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# NGC 4163

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 Masses of the local group and of the M81 group estimated from distortions in the local velocity fieldBased on high precision measurements of the distances to nearby galaxieswith the Hubble telescope, we have determined the radii of the zerovelocity spheres for the local group, R0 =0.96±0.03Mpc, and for the group of galaxies around M 81/M 82,0.89±0.05Mpc. These yield estimates of MT =(1.29±0.14)· 1012 Mȯ and(1.03±0.17)· 1012 Mȯ,respectively, for the total masses of these groups. The R0method allows us to determine the mass ratios for the two brightestmembers in both groups, as well. By varying the position of the centerof mass between the two principal members of a group to obtain minimalscatter in the galaxies on a Hubble diagram, we find mass ratios of0.8:1.0 for our galaxy and Andromeda and 0.54:1.00 for the M82 and M81galaxies, in good agreement with the observed ratios of the luminositiesof these galaxies. Associations of Dwarf GalaxiesThe Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys has been used todetermine accurate distances for 20 galaxies from measurements of theluminosity of the brightest red giant branch stars. Five associations ofdwarf galaxies that had originally been identified based on strongcorrelations on the plane of the sky and in velocity are shown to beequally well correlated in distance. Two more associations with similarproperties have been discovered. Another association is identified thatis suggested to be unbound through tidal disruption. The associationshave the spatial and kinematic properties expected of bound structureswith (1-10)×1011 Msolar. However, theseentities have little light, with the consequence that the mass-to-lightratios are in the range 100-1000 MsolarL-1solar. Within a well-surveyed volume extendingto a 3 Mpc radius, all but one known galaxy lie within one of the groupsor associations that have been identified. Advanced Camera for Surveys Imaging of 25 Galaxies in Nearby Groups and in the FieldWe present Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys images andcolor-magnitude diagrams for 25 nearby galaxies with radial velocitiesVLG<500 km s-1. Distances are determined basedon the luminosities of stars at the tip of the red giant branch thatrange from 2 to 12 Mpc. Two of the galaxies, NGC 4163 and IC 4662, arefound to be the nearest known representatives of blue compact dwarfobjects. Using high-quality data on distances and radial velocities of110 nearby field galaxies, we derive their mean Hubble ratio to be 68 kms-1 Mpc-1 with a standard deviation of 15 kms-1 Mpc-1. Peculiar velocities of most of thegalaxies, Vpec=VLG-68D, follow a Gaussiandistribution with σv=63 km s-1 but with atail toward high negative values. Our data display the known correlationbetween peculiar velocity and galaxy elevation above the LocalSupercluster plane. The small observed fraction of galaxies with highpeculiar velocities, Vpec<-500 km s-1, may beunderstood as objects associated with nearby groups (Coma I, Eridanus)outside the local volume. Infrared Properties of Star-forming Dwarf Galaxies. I. Dwarf Irregular Galaxies in the Local VolumeA sample of 34 dwarf irregular galaxies (dIs) in the Local Volume, mostnearer than 5 Mpc, has been imaged in the near-infrared (NIR) in J andKs at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) in Hawaii andthe Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in the Sierra San PedroMártir, in Mexico. Absolute magnitudes in Ks rangefrom -14 to -18. In the CFHT images, stars brighter thanMKs~-7.5 were resolved. We show that the resolvedcomponent comprises more than 50% of the light from star formationbursts within the last 3 Gyr. In most cases, the resolved populationdown to MKs=-7.5 represents less than 5% of thetotal NIR flux in Ks, with fractions in J being 1.5-2 timeslarger. Thus, the NIR light of dIs can be considered to be predominantlycontributed by stars older than about 4 Gyr. Although exponential atlarge radii, surface brightness profiles for the unresolved componentflatten in the centers. They can be fitted across the whole range ofradii with a hyperbolic secant (sech) defined as a function of twoparameters: the central surface brightness and the scale length of theexponential. With respect to this model, only two galaxies (NGC 1569 andNGC 3738) show an excess of flux in the center, both of which arehosting starbursts. Isophotal, total, and fitted sech magnitudes havebeen calculated for all galaxies for which the unresolved component wasdetected, along with semimajor axes at μJ=23 magarcsec-2 and μKs=22 magarcsec-2. The scale length and the semimajor axes correlatelinearly with absolute isophotal magnitude. The same is true for colorsand the central brightness. More luminous dIs tend to be larger, redder,and brighter in the center. The fraction of light contributed by youngstars is independent of both luminosity and central surface brightness.The Tully-Fisher relation shows considerable scatter, but residuals aretied to surface brightness. The galaxies appear to lie in afundamental plane'' defined by the sech absolute magnitude, the sechcentral surface brightness, and the H I line width. The rms of residualsin MK is only 0.4 mag, which implies that the plane can beused to evaluate the distances of star-forming dwarfs. Corrections fortilt do not reduce the residuals, so line widths must be governedpredominantly by random motions. Color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) arepresented for 29 galaxies in which stars were resolved. Most show afinger centered around J-Ks=1 mag. In some cases, there is ared tail extending to J-Ks=2.5 mag. Most color profilesconstructed for the unresolved component show a remarkably constantJ-Ks=0.8-1.0 mag, matching the color of the finger in theCMDs.Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope,which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, the CentreNational de la Recherche Scientifique de France, and the University ofHawaii; also based on data acquired at OAN-SPM in Mexico. Star Formation Properties of a Large Sample of Irregular GalaxiesWe present the results of Hα imaging of a large sample ofirregular galaxies. Our sample includes 94 galaxies with morphologicalclassifications of Im, 26 blue compact dwarfs (BCDs), and 20 Sm systems.The sample spans a large range in galactic parameters, includingintegrated absolute magnitude (MV of -9 to -19), averagesurface brightness (20-27 mag arcsec-2), current starformation activity (0-1.3 Msolar yr-1kpc-2), and relative gas content(0.02-5Msolar/LB). The Hα images were usedto measure the integrated star formation rates, determine the extents ofstar formation in the disks, and compare azimuthally averaged radialprofiles of current star formation to older starlight. The integratedstar formation rates of Im galaxies normalized to the physical size ofthe galaxy span a range of a factor of 104 with 10% Imgalaxies and one Sm system having no measurable star formation at thepresent time. The BCDs fall, on average, at the high star formation rateend of the range. We find no correlation between star formation activityand proximity to other cataloged galaxies. Two galaxies located in voidsare similar in properties to the Sm group in our sample. The H IIregions in these galaxies are most often found within the Holmbergradius RH, although in a few systems H II regions are tracedas far as 1.7RH. Similarly, most of the star formation isfound within three disk scale lengths RD, but in somegalaxies H II regions are traced as far as 6RD. A comparisonof Hα surface photometry with V-band surface photometry shows thatthe two approximately follow each other with radius in Sm galaxies, butin most BCDs there is an excess of Hα emission in the centers thatdrops with radius. In approximately half of the Im galaxies Hα andV correspond well, and in the rest there are small to large differencesin the relative rate of falloff with radius. The cases with stronggradients in the LHα/LV ratios and with highcentral star formation rate densities, which include most of the BCDs,require a significant fraction of their gas to migrate to the center inthe last gigayear. We discuss possible torques that could have causedthis without leaving an obvious signature, including dark matter barsand past interactions or mergers with small galaxies or H I clouds.There is now a substantial amount of evidence for these processes amongmany surveys of BCDs. We note that such gas migration will also increasethe local pressure and possibly enhance the formation of massive denseclusters but conclude that the star formation process itself does notappear to differ much among BCD, Im, and Sm types. In particular, thereis evidence in the distribution function for Hα surface brightnessthat the turbulent Mach numbers are all about the same in these systems.This follows from the Hα distribution functions corrected forexponential disk gradients, which are log-normal with a nearly constantdispersion. Thus, the influence of shock-triggered star formation isapparently no greater in BCDs than in Im and Sm types. A Catalog of Neighboring GalaxiesWe present an all-sky catalog of 451 nearby galaxies, each having anindividual distance estimate D<~10 Mpc or a radial velocityVLG<550 km s-1. The catalog contains data onbasic optical and H I properties of the galaxies, in particular, theirdiameters, absolute magnitudes, morphological types, circumnuclearregion types, optical and H I surface brightnesses, rotationalvelocities, and indicative mass-to-luminosity and H I mass-to-luminosityratios, as well as a so-called tidal index, which quantifies the galaxyenvironment. We expect the catalog completeness to be roughly 70%-80%within 8 Mpc. About 85% of the Local Volume population are dwarf (dIr,dIm, and dSph) galaxies with MB>-17.0, which contributeabout 4% to the local luminosity density, and roughly 10%-15% to thelocal H I mass density. The H I mass-to-luminosity and the H Imass-to-total (indicative) mass ratios increase systematically fromgiant galaxies toward dwarfs, reaching maximum values about 5 in solarunits for the most tiny objects. For the Local Volume disklike galaxies,their H I masses and angular momentum follow Zasov's linear relation,expected for rotating gaseous disks being near the threshold ofgravitational instability, favorable for active star formation. We foundthat the mean local luminosity density exceeds 1.7-2.0 times the globaldensity, in spite of the presence of the Tully void and the absence ofrich clusters in the Local Volume. The mean local H I density is 1.4times its global'' value derived from the H I Parkes Sky Survey.However, the mean local baryon densityΩb(<8Mpc)=2.3% consists of only a half of the globalbaryon density, Ωb=(4.7+/-0.6)% (Spergel et al.,published in 2003). The mean-square pairwise difference of radialvelocities is about 100 km s-1 for spatial separations within1 Mpc, increasing to ~300 km s-1 on a scale of ~3 Mpc. alsoWe calculated the integral area of the sky occupied by the neighboringgalaxies. Assuming the H I size of spiral and irregular galaxies to be2.5 times their standard optical diameter and ignoring any evolutioneffect, we obtain the expected number of the line-of-sight intersectionswith the H I galaxy images to be dn/dz~0.4, which does not contradictthe observed number of absorptions in QSO spectra. The Hα galaxy survey. I. The galaxy sample, Hα narrow-band observations and star formation parameters for 334 galaxiesWe discuss the selection and observations of a large sample of nearbygalaxies, which we are using to quantify the star formation activity inthe local Universe. The sample consists of 334 galaxies across allHubble types from S0/a to Im and with recession velocities of between 0and 3000 km s-1. The basic data for each galaxy are narrowband H\alpha +[NII] and R-band imaging, from which we derive starformation rates, H\alpha +[NII] equivalent widths and surfacebrightnesses, and R-band total magnitudes. A strong correlation is foundbetween total star formation rate and Hubble type, with the strongeststar formation in isolated galaxies occurring in Sc and Sbc types. Moresurprisingly, no significant trend is found between H\alpha +[NII]equivalent width and galaxy R-band luminosity. More detailed analyses ofthe data set presented here will be described in subsequent papers.Based on observations made with the Jacobus Kapteyn Telescope operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias.The full version of Table \ref{tab3} is available in electronic form atthe 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/414/23 Reduced image datafor this survey can be downloaded fromhttp://www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/HaGS/ Globular Clusters as Candidates for Gravitational Lenses to Explain Quasar-Galaxy AssociationsWe argue that globular clusters (GCs) are good candidates forgravitational lenses in explaining quasar-galaxy associations. Thecatalog of associations (Bukhmastova 2001) compiled from the LEDAcatalog of galaxies (Paturel 1997) and from the catalog of quasars(Veron-Cetty and Veron 1998) is used. Based on the new catalog, we showthat one might expect an increased number of GCs around irregulargalaxies of types 9 and 10 from the hypothesis that distant compactsources are gravitationally lensed by GCs in the halos of foregroundgalaxies. The King model is used to determine the central surfacedensities of 135 GCs in the Milky Way. The distribution of GCs incentral surface density was found to be lognormal. A search for Low Surface Brightness galaxies in the near-infrared. I. Selection of the sampleA sample of about 3800 Low Surface Brightness (LSB) galaxies wasselected using the all-sky near-infrared (J, H and Ks-band)2MASS survey. The selected objects have a mean central surfacebrightness within a 5'' radius around their centre fainter than 18 magarcsec-2 in the Ks band, making them the lowestsurface brightness galaxies detected by 2MASS. A description is given ofthe relevant properties of the 2MASS survey and the LSB galaxy selectionprocedure, as well as of basic photometric properties of the selectedobjects. The latter properties are compared to those of other samples ofgalaxies, of both LSBs and classical'' high surface brightness (HSB)objects, which were selected in the optical. The 2MASS LSBs have aBT_c-KT colour which is on average 0.9 mag bluerthan that of HSBs from the NGC. The 2MASS sample does not appear tocontain a significant population of red objects.All tables and Figs. 2a-c are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org The metallicity-luminosity relationship of dwarf irregular galaxies. II. A new approachThe nature of a possible correlation between metallicity and luminosityfor dwarf irregular galaxies, including those with the highestluminosities, has been explored using simple chemical evolutionarymodels. Our models depend on a set of free parameters in order toinclude infall and outflows of gas and covering a broad variety ofphysical situations. Given a fixed set of parameters, a non-linearcorrelation between the oxygen abundance and the luminosity may beestablished. This would be the case if an effective self-regulatingmechanism between the accretion of mass and the wind energized by thestar formation could lead to the same parameters for all the dwarfirregular galaxies. In the case that these parameters were distributedin a random manner from galaxy to galaxy, a significant scatter in themetallicity-luminosity diagram is expected. Comparing with observations,we show that only variations of the stellar mass-to-light ratio aresufficient to explain the observed scattering and, therefore, the actionof a mechanism of self-regulation cannot be ruled out. The possibleorigin of discrepancies in the metallicity-luminosity correlation foundby different authors is discussed. Distribution of star-forming complexes in dwarf irregular galaxiesWe study the distribution of bright star-forming complexes in ahomogeneous sample of 72 late-type (irregular'') dwarf galaxieslocated within the 10 Mpc volume. Star-forming complexes are identifiedas bright lumps in B-band galaxy images and isolated by means of theunsharp-masking method. For the sample as a whole the radial numberdistribution of bright lumps largely traces the underlyingexponential-disk light profiles, but peaks at a 10 percent smaller scalelength. Moreover, the presence of a tail of star forming regions out toat least six optical scale lengths provides evidence against asystematic star formation truncation within that galaxy extension.Considering these findings, we apply a scale length-independentconcentration index, taking into account the implied non-uniform randomspread of star formation regions throughout the disk. The numberprofiles frequently manifest a second, minor peak at about two scalelengths. Relying on a two-dimensional stochastic self-propagating starformation model, we show these secondary peaks to be consistent withtriggered star formation; for a few of the brighter galaxies a peculiarpeak distribution is observed that is conceivably due to the onset ofshear provided by differential rotation. On scales between 100 and 1000pc, and by taking into account exponential-disk structure, bright lumpsreveal cluster dimensions between 1.3 and 2, with a weak trend to higherdimensions for brighter galaxies. Cluster dimension weaklyanticorrelates with the lumpiness index (the fraction of the totalgalaxy light due to the light contributed by the lumps), the latterindex showing no dependence on luminosity. Lump spreading within thedisk, as measured by the concentration index, and lump clustering, asgiven by the cluster dimension, are not linked to each other.Interpreting cluster dimension in terms of porosity of a self-similarintragalactic medium, we derive a relation between current starformation rate, scale length, and porosity. Local galaxy flows within 5 MpcWe present Hubble Space Telescope/WFPC2 images of sixteen dwarf galaxiesas part of our snapshot survey of nearby galaxy candidates. We derivetheir distances from the luminosity of the tip of the red giant branchstars with a typical accuracy of ~ 12%. The resulting distances are4.26 Mpc (KKH 5), 4.74 Mpc (KK 16), 4.72 Mpc (KK 17), 4.66 Mpc (ESO115-021), 4.43 Mpc (KKH 18), 3.98 Mpc (KK 27), 4.61 Mpc (KKH 34), 4.99Mpc (KK 54), 4.23 Mpc (ESO 490-017), 4.90 Mpc (FG 202), 5.22 Mpc (UGC3755), 5.18 Mpc (UGC 3974), 4.51 Mpc (KK 65), 5.49 Mpc (UGC 4115), 3.78Mpc (NGC 2915), and 5.27 Mpc (NGC 6503). Based on distances and radialvelocities of 156 nearby galaxies, we plot the local velocity-distancerelation, which has a slope of H0 = 73 km s-1Mpc-1 and a radial velocity dispersion of 85 kms-1. When members of the M81 and Cen A groups are removed,and distance errors are taken into account, the radial velocitydispersion drops to sigmav = 41 km s-1. The localHubble flow within 5 Mpc exhibits a significant anisotropy, with twoinfall peculiar velocity regions directed towards the Supergalacticpoles. However, two observed regions of outflow peculiar velocity,situated on the Supergalactic equator, are far away ( ~ 50degr ) fromthe Virgo/anti-Virgo direction, which disagrees with a sphericallysymmetric Virgo-centric flow. About 63% of galaxies within 5 Mpc belongto known compact and loose groups. Apart from them, we found six newprobable groups, consisting entirely of dwarf galaxies.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. TheSpace Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association ofUniversities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS5-26555.}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 2, and Figs. 1 and 2, are only availablein electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org Galaxy flow in the Canes Venatici I cloudWe present an analysis of Hubble Space Telescope/WFPC2 images ofeighteen galaxies in the Canes Venatici I cloud. We derive theirdistances from the luminosity of the tip of the red giant branch starswith a typical accuracy of ~ 12%. The resulting distances are 3.9 Mpc(UGC 6541), 4.9 Mpc (NGC 3738), 3.0 Mpc (NGC 3741), 4.5 Mpc (KK 109),>6.3 Mpc (NGC 4150), 4.2 Mpc (UGC 7298), 4.5 Mpc (NGC 4244), 4.6 Mpc(NGC 4395), 4.9 Mpc (UGC 7559), 4.2 Mpc (NGC 4449), 4.4 Mpc (UGC 7605),4.6 Mpc (IC 3687), 4.7 Mpc (KK 166), 4.7 Mpc (NGC 4736), 4.2 Mpc (UGC8308), 4.3 Mpc (UGC 8320), 4.6 Mpc (NGC 5204), and 3.2 Mpc (UGC 8833).The CVn I cloud has a mean radial velocity of 286 +/- 9 kms-1, a mean distance of 4.1 +/- 0.2 Mpc, a radial velocitydispersion of 50 km s-1, a mean projected radius of 760 kpc,and a total blue luminosity of 2.2 x 1010 Lsun .Assuming virial or closed orbital motions for the galaxies, we estimatedtheir virial and their orbital mass-to-luminosity ratio to be 176 and 88Msun /Lsun , respectively. However, the CVn Icloud is characterized by a crossing time of 15 Gyr, and is thus farfrom a state of dynamical equilibrium. The large crossing time for thecloud, its low content of dSph galaxies (<6%), and the almostprimordial'' shape of its luminosity function show that the CVn Icomplex is in a transient dynamical state, driven rather by the freeHubble expansion than by galaxy interactions.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. TheSpace Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association ofUniversities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS5-26555.Figures 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org The UZC-SSRS2 Group CatalogWe 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. The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. II. R-band surface photometry of late-type dwarf galaxiesR-band surface photometry is presented for 171 late-type dwarf andirregular galaxies. For a subsample of 46 galaxies B-band photometry ispresented as well. We present surface brightness profiles as well asisophotal and photometric parameters including magnitudes, diameters andcentral surface brightnesses. Absolute photometry is accurate to 0.1 magor better for 77% of the sample. For over 85% of the galaxies the radialsurface brightness profiles are consistent with published data withinthe measured photometric uncertainty. For most of the galaxies in thesample H I data have been obtained with the Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope. The galaxies in our sample are part of the WHISP project(Westerbork H I Survey of Spiral and Irregular Galaxies), which aims atmapping about 500 nearby spiral and irregular galaxies in H I. Theavailability of H I data makes this data set useful for a wide range ofstudies of the structure, dark matter content and kinematics oflate-type dwarf galaxies. Based on observations made with INT operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisicade Canarias. The tables in Appendix A are only available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/390/863. Thefigures in Appendix B are only available in electronic formhttp://www.edpsciences.org The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. I. HI imaging of late-type dwarf galaxiesNeutral hydrogen observations with the Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope are presented for a sample of 73 late-type dwarf galaxies.These observations are part of the WHISP project (Westerbork H I Surveyof Spiral and Irregular Galaxies). Here we present H I maps, velocityfields, global profiles and radial surface density profiles of H I, aswell as H I masses, H I radii and line widths. For the late-typegalaxies in our sample, we find that the ratio of H I extent to opticaldiameter, defined as 6.4 disk scale lengths, is on average 1.8 +/- 0.8,similar to that seen in spiral galaxies. Most of the dwarf galaxies inthis sample are rich in H I, with a typical Mion {Hi}/L_B of1.5. The relative H I content M_ion {HI}/L_R increases towards fainterabsolute magnitudes and towards fainter surface brightnesses. Dwarfgalaxies with lower average H I column densities also have lower averageoptical surface brightnesses. We find that lopsidedness is as commonamong dwarf galaxies as it is in spiral galaxies. About half of thedwarf galaxies in our sample have asymmetric global profiles, a thirdhas a lopsided H I distribution, and about half shows signs of kinematiclopsidedness. Structure and stellar content of dwarf galaxies. VII. B and R photometry of 25 southern field dwarfs and a disk parameter analysis of the complete sample of nearby irregularsWe present B and R band surface photometry of 25 Southern field dwarfgalaxies within a distance of 10 Mpc. For each galaxy we give theessential model-free photometric parameters and, by fitting exponentialsto the surface brightness profiles, the central extrapolated surfacebrightness and the exponential scale length, in both colour bands.Surface brightness and colour profiles are shown. One of the objects, avery faint dwarf elliptical in the vicinity of NGC 2784, has beendiscovered in the course of this work. Drawing on the data from this andall previous papers of this series, we construct a complete sample of 72late-type (irregular'') dwarf galaxies in nearby groups and the fieldwithin the 10 Mpc volume, to study the exponential-disk parameterrelations of these galaxies with respect to galaxy environment. Weconfirm our previous finding of statistically lower scale lengths/highercentral surface brightnesses for field and group galaxies as compared tocluster galaxies. However, using a clear-cut definition of group''versus field'' environment, we find no significant difference in thephotometric structure of group and field irregulars. A difference in thestar formation history may partly account for this structure-environmentrelation: for a given luminosity cluster dwarfs are on average redderthan field and group galaxies. We also report evidence for the colourgradients of dwarf irregulars being roughly inversely proportional tothe disk scale lengths. Supplementing our photometric data withkinematic data from the literature, we study possible relations withkinematic properties of the inner disk. Applying the dark matter scalingrelations for a Burkert halo we show that for field and group galaxiesof a given luminosity faster-than-mean disk rotational velocities at aradius of about two scale lengths are correlated with larger-than-meandisk scale lengths. Based on observations collected at the EuropeanSouthern Observatory, La Silla, Chile. Table 3 containing BRphotometry and kinematic data for the 72 irregular dwarf galaxies of ourcomplete sample'' 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/388/29 Local Field of Galaxy VelocitiesA sample of 145 galaxies having radial velocities relative to thecentroid of the Local Group V LG D H ij , with principal values of81:62:48 in km/sec·Mpc, which have a standard error of 4km/sec·Mpc. The minor axis of the Hubble ellipsoid is orientedalmost along the polar axis of the Local Supercluster, while the majoraxis forms an angle = (29 ± 5)° with the direction toward thecenter of the Virgo Cluster. Such a configuration of thepeculiar-velocity field shows unsatisfactory agreement with the model ofa spherically symmetric flow of galaxies toward the Virgo Cluster.Rotation of the Local Supercluster may be one reason for thisdifference. The peculiar velocities of galaxies within a volume with D V= 74 km/sec, a considerable part of which is due to the virial motionsof galaxies in groups and to distance errors. For field galaxies,located in a layer of 1 < D < 3 Mpc around the Local Group, theradial-velocity dispersion does not exceed 25 km/sec. Thevelocitydistance relation, constructed from the 20 closestgalaxies around the Local Group with D < 3 Mpc and with errorsσ(D) < 0.2 Mpc, exhibits the expected effect of gravitationaldeceleration. Using the estimate of R 0 = (0.96 ± 0.05) Mpc forthe observed radius of the zero-velocity sphere, we determined the totalmass of the Local Group to be (1.2 ± 0.2)·1012 M ȯ,which agrees well with the sum of the virial masses of the subgroups ofgalaxies around the Local Group and M31. The ratio of the Local Group'stotal mass (within R 0) to its luminosity is M/L = (23 ± 4) Mȯ/L ȯ, which does not require the existence of supermassivedark halos around our Galaxy and M31. Identifying Old Tidal Dwarf IrregularsWe examine the observational consequences of the two possible originsfor irregular galaxies: formation from collapse of a primordial cloud ofgas early in the age of the universe, or formation from tidal tails inan interaction that could have occurred any time in the history of theuniverse. Because the formation from tidal tails could have occurred along time ago, proximity to larger galaxies is not sufficient todistinguish tidal dwarfs from traditional dwarfs. We consider theeffects of little or no dark matter on rotation speeds and theTully-Fisher relationship, the metallicity-luminosity relationship,structure, and stellar populations. From these selection criteria, weidentify a small list of dwarf irregular galaxies that are candidatesfor having formed as tidal dwarfs. A Comparative Study of Star-forming and Quiescent Dwarf GalaxiesWe present the results from a comparative study of the atomic hydrogen(H I) and optical properties of a sample of 16 dwarf galaxies, chosen toinvestigate the effects of star formation on the properties of low-masssystems. The violent star formation bursts believed to occur in theselow-mass systems suggest a possible connection between the activelystar-forming blue compact dwarfs (BCDs), and the quiescent low surfacebrightness dwarfs (LSBDs). It has been suggested that LSBDs, uponundergoing a burst of star formation, will evolve into BCDs and thenback into LSBDs when the star formation slows or stops as the H I columndensity falls below the critical threshold necessary to support it. Wehave examined the location and kinematics of H I in eight BCDs and eightLSBDs of similar H I masses and a range of color indices to investigatethis evolutionary'' sequence. The starburst episodes in these low-massgalaxies should lead to (1) a dispersal/depletion of the H I seen in theeight LSB dwarfs and (2) more centrally concentrated and agitated H I inthe eight BCDs. The results of this project indicate that the quiescentLSBD galaxies have more diffuse H I distributions and often show aringlike structure, while the active galaxies have more highly centrallyconcentrated H I reservoirs. The bluer, more recently active systems ofboth types also have higher internal H I velocity dispersions,indicating that energy has been pumped into the interstellar medium ofthese galaxies. These observations are consistent with an evolutionaryscheme wherein the H I reservoirs in these galaxies take on differentcharacteristics depending upon their star formation histories. The stellar content and distance to the nearby blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 6789In this paper we present the results of a detailed B, V, R, I, andHα study of the isolated nearby blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxyNGC 6789. The observed galaxy has not yet been resolved into stars up tonow. On CCD frames obtained with 6 m BTA telescope and 2.5 m Nordictelescope the galaxy is well resolved. Its colour-magnitude diagramconfirms the two component (core-halo) galaxy morphology, which consistsof two stellar populations distinct in structure and colour: an innerhigh surface-brightness young population within 150 pc from the centerof the galaxy, and a relatively low surface-brightness intermediate-agepopulation extending out to at least 600 pc. The distance to the galaxy,estimated from the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is 2.1 Mpc whichplaces NGC 6789 close to the Local Group. From the mean colour of theRGB, the mean metal abundance of the halo population is estimated as[Fe/H] =~ -1 dex. Data available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Structure and stellar content of dwarf galaxies. IV. B and R photometry of dwarf galaxies in the CVnI cloudWe have carried out CCD photometry in the Cousins B and R bands of 15galaxies in the Canes Venatici I cloud. Total magnitudes, effectiveradii, effective surface brightnesses, as well as galaxy radii atvarious isophotal levels in both colors were determined. Best-fittingexponential parameters and color gradients are also given for thesegalaxies. The photometric parameters presented here will be analyzed ina forthcoming paper, together with previously published data for nearbydwarf galaxies. Based on observations made at Observatoire de HauteProvence (CNRS), France.} Arcsecond Positions of UGC GalaxiesWe 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. Galaxy coordinates. II. Accurate equatorial coordinates for 17298 galaxiesUsing images of the Digitized Sky Survey we measured coodinates for17298 galaxies having poorly defined coordinates. As a control, wemeasured with the same method 1522 galaxies having accurate coordinates.The comparison with our own measurements shows that the accuracy of themethod is about 6 arcsec on each axis (RA and DEC). Multi-colour photometry of nearby dwarf galaxiesObservations of 39 nearby, mostly dwarf galaxies are presented. Theobservations were carried out at the 1.2-m telescope of Observatoire deHaute-Provence (France) with B, V and I Cousins filters. Based onsurface and integrated photometry of the obtained images we derivedtotal B, V and I magnitudes and integrated B-V, V-I colours as well asradii and magnitudes at the 25 m isophotal level. Azimuthally averagedsurface brightness profiles were derived for 33 galaxies in eachphotometric band. Most of the profiles can be well fitted by anexponential intensity law of brightness distribution. The best-fittingexponential parameters are also given for the galaxies. Based onobservations made at Observatoire de Haute Provence (CNRS), France.Table 3 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/Abstract.html HI properties of nearby galaxies from a volume-limited sampleWe consider global HI and optical properties of about three hundrednearby galaxies with V_0 < 500 km s(-1) . The majority of them haveindividual photometric distance estimates. The galaxy sample parametersshow some known and some new correlations implying a meaningful dynamicexplanation: 1) In the whole range of diameters, 1 - 40 Kpc, the galaxystandard diameter and rotational velocity follows a nearly linearTully-Fisher relation, lg A25~(0.99+/-0.06)lg V_m. 2) The HImass-to-luminosity ratio and the HI mass-to-total" mass (inside thestandard optical diameter) ratio increase systematically from giantgalaxies towards dwarfs, reaching maximum values 5 ;M_ȯ/L_ȯand 3, respectively. 3) For all the Local Volume galaxies their totalmass-to-luminosity ratio lies within a range of [0.2-16]M_ȯ/L_ȯ with a median of 3.0 ;M_ȯ/L_ȯ. TheM25/L ratio decreases slightly from giant towards dwarfgalaxies. 4) The M_HI/L and M25/L ratios for the samplegalaxies correlate with their mean optical surface brightness, which maybe caused by star formation activity in the galaxies. 5) The M_HI/L andM25/L ratios are practically independent of the local massdensity of surrounding galaxies within the range of densities of aboutsix orders of magnitude. 6) For the LV galaxies their HI mass andangular momentum follow a nearly linear relation: lgM_HI~(0.99+/-0.04)lg (V_m* A25), expected for rotatinggaseous disks being near the threshold of gravitational instability,favourable for active star formation. Table in the Appendix is availableonly in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 orhttp//cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.Not Available Detailed images and distance measurements for eighteen dwarf irregular galaxies in the Canes Venatici cloudIn the Canes Venatici cloud, eighteen dwarf irregular galaxies wereobserved in B, V bands at the Nordic Optical Telescope under a seeing ofone arcsec. Most of the galaxies having radial velocities V_0 < 500km/s have been resolved into stars for the first time. The galaxydistances were derived based on photometry of their brightest bluestars. Distances to some of the galaxies: UGC 6782, UGC 7131 and,probably, K 215, which are located at the CVn southern edge, wereestimated to be about 15 Mpc, which is typical of the Virgo clusteroutskirts. For two LSB galaxies, K 200 and K 215, the distances may beoverestimated, probably because of a lack of young massive stars. Forthe remaining galaxies: UGC 7559, UGC 7599, UGC 7605, UGC 7639, UGC7698, UGCA 290, UGCA 292, UGC 7866, UGC 8024, UGC 8638, UGC 8651, UGC8760, and UGC 8833 the estimated distances range from 2.3 to 8.0 Mpc,indicating their actual membership in the CVn cloud. Several objectsstudied here (UGC 7605, UGC 7639, UGC 8638, UGC 8833) have awell-resolved bluish core and regular yellow outer parts, which maypoint to composite (new and old) populations. The galaxy UGCA 292 = CVndwA has unusual global parameters: (B-V)_T=+0.08, M_T=-11.4, M(HI)/L_B =6\ M_sun/L_sun and M(HI)/M_T =0.7, being, perhaps, one of the youngestknown objects in the Local Universe. Table 2 to 19 are only available atthe CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html CCD photometry and distances of six resolved irregular galaxies in Canes VenaticiThe results of detailed B,V imaging of six nearby irregular galaxieswith radial velocities V_0 < 300 km/s are presented. Except for oneall the galaxies have been resolved into stars for the first time. Basedon photometry of the brightest blue stars we derived the followingdistances to the galaxies: 3.6 Mpc for NGC 4163, 3.5 Mpc for NGC 4190,8.6 Mpc for UGC 7298, 4.8 Mpc for UGC 7577, 3.7 Mpc for UGC 8308, and4.0 Mpc for UGC 8320. Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxiesWe 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.
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