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UBVRI Light Curves of 44 Type Ia Supernovae
We present UBVRI photometry of 44 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observedfrom 1997 to 2001 as part of a continuing monitoring campaign at theFred Lawrence Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center forAstrophysics. The data set comprises 2190 observations and is thelargest homogeneously observed and reduced sample of SNe Ia to date,nearly doubling the number of well-observed, nearby SNe Ia withpublished multicolor CCD light curves. The large sample of U-bandphotometry is a unique addition, with important connections to SNe Iaobserved at high redshift. The decline rate of SN Ia U-band light curvescorrelates well with the decline rate in other bands, as does the U-Bcolor at maximum light. However, the U-band peak magnitudes show anincreased dispersion relative to other bands even after accounting forextinction and decline rate, amounting to an additional ~40% intrinsicscatter compared to the B band.
| Chemistry and Star Formation in the Host Galaxies of Type Ia Supernovae
We study the effect of environment on the properties of Type Iasupernovae by analyzing the integrated spectra of 57 local Type Iasupernova host galaxies. We deduce from the spectra the metallicity,current star formation rate, and star formation history of the host andcompare these to the supernova decline rates. Additionally, we comparethe host properties to the difference between the derived supernovadistance and the distance determined from the best-fit Hubble law. Fromthis we investigate possible uncorrected systematic effects inherent inthe calibration of Type Ia supernova luminosities using light-curvefitting techniques. Our results indicate a statistically insignificantcorrelation in the direction of higher metallicity spiral galaxieshosting fainter Type Ia supernovae. However, we present qualitativeevidence suggesting that progenitor age is more likely to be the sourceof variability in supernova peak luminosities than is metallicity. We donot find a correlation between the supernova decline rate and hostgalaxy absolute B magnitude, nor do we find evidence of a significantrelationship between decline rate and current host galaxy star formationrate. A tenuous correlation is observed between the supernova Hubbleresiduals and host galaxy metallicities. Further host galaxyobservations will be needed to refine the significance of this result.Finally, we characterize the environmental property distributions forType Ia supernova host galaxies through a comparison with two larger,more general galaxy distributions using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Theresults show the host galaxy metallicity distribution to be similar tothe metallicity distributions of the galaxies of the NFGS and SDSS.Significant differences are observed between the SN Ia distributions ofabsolute B magnitude and star formation histories and the correspondingdistributions of galaxies in the NFGS and SDSS. Among these is an abruptupper limit observed in the distribution of star formation histories ofthe host galaxy sample, suggesting a Type Ia supernovae characteristicdelay time lower limit of approximately 2.0 Gyr. Other distributiondiscrepancies are investigated and the effects on the supernovaproperties are discussed.
| Reddening, Absorption, and Decline Rate Corrections for a Complete Sample of Type Ia Supernovae Leading to a Fully Corrected Hubble Diagram to v < 30,000 km s-1
Photometric (BVI) and redshift data corrected for streaming motions arecompiled for 111 ``Branch-normal,'' four 1991T-like, seven 1991bg-like,and two unusual supernovae of Type Ia (SNe Ia). Color excessesE(B-V)host of normal SNe Ia, due to the absorption of thehost galaxy, are derived by three independent methods, giving excellentagreement leading to the intrinsic colors at maximum of(B-V)00=-0.024+/-0.010 and (V-I)00=-0.265+/-0.016if normalized to a common decline rate of Δm15=1.1. Thestrong correlation between redshift absolute magnitudes (based on anarbitrary Hubble constant of H0=60 km s-1Mpc-1), corrected only for the extrinsic Galactic absorption,and the derived E(B-V)host color excesses leads to thewell-determined yet abnormal absorption-to-reddening ratios ofRBVI=3.65+/-0.16, 2.65+/-0.15, and 1.35+/-0.21.Comparison with the canonical Galactic values of 4.1, 3.1, and 1.8forces the conclusion that the law of interstellar absorption in thepath length to the SN in the host galaxy is different from the localGalactic law, a result consistent with earlier conclusions by others.Improved correlations of the fully corrected absolute magnitudes (on thesame arbitrary Hubble constant zero point) with host galaxymorphological type, decline rate, and intrinsic color are derived. Werecover the result that SNe Ia in E/S0 galaxies are ~0.3 mag fainterthan in spiral galaxies for possible reasons discussed in the text. Thenew decline rate corrections to absolute magnitudes are smaller thanthose by some authors for reasons explained in the text. The fourspectroscopically peculiar 1991T-type SNe are significantly overluminousas compared to Branch-normal SNe Ia. The overluminosity of the seven1999aa-like SNe is less pronounced. The seven 1991bg types in the sampleconstitute a separate class of SNe Ia, averaging in B 2 mag fainter thanthe normal Ia. New Hubble diagrams in B, V, and I are derived out to~30,000 km s-1 using the fully corrected magnitudes andvelocities, corrected for streaming motions. Nine solutions for theintercept magnitudes in these diagrams show extreme stability at the0.02 mag level using various subsamples of the data for both low andhigh extinctions in the sample, proving the validity of the correctionsfor host galaxy absorption. We shall use the same precepts for fullycorrecting SN magnitudes for the luminosity recalibration of SNe Ia inthe forthcoming final review of our Hubble Space Telescope Cepheid-SNexperiment for the Hubble constant.
| A dichotomy in the orientation of dust and radio jets in nearby low-power radio galaxies
We examine the properties of central dust in nearby quiescent and activeearly-type galaxies. The active galaxies are low-power radio galaxieswith Fanaroff & Riley type I or I/II radio jets. We focus on (a) thecomparison of the dust distributions in the active and quiescent galaxysamples; and (b) the relation between the radio jet and dustorientations. Our main observational conclusions are: (i) in line withprevious studies, the dust detection rate is higher in radio-jetgalaxies than in non radio-jet galaxies; (ii) radio galaxies contain ahigher fraction of regular dust “ellipses” compared toquiescent galaxies which contain more often irregular dustdistributions; (iii) the morphology, size and orientation of dustellipses and lanes in quiescent early-types and active early-types withkpc-scale radio jets is very similar; (iv) dust ellipses are alignedwith the major axis of the galaxy, dust lanes do not show a preferredalignment except for large (>kpc) dust lanes which are aligned withthe minor axis of the galaxy; and (v) as projected on the sky, jets donot show a preferred orientation relative to the galaxy major axis (andhence dust ellipses), but jets are preferentially perpendicular to dustlanes. We show that the dust ellipses are consistent with being nearlycircular thin disks viewed at random viewing angles. The lanes arelikely warped dust structures, which may be in the process of settlingdown to become regular disks or are being perturbed by anon-gravitational force. We use the observed dust-jet orientations toconstrain the three-dimensional angle θDJ between jetand dust. For dust-lane galaxies, the jet is approximately perpendicularto the dust structure, while for dust-ellipse galaxies there is a muchwider distribution of θDJ. We discuss two scenariosthat could explain the dust/jet/galaxy orientation dichotomy. If lanesare indeed settling, then the jet orientation apparently is roughlyaligned with the angular momentum of the dust before it settles. Iflanes are perturbed by a jet-related force, it appears that it causesthe dust to move out of its equilibrium plane in the galaxy into a planewhich is perpendicular to the jet.
| Cosmological Results from High-z Supernovae
The High-z Supernova Search Team has discovered and observed eight newsupernovae in the redshift interval z=0.3-1.2. These independentobservations, analyzed by similar but distinct methods, confirm theresults of Riess and Perlmutter and coworkers that supernova luminositydistances imply an accelerating universe. More importantly, they extendthe redshift range of consistently observed Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia)to z~1, where the signature of cosmological effects has the oppositesign of some plausible systematic effects. Consequently, thesemeasurements not only provide another quantitative confirmation of theimportance of dark energy, but also constitute a powerful qualitativetest for the cosmological origin of cosmic acceleration. We find a ratefor SN Ia of(1.4+/-0.5)×10-4h3Mpc-3yr-1at a mean redshift of 0.5. We present distances and host extinctions for230 SN Ia. These place the following constraints on cosmologicalquantities: if the equation of state parameter of the dark energy isw=-1, then H0t0=0.96+/-0.04, andΩΛ-1.4ΩM=0.35+/-0.14. Includingthe constraint of a flat universe, we findΩM=0.28+/-0.05, independent of any large-scalestructure measurements. Adopting a prior based on the Two Degree Field(2dF) Redshift Survey constraint on ΩM and assuming aflat universe, we find that the equation of state parameter of the darkenergy lies in the range -1.48-1, we obtain w<-0.73 at 95% confidence.These constraints are similar in precision and in value to recentresults reported using the WMAP satellite, also in combination with the2dF Redshift Survey.Based in part on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc.,under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. This research is primarily associatedwith proposal GO-8177, but also uses and reports results from proposalsGO-7505, 7588, 8641, and 9118.Based in part on observations taken with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, operated by the National Research Council of Canada, le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique de France, and the University of Hawaii. CTIO: Based in part on observations taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.Keck: 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, and theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was madepossible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.UH: Based in part on observations with the University of Hawaii 2.2 mtelescope at Mauna Kea Observatory, Institute for Astronomy, University ofHawaii. UKIRT: Based in part on observations with the United KingdomInfrared Telescope (UKIRT) operated by the Joint Astronomy Centre on behalfof the UK. Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. VLT: Based inpart on observations obtained at the European Southern Observatory,Paranal, Chile, under programs ESO 64.O-0391 and ESO 64.O-0404. WIYN: Based in part on observations taken at the WIYN Observatory, a joint facility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories.
| 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 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
| Reconciliation of the Surface Brightness Fluctuation and Type Ia Supernova Distance Scales
We present Hubble Space Telescope measurements of surface brightnessfluctuation (SBF) distances to early-type galaxies that have hosted TypeIa supernovae (SNe Ia). The agreement in the relative SBF and SN Iamulticolor light-curve shape and delta-m15 distances isexcellent. There is no systematic scale error with distance, andprevious work has shown that SBFs and SNe Ia give consistent ties to theHubble flow. However, we confirm a systematic offset of ~0.25 mag in thedistance zero points of the two methods, and we trace this offset totheir respective Cepheid calibrations. SBFs have in the past beencalibrated with Cepheid distances from the H0 Key Projectteam, while SNe Ia have been calibrated with Cepheid distances from theteam composed of Sandage, Saha, and collaborators. When the two methodsare calibrated in a consistent way, their distances are in superbagreement. Until the conflict over the ``long'' and ``short''extragalactic Cepheid distances among many galaxies is resolved, wecannot definitively constrain the Hubble constant to better than ~10%,even leaving aside the additional uncertainty in the distance to theLarge Magellanic Cloud, common to both Cepheid scales. However, recenttheoretical SBF predictions from stellar population models favor the KeyProject Cepheid scale, while the theoretical SN Ia calibration liesbetween the long and short scales. In addition, while the current SBFdistance to M31/M32 is in good agreement with the RR Lyrae and red giantbranch distances, calibrating SBFs with the longer Cepheid scale wouldintroduce a 0.3 mag offset with respect to the RR Lyrae scale. Based onobservations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at theSpace Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Associationof Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated with proposals8212, 5990, and 6587.
| Arcsecond Positions of UGC Galaxies
We present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.
| 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.
| Supernova 1997E in NGC 2258
IAUC 6538 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| The influence of environment on gas and dust in S0 galaxies
Consideration is given to the effect of local environemnt on the gas anddust content of S0 galaxies relative to other spiral systems in theLocal Supercluster. The optical properties, H I content, and FIRcontinuum properties of a complete sample of Local Supercluster S0galaxies are analyzed. The characteristics of S0 galaxies are comparedwith those of Sa and Sc galaxies. It is concluded that, like otherspiral galaxies, S0's undergo continuing gas removal when they passthrough high-density regions.
| H I content versus star formation and ionized gas in early-type galaxies
A spectral analysis in the visible of 55 early type galaxies alsoobserved in the 21 cm line allows the investigation of the possiblerelationship between star formation and the H I content. No significantcorrelation is found between the H I content and various parameters likethe stellar population, the presence of an H-beta absorption component,the H-alpha and N II forbidden line emission line intensity, the absolute luminosity, the IRAS infrared flux, the X-ray emission, or the radiocontinuum flux. However, the relationship between the luminosity and the(forbidden N II)/(H-alpha) line intensity ratio is not confirmed. Theabsence of clear correlations reflects the complexity of the situation.It may suggest also that lenticular galaxies do not form an homogeneousclass of objects.
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