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Stellar Populations in Nearby Lenticular Galaxies
We have obtained two-dimensional spectral data for a sample of 58 nearbyS0 galaxies with the Multi-Pupil Fiber/Field Spectrograph of the 6 mtelescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the RussianAcademy of Sciences. The Lick indices Hβ, Mg b, and arecalculated separately for the nuclei and for the bulges taken as therings between R=4'' and 7", and the luminosity-weighted ages,metallicities, and Mg/Fe ratios of the stellar populations are estimatedby comparing the data to single stellar population (SSP) models. Fourtypes of galaxy environments are considered: clusters, centers ofgroups, other places in groups, and the field. The nuclei are found tobe on average slightly younger than the bulges in any type ofenvironment, and the bulges of S0 galaxies in sparse environments areyounger than those in dense environments. The effect can be partlyattributed to the well-known age correlation with the stellar velocitydispersion in early-type galaxies (in our sample the galaxies in sparseenvironments are on average less massive than those in denseenvironments), but for the most massive S0 galaxies, withσ*=170-220 km s-1, the age dependence on theenvironment is still significant at the confidence level of 1.5 σ.Based on observations collected with the 6 m telescope (BTA) at theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) of the Russian Academy ofSciences (RAS).
| The structure of galactic disks. Studying late-type spiral galaxies using SDSS
Using imaging data from the SDSS survey, we present the g' and r' radialstellar light distribution of a complete sample of ~90 face-on tointermediate inclined, nearby, late-type (Sb-Sdm) spiral galaxies. Thesurface brightness profiles are reliable (1 σ uncertainty lessthan 0.2 mag) down to μ27 mag/''. Only ~10% of all galaxies havea normal/standard purely exponential disk down to our noise limit. Thesurface brightness distribution of the rest of the galaxies is betterdescribed as a broken exponential. About 60% of the galaxies have abreak in the exponential profile between 1.5-4.5 times thescalelength followed by a downbending, steeper outer region. Another~30% shows also a clear break between 4.0-6.0 times thescalelength but followed by an upbending, shallower outer region. A fewgalaxies have even a more complex surface brightness distribution. Theshape of the profiles correlates with Hubble type. Downbending breaksare more frequent in later Hubble types while the fraction of upbendingbreaks rises towards earlier types. No clear relation is found betweenthe environment, as characterised by the number of neighbours, and theshape of the profiles of the galaxies.
| The host galaxy/AGN connection in nearby early-type galaxies. A new view of the origin of the radio-quiet/radio-loud dichotomy?
This is the third in a series of three papers exploring the connectionbetween the multiwavelength properties of AGN in nearby early-typegalaxies and the characteristics of their hosts. Starting from aninitial sample of 332 galaxies, we selected 116 AGN candidates requiringthe detection of a radio source with a flux limit of ~1 mJy, as measuredfrom 5 GHz VLA observations. In Paper I we classified the objects withavailable archival HST images into "core" and "power-law" galaxies,discriminating on the basis of the nuclear slope of their brightnessprofiles. We used HST and Chandra data to isolate the nuclear emissionof these galaxies in the optical and X-ray bands, thus enabling us (oncecombined with the radio data) to study the multiwavelength behaviour oftheir nuclei. The properties of the nuclei hosted by the 29 coregalaxies were presented in Paper II Core galaxies invariably host aradio-loud nucleus, with a median radio-loudness of Log R = 3.6 and anX-ray based radio-loudness parameter of Log RX = -1.3. Herewe discuss the properties of the nuclei of the 22 "power-law" galaxies.They show a substantial excess of optical and X-ray emission withrespect to core galaxies at the same level of radio luminosity.Conversely, their radio-loudness parameters, Log R 1.6 and LogRX -3.3, are similar to those measured in Seyfertgalaxies. Thus the radio-loudness of AGN hosted by early-type galaxiesappears to be univocally related to the host's brightness profile:radio-loud AGN are only hosted by core galaxies, while radio-quiet AGNare found only in power-law galaxies. The brightness profile isdetermined by the galaxy's evolution, through its merger history; ourresults suggest that the same process sets the AGN flavour. In thisscenario, the black holes hosted by the merging galaxies rapidly sinktoward the centre of the newly formed object, setting its nuclearconfiguration, described by e.g. the total mass, spin, mass ratio, orseparation of the SMBHs. These parameters are most likely at the originof the different levels of the AGN radio-loudness. This connection mightopen a new path toward understanding the origin of theradio-loud/radio-quiet AGN dichotomy and provide us with a further toolfor exploring the co-evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes.
| A radio census of nuclear activity in nearby galaxies
In order to determine the incidence of black hole accretion-drivennuclear activity in nearby galaxies, as manifested by their radioemission, we have carried out a high-resolution Multi-ElementRadio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) survey of LINERs andcomposite LINER/Hii galaxies from a complete magnitude-limited sample ofbright nearby galaxies (Palomar sample) with unknown arcsecond-scaleradio properties. There are fifteen radio detections, of which three arenew subarcsecond-scale radio core detections, all being candidate AGN.The detected galaxies supplement the already known low-luminosity AGN -low-luminosity Seyferts, LINERs and composite LINER/Hii galaxies - inthe Palomar sample. Combining all radio-detected Seyferts, LINERs andcomposite LINER/Hii galaxies (LTS sources), we obtain an overall radiodetection rate of 54% (22% of all bright nearby galaxies) and weestimate that at least ~50% (~20% of all bright nearby galaxies) aretrue AGN. The radio powers of the LTS galaxies allow the construction ofa local radio luminosity function. By comparing the luminosity functionwith those of selected moderate-redshift AGN, selected from the 2dF/NVSSsurvey, we find that LTS sources naturally extend the RLF of powerfulAGN down to powers of about 10 times that of Sgr A*.
| 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.
| The host galaxy/AGN connection in nearby early-type galaxies. Sample selection and hosts brightness profiles
This is the first of a series of three papers exploring the connectionbetween the multiwavelength properties of AGNs in nearby early-typegalaxies and the characteristics of their hosts. We selected twosamples, both with high resolution 5 GHz VLA observations available andproviding measurements down to 1 mJy level, reaching radio-luminositiesas low as 1019 W Hz-1. We focus on the 116radio-detected galaxies as to boost the fraction of AGN with respect toa purely optically selected sample. Here we present the analysis of theoptical brightness profiles based on archival HST images, available for65 objects. We separate early-type galaxies on the basis of the slope oftheir nuclear brightness profiles, into core and power-law galaxiesfollowing the Nuker's scheme, rather than on the traditionalmorphological classification (i.e. into E and S0 galaxies). Our sampleof AGN candidates is indistinguishable, when their brightness profilesare concerned, from galaxies of similar optical luminosity but hostingweaker (or no) radio-sources. We confirm previous findings thatrelatively bright radio-sources (Lr > 1021.5 WHz-1) are uniquely associated to core galaxies. However,below this threshold in radio-luminosity core and power-law galaxiescoexist and they do not show any apparent difference in theirradio-properties. Not surprisingly, since our sample is deliberatelybiased to favour the inclusion of active galaxies, we found a higherfraction of optically nucleated galaxies. Addressing the multiwavelengthproperties of these nuclei will be the aim of the two forthcomingpapers.
| A Green Bank Telescope Search for Water Masers in Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei
Using the Green Bank Telescope, we have conducted a survey for 1.3 cmwater maser emission toward the nuclei of nearby active galaxies, themost sensitive large survey for H2O masers to date. Among 145galaxies observed, maser emission was newly detected in 11 sources andconfirmed in one other. Our survey targeted nearby (v<12,000 kms-1), mainly type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) north ofδ=-20deg and includes a few additional sources as well.We find that more than one-third of Seyfert 2 galaxies have strong maseremission, although the detection rate declines beyond v~5000 kms-1 because of sensitivity limits. Two of the masersdiscovered during this survey are found in unexpected hosts: NGC 4151(Seyfert 1.5) and NGC 2782 (starburst). We discuss the possiblerelations between the large X-ray column to NGC 4151 and a possiblehidden AGN in NGC 2782 to the detected masers. Four of the masersdiscovered here, NGC 591, NGC 4388, NGC 5728, and NGC 6323, havehigh-velocity lines symmetrically spaced about the systemic velocity, alikely signature of molecular gas in a nuclear accretion disk. The masersource in NGC 6323, in particular, reveals the classic spectrum of a``disk maser'' represented by three distinct groups of Dopplercomponents. Future single-dish and VLBI observations of these fourgalaxies could provide a measurement of the distance to each galaxy andof the Hubble constant, independent of standard candle calibrations.
| Stellar Kinematics of Boxy Bulges: Large-Scale Bars and Inner Disks
Long-slit stellar kinematic observations were obtained along the majoraxis of 30 edge-on spiral galaxies, 24 with a boxy or peanut-shaped(B/PS) bulge and six with other bulge types for comparison. Such B/PSbulges are identified in at least 45% of highly inclined systems, and agrowing body of theoretical and observational work suggests that theyare the edge-on projection of thickened bars. Profiles of the meanstellar velocity V, the velocity dispersion σ, as well as theasymmetric (h3) and symmetric (h4) deviations froma pure Gaussian are presented for all objects. Comparing these profileswith stellar kinematic bar diagnostics developed from N-bodysimulations, we find bar signatures in 24 of our sample galaxies (80%).Galaxies with a B/PS bulge typically show a double-humped rotation curvewith an intermediate dip or plateau. They also frequently show a ratherflat central velocity dispersion profile accompanied by a secondary peakor plateau, and numerous galaxies have a local central σ minimum(>~40%). The h3 profiles display up to three slopereversals. Most importantly, h3 is normally correlated with Vover the presumed bar length, contrary to expectations from axisymmetricdisks. These characteristic bar signatures strengthen the case for aclose relationship between B/PS bulges and bars and leave little roomfor other explanations of the bulges' shape. We also find thath3 is anticorrelated with V in the very center of mostgalaxies (>~60%), indicating that these objects additionally harborcold and dense decoupled (quasi-) axisymmetric central stellar disks,which may be related to the central light peaks. These central diskscoincide with previously identified star-forming ionized-gas disks(nuclear spirals) in gas-rich systems, and we argue that they formed outof gas accumulated by the bar at its center through inflow. As suggestedby N-body models, the asymmetry of the velocity profile (h3)appears to be a reliable tracer of asymmetries in disks, allowing us todiscriminate between axisymmetric and barred disks seen in projection.B/PS bulges (and thus a large fraction of all bulges) appear to be madeup mostly of disk material, which has acquired a large vertical extentthrough bar-driven vertical instabilities. Their formation is thusprobably dominated by secular evolution processes rather than merging.
| 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
| Minor-axis velocity gradients in disk galaxies
We present the ionized-gas kinematics and photometry of a sample of 4spiral galaxies which are characterized by a zero-velocity plateau alongthe major axis and a velocity gradient along the minor axis,respectively. By combining these new kinematical data with thoseavailable in the literature for the ionized-gas component of the S0s andspirals listed in the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog of Bright Galaxies werealized that about 50% of unbarred galaxies show a remarkable gasvelocity gradient along the optical minor axis. This fraction rises toabout 60% if we include unbarred galaxies with an irregular velocityprofile along the minor axis. This phenomenon is observed all along theHubble sequence of disk galaxies, and it is particularly frequent inearly-type spirals. Since minor-axis velocity gradients are unexpectedif the gas is moving onto circular orbits in a disk coplanar to thestellar one, we conclude that non-circular and off-plane gas motions arenot rare in the inner regions of disk galaxies.Based on observations carried out at the European Southern Observatoryin La Silla (Chile) (ESO 69.B-0706 and 70.B-0338), with the MultipleMirror Telescope which is a joint facility of the SmithsonianInstitution and the University of Arizona, and with the ItalianTelescopio Nazionale Galileo (AOT-5, 3-18) at the Observatorio del Roquede los Muchachos in La Palma (Spain).Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org. Table 5 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/416/507
| The size of the broad-line regions in dwarf active galaxies
Using the empirical relation between black hole mass and bulge velocitydispersion established for active and quiescent galaxies, we derive thesizes of the broad-line regions (BLRs) for 22 dwarf active galaxies.These sizes are compared with those of Seyfert 1 galaxies and quasars.We find that the size of the BLRs of Seyfert 1s and quasars is wellscaled with the luminosity of the Hα line with a slope of ~=0.5,and dwarf active galaxies show larger BLRs than the values predicted bythe BLR size-luminosity relation for Seyfert 1 galaxies andquasi-stellar objects (QSOs). The results suggest that the BLRs of dwarfactive galactic nuclei (AGN) have lower ionization or/and lower densitythan those of Seyfert 1 galaxies and QSOs. Photoionization calculationsshow that the large BLRs are consistent with observed emission linespectra.
| On the Nature of Low-Luminosity Narrow-Line Active Galactic Nuclei
There is clear observational evidence that some narrow-line (type 2)active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have a hidden broad-line region (BLR) andare thus intrinsically broad-line (type 1) AGNs. Does this AGNunification apply for all type 2 AGNs? Indirect arguments suggest thatsome ``true'' type 2 AGNs, i.e., AGNs having no obscured BLR, do exist,but it is not clear why the BLR is missing in these AGNs. Here we pointout a possible natural explanation. The observed radius-luminosityrelation for the BLR implies an increasing line width with decreasingluminosity for a given black hole mass (MBH). In addition,there appears to be an upper limit to the observed width of broademission lines in AGNs of Δvmax~25,000 kms-1, which may reflect a physical limit above which the BLRmay not be able to survive. Thus, at a low enough luminosity the BLRradius shrinks below the Δvmax radius, leaving noregion where the BLR can exist, although the AGN may remain otherwise``normal.'' The implied minimum bolometric luminosity required tosustain a BLR with Δv<25,000 km s-1 isLmin~1041.8(MBH/108Msolar)2.All AGNs with L
| Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Circular-Aperture Photometry
We present R-band CCD photometry for 1332 early-type galaxies, observedas part of the ENEAR survey of peculiar motions using early-typegalaxies in the nearby universe. Circular apertures are used to tracethe surface brightness profiles, which are then fitted by atwo-component bulge-disk model. From the fits, we obtain the structuralparameters required to estimate galaxy distances using theDn-σ and fundamental plane relations. We find thatabout 12% of the galaxies are well represented by a pure r1/4law, while 87% are best fitted by a two-component model. There are 356repeated observations of 257 galaxies obtained during different runsthat are used to derive statistical corrections and bring the data to acommon system. We also use these repeated observations to estimate ourinternal errors. The accuracy of our measurements are tested by thecomparison of 354 galaxies in common with other authors. Typical errorsin our measurements are 0.011 dex for logDn, 0.064 dex forlogre, 0.086 mag arcsec-2 for<μe>, and 0.09 for mRC,comparable to those estimated by other authors. The photometric datareported here represent one of the largest high-quality and uniformall-sky samples currently available for early-type galaxies in thenearby universe, especially suitable for peculiar motion studies.Based on observations at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF);European Southern Observatory (ESO); Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory(FLWO); and the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak.
| A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxies
We have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of ``normality''. Thedefinition of a ``normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for ``normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5
| Core Radio and Optical Emission in the Nuclei of nearby FR I Radio Galaxies
In this paper we analyze the relation between radio, optical continuumand Hα+[N II] emission from the cores of a sample of 21 nearbyFanaroff and Riley type I galaxies as observed with the VLBA and HST.The emission arises inside the inner tens of parsecs of the galaxies.Core radio emission is observed in 19/20 galaxies, optical corecontinuum emission is detected in 12/21 galaxies and Hα+[N II]core emission is detected in 20/21 galaxies. We confirm the recentlydetected linear correlation between radio and optical core emission inFR I galaxies and show that both core emissions also correlate withcentral Hα+[N II] emission. The tight correlations between radio,optical, and Hα+[N II] core emission constrain the bulk Lorentzfactor to γ~2-5 and γ<~2 for a continuous jet and a jetconsisting of discrete blobs, respectively, assuming jet-viewing anglesin the range 30°-90°. Radio and optical core emissions arelikely to be synchrotron radiation from the inner jet, possibly with asignificant contribution from emission by an accretion disk and/or flow.Elliptical galaxies with LINER nuclei without large-scale radio jetsseem to follow the core emission correlations found in FR I galaxies.This suggests that the central engines could be very similar for the twoclasses of active galactic nuclei. Based on observations with theNASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute, which is operated by the Association of Universities forResearch in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| 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.
| A catalogue and analysis of X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxies
We present a catalogue of X-ray luminosities for 401 early-typegalaxies, of which 136 are based on newly analysed ROSAT PSPC pointedobservations. The remaining luminosities are taken from the literatureand converted to a common energy band, spectral model and distancescale. Using this sample we fit the LX:LB relationfor early-type galaxies and find a best-fit slope for the catalogue of~2.2. We demonstrate the influence of group-dominant galaxies on the fitand present evidence that the relation is not well modelled by a singlepower-law fit. We also derive estimates of the contribution to galaxyX-ray luminosities from discrete-sources and conclude that they provideLdscr/LB~=29.5ergs-1LBsolar-1. Wecompare this result with luminosities from our catalogue. Lastly, weexamine the influence of environment on galaxy X-ray luminosity and onthe form of the LX:LB relation. We conclude thatalthough environment undoubtedly affects the X-ray properties ofindividual galaxies, particularly those in the centres of groups andclusters, it does not change the nature of whole populations.
| Modelling gaseous and stellar kinematics in the disc galaxies NGC 772, 3898 and 7782
We present V-band surface photometry and major-axis kinematics of starsand ionized gas of three early-type spiral galaxies, namely NGC 772,3898 and 7782. For each galaxy we present a self-consistent Jeans modelfor the stellar kinematics, adopting the light distribution of bulge anddisc derived by means of a two-dimensional parametric photometricdecomposition. This allows us to investigate the presence ofnon-circular gas motions, and derive the mass distribution of luminousand dark matter in these objects. NGC 772 and 7782 have apparentlynormal kinematics with the ionized gas tracing the gravitationalequilibrium circular speed. This is not true in the innermost region(|r|<~8arcsec) of NGC 3898, where the ionized gas is rotating moreslowly than the circular velocity predicted by dynamical modelling. Thisphenomenon is common in the bulge-dominated galaxies for which dynamicalmodelling enables us to make the direct comparison between the gasvelocity and the circular speed, and it poses questions about thereliability of galaxy mass distributions derived by the directdecomposition of the observed ionized-gas rotation curve into thecontributions of luminous and dark matter.
| A Chemically Decoupled Nucleus and Structure of the Nuclear Region in the S0 Galaxy NGC4036
We present the results of a comprehensive spectrophotometric study ofthe central region in the regular lenticular galaxy NGC4036 with twospectrographs of the 6-m telescope. The unresolved nucleus of NGC4036 isshown to be chemically decoupled: [Mg/Fe] = +0.3 at the very center,whereas in the immediate vicinity of its nucleus, this ratio abruptlydrops to +0.1 and does not change further along the radius. A study ofisophotal morphology in combination with a kinematic analysis has proventhat the rotation of stars at the NGC4036 center is axisymmetric.However, the major-axis turn within R < 5" should be considered real.We interpret this turn as evidence for the existence of a tiltedcircumnuclear stellar disk with a radius of ~250 pc in NGC4036. TheNGC4036 bulge may be triaxial, and the ionized gas at the galacticcenter is then concentrated toward the principal plane of theellipsoidal potential.
| The Frequency of Active and Quiescent Galaxies with Companions: Implications for the Feeding of the Nucleus
We analyze the idea that nuclear activity, either active galactic nuclei(AGNs) or star formation, can be triggered by interactions by studyingthe percentage of active, H II, and quiescent galaxies with companions.Our sample was selected from the Palomar survey and avoids selectionbiases faced by previous studies. This sample was split into fivedifferent groups, Seyfert galaxies, LINERs, transition galaxies, H IIgalaxies, and absorption-line galaxies. The comparison between the localgalaxy density distributions of the different groups showed that in mostcases there is no statistically significant difference among galaxies ofdifferent activity types, with the exception that absorption-linegalaxies are seen in higher density environments, since most of them arein the Virgo Cluster. The comparison of the percentage of galaxies withnearby companions showed that there is a higher percentage of LINERs,transition galaxies, and absorption-line galaxies with companions thanSeyfert and H II galaxies. However, we find that when we consider onlygalaxies of similar morphological types (elliptical or spiral), there isno difference in the percentage of galaxies with companions amongdifferent activity types, indicating that the former result was due tothe morphology-density effect. In addition, only small differences arefound when we consider galaxies with similar Hα luminosities. Thecomparison between H II galaxies of different Hα luminositiesshows that there is a significantly higher percentage of galaxies withcompanions among H II galaxies with L(Hα)>1039 ergss-1 than among those with L(Hα)<=1039ergs s-1, indicating that interactions increase the amount ofcircumnuclear star formation, in agreement with previous results. Thefact that we find that galaxies of different activity types have thesame percentage of companions suggests that interactions betweengalaxies is not a necessary condition to trigger the nuclear activity inAGNs. We compare our results with previous ones and discuss theirimplications.
| Kinematic properties of gas and stars in 20 disc galaxies
Ionized gas and stellar kinematical parameters have been measured alongthe major axis of 20 nearby disc galaxies. We discuss the properties ofeach sample galaxy, distinguishing between those characterized byregular or peculiar kinematics. In early-type disc galaxies, ionized gastends to rotate faster than stars and to have a lower velocitydispersion (Vg > Vstar and sigmag< sigmastar), whereas in late-type spirals, gas andstars show almost the same rotation velocities and velocity dispersions(Vg =~ Vstar and sigmag =~sigmastar ). Incorporating the early-type disc galaxiesstudied by Bertola et al. (1995), Fisher (1997) and Corsini et al.(1999), we have compiled a sample of some 40 galaxies for which themajor-axis radial profiles of both the stellar and gaseous componentshave been measured. The value of sigmastar measured atRe/4 turns out to be strongly correlated with the galaxymorphological type, while sigmag is not and sometimes takesvalues above the range expected from thermal motions or small-scaleturbulence. Based on observations carried out at the European SouthernObservatory, at the Multiple Mirror Telescope Observatory, at theObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, at the Observatorio del Teide,and at the Mount Graham International Observatory. Tables 5 and 6 areonly available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/374/394
| The visible environment of galaxies with counterrotation
In this paper we present a statistical study of the environments of 49galaxies in which there is gas- or stellar-counterrotation. The numberof possible companions in the field (to apparent magnitude 22), theirsize and concentration were considered. All the statistical parameterswere analysed by means of Kolgomorov-Smirnov tests, using a controlsample of 43 galaxies without counterrotation. From our data, nosignificant differences between the counter-rotating and control samplesappear. This is different to Seyfert or radio-loud galaxies which lie inenvironments with a higher density of companions. On the contrary, if aweak tendency exists, for galaxies with gas counterrotation only, it isdiscovered in regions of space where the large scale density of galaxiesis smaller. Our results tend to disprove the hypothesis thatcounterrotation and polar rings derive from a recent interaction with asmall satellite or a galaxy of similar size. To a first approximation,they seem to follow the idea that all galaxies are born through a mergerprocess of smaller objects occurring very early in their life, or thatthey derive from a continuous, non-traumatic infall of gas that formedstars later. Whatever the special machinery is which producescounterrotation or polar rings instead of a co-planar, co-rotatingdistribution of gas and stars, it seems not to be connected to thepresent galaxy density of their environments.
| Structure and Dynamics of Early-Type Disk Galaxies
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| 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.
| Radio Sources in Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. I. VLA Detections of Compact, Flat-Spectrum Cores
We report a high-resolution (0.2"), 15 GHz survey of a sample of 48low-luminosity active galactic nuclei with the Very LargeArray.5 Compact radio emission has beendetected above a flux density of 1.1 mJy in 57% (17 of 30) oflow-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) nuclei andlow-luminosity Seyfert galaxies. The 2 cm radio power is significantlycorrelated with the emission-line ([O I] λ6300) luminosity. Usingradio fluxes at other frequencies from the literature, we find that atleast 15 of the 18 detected radio cores have a flat to inverted spectrum(α>=-0.3, Sν~να). While thepresent observations are consistent with the radio emission originatingin star-forming regions (the brightness temperatures are>=102.5-4.5 K), higher resolution radio observations of 10of the detected sources, reported in an accompanying paper, show thatthe cores are very compact (<~1 pc), of high brightness temperature(Tb>~108 K), and probably synchrotronself-absorbed, ruling out a starburst origin. Thus, our results suggestthat at least 50% of low-luminosity Seyfert galaxies and LINERs in thesample are accretion powered, with the radio emission presumably comingfrom jets or advection-dominated accretion flows. We have detected only1 of 18 ``transition'' (i.e., LINER+H II) nuclei observed, indicatingthat their radio cores are significantly weaker than those of ``pure''LINERs. Compact 2 cm radio cores are found in both type 1 (i.e., withbroad Hα) and type 2 (without broad Hα) nuclei. There isweak evidence, limited in significance by small numbers, thatlow-luminosity active galactic nuclei with compact radio cores exhibitradio ejecta preferentially aligned along the rotation axis of thegalaxy disk. If this result were confirmed by a larger sample, it wouldlend support to the idea that the misalignment of accretion disks withthe galaxy stellar disk in more luminous Seyfert galaxies is a result ofradiation-pressure-induced warping of their accretion disks.
| The Narrow-Line Regions of LINERS as Resolved with the Hubble Space Telescope
Low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs) exist in thenuclei of a large fraction of luminous galaxies, but their connectionwith the active galactic nucleus (AGN) phenomenon has remained elusive.We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) narrowband ([O III] λ5007and Hα+[N II]) emission-line images of the central regions of 14galaxies with LINER nuclei. This is the first such study of a sizablesample of LINERs at HST resolution. The compact, ~1" scale unresolvedemission which dominates the line flux in ground-based observations ofthese LINERs is mostly resolved in the HST images. The bulk of theHα and [O III] emission comes from regions with sizes of tens tohundreds of parsecs. The resolved emission comes from a combination ofknots, filaments, and diffuse gas whose morphology differs from galaxyto galaxy. Most of the galaxies do not show clear linear structures orionization cones analogous to those often seen in Seyfert galaxies. Anexception is NGC 1052, the prototypical LINER, in which we find a 3"long (~250 pc) biconical structure that is oriented on the sky along thegalaxy's radio jet axis. M84 also shows signs of possible biconical gasstructures. Seven of the galaxies have been shown in previouslypublished HST images to have a bright compact ultraviolet (UV) nuclearsource, while the other seven do not display such a central UV source.Our images show a dusty environment in the nuclear region of all 14galaxies, with clear indications of obscuration of the nuclei in most ofthe ``UV-dark'' cases. The data thus suggest that the line-emitting gasin most LINERs is photoionized by a central source (which may bestellar, nonstellar, or a combination thereof) but that this source isoften hidden from direct view in the UV by dust in the host galaxy. Wefind no obvious differences between the morphologies of the nine ``LINER1.9s'' with detected weak broad Hα wings in their spectra and themorphologies of the other five objects. Likewise, there is no cleardistinction in morphology between objects whose UV spectra are dominatedby hot stars (e.g., NGC 4569) and those that are more AGN-like (e.g.,NGC 4579). Based on observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, whichis operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| X-ray Emission Mechanisms of LINERs
We present here an analysis of the X-ray properties of a sample of LINERgalaxies observed with the ROSAT PSPC and HRI instruments. A spatialanalysis shows that the bulk of the X-ray emission is consistent witharising from a point source; some extended emission appears at weakemission levels. The X-ray spectra are formally best described by apowerlaw with photon index Γ_x ~ -2 or thermal emission from aRaymond-Smith plasma with highly subsolar abundances (Z <= 0.1).Several emission mechanisms that might contribute to the observed X-rayspectra are discussed. In particular, we take the very subsolarabundances derived from Raymond-Smith fits as an indication of a morecomplex emission mechanism, like the presence of a second hard componentor plasma out of equilibrium.
| 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.
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