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Supernovae 2006cg and 2006ch
IAUC 8711 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Supernova 2006A in NGC 7753
IAUC 8656 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| Two-dimensional warm gas kinematics in interacting galaxy systems
Gas reservoirs, internal or acquired, play an important role in thesecular evolution of interacting galaxies, since they are able toenhance/trigger star formation episodes and, probably, feed the activityof active galactic nuclei. Using Fabry-Perot observations, we havemapped, in the Hα line, the warm (T~ 104) gasdistribution and the velocity fields of the galaxy members of fiveinteracting, gas-rich galaxy systems. We investigated two M51-likesystems (Arp 70 and Arp 74), two systems containing highly disruptedmembers (WBL 366 and RR 24) and a case of merging in progress (Arp 299,one of the nearest luminous infrared objects).We detected gas motions following the elongated arm/tail of Arp 70b,while in the fainter member of the pair of galaxies, Arp 70a, the gasdistribution is off-centred with respect to the stellar isophotes,suggesting an external acquisition. Our kinematic data highlightednon-circular motions in the velocity field of one of the members of Arp74 (Arp 74a). The two galaxies of the RR 24 system are connected by onetidal tail, through which the kinematically disturbed component RR 24bseems to supply warm gas to RR 24a. In spite of the nearly irregular gasdistribution and perturbed morphology, WBL 366a (the star-forming galaxyVV-523) and WBL 366b have nearly regular velocity fields. The velocityfield in the Arp 299 system is irregular, and gas flow between the twonuclei is detected.The present observations, discussed in the light of model predictionsand complementary observations from the literature, suggest that allthese systems are still probably in an early phase of the encounter.However, the ionized gas distribution and kinematics are stronglyinfluenced by tidal forces. In particular, cross-fuelling mechanismsbetween galaxies are in action. In Arp 299 the warm and cold gaseouscomponents show similar kinematic properties, although the cold gasseems to maintain a still better organized motion with respect to thewarm gas.
| Mixed-Morphology Pairs as a Breeding Ground for Active Nuclei
Mixed-morphology pairs offer a simplification of the interactionequation that involves a gas-rich fast rotator paired with a gas-poorslow rotator. In past low-resolution IRAS studies it was assumed thatthe bulk of the far-infrared (FIR) emission originated in the spiralcomponent. However, our Infrared Space Observatory studies revealed asurprising number of early-type components with significant IR emission,some of which turned out to show active nuclei. This motivated us tolook at the current statistics of active nuclei in mixed pairs using theradio-FIR continuum correlation as a diagnostic. We find a clear excessof early-type components with radio continuum emission and activenuclei. We suggest that they arise more often in mixed pairs viacross-fueling of gas from the spiral companion. This fuel is moreefficiently channeled into the nucleus of the slow-rotating receptor. Ina sample of 112 mixed-morphology pairs from the Karachentsev catalog, wefind that about 25%-30% of detected mixed pairs show a displacement fromthe radio-FIR relation defined by normal star-forming galaxies. Thelatter objects show excess radio continuum emission, while others extendthe relation to unusually high radio and FIR flux levels. Many of theoutliers or extreme emitters involve an early-type component with anactive nucleus. The paired E/S0 galaxies in the sample exhibit asignificant excess detection fraction and a marginal excess luminositydistribution compared to those of isolated unpaired E/S0 galaxies.
| Determination of the Thickness of Non-Edge-on Disk Galaxies
We propose a method to determine the thickness of non-edge-on diskgalaxies from their observed structure of spiral arms, based on thesolution of the truly three-dimensional Poisson's equation for alogarithmic disturbance of density and under the condition where theself-consistency of the density wave theory is no longer valid. Fromtheir measured number of arms, pitch angle and location of the innermostpoint of the spiral arms, we derive and present the thicknesses of 34spiral galaxies.
| An IRAS High Resolution Image Restoration (HIRES) Atlas of All Interacting Galaxies in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
The importance of far-infrared observations for our understanding ofextreme activity in interacting and merging galaxies has beenillustrated by many studies. Even though two decades have passed sinceits launch, the most complete all-sky survey to date from which far-IRselected galaxy samples can be chosen is still that of the InfraredAstronomical Satellite (IRAS). However, the spatial resolution of theIRAS all-sky survey is insufficient to resolve the emission fromindividual galaxies in most interacting galaxy pairs, and hence previousstudies of their far-IR properties have had to concentrate either onglobal system properties or on the properties of very widely separatedand weakly interacting pairs. Using the HIRES image reconstructiontechnique, it is possible to achieve a spatial resolution ranging from30" to 1.5m (depending on wavelength and detector coverage), whichis a fourfold improvement over the normal resolution of IRAS. This issufficient to resolve the far-IR emission from the individual galaxiesin many interacting systems detected by IRAS, which is very importantfor meaningful comparisons with single, isolated galaxies. We presenthigh-resolution 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm images of 106 interactinggalaxy systems contained in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS,Sanders et al.), a complete sample of all galaxies having a 60 μmflux density greater than 5.24 Jy. These systems were selected to haveat least two distinguishable galaxies separated by less than threeaverage galactic diameters, and thus we have excluded very widelyseparated systems and very advanced mergers. Additionally, some systemshave been included that are more than three galactic diameters apart,yet have separations less than 4' and are thus likely to suffer fromconfusion in the RBGS. The new complete survey has the same propertiesas the prototype survey of Surace et al. We find no increased tendencyfor infrared-bright galaxies to be associated with other infrared-brightgalaxies among the widely separated pairs studied here. We find smallenhancements in far-IR activity in multiple galaxy systems relative toRBGS noninteracting galaxies with the same blue luminosity distribution.We also find no differences in infrared activity (as measured byinfrared color and luminosity) between late- and early-type spiralgalaxies.
| Near-infrared observations of galaxies in Pisces-Perseus. V. On the origin of bulges
We investigate the scaling relations of bulge and disk structuralparameters for a sample of 108 disk galaxies. Structural parameters ofindividual galaxies are obtained from two-dimensional bulge/diskdecomposition of their H-band surface brightness distributions. Bulgesare modelled with a generalized exponential (Sérsic) withvariable integer shape index n. We find that bulge effectivescalelengths reB and luminosity MBincrease with increasing n, but disk properties are independent of bulgeshape. As Hubble type T increases, bulges become less luminous and theirmean effective surface brightness <μeB>gets fainter; disk <μeD> shows a similar,but much weaker, trend. When bulge parameters(<μeB>, reB,MB) are compared with disk ones(<μeD>, reD,MD), they are tightly correlated for n=1 bulges. Thecorrelations gradually worsen with increasing n such that n=4 bulgesappear virtually independent of their disks. The Kormendy relation,<μeB> vs. reB, isshown to depend on bulge shape n; the two parameters are tightlycorrelated in n=4 bulges (r=0.8), and increasingly less so as ndecreases; disk <μeD> andreD are well correlated (r=0.7). Bulge-to-disksize ratios reB/reD areindependent of Hubble type, but smaller for exponential bulges; the meanreB/reD for n=1 bulges is 4times smaller than that for n=4, with a spread which is 9 times smaller.Strongly barred SB galaxies with exponential bulges are more luminousthan their unbarred counterparts. Exponential bulges appear to beclosely related to their underlying disks, while bulges with higher nvalues are less so; n=4 bulges and their disks apparently have norelation. We interpret our results as being most consistent with asecular evolutionary scenario, in which dissipative processes in thedisk are responsible for building up the bulges in most spirals.Based on observations at the TIRGO, NOT, and VATT telescopes. TIRGO(Gornergrat, CH) is operated by IRA-CNR, Arcetri, Firenze. NOT (LaPalma, Canary Islands) is operated by NOTSA, the Nordic ObservatoryScientific Association. VATT (Mt. Graham, AZ) is operated by VORG, theVatican Observatory Research Group.Full Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/414/905.
| Fourier Analysis of a Spiral Galaxies Sample: Determination of Kinematic and Morphological Parameters
We present partial results of a larger work searching for corotations ina large sample of grand design spiral galaxies. We have searched forcorotation resonances (CRs) in five northern spiral galaxies: NGC 266,NGC 1520, NGC 1530, NGC 2543, and NGC 7479. We can reject some detectedCRs values in those galaxies when we perceive dust lanes in bars, we canasociate the (CR) with local features or simply there is a lowsignal-noise in these regions. We have detected two CRs in NGC 2543 andNGC 7479. Using the 2D Fourier technique we have determined the mainspectrum components for the spiral pattern and the pitch angles of thespiral arms for 19 galaxies of our sample. In all the galaxies the m=2mode is the most important one. However, we have detected the presenceof strong m=3 modes in five galaxies of our sample (NGC 151, NGC 1241,NGC 4254, NGC 5427, and NGC 7753). We did not find correlation betweenthe main pitch angle of the galaxies and the morphological type.
| Simulations of normal spiral galaxies
Results from numerical simulations of normal isolated late-type spiralgalaxies are presented; specifically, the galaxy NGC 628 is used as atemplate. The method employs a TREESPH code including stellar particles,gas particles, cooling and heating of the gas, star formation accordingto a Jeans criterion and supernova feedback. A regular spiral disc canbe generated as an equilibrium situation of two opposing actions: on theone hand, cooling and dissipation of the gas; on the other hand, gasheating by the far-ultraviolet field of young stars and supernovamechanical forcing. The disc exhibits small- and medium-scale spiralstructure of which the multiplicity increases as a function of radius.The theory of swing amplification can explain, both qualitatively andquantitatively, the emerging spiral structure. In addition, swingamplification predicts that the existence of a grand-design m= 2 spiralis only possible if the disc is massive. The simulations show that thegalaxy is then unstable to bar formation, confirming the result ofOstriker & Peebles. The occurrence of this bar instability isfurther investigated. A general criterion is derived for the transitionbetween a stable and an unstable bar, depending on the disc masscontribution and the on-disc thickness. It seems that bar stabilitybarely depends on the presence of gas. A detailed quantitative analysisis made of the emerging spiral structure and a comparison is made withobservations. This demonstrates that the structure of the numericalisolated galaxies is not as strong and has a larger multiplicitycompared with the structure of some exemplary real galaxies. It isargued that the suggestion of Kormendy & Norman holds, i.e. that agrand design can only be generated by a central bar or by tidal forcesresulting from an encounter with another galaxy.
| Vertical Scale Parameter Estimates for 48 Non-edge-on Spiral Galaxies
In the first paper of this series, we directly studied the mathematicalforms, symmetry of spiral structure, and the projection of galacticdiscs on the images, and measured the pitch angles of the spiral armsand inclination angles of the galactic discs for 60 spiral galaxies. Inthis second paper, we estimate the vertical scale parameters of 48non-edge-on spiral galaxies based on the method proposed by Peng et al.and on the results given in Paper I. As we know, for edge-on discgalaxies we can obtain the vertical scale parameter from the photometry,once a mathematical form is specified for the vertical lightdistribution. For non-edge-on galaxies, some other methods have to beused. The statistical result was that the vertical scale parameter iscomparable for edge-on and non-edge-on galaxies, although it is obtainedfrom two very different methods.
| Multiwavelength Insights into Mixed-Morphology Binary Galaxies. I. ISOCAM, ISOPHOT, and Hα Imaging
We present Hα and ISO mid- and far-IR observations for a sample ofmixed-morphology galaxy pairs that reveal both the stellar andnonstellar signatures of the interaction process. A mixed-morphologypair is perhaps the simplest form of galaxy-galaxy interaction becauseit is expected to involve only a single rapidly rotating gas-richcomponent paired with a gas-poor elliptical or lenticular galaxy. Aprimary assumption that we address is whether spirals are the only IRemitter in these mixed (E+S) pairs. Our observations reveal that many ofthe early-type galaxies exhibit weak (low equivalent width) emission, asoften observed in field elliptical galaxies. These are the classicalmixed-morphology pairs. However, some of the early-type components,especially the lenticular galaxies, show evidence for significant starformation, with Hα equivalent widths and 15 μm luminositiescomparable to or exceeding those of their often much larger spiralcompanions. Our sample contains five Seyfert 2 nuclei, of which threecan be described as companions on the end of a spiral arm. The Seyfertnucleus is often accompanied by a starburst region, while other suchcompanions currently show only the starburst component. These pairs areamong the best candidates for direct interaction fuelling of bothstarbursts and active galactic nuclei.Based on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), an ESAproject with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PIcountries: France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) withthe participation of ISAS and NASA.
| The WSRT wide-field H I survey. I. The background galaxy sample
We have used the Westerbork array to carry out an unbiased wide-fieldsurvey for H I emission features, achieving an RMS sensitivity of about18 mJy/Beam at a velocity resolution of 17 km s-1 over 1800deg2 and between -1000 < VHel <+6500 kms-1. The primary data consists of auto-correlation spectrawith an effective angular resolution of 49' FWHM, althoughcross-correlation data were also acquired. The survey region is centeredapproximately on the position of Messier 31 and is Nyquist-sampled over60x 30o in RA x Dec. More than 100 distinct features aredetected at high significance in each of the two velocity regimes(negative and positive LGSR velocities). In this paper we present theresults for our H I detections of external galaxies at positive LGSRvelocity. We detect 155 external galaxies in excess of 8sigma inintegrated H I flux density. Plausible optical associations are foundwithin a 30' search radius for all but one of our H I detections in DSSimages, although several are not previously cataloged or do not havepublished red-shift determinations. Our detection without a DSSassociation is at low galactic latitude. Twenty-three of our objects aredetected in H I for the first time. We classify almost half of ourdetections as ``confused'', since one or more companions is catalogedwithin a radius of 30' and a velocity interval of 400 km s-1.We identify a handful of instances of significant positional offsetsexceeding 10 kpc of unconfused optical galaxies with the associated H Icentroid, possibly indicative of severe tidal distortions or uncatalogedgas-rich companions. A possible trend is found for an excess of detectedH I flux in unconfused galaxies within our large survey beam relative tothat detected previously in smaller telescope beams, both as function ofincreasing distance and increasing gas mass. This may be an indicationfor a diffuse gaseous component on 100 kpc scales in the environment ofmassive galaxies or a population of uncataloged low mass companions. Weuse our galaxy sample to estimate the H I mass function from our surveyvolume. Good agreement is found with the HIPASS BGC results, but onlyafter explicit correction for galaxy density variations with distance.Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/406/829 and Fig. 3 is onlyavailable in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
| BVRI surface photometry of mixed morphology pairs of galaxies. I. The first data set
We present multicolor broad band (BVRI) photometry for a sample of 11mixed morphology (E/S0+S) binary galaxies drawn from the KarachentsevCatalogue of Isolated Pairs of Galaxies (KPG). The data is part of anobservational programme devoted to the systematic photometric study ofone of the most complete and homogeneous pair samples available in theliterature. We present B band, B-filtered images, B, V, R and I surfacebrightness and (B-V), (B-R) and (B-I) color profiles as well asgeometric (epsilon = 1 - b/a, PA and a4/a) profiles for eachcomponent pair. In addition, integrated corrected B, V, R and Imagnitudes and integrated (B-V), (B-R) and (B-I) colors are alsopresented. Internal and external data comparisons show consistencywithin the estimated errors. Most of this subsample have photometricparameters homogeneously derived for the first time. Geometric profilesfrom our surface photometry along with the broad-band imaging and colorinformation have been used to re-evaluate morphology in all pairs. Wefind an important number of true mixed pairs with 5/11 (E+S) pairs inthe present sample. The remaining objects include 3 disky pairs(composed of S0 and S members), 2 early-type pair comprising E and S0members and 1 spiral-irregular pair. The measurements will be used in aseries of forthcoming papers where we try to identify and isolate themain structural and photometric properties of disk and ellipticalgalaxies at different stages of interaction.Based on data obtained at the 0.84 m and 1.5 m telescopes of theObservatorio Astronómico Nacional, San Pedro Mártir, BajaCalifornia, México, operated by the Instituto deAstronomía, UNAM.Tables 1-3 and Figs. 5 to 15 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| A Kinematic Study of M51-Type Galaxies
Not Available
| BVRI imaging of M51-type interacting galaxy pairs - III. Analysis of the photometric parameters
Photometric bulge and disc properties of a sample of 21 M51-type pairsobserved in BVRI bands are analysed, and the derived parameters obtainedby the R1/4-law and exponential bulge models are comparedwith the sample of normal galaxies reported by de Jong & van derKruit in 1994. Some characteristic properties of the intensity profilesare then interpreted by 3D N-body simulations, in which both componentsof the pair are described by an exponential star+gas disc embedded in alive bulge and halo. The disc central surface brightnessμ0 was found to be similar for the M51-type and for normalgalaxies, being 21.5+/-0.8Bmagarcsec-2, when the exponentialbulge model was used. The main galaxies had generally almost normalphotometric properties, whereas for the companions secular evolutionmust have played an important role. Even though the mean scalelengthsfor the M51-type galaxies were smaller than for the comparison galaxies,their bulges were larger: especially the companions had extremely largebulge sizes relative to their disc scalelengths having (B)=0.37+/-0.10 in comparison with0.15+/-0.09 for normal galaxies. Consequently, the bulge-to-discluminosity ratios for the companions were also generally larger thanknown for any of the Hubble types of normal galaxy. N-body simulationsindicated that the inner disc can be steepened during the interaction,and that this steepened disc can be erroneously interpreted as belongingto the bulge. Simultaneously material in the outer disc isredistributed, producing shallow outer profiles similar to thoseobserved for typical M51-type galaxies. These processes weredemonstrated by applying photometric bulge-to-disc decompositions forsome of the simulated intensity profiles. The decompositions also showedthat one must be cautious when applying the R1/4-law bulgemodel, especially for interacting galaxies. A nearly parabolicexperiment showed that the redistribution of matter in the disc duringthe close passage can be long-lived, suggesting that galaxy interactionseven with small companions may play an important role in secularevolution for galaxies in clusters.
| A Method of Obtaining the Pitch Angle of Spiral Arms and the Inclination of Galactic Discs
We investigate the mathematical form, the symmetry of spiral structureand the projected images of galactic discs. The measured pitch angles ofspiral arms and inclination angles of galactic discs for 60 spiralgalaxies are presented. The global spiral structure is emphasized in thestudy. It is found that, except for small-scale distortions, the spiralarms of those galaxies that were classified as AC 12 in the armclassification system of Elmegreen & Elmegreen, can be representedby the logarithmic spiral form.
| Seeing Galaxies through Thick and Thin. IV. The Superposed Spiral Galaxies of NGC 3314
The superposed pair of spiral galaxies making up NGC 3314 offers aunique opportunity to trace the dust properties in a spiral galaxy. Weanalyze multicolor Hubble Space Telescope imaging, supported byground-based near-IR imaging and fiber-array spectroscopy, to measuredust extinction in the foreground Sc galaxy NGC 3314A, which is backlitby the Sb system NGC 3314B. The superposition allows us to measureextinctions over a wide range of galactocentric radii in the foregroundgalaxy from 0.4-4.5 kpc. In the outer half of the disk, the extinctionis strongly localized in discrete dust lanes, including some patcheswhose galactic setting is clear only because of associated Hαemission at the foreground velocity. These dust features show anextinction curve with a slope close to the Galactic mean (R=3.5+/-0.3)over a range in galactocentric radius from 1.6 to 3.8 kpc, with noradial trend. Using the I-K color of the background nucleus, we derivean extinction of AI=3.3 through the disk at a projecteddistance of 400 pc from the nucleus of NGC 3314A. The extinction in eventhe inner disk of NGC 3314A is quite patchy, since background Hαemission is detected from all parts of the system. Localanticorrelations between foreground and background line emissiondemonstrate that the dust is concentrated in star-forming regions, ashas been found for the blue light in several systems. The colors of thedust lanes in NGC 3314A that are projected only partially against thebackground disk indicate that the dust scale height in the foregrounddisk is substantially smaller than that of the stars. Thecolor-intensity behavior of the net light in these regions tracks thepredictions of a thin-layer model closely. Based on observations withthe NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space TelescopeScience Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| Statistical study of M 51-type galaxies
We present a statistical analysis of a new sample of M 51-type galaxies.Using the MCG and VV catalogues, we selected 32 such binary systems. Wefound that a typical M 51-type pair consists of a bright L*spiral galaxy and a satellite with blue luminosity 1/30-1/3 of theprimary one. The main galaxies in such pairs are often barred and havetwo well-defined spiral arms. M 51-type systems show an enhanced starformation rate (from FIR luminosities). We found a weak dependence ofthe star formation rate of the system on relative luminosity of thecompanion. M 51-type galaxies are relatively frequent: about 1/12 of allpairs are of M 51-type.
| Optical surface photometry of a sample of disk galaxies. II. Structural components
This work presents the structural decomposition of a sample of 11 diskgalaxies, which span a range of different morphological types. The U, B,V, R, and I photometric information given in Paper I (color andcolor-index images and luminosity, ellipticity, and position-angleprofiles) has been used to decide what types of components form thegalaxies before carrying out the decomposition. We find and model suchcomponents as bulges, disks, bars, lenses and rings.
| N-body model for M51 - I. Multiple encounter versus single passage?
A numerical survey of the encounter history of the interactinggrand-design system M51 (NGC 5194/5195) is performed with a 3D multiplespherical polar grid code, where both components of the pair aredescribed with self-gravitating star+gas discs embedded in rigidanalytical halo potentials. Two classes of models are investigated, (1)nearly parabolic single passages, and (2) bound encounters implyingseveral disc-plane crossings. Both types of models can approximate thegeneral morphology of the M51 system and simultaneously fit theprojected velocity difference and separation of the components. In bothcases the companion disc-plane crossing responsible for the main spiralstructure occurred nearly in the south, about 400-500Myr ago at adistance of 25-30kpc, but in opposite directions. In the bound encountermodel there is also a more recent crossing, at a distance of 20-25kpcabout 50-100Myr ago. Our models account for some important kinematicalobservations of the M51 system not explained by the previous models.Especially, we note that the multiple-encounter model with a recentpassage produces significant out-of-plane velocities, which manifest asan S-shaped structure of the major axis rotation curve, and which alsoexplain the high peculiar velocities in the north of the companion. Inthis model the resulting extended tail is tilted 40°-50° withrespect to the inner disc, leading to a velocity field that appears tosuggest counter-rotation of the tail with respect to the inner disc.Also some morphological features, like the direction of the tidalextensions from the companion, are better matched by a model with arecent encounter. Importantly, any pre-existing spiral arms are washedout by the tidally triggered spiral arms. The multiple-encounter modelassumes a high inclination Mdisc =2πΣ0Re2 [1 -(1+RdRe)exp(-RdRe)](i~85°) orbit, with a low current eccentricityz0σz2/2πGΣ(ɛ~0.2). The possible origin of this type of bound orbitalconfiguration is studied by simulations including the orbital decay viathe Chandrasekhar formula for dynamical friction, and also bysimulations including a self-consistently modelled live halo for theprimary. The gross features of the model, including the tilted far tail,are preserved even when allowing for the effects of several earlierpassages. The observed well-defined far tail seems to suggest that theprevious passages have been at least 30per cent more distant than thelatest two crossings. According to our limited orbital survey, such anorbital decay can be accounted for, provided that M51 has an extendeddark halo containing at least a few times the mass within the visibledisc region (total νh ∝√[r2/(r2 + Rc2)], r< Rh, MhaloMdisc~10).
| Optical Surface Photometry of a Sample of Disk Galaxies. I. Observations and Data Reduction
We present accurate optical surface photometry in the U, B, V, R, and Ipassbands for 11 disk galaxies. The sample has been selected in order tostudy the different morphological structures present in disk galaxiesand includes all morphological types. For each galaxy, we presentsurface brightness, ellipticity, and position angle radial profiles fromellipse fits to the isophotes. Color index images and color indexprofiles in U-B, B-V, and B-I are also shown. The photometricinformation obtained is crucial to understanding the differentmorphological structures presented in all these galaxies, and to obtaintheir mass distributions. The latter topic will be the subject of aforthcoming paper. Based on observations made with the Isaac NewtonTelescope, operated on the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Groupin the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Institutode Astrofísica de Canarias.
| The Arizona-New Mexico Spectroscopic Survey of Galaxies. I. Data for the Western End of the Perseus Supercluster
We present new optical spectroscopic data for 347 galaxies in the regionof the Perseus supercluster. The new data were obtained using theSteward Observatory 2.3 m telescope and cover the whole optical window.Included are redshifts (for 345 objects), absorption-line equivalentwidths, a continuum index measuring the 4000 Å break, andemission-line flux ratios. After 11 objects are rejected for being toofaint and redshifts for 26 objects are added from the literature, wearrive at a complete sample of 361 galaxies. The distribution ofredshifts for the whole sample is examined, and we show the relationshipof the continuum index to morphology.
| Galaxy collisions.
Theories of how galaxies, the fundamental constituents of large-scalestructure, form and evolve have undergone a dramatic paradigm shift inthe last few decades. Earlier views were of rapid, early collapse andformation of basic structures, followed by slow evolution of the stellarpopulations and steady buildup of the chemical elements. Currenttheories emphasize hierarchical buildup via recurrent collisions andmergers, separated by long periods of relaxation and secularrestructuring. Thus, collisions between galaxies are now seen as aprimary process in their evolution. This article begins with a briefhistory; we then tour parts of the vast array of collisional forms thathave been discovered to date. Many examples are provided to illustratehow detailed numerical models and multiwaveband observations haveallowed the general chronological sequence of collisional morphologiesto be deciphered, and how these forms are produced by the processes oftidal kinematics, hypersonic gas dynamics, collective dynamical frictionand violent relaxation. Galaxy collisions may trigger the formation of alarge fraction of all the stars ever formed, and play a key role infueling active galactic nuclei. Current understanding of the processesinvolved is reviewed. The last decade has seen exciting new discoveriesabout how collisions are orchestrated by their environment, howcollisional processes depend on environment, and how these environmentsdepend on redshift or cosmological time.
| 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.
| The I-Band Tully-Fisher Relation for SC Galaxies: 21 Centimeter H I Line Data
A compilation of 21 cm line spectral parameters specifically designedfor application of the Tully-Fisher (TF) distance method is presentedfor 1201 spiral galaxies, primarily field Sc galaxies, for which opticalI-band photometric imaging is also available. New H I line spectra havebeen obtained for 881 galaxies. For an additional 320 galaxies, spectraavailable in a digital archive have been reexamined to allow applicationof a single algorithm for the derivation of the TF velocity widthparameter. A velocity width algorithm is used that provides a robustmeasurement of rotational velocity and permits an estimate of the erroron that width taking into account the effects of instrumental broadeningand signal-to-noise. The digital data are used to establish regressionrelations between measurements of velocity widths using other commonprescriptions so that comparable widths can be derived throughconversion of values published in the literature. The uniform H I linewidths presented here provide the rotational velocity measurement to beused in deriving peculiar velocities via the TF method.
| The I-Band Tully-Fisher Relation for SC Galaxies: Optical Imaging Data
Properties derived from the analysis of photometric I-band imagingobservations are presented for 1727 inclined spiral galaxies, mostly oftypes Sbc and Sc. The reduction, parameter extraction, and errorestimation procedures are discussed in detail. The asymptotic behaviorof the magnitude curve of growth and the radial variation in ellipticityand position angle are used in combination with the linearity of thesurface brightness falloff to fit the disk portion of the profile. TotalI-band magnitudes are calculated by extrapolating the detected surfacebrightness profile to a radius of eight disk scale lengths. Errors inthe magnitudes, typically ~0.04 mag, are dominated by uncertainties inthe sky subtraction and disk-fitting procedures. Comparison is made withthe similar imaging database of Mathewson, Ford, & Buchhorn, both aspresented originally by those authors and after reanalyzing theirdigital reduction files using identical disk-fitting procedures. Directcomparison is made of profile details for 292 galaxies observed incommon. Although some differences occur, good agreement is found,proving that the two data sets can be used in combination with onlyminor accommodation of those differences. The compilation of opticalproperties presented here is optimized for use in applications of theTully-Fisher relation as a secondary distance indicator in studies ofthe local peculiar velocity field.
| Near-infrared observations of galaxies in Pisces-Perseus. I. vec H-band surface photometry of 174 spiral
We present near-infrared, H-band (1.65 $() μm), surface photometry of174 spiral galaxies in the area of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster. Theimages, acquired with the ARNICA camera mounted on various telescopes,are used to derive radial profiles of surface brightness, ellipticities,and position angles, together with global parameters such as H-bandmagnitudes and diameters Radial profiles in tabular form and images FITSfiles are also available upon request from gmorio@arcetri.astro.it.}.The mean relation between H-band isophotal diameter D_{21.5} and theB-band D25 implies a B-H color of the outer disk bluer than3.5; moreover, D_{21.5}/D25 depends on (global) color andabsolute luminosity. The correlations among the various photometricparameters suggest a ratio between isophotal radius D_{21.5}/2 and diskscale length of ~ m3.5 and a mean disk central brightness ~ meq 17.5H-mag arcsec^{-2}. We confirm the trend of the concentration indexC31$ with absolute luminosity and, to a lesser degree, withmorphological type. We also assess the influence of non-axisymmetricstructures on the radial profiles and on the derived parameters. Basedon observations at the TIRGO, NOT, and VATT telescopes. TIRGO(Gornergrat, CH) is operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri, Firenze. NOT (LaPalma, Canary Islands) is operated by NOTSA, the Nordic ObservatoryScientific Association. VATT (Mt. Graham, Az) is operated by VORG, theVatican Observatory Research Group Table 3 and Fig. 4 are only availablein electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html.
| Very cold dust in galaxies
We present multi-filter far infrared photometry of active and inactivegalaxies obtained with ISOPHOT. We find that the far infrared andsubmillimeter spectrum of the active galaxies can be described by asingle modified black-body at a color temperature of 31.5 +/- 2.8 K. Theratio of infrared luminosity to gas mass, L_IR/M_gas, where the latterquantity has been obtained from 1.3 mm observations within the central11'' is about 90 L_sun/ M_sun. In contrast, the spectral energydistributions of inactive spirals require, apart from warm dust of 31.8+/- 2.8 K, an additional very cold component of at most 12.9+/- 1.7 K.Determining the gas mass from 1.3 mm dust continuum maps that cover theoptical extent of the inactive spirals we find L_IR/M_gas ~ 3 L_sun/M_sun , a factor ~ 30 lower than for the active galaxies. Based onobservations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESAMember States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, theNetherlands and the United Kingdom) with the participation of ISAS andNASA.
| Near-infrared observations of galaxies in Pisces-Perseus. III. Global scaling relations of disks and bulges
We determine the parameters of scaling relations analogous to theFundamental Plane of elliptical galaxies for the bulges and disks of asample of 40 spiral galaxies. To this end we derive structuralparameters (scalelengths and surface brightnesses) from near infrared Hband images, and kinematical parameters (rotational velocities) fromoptical rotation curves. In the case of the disks, we test the accuracyof the derived relation as a distance indicator by comparing its scatterto that of the H band Tully-Fisher relation for the same sample, andfind that the accuracy attained by the latter is slightly higher (thedispersion is 19% versus 23% for this sample). It is speculated that thedifference is due to the more robust character of global parameters,rather than those associated with the inner parts of disks. It alsoapperas that (a) either the stellar mass-to-light ratios of bulge anddisk increase with the size of the components, or (b) the bulge and diskrelative contributions to the overall rotation of the galaxy (and, as aconsequence, to its total mass) become steadily smaller with increasingsize.
| The Speed and Origin of the H i Spiral Pattern in M81
A study of the pattern speeds of disk galaxies is under way usingintegrated forms of the continuity equation that relate the patternspeed to the velocity and surface density of the pattern tracer.Integration removes the unobservable sky-plane velocities and allowsaveraging to improve accuracy and spatial resolution. This approachassumes the disk is flat and the pattern rigid but makes no assumptionabout the dynamics. The method relies on the nonaxisymmetric nature ofthe velocity field and brightness distribution of a spiral. The speedsof nonrigid patterns may be approximated by the same equations inregions where the shear is small. The method is used to determine thespeed of the H I spiral pattern in M81 using intensity and velocity mapsfrom the VLA. The mean pattern speed is 23.4 +/- 2.3 km s-1 kpc-1. Ifthe pattern rotates rigidly then corotation is at a radius of 8.4 kpc,the outer Lindblad resonance (OLR) is within the spiral at 12.6 kpc, andthe inner Lindblad resonance (ILR) is in the central hydrogen hole andwell inside the inner limit of spiral structure. The pattern speed maybe lower in the northern half of M81 than the southern, in which casethe present high symmetry of M81 is accidental. This lower speed couldbe explained by the lower H I content in the south arm. Reapplication ofthe method without the assumption of rigidity shows that the pattern isshearing at a rate of 2.3 km s-1 kpc-2, which is consistent with swingamplification owing to a recent close passage of M82 and NGC 3077. Thepattern and the material have nearly the same speed from a radius ofabout 9 kpc outward. This means there is no OLR in the observed H Igalaxy and explains the lack of asymmetric photometric gradients acrossthe arms. The timescale for winding of the pattern and the period of theorbit of NGC 3077 are roughly the same; periodic reamplification of thepattern by a close passage of NGC 3077 can remove the winding dilemma.The rate of shear, the velocity field of the south arm, and the verysmall amount of interarm H I are inconsistent with a nearly rigiddensity wave. The models most similar to M81 are the shearing gasmodels. Stochastic models give similar morphologies but make noprediction about velocities.
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