the activity (star formation, AGN) inthe central galaxy regions. Nevertheless, the nuclear-radio to blue-bandluminosity ratio is significantly elevated compared with that forisolated spirals. Finally, we find that the FIR-radio flux ratiodistribution of interacting galaxies is consistent with star formationbeing the main energizing source.
| 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.
| The Cold and Hot Gas Content of Fine-Structure E and S0 Galaxies
We investigate trends of the cold and hot gas content of early-typegalaxies with the presence of optical morphological peculiarities, asmeasured by the fine-structure index Σ. H I mapping observationsfrom the literature are used to track the cold gas content, and archivalROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter data are used to quantifythe hot gas content. We find that E and S0 galaxies with a highincidence of optical peculiarities are exclusively X-ray underluminousand, therefore, deficient in hot gas. In contrast, more relaxed galaxieswith little or no signs of optical peculiarities span a wide range ofX-ray luminosities. That is, the X-ray excess anticorrelates withΣ. There appears to be no similar trend of cold gas content witheither fine-structure index or X-ray content. The fact that onlyapparently relaxed E and S0 galaxies are strong X-ray emitters isconsistent with the hypothesis that after strong disturbances, such as amerger, hot gas halos build up over a timescale of several gigayears.This is consistent with the expected mass loss from stars.
| On the relationship between age and dynamics in elliptical galaxies
Galaxy age estimates (mostly from spectroscopy of the central regions)are now available for many early-type galaxies. In a previous paper weshowed that the offset of galaxies from the fundamental plane depends ongalaxy age. Here, using the same sample of 88 galaxies, we examine thescatter about the Faber-Jackson (FJ) relation, and find that theposition of a galaxy relative to this relation depends on its age. Inparticular, younger ellipticals are systematically brighter inMB and/or have a lower central velocitydispersion (σ0). The mean relation corresponds togalaxies that are ~10Gyr old. We attempt to reproduce the observed trendof the FJ residuals with age using two simple models. The first assumesthat galaxy age is tracing the last major star formation event in anelliptical galaxy. We assume that this starburst was instantaneous,centrally located and involved 10per cent of the galaxy by mass. Thefading of this burst changes the MBcomponent of the FJ residuals, with time. Such a model was verysuccessful at reproducing the B-V and Mg2 evolution reportedin our previous paper, but is unable to reproduce the strength of the FJtrend. A second model is required to describe age-correlated changes ingalaxy dynamics. Following expectations from cosmological simulations,we assume that σ0, for a galaxy of a given mass, scaleswith the epoch of galaxy formation, i.e. with the mean density of theUniverse. Hence recently formed ellipticals have systematically lowervelocity dispersions than do old ellipticals. We find that a combinationof these two models provides a good match to the change in FJ residualswith galaxy age. This suggests that young ellipticals will have subtlydifferent dynamical properties from old ellipticals. We also find thatthere is not a strong relationship between the age of a galaxy and itsluminosity for our sample. This suggests that the tilt of thefundamental plane is not totally driven by age.
| The Mass-to-Light Ratio of Binary Galaxies
We report on the mass-to-light ratio determination based on a newlyselected binary galaxy sample, which includes a large number of pairswhose separations exceed a few hundred kpc. The probabilitydistributions of the projected separation and the velocity differencehave been calculated considering the contamination of optical pairs, andthe mass-to-light (M/L) ratio has been determined based on the maximumlikelihood method. The best estimate of the M/L in the B band for 57pairs is found to be 28-36 depending on the orbital parameters and thedistribution of optical pairs (solar unit: H_0=50 km s^-1 Mpc^-1). Thebest estimate of the M/L for 30 pure spiral pairs is found to be 12-16.These results are relatively smaller than those obtained in previousstudies but are consistent with each other within the errors. Althoughthe number of pairs with large separation is significantly increasedcompared with previous samples, the M/L does not show any tendency ofincrease but is found to be almost independent of the separation ofpairs beyond 100 kpc. The constancy of the M/L beyond 100 kpc mayindicate that the typical halo size of spiral galaxies is less than ~100kpc.
| The Southern Sky Redshift Survey
We report redshifts, magnitudes, and morphological classifications for5369 galaxies with m_B <= 15.5 and for 57 galaxies fainter than thislimit, in two regions covering a total of 1.70 sr in the southerncelestial hemisphere. The galaxy catalog is drawn primarily from thelist of nonstellar objects identified in the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog (GSC). The galaxies have positions accurate to ~1"and magnitudes with an rms scatter of ~0.3 mag. We compute magnitudes(m_SSRS2) from the relation between instrumental GSC magnitudes and thephotometry by Lauberts & Valentijn. From a comparison with CCDphotometry, we find that our system is homogeneous across the sky andcorresponds to magnitudes measured at the isophotal level ~26 magarcsec^-2. The precision of the radial velocities is ~40 km s^-1, andthe redshift survey is more than 99% complete to the m_SSRS2 = 15.5 maglimit. This sample is in the direction opposite that of the CfA2; incombination the two surveys provide an important database for studies ofthe properties of galaxies and their large-scale distribution in thenearby universe. Based on observations obtained at Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatories,operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation;Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, operated under agreement between theConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de laRepública Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata,Córdoba, and San Juan; the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla, Chile, partially under the bilateral ESO-ObservatórioNacional agreement; Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory;Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, Brazil; and the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory.
| A catalogue of Mg_2 indices of galaxies and globular clusters
We present a catalogue of published absorption-line Mg_2 indices ofgalaxies and globular clusters. The catalogue is maintained up-to-datein the HYPERCAT database. The measurements are listed together with thereferences to the articles where the data were published. A codeddescription of the observations is provided. The catalogue gathers 3541measurements for 1491 objects (galaxies or globular clusters) from 55datasets. Compiled raw data for 1060 galaxies are zero-point correctedand transformed to a homogeneous system. Tables 1, 3, and 4 areavailable in electronic form only at the CDS, Strasbourg, via anonymousftp 130.79.128.5. Table 2 is available both in text and electronic form.
| Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
| Sinking Satellite Disk Galaxies. I. Shell Formation Preceded by Cessation of Star Formation
Detailed numerical simulations have been carried out on the sinking of agas-rich disk galaxy into a large elliptial (spherical) galaxy. Bothelliptical and spiral galaxies have been modeled as self-gravitatingparticle systems. The interstellar gas component in the disk has beenmodeled as a system of inelastic cloud particles dissipating kineticenergy in mutual collisions. Star formation processes and gasconsumption owing to star formation are included in the numerical code.Sinking on a radial or slightly retrograde orbit has been found toproduce regular shell structures (i.e., without loops or filaments) madefrom the disk material. In this shell formation, no significantsegregation of the stellar and gaseous components occurs. Globaldistribution of the gas clouds is similar to that of the stars, thoughthe latter make clearer shells. Star formation is turned off well beforethe shells develop, because gas clouds are widely scattered and the gasdensity is much decreased. We propose that the "poststarburst" nucleioften observed in shell galaxies are not necessarily the result ofpreceding starbursts, as is widely believed, but could be the result ofthis drastic truncation of star formation activity.
| Photometric Signatures of Starbursts in Interacting Galaxies and the Butcher-Oemler Effect
This paper presents new and synthetic narrowband photometry ofellipticals, spirals, Seyferts, and interacting galaxies in an attemptto identify the cause of the unusually high fraction of blue clustergalaxies in distance clusters (Butcher-Oemler effect). The propertiesand distribution of the low-redshift sample specifically points tostarbursts as the origin of the blue narrowband colors in interactingArp galaxies. Comparison between theoretical models and multicolordiagrams, particularly 4000 A break colors, indicates a photometricsignature that differs from both normal disk galaxy star formation andnonthermal components. This photometric signature is absent for theButcher-Oemler galaxies whose general color distribution, compared topresent-day clusters, is consistent with a majority of the bluepopulation involved in normal star formation rates (spiral-like) withthe addition of a small fraction of bright, blue interacting/mergersystems. This photometric picture of the Butcher-Oemler galaxies is inagreement with the morphological evidence from Hubble Space Telescopeimaging.
| An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.
A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.
| The fundamental plane of early-type galaxies: stellar populations and mass-to-light ratio.
We analyse the residuals to the fundamental plane (FP) of ellipticalgalaxies as a function of stellar-population indicators; these are basedon the line-strength parameter Mg_2_ and on UBVRI broad-band colors, andare partly derived from new observations. The effect of the stellarpopulations accounts for approximately half the observed variation ofthe mass-to-light ratio responsible for the FP tilt. The residual tiltcan be explained by the contribution of two additional effects: thedependence of the rotational support, and possibly that of the spatialstructure, on the luminosity. We conclude to a constancy of thedynamical-to-stellar mass ratio. This probably extends to globularclusters as well, but the dominant factor would be here the luminositydependence of the structure rather than that of the stellar population.This result also implies a constancy of the fraction of dark matter overall the scalelength covered by stellar systems. Our compilation ofinternal stellar kinematics of galaxies is appended.
| A Catalog of Stellar Velocity Dispersions. II. 1994 Update
A catalog of central velocity dispersion measurements is presented,current through 1993 September. The catalog includes 2474 measurementsof 1563 galaxies. A standard set of 86 galaxies is defined, consistingof galaxies with at least three reliable, concordant measurements. It issuggested that future studies observe some of these standard galaxies sothat different studies can be normalized to a consistent system. Allmeasurements are reduced to a normalized system using these standards.
| The Local Merger Rate of Disk Galaxies
We consider the local population of galaxy merger remnants, morespecifically the remnants of disk-disk mergers for which there arediagnostic features (such as tails) that might be catalogued in a fairlycomplete manner. We estimate the current rate of mergers for suchgalaxies by comparing the luminosity function for mergers with those ofspiral-spiral pairs (their most common precursors) and for all diskgalaxies, incorporating the effects of changing crossing time withluminosity. These are connected via the time scale for mergers, which weestimate from the dynamical properties of our sample and publishedn-body models. We derive a merger rate for spirals in pairs, at thepresent epoch, of 4.2 per Hubble time (2.8 over the age of the Universeat critical density, or extrapolated to all spirals, 0.33 per Hubbletime). Given this large difference, depending on which precursorpopulation is considered, a two-component model seems most appropriateto assess the effects of mergers on galaxy evolution - one for galaxiesoriginally in pairs or small groups, and a second for galaxies whichhave never been in environments so susceptible to merging.Distinguishing the initial contributions of each to the overall galaxypopulations will require samples at high redshift. We also evaluate thehistory of several indicators of observable star formation, using thedynamical state of each remnant as an age estimate. With large scatter,we see evidence that star formation builds up to the time of mergerrather slowly, with a rapid decline thereafter. For most systems, dustseems to be so important in obscuring much of the starburst's opticalradiation that the luminosity increase of a merger over its initialcomponents does not have a profound effect on either our derived mergerrate or on higher-redshift counts. This rapid fading means that mergersper se can be at most a minor contributor to the Butcher-Oemler effect;most blue galaxies in systems fated to merge will be observed during theinteractions that precede the final merging event. Further observationsof the dynamical state of high-redshift systems are clearly needed toassess the time- integrated impact of merging on the overall galaxypopulation; the crude estimates given per Hubble time must be lowerlimits under most conditions. An Appendix describes the luminosityfunction of "field" galaxies of various morphological types, derivedfrom a new analysis of the CfA survey in the B_t_^0^ system.
| Shell colors in the peculiar elliptical galaxy IC 1459
The giant elliptical galaxy IC 1459 shows a variety of features normallyascribed to a previous encounter with another galaxy, such as acounter-rotating core, nuclear dust lane and an arm-like feature in theemission-line gas. One notable omission from this list was the presenceof stellar shells. Here we present deep CCD imaging of IC 1459 taken B,V, and R filters covering 13.5 min X 13.5 min. After careful modelsubtraction, we have identified several shells and other fine structurearound the galaxy. Shell colors have been measured and are found to besimilar to the underlying galaxy. We briefly discuss the origin of theshells and other peculiarities of IC 1459.
| Total and effective colors of 501 galaxies in the Cousins VRI photometric system
Total color indices (V-R)T, (V-I)T and effectivecolor indices (V-R)e, (V-I)e in the Cousins VRIphotometric system are presented for 501 mostly normal galaxies. Thecolors are computed using a procedure outlined in the Third ReferenceCatalogue of Bright Galaxies (RC3) whereby standard color curvesapproximated by Laplace-Gauss integrals are fitted to observedphotoelectric multiaperture photometry. 11 sources of such photometrywere used for our analysis, each source being assigned an appropriateweight according to a rigorous analysis of residuals of the data fromthe best-fitting standard color curves. Together with the integrated B-Vand U-B colors provided in RC3, our analysis widens the range ofwavelength of homogeneously defined colors of normal galaxies of allHubble types. We present color-color and color-type relations that canbe modeled to understand the star formation history of galaxies.
| Photometrically distinct nuclei in elliptical and early-type disks galaxies.
Not Available
| The dependence of the cool matter content on galaxy morphology in galaxies of types E/S0, S0, and SA
Using the material assembled in earlier papers, we examine the manner inwhich the interstellar matter content varies along the Hubble sequencefrom S0 galaxies to Sa galaxies selected from the RSA2 compilation. Forthis we make use of a new and more detailed classification which isdescribed here as applied to these early disk/spiral galaxies. Theprominence of the disk in S0's and the visibility of features (H IIregions) in the Sa's serve as the basis for the subtypes. Three S0categories: subtle, intermediate, and pronounced, and four Sadescriptors: very early, early, intermediate, and late are assigned tothe galaxies. It is found that the total amount of hydrogen (H I + H2)is a function of subtype, being low in the S0's and rising smoothly fromthe early Sa's to the later Sa's. The average surface density ofhydrogen exceeds 3 solar masses/pc-squared only in the latest subtypesof the Sa's. We conclude that the prominence of the disk of a galaxyclosely follows the amount of cool gas which the disk contains.
| The morphological catalogue of galaxies equatorial survey
We present 865 redshifts of galaxies located in the equatorial stripdelta between -17.5 deg and -2.5 deg in the right ascension rangebetween 20 h and 5 h. Redshifts have been obtained for the completesample of all 833 galaxies in the Morphological Catalog of Galaxies withmagnitudes brighter than m = 14.5 (corresponding approximately tom(Zwicky) = 15.0). This sample also includes three galaxies from othersources with more reliable magnitudes, satisfying this limit, and 29fainter galaxies, usually companions of the galaxies in the magnitudelimited sample. Our maps of a very large volume of nearby spacedemonstrate a variety of coherent large scale structures which includelarge voids, 20-50/h Mpc in diameter and large walls at least 70/h Mpcacross.
| A near-infrared imaging survey of interacting galaxies - The small angular-size ARP systems
Near-IR images of a large sample of interacting galaxies selected fromthe Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies by Arp (1966) have been obtained.Approximately 180 systems have been imaged in at least two, and usuallythree of the standard JHK bands. The survey and the observing and datareduction procedures, are described, and contour plots and aperturephotometry are presented. Future papers will analyze the imaging data bygroupings based on interaction type, stage, and progenitors. The goalsof the analysis are to explore the relationships between galaxyinteractions, activity, and morphology by studying the structure of thenear-IR luminosity distribution, where extinction effects are muchreduced relative to the optical and the major stellar mass component ofgalaxies dominates the observed light.
| Correlations between UBV colors and fine structure in E and S0 galaxies - A first attempt at dating ancient merger events
New high-quality UBV colors of E and S0 galaxies compiled in the RC3 areanalyzed, and correlations between them and the fine-structure indexSigma are explored. The color residuals Delta(U-B)e,0, Delta(B-V)e,0,and Delta(U-V)e,0 (where e refers to the effective or half-lightaperture) correlate with Sigma for 35 E and 34 S0 galaxies bothseparately and combined. Typical coefficients are -0.4 to -0.6, and theslopes of the mean relations are significant at the 2.1 sigma-4.2 sigmalevel. The new correlations show that the detected systematic variationsare not limited to the nuclei, but occur globally in the stellarpopulations of E and S0 galaxies. The color residuals and previouslydetermined line-strength residuals correlate closely, demonstrating thatit is cosmic scatter that dominates the vertical scatter in thecolor-magnitude and line-strength-magnitude relations. It is suggestedthat the deviations in color and line strength from mean relations havea common physical cause which, because of the correlations with finestructure, is probably a variation in the mean age of the stellarpopulations.
| Interstellar matter in early-type galaxies. I - The catalog
A catalog is given of the currently available measurements ofinterstellar matter in the 467 early-type galaxies listed in the secondedition of the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog of Bright Galaxies. Themorphological type range is E, SO, and Sa. The ISM tracers are emissionin the following bands: IRAS 100 micron, X-ray, radio, neutral hydrogen,and carbon monoxide. Nearly two-thirds of the Es and SOs have beendetected in one or more of these tracers. Additional observed quantitiesthat are tabulated include: magnitude, colors, radial velocity, centralvelocity dispersion, maximum of the rotation curve, angular size, 60micron flux, and supernovae. Qualitative statements as to the presenceof dust or emission lines, when available in the literature, are given.Quantities derivative from the observed values are also listed andinclude masses of H I, CO, X-ray gas, and dust as well as an estimate ofthe total mass and mass-to-luminosity ratio of the individual galaxies.
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