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Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Brightest Cluster Galaxies
We used the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 toobtain I-band images of the centers of 81 brightest cluster galaxies(BCGs), drawn from a volume-limited sample of nearby BCGs. The imagesshow a rich variety of morphological features, including multiple ordouble nuclei, dust, stellar disks, point-source nuclei, and centralsurface brightness depressions. High-resolution surface brightnessprofiles could be inferred for 60 galaxies. Of those, 88% havewell-resolved cores. The relationship between core size and galaxyluminosity for BCGs is indistinguishable from that of Faber et al.(published in 1997, hereafter F97) for galaxies within the sameluminosity range. However, the core sizes of the most luminous BCGs fallbelow the extrapolation of the F97 relationshiprb~L1.15V. A shallower relationship,rb~L0.72V, fits both the BCGs and thecore galaxies presented in F97. Twelve percent of the BCG sample lacks awell-resolved core; all but one of these BCGs have ``power law''profiles. Some of these galaxies have higher luminosities than anypower-law galaxy identified by F97 and have physical upper limits onrb well below the values observed for core galaxies of thesame luminosity. These results support the idea that the centralstructure of early-type galaxies is bimodal in its physical propertiesbut also suggest that there exist high-luminosity galaxies withpower-law profiles (or unusually small cores). The BCGs in the lattercategory tend to fall at the low end of the BCG luminosity function andtend to have low values of the quantity α (the logarithmic slopeof the metric luminosity as a function of radius, at 10 kpc). Sincetheoretical calculations have shown that the luminosities andα-values of BCGs grow with time as a result of accretion, thissuggests a scenario in which elliptical galaxies evolve from power-lawprofiles to core profiles through accretion and merging. This isconsistent with theoretical scenarios that invoke the formation ofmassive black hole binaries during merger events. More generally, theprevalence of large cores in the great majority of BCGs, which arelikely to have experienced several generations of galaxy merging,underscores the role of a mechanism that creates and preserves cores insuch merging events.Based on observations made 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, Inc., underNASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated withproposal 8683.
| The Hamburg/RASS Catalogue of optical identifications. Northern high-galactic latitude ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue X-ray sources
We present the Hamburg/RASS Catalogue (HRC) of optical identificationsof X-ray sources at high-galactic latitude. The HRC includes all X-raysources from the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC) with galacticlatitude |b| >=30degr and declination delta >=0degr . In thispart of the sky covering ~ 10 000 deg2 the RASS-BSC contains5341 X-ray sources. For the optical identification we used blue Schmidtprism and direct plates taken for the northern hemisphere Hamburg QuasarSurvey (HQS) which are now available in digitized form. The limitingmagnitudes are 18.5 and 20, respectively. For 82% of the selectedRASS-BSC an identification could be given. For the rest either nocounterpart was visible in the error circle or a plausibleidentification was not possible. With ~ 42% AGN represent the largestgroup of X-ray emitters, ~ 31% have a stellar counterpart, whereasgalaxies and cluster of galaxies comprise only ~ 4% and ~ 5%,respectively. In ~ 3% of the RASS-BSC sources no object was visible onour blue direct plates within 40\arcsec around the X-ray sourceposition. The catalogue is used as a source for the selection of(nearly) complete samples of the various classes of X-ray emitters.
| The Asiago-ESO/RASS QSO Survey. I. The Catalog and the Local QSO Luminosity Function
This paper presents the first results of a survey for bright quasars(V<14.5 and R<15.4) covering the northern hemisphere at Galacticlatitudes |b|>30°. The photometric database is derived from theGuide Star and USNO catalogs. Quasars are identified on the basis oftheir X-ray emission measured in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. The surfacedensity of quasars brighter than 15.5 mag turns out to be(10+/-2)×10-3 deg-2, about 3 times higherthan that estimated by the PG survey. The quasar optical luminosityfunction (LF) at 0.04
| 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.
| Globular Clusters in 19 Northern Abell Clusters.
We use the method developed by Blakeslee & Tonry (1995) to study theglobular cluster (GC) populations of 21 giant elliptical galaxies in 19Abell clusters. This method, applied here primarily in the R band, isbased on the surface brightness fluctuations technique of extragalacticdistance measurement. The sample galaxies range in redshift from 5000 to10,000 \kms, and were selected primarily from the Lauer & Postman(1994) survey of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). We find a tightcorrelation between the GC specific frequency S_N of the central brightgalaxy in the cluster and the cluster velocity dispersion. S_N alsocorrelates well with the cluster X-ray temperature and with the numberof bright neighboring galaxies, less well with the galaxy profile, andonly marginally with galaxy luminosity and overall cluster richness. Itdoes not correlate with cluster morphology class. Thus, unlike galaxyluminosity, S_N is determined by the cluster mass, or density. Toaccount for this situation, we propose that the GCs formed early and inproportion to the available mass, while the luminosity growth of thegalaxy was later halted, yielding the observed correlations of \sn\ withdensity. We introduce a quantity called eta_ {GC}, the numberof GCs per unit local cluster mass. For a simple cluster mass model,eta_ {GC} is found to be constant, indicating a uniform GCproduction rate per unit available mass. A measurement of the Gaussianwidth sigma of the GC luminosity function (GCLF) is one of thebyproducts of our analysis. In the cosmic microwave background frame,the mean width for this sample is < sigma >{=}1.43 mag, virtuallyidentical to the HST value for M87, the galaxy used to calibrate themean of the GCLF in this analysis.
| Brightest cluster galaxies as standard candles
We investigate the use of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) as standardcandles for measuring galaxy peculiar velocities on large scales. Wehave obtained precise large-format CCD surface photometry and redshiftsfor an all-sky, volume-limited (z less than or = 0.05) sample of 199BCG. We reinvestigate the Hoessel (1980) relationship between the metricluminosity, Lm, within the central 10 kpc/h of the BCGs andthe logarithmic slope of the surface brightness profile, alpha. TheLm-alpha relationship reduces the cosmic scatter inLm from 0.327 mag to 0.244 mag, yielding a typical distanceaccuracy of 17% per BCG. Residuals about the Lm-alpharelationship are independent of BCG luminosity, BCG B - Rccolor, BCG location within the host cluster, and richness of the hostcluster. The metric luminosity is independent of cluster richness evenbefore correcting for its dependence on alpha, which provides furtherevidence for the unique nature of the BCG luminosity function. Indeed,the BCG luminosity function, both before and after application of thealpha-correction, is consistent with a single Gaussian distribution.Half the BCGs in the sample show some evidence of small color gradientsas a function of radius within their central 50 kpc/h regions but withalmost equal numbers becoming redder as becoming bluer. However, withthe central 10 kpc/h the colors are remarkably constant -- the mean B -Rc color is 1.51 with a dispersion of only 0.06 mag. Thenarrow photometric and color distributions of the BCGs, the lack of'second-parameter' effects, as well as the unique rich clusterenvironment of BCGs, argue that BCGs are the most homogeneous distanceindicators presently available for large-scale structure research.
| Galaxy and cluster redshift observations in the Sextans-Leo region
Redshift observations of 30 clusters in the direction of the Sextans-Leosupercluster candidate are reported. The observations are part of aprogram which involves mapping the universe's large-scale structure, andinclude North Galactic Cap Abell clusters, Abell clusters that have onlybeen partially observed, and unmeasured poor Zwicky clusters. Threelarge superclusters are identified in the region which surround anapparent void that is open on one side towards the galaxy void inBootes. The minimum dimensions of the void are given, and one of thesuperclusters is identified based on it resemblance to Coma/A1367. Theemptiness of the Bootes void and the void of Bahcall and Soneira (1982)are redefined by the positions determined for five clusters observed inother portions of the northern cap. Additionally, some galaxies appearto be within the bounds of the Sextans-Leo void.
| The structure of brightest cluster members. II - Mergers
Surface photometry of 342 bright elliptical galaxies in 103 clusters isanalyzed for evidence of mergers. Structural differences betweenbrightest cluster members (BCMs) and normal ellipticals can besummarized as having enlarged characteristic radii and shallow profileslopes (beta greater than -1.7). Profile morphology criteria for theelliptical types gE, D, and cD are outlined. Comparison of observationswith numerical simulations of mergers strongly suggests a past historyof dynamical growth for BCMs. Weak correlations of global clusterproperties to BCMs supports the hypothesis proposed by Merritt (1984)that mergers are important in early subgroups before virialization andformation of a cluster identity.
| A VLA 20 CM survey of poor groups of galaxies
The paper reports on VLA 20 cm observations of an extensive sample ofgalaxies in 139 poor groups. These groups, composed of galaxies down tothe limit of the Zwicky et al. (CGCG) catalog, were chosen using apercolation algorithm set at a high surface-density threshold.Approximately 50 percent of the groups have measured redshifts. Thesegroups were surveyed using a 'snapshot' mode of the VLA with aresolution of about 13 arcsec. Analysis of the resulting radio andoptical properties reveals that the presence of a nearby companiongalaxy has an important role in generating radio emission in a galaxy.CCD observations of two radio-loud, disturbed galaxies with companionsare presented and are used to discuss models of radio-source production.Nine tailed radio galaxies are found in the poor groups, which is muchmore than had been expected from previous work on rich clusters and fromtheoretical models. The paper discusses previous statistical biases andproposes a method for bending head-tail sources in poor groups. From theconfinement of extended radio features associated with tailed sources,the presence of a substantial intracluster medium that should radiatesignificantly at soft-X-ray energies is predicted.
| Structure of superclusters and superclusters formation. IV Spatial distribution of clusters of galaxies in the Coma supercluster and its large-scale environment
The Coma-A1367 Supercluster and its large-scale environment areinvestigated. The Zwicky et al. (1961-68) clusters are used assupercluster tracers; superclusters are defined not by visual impressionbut on the basis of cluster analysis. Attention is restricted to an areaof the sky where RA is between 9h and 15h, with Dec. greater than -3deg. Clustering analysis is applied to study the spatial distribution.At neighborhood radii R = 15-25 Mpc (for Hubble constant H = 50 km per sper Mpc), the clusters form chains and superclusters of galaxies. It isnoted that at R = 26-28 Mpc, superclusters merge to a single connectednetwork. Cluster chains link the Coma-A1367 Supercluster with the LocalSupercluster, A779, and Hercules Superclusters. The Coma-A1367Supercluster comprises four cluster chains, and its diameter is greaterthan 100 Mpc. It is noted that a typical cluster chain has eight Zwickyclusters and is 80 Mpc in length. Most, if not all, of the clusters formconnected systems. Empty regions devoid of clusters have diameters up to100 Mpc in this region of the sky. The morphology distribution of brightgalaxies and the mean absolute magnitude of first ranked galaxies inZwicky clusters are found to be similar to the respective quantities inAbell clusters.
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