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HI content in galaxies in loose groups
Gas deficiency in cluster spirals is well known and ram-pressurestripping is considered the main gas removal mechanism. In some compactgroups too gas deficiency is reported. However, gas deficiency in loosegroups is not yet well established. Lower dispersion of the membervelocities and the lower density of the intragroup medium in small loosegroups favour tidal stripping as the main gas removal process in them.Recent releases of data from the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) andcatalogues of nearby loose groups with associated diffuse X-ray emissionhave allowed us to test this notion. In this paper, we address thefollowing questions: (i) do galaxies in groups with diffuse X-rayemission statistically have lower gas content compared to the ones ingroups without diffuse X-ray emission? (ii) does HI deficiency vary withthe X-ray luminosity, LX, of the loose group in a systematicway? We find that (i) galaxies in groups with diffuse X-ray emission, onaverage, are HI deficient, and have lost more gas compared to those ingroups without X-ray emission; the latter are found not to havesignificant HI deficiency; (ii) no systematic dependence of the HIdeficiency with LX is found. Ram-pressure-assisted tidalstripping and evaporation by thermal conduction are the two possiblemechanisms to account for this excess gas loss.
| Gas in early-type galaxies: cross-fuelling in late-type-early-type pairs?
We present 12CO (J= 1-0) and 12CO (J= 2-1)observations of eight early-type galaxies, forming part of a sample ofinteracting galaxies, each consisting of one late- and one early-typesystem. All of the early-type galaxies observed are undetected in CO tolow levels, allowing us to place tight constraints on their moleculargas content. Additionally, we present HI absorption data for one system.The implications for possible gas transfer from the late- to theearly-type galaxy during the interaction are discussed.
| The Structure of the Underlying Stellar Host in Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies
Nowadays it is well established that BCDs are mostly old systems, as thevast majority of them have an extended low-surface brightness (LSB)stellar host underlying their central starburst component. This hostgenerally extends several kpc from the star-forming (SF) regions, showsregular elliptical isophotes, and displays red colors indicative of anevolved stellar population Papaderos96a,Cairos01a,Cairos01b,Cairos03.
| Unveiling the Nature of the Low Surface Brightness Stellar Host in Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies
In order to characterize the low surface brightness component in bluecompact dwarf galaxies, we determine their structural parameters foreight objects by fitting a Sérsic law to their B, V, and R lightprofiles. We restrict the fit to the outer regions, excluding thestarburst emission with the help of color and Hα maps. We discussthe problems and the uncertainties involved in fitting the Sérsicmodel, in particular the limited surface brightness interval and thesky-subtraction errors. We show that by carefully selecting the fittedradial range and by performing consistency checks on the fits in thedifferent bands we can derive reliable structural parameters. Allgalaxies but one show very good agreement on the Sérsicparameters in the three bands. Six of these galaxies have Sérsicindexes n very close to 1, while the other two have n~2.5.We compare the distribution of the BCDs with that of dI, dE, and LSBgalaxies in the diagrams built upon the Sérsic parameters. Whileprevious works claimed that BCDs are segregated from the other dwarfs insuch diagrams, here we find that six BCDs occupy the same region as theother dwarf types, while two galaxies have larger n, smallerRe, and brighter μ0. These results indicatethat evolutionary connections between BCDs and the other dwarf classescannot be ruled out.
| Palomar/Las Campanas Imaging Atlas of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies. II. Surface Photometry and the Properties of the Underlying Stellar Population
We present the results from an analysis of surface photometry of B, R,and Hα images of a total of 114 nearby galaxies(vhelio<4000 km s-1) drawn from the Palomar/LasCampanas Imaging Atlas of blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies. Surfacebrightness and color profiles for the complete sample have beenobtained. We determine the exponential and Sérsic profiles thatbest fit the surface brightness distribution of the underlying stellarpopulation detected in these galaxies. We also compute the (B-R) colorand total absolute magnitude of the underlying stellar population andcompared them to the integrated properties of the galaxies in thesample. Our analysis shows that the (B-R) color of the underlyingpopulation is systematically redder than the integrated color, except inthose galaxies where the integrated colors are strongly contaminated byline and nebular-continuum emission. We also find that galaxies withrelatively red underlying stellar populations [typically (B-R)>=1mag] show structural properties compatible with those of dwarfelliptical galaxies (i.e., a smooth light distribution, fainterextrapolated central surface brightness, and larger scale lengths thanBCD galaxies with blue underlying stellar populations). At least ~15% ofthe galaxies in the sample are compatible with being dwarf elliptical(dE) galaxies experiencing a burst of star formation. For the remainingBCD galaxies in the sample we do not find any correlation between therecent star formation activity and their structural differences withrespect to other types of dwarf galaxies.
| The Nature of Nearby Counterparts to Intermediate-Redshift Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies. II. CO Observations
We present the results of a single-dish beam-matched survey of the threelowest rotational transitions of CO in a sample of 20 local (D<~70Mpc) luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs). These ~L*, blue, highsurface brightness, starbursting galaxies were selected on the samecriteria used to define LCBGs at higher redshifts. Our detection ratewas 70%, with those galaxies havingLB<7×109 Lsolar not detected.We find that the H2 masses of local LCBGs range from6.6×106 to 2.7×109 Msolar,assuming a Galactic CO-to-H2 conversion factor. Combiningthese results with our earlier H I survey of the same sample, we findthat the ratio of molecular to atomic gas mass is low, typically 5%-10%.Using a large velocity gradient model, we find that the average gasconditions of the entire interstellar medium in local LCBGs are similarto those found in the centers of star-forming regions in our Galaxy andin the nuclear regions of other galaxies. Star formation rates,determined from IRAS fluxes, are a few Msolaryr-1, much higher per unit dynamical mass than normal spiralgalaxies. If this rate remains constant, the molecular hydrogendepletion timescales are short, ~10-200 Myr.
| Optimization of Starburst99 for Intermediate-Age and Old Stellar Populations
We have incorporated the latest release of the Padova models into theevolutionary synthesis code Starburst99. The Padova tracks were extendedto include the full asymptotic giant branch (AGB) evolution until thefinal thermal pulse over the mass range 0.9-5 Msolar. Withthis addition, Starburst99 accounts for all stellar phases thatcontribute to the integrated light of a stellar population witharbitrary age from the extreme-ultraviolet to the near-infrared. AGBstars are important for ages between 0.1 and 2 Gyr, with theircontribution increasing at longer wavelengths. We investigatesimilarities and differences between the model predictions by the Genevaand the Padova tracks. The differences are particularly pronounced atages >1 Gyr, when incompleteness sets in for the Geneva models. Wealso perform detailed comparisons with the predictions of other majorsynthesis codes and find excellent agreement. Our synthesized opticalcolors are compared to observations of old, intermediate-age, and youngpopulations. Excellent agreement is found for the old globular clustersystem of NGC 5128 and for old and intermediate-age clusters in NGC4038/4039. In contrast, the models fail for red supergiant-dominatedpopulations with subsolar abundances. This failure can be traced back toincorrect red supergiant parameters in the stellar evolutionary tracks.Our models and the synthesis code are publicly available as version 5.0of Starburst99 at http://www.stsci.edu/science/starburst99.
| 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.
| Spectroscopic study of blue compact galaxies. V. Oxygen abundance and the metallicity-luminosity relation
This is the fifth paper in a series studying the stellar components,star formation histories, star formation rates and metallicities of ablue compact galaxy (BCG) sample. Based on our high-quality ground-basedspectroscopic observations, we have determined the electrontemperatures, electron densities, nitrogen abundances and oxygenabundances for 72 star-forming BCGs in our sample, using differentoxygen abundance indicators. The oxygen abundance covers the range 7.15< 12 + log (O/H)< 9.0, and nitrogen is found to be mostly aproduct of secondary nucleosynthesis for 12 + log (O/H)>8.2 andapparently a product of primary nucleosynthesis for 12 + log (O/H)<8.2. To assess the possible systematic differences among differentoxygen abundance indicators, we have compared oxygen abundances of BCGsobtained with the Te method, R23 method, P method,N2 method and O3N2 method. The oxygen abundances derived from theTe method are systematically lower by 0.1-0.25 dex than thosederived from the strong line empirical abundance indicators, consistentwith previous studies based on region samples. We confirm the existenceof the metallicity-luminosity relation in BCGs over a large range ofabundances and luminosities. Our sample of galaxies shows that the slopeof the metallicity-luminosity relation for the luminous galaxies(~-0.05) is slightly shallower than that for the dwarf galaxies(~-0.17). An offset was found in the metallicity-luminosity relation ofthe local galaxies and that of the intermediate redshift galaxies. Itshows that the metallicity-luminosity relation for the emission linegalaxies at high redshift is displaced to lower abundances, higherluminosities, or both.
| New insights to the photometric structure of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies from deep near-infrared studies. II. The sample of northern BCDs
This paper is part of a series of publications which present asystematic study of Blue Compact Dwarf (BCD) Galaxies in the nearinfrared (NIR). Compared to the visible light, NIR data allow a betterseparation of the starburst emission from the light distribution of theold stellar low-surface brightness (LSB) host galaxy. We analyze deepNIR broad band images of a sample of 11 BCDs, observed with the CalarAlto 3.6 m telescope. This work enlarges the samples presented inpreceding papers of this study (Noeske et al. \cite{Noeske2003},A&A, 410, 481; Cairós et al. \cite{c03a}, ApJ, 593, 312) byBCDs of the most common morphological type, displaying a regularelliptical LSB host galaxy. The data presented here allow the detectionand quantitative study of the extended stellar LSB host galaxy in allsample BCDs. The NIR surface brightness profiles (SBPs) of the LSB hostgalaxies agree at large galactocentric radii with those from opticalstudies, showing also an exponential intensity decrease and compatiblescale lengths. Similar to Noeske et al. (\cite{Noeske2003}), we findcentrally flattening exponential (type V) SBPs of the host galaxy forseveral BCDs. Such SBPs remain mostly undetected in optical bands, dueto the comparatively stronger starburst emission at these wavelengths.We apply a modified exponential distribution to decompose andquantitatively analyze SBPs of LSB hosts with a type V intensitydistribution. We present the results of the surface photometry and thedecomposition of SBPs, and discuss individual objects with respect tomorphological details of their star-forming regions.Table 2 is also available in electronic form 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/429/115Figures 2 to 11 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.orgGerman-Spanish Astronomical Center, Calar Alto, operated by theMax-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, jointly with the SpanishNational Commission for Astronomy.
| NGC 7468: A Galaxy with an Inner Polar Disk
We present our spectroscopic observations of the galaxy NGC 7468performed at the 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope usingthe UAGS long-slit spectrograph, the MPFS multi-pupil fiberspectrograph, and the IFP scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer. We foundno significant deviations from the circular rotation of the galacticdisk in the velocity field in the regions of brightness excess along themajor axis of the galaxy (the putative polar ring). Thus, these featuresare either tidal structures or weakly developed spiral arms. However, wedetected a gaseous disk at the center of the galaxy whose rotation planeis almost perpendicular to the plane of the galactic disk. The centralcollision of NGC 7468 with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy and their subsequentmerging seem to be responsible for the formation of this disk.
| The Nature of Nearby Counterparts to Intermediate-Redshift Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies. I. Optical/H I Properties and Dynamical Masses
We present single-dish H I spectra obtained with the Green BankTelescope, along with optical photometric properties from the SloanDigital Sky Survey, of 20 nearby (D<~70 Mpc) luminous compact bluegalaxies (LCBGs). These ~L*, blue, high surface brightness, starburstinggalaxies were selected using the same criteria as were used to defineLCBGs at higher redshifts. We find that these galaxies are gas-rich,with MHI ranging from 5×108 to8×109 Msolar andMHIL-1B ranging from 0.2 to 2Msolar L-1solar, consistent with avariety of morphological types of galaxies. We find that the dynamicalmasses (measured within R25) span a wide range, from 1 to1×1011 Msolar. However, at least half havedynamical mass-to-light ratios smaller than those of nearby galaxies ofall Hubble types, as found for LCBGs at intermediate redshifts. Bycomparing line widths and effective radii with local galaxy populations,we find that LCBGs are consistent with the dynamical mass properties ofMagellanic (low luminosity) spiral galaxies and the more massiveirregular and dwarf elliptical galaxies, such as NGC 205.
| Radio Continuum Emission in Polar Ring Galaxies
We have used the Very Large Array aperture synthesis telescope toconduct a radio continuum survey of polar ring galaxies, at 20 cm and 6cm. Forty objects were observed at 20 cm with ~=5" resolution. Twenty(50%) of the program sources were detected at 20 cm, down to our 5σ limit of 0.5 mJy beam-1. This detection rate issimilar to those in surveys with comparable sensitivity for early-typegalaxies without polar rings. Sixteen of the objects we detected at 20cm were also observed at 6 cm. We show radio continuum maps for the fiveobjects in our sample that have noticeably extended emission. Ourspatial resolution was sufficient to distinguish emission originating inthe host galaxy from that in the polar ring. The radio morphology of theextended sources, as well as the ratio of radio to far-infrared flux andthe radio spectral indices of our detected sources, indicate that starformation, not nuclear activity, is the dominant source of the radiocontinuum emission in polar ring galaxies. However, the implied starformation rates are modest, and only one of our sample galaxies willconsume its supply of cool gas within 500 Myr.
| Catalog of Double Nucleus Disk Galaxies
We have compiled a catalog of disk galaxies that have a double nucleus,through systematic examination of existing catalogs and publications.The Catalog of Double Nucleus Disk Galaxies includes 107 objects,together with their basic data. The aim of the catalog is to provide amore systematic and homogeneous basis for the study of the relevance ofgalaxy interactions and minor mergers in the formation of these doublenuclei. We have also investigated possible correlations betweengeometric and photometric parameters of the double nuclei and their hostgalaxies. The preliminary results indicate the presence of severalsignificant correlations that should be considered in any theoreticalscenario describing minor mergers and disk galaxy evolution.
| Spectroscopic study of blue compact galaxies. IV. Star formation rates and gas depletion timescales
This is the fourth paper in a series studying star formation rates,stellar components, metallicities, and star formation histories of ablue compact galaxy (BCG) sample. Using Hα, [O II]λ3727,infrared (IR), radio (1.4 GHz) luminosities and neutral hydrogen (H I)gas masses, we estimated star formation rates and gas depletiontimescales of 72 star-forming BCGs. The star formation rates of the BCGsin our sample span nearly four orders of magnitude, from approximately10-2 to 102 Mȯ yr-1,with a median star formation rate of about 3 Mȯyr-1. The typical gas depletion timescale of BCGs is aboutone billion years. Star formation could be sustained at the currentlevel only on a timescale significantly lower than the age of theuniverse before their neutral gas reservoir is completely depleted. Toassess the possible systematic differences among different starformation rate indicators, we compared the star formation rates derivedfrom Hα, [O II]λ3727, IR, and radio luminosities, andinvestigated the effects from underlying stellar absorption and dustextinction. We found that subtracting underlying stellar absorption isvery important to calculate both dust extinction and star formation rateof galaxies. Otherwise, the intrinsic extinction will be overestimated,the star formation rates derived from [O II]λ3727 and Hαwill be underestimated (if the underlying stellar absorption and theinternal extinction were not corrected from the observed luminosity) oroverestimated (if an overestimated internal extinction were used forextinction correction). After both the underlying stellar absorption andthe dust extinction were corrected, a remarkably good correlationemerges among Hα, [O II]λ3727, IR and radio star formationrate indicators. Finally, we find a good correlation between themeasured star formation rate and the absolute blue magnitude,metallicity, interstellar extinction of BCGs. Our results indicate thatfaint, low-mass BCGs have lower star formation rates.Star formation rates and gas depletion timescales of BCGs are availablein electronic form at the 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/425/417
| The PDS versus Markarian starburst galaxies: comparing strong and weak IRAS emitter at 12 and 25 μm in the nearby Universe
The characteristics of the starburst galaxies from the Pico dos Diassurvey (PDS) are compared with those of the nearby ultraviolet (UV)bright Markarian starburst galaxies, having the same limit in redshift(vh < 7500 km s-1) and absolute B magnitude(MB < -18). An important difference is found: theMarkarian galaxies are generally undetected at 12 and 25 μm in IRAS.This is consistent with the UV excess shown by these galaxies andsuggests that the youngest star-forming regions dominating thesegalaxies are relatively free of dust.The far-infrared selection criteria for the PDS are shown to introduce astrong bias towards massive (luminous) and large size late-type spiralgalaxies. This is contrary to the Markarian galaxies, which are found tobe remarkably rich in smaller size early-type galaxies. These resultssuggest that only late-type spirals with a large and massive disc arestrong emitters at 12 and 25 μm in IRAS in the nearby Universe.The Markarian and PDS starburst galaxies are shown to share the sameenvironment. This rules out an explanation of the differences observedin terms of external parameters. These differences may be explained byassuming two different levels of evolution, the Markarian being lessevolved than the PDS galaxies. This interpretation is fully consistentwith the disc formation hypothesis proposed by Coziol et al. to explainthe special properties of the Markarian SBNG.
| Palomar/Las Campanas Imaging Atlas of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies. I. Images and Integrated Photometry
We present B, R, and Hα images for a total of 114 nearby galaxies(vhelio<4000 km s-1) that, with exception ofnine objects, are classified as blue compact dwarfs (BCDs). BRintegrated magnitudes, Hα fluxes and Hα equivalent widthsfor all the objects in the sample are presented. A new set ofquantitative, observational criteria for a galaxy to be classified as aBCD is proposed. These criteria include a limit on the K-band luminosity(i.e., stellar mass; MK>-21 mag), peak surface brightness(μB,peak<22 mag arcsec-2), and color at thepeak surface brightness(μB,peak-μR,peak<~1). Hα emissionis detected in all but three sample galaxies. Typical color, absolutemagnitude, and Hα luminosity are (B-R)=0.7+/-0.3 mag,MB=-16.1+/-1.4 mag, and log (LHα)=40.0+/-0.6(ergs s-1). Galaxies morphologically classified as nE and iEBCDs within our sample show lower Hα equivalent widths and reddercolors, on average, than the iI- and i0-type BCDs. For most of thegalaxies the presence of an evolved stellar population is required toexplain their observed properties; only the most metal-poor BCDs (e.g.,I Zw 18, Tol 65) are still compatible with a pure, young burst. Theflux-calibrated and WCS-compliant images in this Atlas are individuallyavailable through the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) imageserver and collectively through a dedicated Web page.
| CO (3-2) Observations of Early-Type Galaxies with the Heinrich Hertz Telescope
We present Heinrich Hertz Telescope CO (3-2) observations of a sample of10 early-type galaxies detected both in far-infrared (IRAS) and in CO(1-0). Six of the objects (i.e., 60% of the sample) were detected in theCO (3-2) transition. Comparison of the beam-matched CO (3-2)/CO (1-0)and CO (2-1)/CO (1-0) intensity ratios with simple large velocitygradient and photodissociation region models reveals that early-typeobjects can be broadly classified into two categories. The majority ofobjects have a molecular interstellar medium of moderate density(nH2<=1000 cm-3) and temperature(T<=30 K). Two objects, NGC 3593 and NGC 4691, show indications ofquite denser and warmer environments, as well as gradients in theirphysical properties, compatible with their classification as starbursts.The heating source of the molecular gas and dust in all the objects inour sample appears to be ongoing star formation.
| Neutral Hydrogen Mapping of Virgo Cluster Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies
A new installment of neutral hydrogen mappings of blue compact dwarf(BCD) galaxies, as defined by optical morphology, in and near the VirgoCluster is presented. The primary motivation was to search for outlyingclouds of H I as potential interactive triggers of enhanced starformation, and therefore the mapped galaxies were selected for large H Imass, large optical diameter, and large velocity profile width.Approximately half the sample proved to have one or more small, lowcolumn density, star-free companion clouds, either detached or appearingas an appendage in our maps, at a resolution on the order of 4 kpc.Comparison is made with a sample of similarly mapped field BCD galaxiesdrawn from the literature; however, the Virgo Cluster sample of mappedBCDs is still too small for conclusive comparisons to be made. We found,on the one hand, little or no evidence for ram-pressure stripping nor,on the other, for extremely extended low column density H I envelopes.The H I rotation curves in most cases rise approximately linearly andslowly, as far out as we can trace the gas.
| 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.
| 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.
| Spectroscopic study of blue compact galaxies. III. Empirical population synthesis
This is the third paper of a series dedicated to the study of the starformation rates, star formation histories, metallicities and dustcontents of a sample of blue compact galaxies (BCGs). We constrain thestellar contents of 73 blue compact galaxies by analyzing theircontinuum spectra and the equivalent widths of strong stellar absorptionfeatures using a technique of empirical population synthesis based on alibrary of observed star-cluster spectra. Our results indicate that bluecompact galaxies are typically age-composite stellar systems; inaddition to young stars, intermediate-age and old stars contributesignificantly to the 5870 Å continuum emission of most galaxies inour sample. The stellar populations of blue compact galaxies also span avariety of metallicities. The ongoing episodes of star formation startedtypically less than a billion years ago. Some galaxies may be undergoingtheir first global episode of star formation, while for most galaxies inour sample, older stars are found to contribute up to half the opticalemission. Our results suggest that BCGs are primarily old galaxies withdiscontinuous star formation histories. These results are consistentwith the results from deep imaging observations of the color-magnitudediagrams of a few nearby BCGs using HST and large ground-basedtelescopes. The good quality of our population synthesis fits of BCGspectra allow us to estimate the contamination of the Hβox{Hα }, Hβ , Hγ and Hdelta Balmer emission lines bystellar absorption. The absorption equivalent widths measured in thesynthetic spectra range from typically 1.5 Å for Hβox{Hα }, to 2-5 Å for Hβ , Hγ , and Hdelta . Theimplied accurate measurements of emission-line intensities will be usedin a later study to constrain the star formation rates and gas-phasechemical element abundances of blue compact galaxies.
| Molecular Gas in Elliptical Galaxies: Distribution and Kinematics
I present interferometric images (~7" resolution) of CO emission in fiveelliptical galaxies and nondetections in two others. These data doublethe number of elliptical galaxies whose CO emission has been fullymapped. The sample galaxies have 108 to5×109 Msolar of molecular gas distributed inmostly symmetric rotating disks with diameters of 2-12 kpc. Four out ofthe five molecular disks show remarkable alignment with the opticalmajor axes of their host galaxies. The molecular masses are a fewpercent of the total dynamical masses that are implied if the gas is oncircular orbits. If the molecular gas forms stars, it will makerotationally supported stellar disks that will be very similar incharacter to the stellar disks now known to be present in manyellipticals. Comparison of stellar kinematics to gas kinematics in NGC4476 implies that the molecular gas did not come from internal stellarmass loss because the specific angular momentum of the gas is about 3times larger than that of the stars.
| The UZC-SSRS2 Group Catalog
We apply a friends-of-friends algorithm to the combined Updated ZwickyCatalog and Southern Sky Redshift Survey to construct a catalog of 1168groups of galaxies; 411 of these groups have five or more members withinthe redshift survey. The group catalog covers 4.69 sr, and all groupsexceed the number density contrast threshold, δρ/ρ=80. Wedemonstrate that the groups catalog is homogeneous across the twounderlying redshift surveys; the catalog of groups and their membersthus provides a basis for other statistical studies of the large-scaledistribution of groups and their physical properties. The medianphysical properties of the groups are similar to those for groupsderived from independent surveys, including the ESO Key Programme andthe Las Campanas Redshift Survey. We include tables of groups and theirmembers.
| Spectroscopic study of blue compact galaxies. II. Spectral analysis and correlations
This is the second paper in a series studying the star formation rates,stellar components, metallicities, and star formation histories andevolution of a sample of blue compact galaxies. We analyzed spectralproperties of 97 blue compact galaxies, obtained with the BeijingAstronomical Observatory (China) 2.16 m telescope, with spectral range3580 Å-7400 Å. We classify the spectra according to theiremission lines: 13 of the total 97 BCG sample are non-emission linegalaxies (non-ELGs); 10 have AGN-like emission (AGNs), and 74 of themare star-forming galaxies (SFGs). Emission line fluxes and equivalentwidths, continuum fluxes, the 4000 Å Balmer break index andequivalent widths of absorption lines are measured from the spectra. Weinvestigate the emission line trends in the integrated spectra of thestar-forming galaxies in our sample, and find that: 1) The equivalentwidths of emission lines are correlated with the galaxy absolute bluemagnitude MB; lower luminosity systems tend to have largerequivalent widths. 2) The equivalent width ratio [N II]6583/Hα isanti-correlated with equivalent width Hα; a relationship is giventhat can be used to remove the [N II] contribution from blendedHα+ [N II]6548, 6583. 3) The [O II], Hβ , Hγ andHα fluxes are correlated; those can be used as star formationtracers in the blue. 4) The metallicity indices show trends with galaxyabsolute magnitude and attenuation by dust, faint, low-mass BCGs havelower metallicity and color excess. Tables 1-4, and 6 are only availablein electronic form at the 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/396/503
| The blue compact dwarf galaxy I Zw 18: A comparative study of its low-surface-brightness component
Using HST and ground-based optical and NIR imaging data we investigatewhether the blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxy I Zw 18 possesses anextended low-surface-brightness (LSB) old stellar population underlyingits star-forming regions, as is the case in the majority of BCDs. Thisquestion is central to the long-standing debate on the evolutionarystate of I Zw 18. We show that the exponential intensity decreaseobserved in the filamentary LSB envelope of the BCD out to ga 18 arcsec(ga 1.3 kpc assuming a distance of 15 Mpc) is not due to an evolvedstellar disc underlying its star-forming regions, but rather, due toextended ionized gas emission. Ionized gas accounts for more than 80% ofthe line-of-sight emission at a galactocentric distance of ~ 0.65 kpc (~ 3 effective radii), and for ga 30% to 50% of the R light of the mainbody of I Zw 18. Broad-band images reveal, after subtraction of nebularline emission, a relatively smooth stellar host extending slightlybeyond the star-forming regions. This unresolved stellar component,though very compact, is not exceptional for intrinsically faint dwarfswith respect to its structural properties. However, being blue over aradius range of ~ 5 exponential scale lengths and showing little colourcontrast to the star-forming regions, it differs strikingly from the redLSB host of standard BCDs. This fact, together with the comparably bluecolours of the faint C component, ~ 1.6 kpc away from the main body of IZw 18, suggests that the formation of I Zw 18 as a whole has occurredwithin the last 0.5 Gyr, making it a young BCD candidate. Furthermore,we show that the ionized envelope of I Zw 18 is not exceptional amongstar-forming dwarf galaxies, neither by its exponential intensityfall-off nor by its scale length. However, contrary to evolved BCDs, thestellar LSB component of I Zw 18 is much more compact than the ionizedgas envelope. In the absence of an appreciable underlying stellarpopulation, extended ionized gas emission dominates in the outer partsof I Zw 18, mimicking an exponential stellar disc on optical surfacebrightness profiles. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA HubbleSpace Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute,which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract No. NAS 5-26555.Obtained at the German-Spanish Astronomical Center, Calar Alto, operatedby the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy. Obtained at the Kitt PeakNational Observatory, operated by the Association of Universities forResearch in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with theNational Science Foundation.
| Spectroscopic study of blue compact galaxies. I. The spectra
Blue compact galaxies are compact objects that are dominated by intensestar formation. Most of them have dramatically different propertiescompared to the Milky Way and many other nearby galaxies. Using theIRAS, H I data, and optical spectra, we wanted to measure the currentstar formation rates, stellar components, metallicities, and starformation histories and evolution of a large blue compact galaxy sample.We anticipate that our study will be useful as a benchmark for studiesof emission line galaxies at high redshift. In the first paper of thisseries, we describe the selection, spectroscopic observation, datareduction and calibration, and spectrophotometric accuracy of a sampleof 97 luminous blue compact galaxies. We present a spectrophotometricatlas of rest-frame spectra, as well as tables of the recessionvelocities and the signal-to-noise ratios. The recession velocities ofthese galaxies are measured with an accuracy of delta V< 67 kms-1. The average signal-to-noise ratio of sample spectra is ~51. The spectral line strengths, equivalent widths and continuum fluxesare also measured for the same galaxies and will be analyzed in the nextpaper of this series. The atlas and tables of measurements will be madeavailable electronically. Table 3 and Fig. 4 are only available inelectronic form at the 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/389/845
| Near-infrared spectroscopy of starburst galaxies
We present new K-band spectroscopy for a sample of 48 starburstgalaxies, obtained using UKIRT in Hawaii. This constitutes a fair sampleof the most common types of starburst galaxies found in the nearbyUniverse, containing galaxies with different morphologies, masses andmetallicities, with far-infrared luminosityLIR<1010Lsolar. The variety ofnear-infrared spectral features shown by these galaxies impliesdifferent bursts characteristics, which suggests that we survey galaxieswith different star formation histories or at different stages of theirburst evolution. Using synthetic starburst models, we conclude that theensemble of parameters that best describes starburst galaxies in thenearby UniverseQ1 is a constant rate of star formation, a Salpeterinitial mass function (IMF) with an upper mass cut-off ofMup=30Msolar and bursts ages between 10Myr and1Gyr. The model is fully consistent with the differences observed in theoptical and far-infrared (FIR) between the different types ofstarbursts. It suggests that Hii galaxies have younger bursts and lowermetallicities than starburst nucleus galaxies (SBNGs), while luminousinfrared galaxies (LIRGs) have younger bursts but higher metallicities.Although the above solution from the synthetic starburst model is fullyconsistent with our data, it may not constitute a strong constraint onthe duration of the bursts and the IMF. A possible alternative may be asequence of short bursts (which may follow an universal IMF) over arelatively long period of time. In favour of the multiple-bursthypothesis, we distinguish in our spectra some variations ofnear-infrared (NIR) features with the aperture that can be interpretedas evidence that the burst regions are not homogeneous in space andtime. We also found that the burst stellar populations are dominated byearly-type B stars, a characteristic which seems difficult to explainwith only one evolved burst. Our observations suggest that the starburstphenomenon must be a sustained or self-sustained phenomenon: either starformation is continuous in time, or multiple bursts happen in sequenceover a relatively long period of time. The generality of ourobservations implies that this is a characteristic of starburst galaxiesin the nearby Universe.
| Multiband Analysis of a Sample of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies. II. Spatially Resolved and Integrated Photometry
This is the second in a series of papers devoted to the study of asample of 28 blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs). In the first paper, wepresented the broadband observations in B, V, R, and I. Deep contourmaps, surface-brightness profiles, and color profiles were used toanalyze and discuss their morphology and structure. Here, we present newU-band and Hα observations. We compute isophotal and asymptoticmagnitudes of the sample galaxies and total Hα fluxes. Comparisonwith previous works is done to assess the quality of the data availablefor BCDs. Finally, we produce an atlas of detailed color and Hαmaps, the first systematic atlas of this kind published so far. The highquality of the data allows us to identify the different star-formingknots in the maps and to discriminate between them and the regions wherestar formation activity has already ceased. We supplement the atlas witha morphological description of each galaxy and group the galaxies infour classes according to the distribution of their star-formingregions.
| Multiband Analysis of a Sample of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies. I. Surface Brightness Distribution, Morphology, and Structural Parameters
Broadband observations in B, V, R, and I have been performed for asample of 28 galaxies cataloged as blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs).Our deep imaging, reaching surface brightness levels of a few percent ofthe sky brightness, has allowed the detection of underlying emission orlow surface brightness features for a substantial fraction of thesample. In this paper we present the first results of the program: deepcontour maps in the B band, surface brightness profiles, and colorprofiles for all the galaxies. The information derived for this sampleof galaxies has allowed us to analyze the morphology and the structuralcomponents of BCDs. Over 70% of the galaxies show complex profiles thatpreclude fitting by a single standard law, with extra structure at highto intermediate intensity levels. In 21 galaxies of the sample, anunderlying low surface brightness component has been detected.
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