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The SAURON project - VII. Integral-field absorption and emission-line kinematics of 24 spiral galaxy bulges
We present observations of the stellar and gas kinematics for arepresentative sample of 24 Sa galaxies obtained with our custom-builtintegral-field spectrograph SAURON operating on the William HerschelTelescope. The data have been homogeneously reduced and analysed bymeans of a dedicated pipeline. All resulting data cubes were spatiallybinned to a minimum mean signal-to-noise ratio of 60 per spatial andspectral resolution element. Our maps typically cover thebulge-dominated region. We find a significant fraction of kinematicallydecoupled components (12/24), many of them displaying central velocitydispersion minima. They are mostly aligned and co-rotating with the mainbody of the galaxies, and are usually associated with dust discs andrings detected in unsharp-masked images. Almost all the galaxies in thesample (22/24) contain significant amounts of ionized gas which, ingeneral, is accompanied by the presence of dust. The kinematics of theionized gas are consistent with circular rotation in a disc co-rotatingwith respect to the stars. The distribution of mean misalignmentsbetween the stellar and gaseous angular momenta in the sample suggeststhat the gas has an internal origin. The [OIII]/Hβ ratio is usuallyvery low, indicative of current star formation, and shows variousmorphologies (ring-like structures, alignments with dust lanes oramorphous shapes). The star formation rates (SFRs) in the sample arecomparable with that of normal disc galaxies. Low gas velocitydispersion values appear to be linked to regions of intense starformation activity. We interpret this result as stars being formed fromdynamically cold gas in those regions. In the case of NGC5953, the datasuggest that we are witnessing the formation of a kinematicallydecoupled component from cold gas being acquired during the ongoinginteraction with NGC5954.
| The Effects of Interactions on the Structure and Morphology of Elliptical/Lenticular Galaxies in Pairs
We present a structural and photometric analysis of 42elliptical/lenticular galaxies in E/S0 + S pairs observed in the BVRIcolor bands. The aim of the analysis is to empirically determine theeffects of interactions on the galaxies' morphology, structure, andstellar populations as seen from the CAS parameters (light concentrationC, asymmetry A, and clumpiness S). We further compare these values to acontrol sample of 67 mostly isolated noninteracting E/S0 galaxies. Wefind that the paired E/S0 galaxies occupy more scattered loci in CASspace than noninteracting E/S0s and that the structural effects ofinteractions on E/S0s are minor, in contrast to disk galaxies involvedin interactions. This suggests that observational methods forrecognizing interactions, such the CAS methodology of Conselice, wouldnot detect E/S0s involved in interactions (related to early phases ofthe so-called dry mergers), and that the majority of interactinggalaxies identified at high redshift must be gas-dominated systems.However, we find statistical differences in the asymmetry index whencomparing isolated and interacting E/S0s. On average, paired E/S0galaxies have A-values 2.96+/-0.72 times larger than those ofnoninteracting E/S0s. For the subset of presumably strongly interactingE/S0s, A and S can be several times larger than the typical values ofthe isolated E/S0s. We show that the asymmetries are consistent withseveral internal and external morphological distortions. We concludethat the subsample of interacting E/S0s should be dense, gas-poorgalaxies in systems spanning a wide range of interaction stages, withtypical merging timescales >~0.1-0.5 Gyr. We use the observedphenomenology of this subsample to predict the approximate loci of drypremergers in the CAS parameter space.
| A radio census of nuclear activity in nearby galaxies
In order to determine the incidence of black hole accretion-drivennuclear activity in nearby galaxies, as manifested by their radioemission, we have carried out a high-resolution Multi-ElementRadio-Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) survey of LINERs andcomposite LINER/Hii galaxies from a complete magnitude-limited sample ofbright nearby galaxies (Palomar sample) with unknown arcsecond-scaleradio properties. There are fifteen radio detections, of which three arenew subarcsecond-scale radio core detections, all being candidate AGN.The detected galaxies supplement the already known low-luminosity AGN -low-luminosity Seyferts, LINERs and composite LINER/Hii galaxies - inthe Palomar sample. Combining all radio-detected Seyferts, LINERs andcomposite LINER/Hii galaxies (LTS sources), we obtain an overall radiodetection rate of 54% (22% of all bright nearby galaxies) and weestimate that at least ~50% (~20% of all bright nearby galaxies) aretrue AGN. The radio powers of the LTS galaxies allow the construction ofa local radio luminosity function. By comparing the luminosity functionwith those of selected moderate-redshift AGN, selected from the 2dF/NVSSsurvey, we find that LTS sources naturally extend the RLF of powerfulAGN down to powers of about 10 times that of Sgr A*.
| BVRI Surface Photometry of Mixed Morphology Pairs of Galaxies. III. The Third Data Set
This is the third of a series of papers devoted to the study of thephotometric properties of spiral and elliptical galaxies in interactingpairs. We report broad band (BVRI) total magnitudes, as well as surfacebrightness, color and geometric (ɛ = 1 - b/a, PA, anda4/a) profiles for a sample of 10 mixed morphology (E/S0+S)pairs drawn from the Karachentsev Catalogue of Isolate Pairs of Galaxies(KPG). Most of the objects reported here have their photometricparameters derived for the first time. Surface photometry in combinationwith image processing and color diagrams are useful to test andreevaluate the morphological classification of each galaxy in thesepairs. We find 5 true (E+S) pairs in the present sample, 4lenticular-spiral (S0+S) systems and 1 spiral-spiral (S+S) pair. Wefound no clear evidence of a Holmberg effect in our sample of mixedpairs. The existence of a large number of isolated (E+S) pairs (50% in our sample) rises interesting questions for models of galaxyformation.
| The stellar populations of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei - III. Spatially resolved spectral properties
In a recently completed survey of the stellar population properties oflow-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs) and LINER/HIItransition objects (TOs), we have identified a numerous class ofgalactic nuclei which stand out because of their conspicuous108-9 yr populations, traced by high-order Balmer absorptionlines and other stellar indices. These objects are called `young-TOs',because they all have TO-like emission-line ratios. In this paper weextend this previous work, which concentrated on the nuclear properties,by investigating the radial variations of spectral properties inlow-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs). Our analysis is based onhigh signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) long-slit spectra in the 3500-5500Å interval for a sample of 47 galaxies. The data probe distancesof typically up to 850 pc from the nucleus with a resolution of ~100 pc(~1 arcsec) and S/N ~ 30. Stellar population gradients are mapped by theradial profiles of absorption-line equivalent widths and continuumcolours along the slit. These variations are further analysed by meansof a decomposition of each spectrum in terms of template galaxiesrepresentative of very young (<=107 yr), intermediate age(108-9 yr) and old (1010 yr) stellar populations.This study reveals that young-TOs also differ from old-TOs andold-LINERs in terms of the spatial distributions of their stellarpopulations and dust. Specifically, our main findings are as follows.(i) Significant stellar population gradients are found almostexclusively in young-TOs. (ii) The intermediate age population ofyoung-TOs, although heavily concentrated in the nucleus, reachesdistances of up to a few hundred pc from the nucleus. Nevertheless, thehalf width at half-maximum of its brightness profile is more typically100 pc or less. (iii) Objects with predominantly old stellar populationspresent spatially homogeneous spectra, be they LINERs or TOs. (iv)Young-TOs have much more dust in their central regions than otherLLAGNs. (v) The B-band luminosities of the central <~1 Gyr populationin young-TOs are within an order of magnitude of MB=-15,implying masses of the order of ~107-108Msolar. This population was 10-100 times more luminous in itsformation epoch, at which time young massive stars would have completelyoutshone any active nucleus, unless the AGN too was brighter in thepast.
| 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.
| The Stellar Populations of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Observations
We present a study of the stellar populations of low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei (LLAGNs). Our goal is to search for spectroscopicsignatures of young and intermediate-age stars and to investigate theirrelationship with the ionization mechanism in LLAGNs. The method used isbased on the stellar population synthesis of the optical continuum ofthe innermost (20-100 pc) regions in these galaxies. For this purpose,we have collected high spatial resolution optical (2900-5700 Å)STIS spectra of 28 nearby LLAGNs that are available in the Hubble SpaceTelescope archive. The analysis of these data is compared with a similaranalysis also presented here for 51 ground-based spectra of LLAGNs. Ourmain findings are as follows: (1) No features due to Wolf-Rayet starswere convincingly detected in the STIS spectra. (2) Young starscontribute very little to the optical continuum in the ground-basedaperture. However, the fraction of light provided by these stars ishigher than 10% in most of the weak-[O I] ([OI]/Hα<=0.25) LLAGNSTIS spectra. (3) Intermediate-age stars contribute significantly to theoptical continuum of these nuclei. This population is more frequent inobjects with weak than with strong [O I]. Weak-[O I] LLAGNs that haveyoung stars stand out for their intermediate-age population. (4) Most ofthe strong-[O I] LLAGNs have predominantly old stellar population. A fewof these objects also show a featureless continuum that contributessignificantly to the optical continuum. These results suggest that youngand intermediate-age stars do not play a significant role in theionization of LLAGNs with strong [O I]. However, the ionization inweak-[O I] LLAGNs with young and/or intermediate-age populations couldbe due to stellar processes. A comparison of the properties of theseobjects with Seyfert 2 galaxies that harbor a nuclear starburst suggeststhat weak-[O I] LLAGNs are the lower luminosity counterparts of theSeyfert 2 composite nuclei.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555. Based on observations made with the Nordic OpticalTelescope (NOT), operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica deCanarias.
| The Stellar Populations of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. I. Ground-based Observations
We present a spectroscopic study of the stellar populations oflow-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs). Our main goal is todetermine whether the stars that live in the innermost (100 pc scale)regions of these galaxies are in some way related to the emission-lineproperties, which would imply a link between the stellar population andthe ionization mechanism. High signal-to-noise ratio, ground-basedlong-slit spectra in the 3500-5500 Å interval were collected for60 galaxies: 51 LINERs and LINER/H II transition objects, two starburstgalaxies, and seven nonactive galaxies. In this paper, the first of aseries, we (1) describe the sample; (2) present the nuclear spectra; (3)characterize the stellar populations of LLAGNs by means of an empiricalcomparison with normal galaxies; (4) measure a set of spectral indices,including several absorption-line equivalent widths and colorsindicative of stellar populations; and (5) correlate the stellar indiceswith emission-line ratios that may distinguish between possibleexcitation sources for the gas. Our main findings are as follows: (1)Few LLAGNs have a detectable young (<~107 yr) starburstcomponent, indicating that very massive stars do not contributesignificantly to the optical continuum. In particular, no features dueto Wolf-Rayet stars were convincingly detected. (2) High-order Balmerabsorption lines of H I (HOBLs), on the other hand, are detected in ~40%of LLAGNs. These features, which are strongest in108-109 yr intermediate-age stellar populations,are accompanied by diluted metal absorption lines and bluer colors thanother objects in the sample. (3) These intermediate-age populations arevery common (~50%) in LLAGNs with relatively weak [O I] emission([OI]/Hα<=0.25) but rare (~10%) in LLAGNs with stronger [O I].This is intriguing since LLAGNs with weak [O I] have been previouslyhypothesized to be ``transition objects'' in which both an AGN and youngstars contribute to the emission-line excitation. Massive stars, ifpresent, are completely outshone by intermediate-age and old stars inthe optical. This happens in at least a couple of objects whereindependent UV spectroscopy detects young starbursts not seen in theoptical. (4) Objects with predominantly old stars span the whole rangeof [O I]/Hα values, but (5) sources with significant young and/orintermediate-age populations are nearly all (~90%) weak-[O I] emitters.These new findings suggest a link between the stellar populations andthe gas ionization mechanism. The strong-[O I] objects are most likelytrue LLAGNs, with stellar processes being insignificant. However, theweak-[O I] objects may comprise two populations, one where theionization is dominated by stellar processes and another where it isgoverned by either an AGN or a more even mixture of stellar and AGNprocesses. Possible stellar sources for the ionization include weakstarbursts, supernova remnants, and evolved poststarburst populations.These scenarios are examined and constrained by means of complementaryobservations and detailed modeling of the stellar populations inforthcoming communications.Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope, operatedon the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway,and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos ofthe Instituto de Astrofísica de Canárias.
| A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxies
We have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of ``normality''. Thedefinition of a ``normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for ``normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5
| The SAURON project - II. Sample and early results
Early results are reported from the SAURON survey of the kinematics andstellar populations of a representative sample of nearby E, S0 and Sagalaxies. The survey is aimed at determining the intrinsic shape of thegalaxies, their orbital structure, the mass-to-light ratio as a functionof radius, the age and metallicity of the stellar populations, and thefrequency of kinematically decoupled cores and nuclear black holes. Theconstruction of the representative sample is described, and itsproperties are illustrated. A comparison with long-slit spectroscopicdata establishes that the SAURON measurements are comparable to, orbetter than, the highest-quality determinations. Comparisons arepresented for NGC 3384 and 4365, where stellar velocities and velocitydispersions are determined to a precision of 6kms-1, and theh3 and h4 parameters of the line-of-sight velocitydistribution to a precision of better than 0.02. Extraction of accurategas emission-line intensities, velocities and linewidths from the datacubes is illustrated for NGC 5813. Comparisons with published linestrengths for NGC 3384 and 5813 reveal uncertainties of <~0.1Åon the measurements of the Hβ, Mg b and Fe5270 indices.Integral-field mapping uniquely connects measurements of the kinematicsand stellar populations to the galaxy morphology. The maps presentedhere illustrate the rich stellar kinematics, gaseous kinematics, andline-strength distributions of early-type galaxies. The results includethe discovery of a thin, edge-on, disc in NGC 3623, confirm theaxisymmetric shape of the central region of M32, illustrate the LINERnucleus and surrounding counter-rotating star-forming ring in NGC 7742,and suggest a uniform stellar population in the decoupled core galaxyNGC 5813.
| A targeted survey for H i clouds in galaxy groups
Five galaxy groups with properties similar to those of the Local Grouphave been surveyed for Hi clouds with the Arecibo Telescope. In total300 pointings have been observed on grids of approximately2.5×1.5Mpc2 centred on the groups. The 4.5σdetection limit on the minimal detectable Hi masses is approximately7×106Msolar(H0=65kms-1Mpc-1). All detections couldbe attributed to optical galaxies; no significant detections of Hiclouds have been made. This null result leads to the conclusion that thetotal Hi mass of intragroup clouds must be less than 10 per cent of thetotal Hi mass of galaxy groups and less than 0.05 per cent of thedynamical mass. The recent hypothesis that Galactic high-velocity cloudsare Local Group satellite galaxies is highly inconsistent with theseobservations.
| Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups
In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.
| 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.
| Catalogue of HI maps of galaxies. I.
A catalogue is presented of galaxies having large-scale observations inthe HI line. This catalogue collects from the literature the informationthat characterizes the observations in the 21-cm line and the way thatthese data were presented by means of maps, graphics and tables, forshowing the distribution and kinematics of the gas. It containsfurthermore a measure of the HI extension that is detected at the levelof the maximum sensitivity reached in the observations. This catalogueis intended as a guide for references on the HI maps published in theliterature from 1953 to 1995 and is the basis for the analysis of thedata presented in Paper II. The catalogue is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 orhttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
| A Search for ``Dwarf'' Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies
We have completed an optical spectroscopic survey of the nuclear regions(r <~ 200 pc) of a large sample of nearby galaxies. Although the mainobjectives of the survey are to search for low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei and to quantify their luminosity function, the databasecan be used for a variety of other purposes. This paper presentsmeasurements of the spectroscopic parameters for the 418 emission-linenuclei, along with a compilation of the global properties of all 486galaxies in the survey. Stellar absorption generally poses a seriousobstacle to obtaining accurate measurement of emission lines in nearbygalactic nuclei. We describe a procedure for removing the starlight fromthe observed spectra in an efficient and objective manner. The mainparameters of the emission lines (intensity ratios, fluxes, profilewidths, and equivalent widths) are measured and tabulated, as areseveral stellar absorption-line and continuum indices useful forstudying the stellar population. Using standard nebular diagnostics, wedetermine the probable ionization mechanisms of the emission-lineobjects. The resulting spectral classifications provide extensiveinformation on the demographics of emission-line nuclei in the nearbyregions of the universe. This new catalog contains over 200 objectsshowing spectroscopic evidence for recent star formation and an equallylarge number of active galactic nuclei, including 46 that show broad Halpha emission. These samples will serve as the basis of future studiesof nuclear activity in nearby galaxies.
| An Einstein X-Ray Survey of Optically Selected Galaxies. I. Data
We present the results of a complete Einstein imaging proportionalcounter X-ray survey of optically selected galaxies from theShapley-Ames Catalog, the Uppsala General Catalogue, and the EuropeanSouthern Observatory Catalog. Well-defined optical criteria are used toselect the galaxies, and X-ray fluxes are measured at the opticallydefined positions. The result is a comprehensive list of X-ray detectionand upper limit measurements for 1018 galaxies. Of these, 827 haveeither independent distance estimates or radial velocities. Associatedoptical, redshift, and distance data have been assembled for thesegalaxies, and their distances come from a combination of directlypredicted distances and those predicted from the Faber-Burstein GreatAttractor/Virgocentric infall model. The accuracy of the X-ray fluxeshas been checked in three different ways; all are consistent with thederived X-ray fluxes being of <=0.1 dex accuracy. In particular,there is agreement with previously published X-ray fluxes for galaxiesin common with a 1991 study by Roberts et al. and a 1992 study byFabbiano et al. The data presented here will be used in further studiesto characterize the X-ray output of galaxies of various morphologicaltypes and thus to enable the determination of the major sourcescontributing to the X-ray emission from galaxies.
| The spatially extended LINERs NGC 4579 and 6500
Narrow-band Hα+[NII] imaging and long-slit spectroscopy atintermediate resolution from [NeV] lambda3426 to [SIII] lambda9532 ofthe LINER galaxies NGC 4579 and 6500 are analysed. Both galaxies showcircumnuclear emission, extending 2kpc from the nucleus of NGC 4579 in aloop structure and 1 kpc from the nucleus of NGC 6500 in a bright knotto the north-east, and as diffuse emission to the east. The nuclei andthe circumnuclear regions in both galaxies show strong low-ionizationlines. The nuclear line ratios [NII] lambda6584/Hα, [OI]lambda6300/Hα and [OII] lambda3727/[OIII] lambda5007 are higherthan 0.6, 0.3 and 1, respectively, fitting the definition criteria of aLINER. The circumnuclear gas is kinematically perturbed, showing radialmotions; in particular, in NGC 6500 it is compatible with an outflowwind which interacts with the higher density gas in the plane of thegalaxy. Comparison of the observed line ratios, particularly[SIII]/[SII] and [OII] lambda7325/Hα, with those ofphotoionization and shock heating models, indicates that the mainexcitation mechanism in the extended emission and in the nuclei is dueto shocks.
| Kinematical Observations of a Sample of Binary Galaxies
Not Available
| Large-Scale Structure at Low Galactic Latitude
We have extended the CfA Redshift Survey to low galactic latitudes toinvestigate the relation between the Great Wall in the North GalacticCap and the Perseus-Pisces chain in the South Galactic Cap. We presentredshifts for 2020 galaxies in the Catalogue of Galaxies and of Clustersof Galaxies (Zwicky et al. 1961-68, CGCG) in the following regions: 4^h^<= α <= 8^h^, 17^h^ <= α <= 20^h^, 0^deg^ <=δ <= 45^deg^. In these regions, the redshift catalogue includes1664 galaxies with B(0) <= 15.5 (of which 820 are newly measured) andis 97% complete. We also include redshifts for an additional 356galaxies in these regions with B(O) > 15.5; of these, 148 werepreviously unmeasured. The CGCG samples the galaxy distribution down tob_II_ = 10^deg^. In this paper, we discuss the acquisition and reductionof the spectra, and we examine the qualitative features of the redshiftdistribution. The Great Wall and the Perseus-Pisces chain are not simplyconnected across the Zone of Avoidance. These structures, which at firstappear to be coherent on scales of ~100 h^-1^ Mpc or more, actually formthe boundaries of neighboring voids of considerably smaller scale,approximately 50h^-1^ Mpc. The structures delineated by ouroptically-selected sample are qualitatively similar to those detected bythe far-infrared-selected IRAS 1.2 Jansky Survey (Fisher et al. 1995).Although the IRAS survey probes more deeply into the Zone of Avoidance,our optically-selected survey provides better sampling of structures atb_II_ >= 10^deg^.
| Seyfert Galaxies With Companions: Orbital and Kinematic Clues to AGN Triggering
This paper presents imaging and optical spectroscopy of paired Seyfertgalaxies and their companions. The aim is to seek common properties ofSeyfert galaxies in interacting systems, which might provide evidence ofAGN triggering in a way independent of the usual two-sample statisticswhich have proven ambiguous on this issue. Three kinds of comparisonhave been made-the kinds of interactions involving Seyfert galaxies, therelative luminosities of the Seyferts and their companions, and thelevel of kinematic disturbance as measured from rotation curves. (1)Dynamics and tidal features have been used to determine (or at leastlimit) the sense of orbital motion (direct/retrograde/polar with respectto the Seyfert galaxy's disk) for many of these pairs. There is noobviously preferred kind of interaction-direct, polar, and retrogradeencounters are all well represented, despite the gross differences indynamical response of a disk to these various kinds of encounter. To theextent that triggering of Seyfert nuclei occurs due to tidal encounters,the existence of a perturbation seems more important than its exactduration or detailed effects on the disk. However, the ratio of mergingto paired Seyferts is higher than for disk galaxies in general,consistent with more effective triggering of AGN in this specific phase;the implied time scale for enhanced occurrence during mergers is thesame as the timescape for merger remnants to appear as such, a fewdisk-edge crossing times (typically several times 10^8^ yr). (2) Seyfertnuclei occur preferentially in the brighter members of galaxy pairs, bya median of 0.93 mag after making the maximal correction forcontaminating nonstellar light in the nuclei. Only about 1/3 of thiseffect can be accounted for by the known tendency of Seyfert nuclei tooccur in more luminous galaxies. Enhancement of AGN by interactions isevidently more effective for more luminous galaxies (though this willalso be the case if both star formation and AGN occurrence are enhancedin the same galaxies). (3) The rotation curves of the paired Seyfertsshow systematically small regions of rising or solid-body rotationcompared to the disk radius, as a group comparable to Sa but verydifferent from Sb or Sc galaxies (even for Seyfert galaxies with Hubbletype later than Sa). There is weak evidence that this difference is alsopresent with respect to more isolated Seyfert galaxies. Despite theobvious utility of a dynamically disturbed disk for transport of angularmomentum and "feeding the monster," Seyfert galaxies in pairs actuallyhave smaller kinematic disturbances (measured by the maximum departurefrom a symmetric rotation curve, normalized to the full rotationamplitude) than found in a complete sample of non-Seyfert spirals inpairs.
| The fundamental plane of early-type galaxies: stellar populations and mass-to-light ratio.
We analyse the residuals to the fundamental plane (FP) of ellipticalgalaxies as a function of stellar-population indicators; these are basedon the line-strength parameter Mg_2_ and on UBVRI broad-band colors, andare partly derived from new observations. The effect of the stellarpopulations accounts for approximately half the observed variation ofthe mass-to-light ratio responsible for the FP tilt. The residual tiltcan be explained by the contribution of two additional effects: thedependence of the rotational support, and possibly that of the spatialstructure, on the luminosity. We conclude to a constancy of thedynamical-to-stellar mass ratio. This probably extends to globularclusters as well, but the dominant factor would be here the luminositydependence of the structure rather than that of the stellar population.This result also implies a constancy of the fraction of dark matter overall the scalelength covered by stellar systems. Our compilation ofinternal stellar kinematics of galaxies is appended.
| Core properties of elliptical galaxies - I. A northern hemisphere sample at high resolution
We introduce an ongoing survey of core properties of elliptical galaxiesand present the first results from high-resolution direct imaging of asubsample. The data were obtained in the V, R and I bands at the NOTtelescope, with median seeings of 0.69, 0.65 and 0.62 arcsec FWHM,respectively. We determine the `classical' core parameters, and weintroduce a new parameter, pi_c, which is a measure of the deviation ofthe observed brightness profile from an isothermal profile, pi_cmeasures the intensity of a central brightness concentration in excessof an isothermal model, relative to the intensity of the core. Measuringpi_c for the objects presented here, we find that only five of 22objects are consistent with pi_c=0 at the 1sigma level, and that 14 of22 are inconsistent with pi_c at the 3sigma level. We see no evidencefor significant colour difference (in V, R and I) between the centralspike and the rest of the core, except for M87 and NGC 4278. For theremaining galaxies we find that the colours of the spike must matchthose of the core to within 0.4 mag. We conclude that the majority ofall ellipticals seem to have central intensity concentrations in therange 1-10 per cent of the core flux.
| A search for 'dwarf' Seyfert nuclei. 2: an optical spectral atlas of the nuclei of nearby galaxies
We present an optical spectral atlas of the nuclear region (generally 2sec x 4 sec, or r approximately less than 200 pc) of a magnitude-limitedsurvey of 486 nearby galaxies having BT less than or = 12.5mag and delta greater than 0 deg. The double spectrograph on the Hale 5m telescope yielded simultaneous spectral coverage of approximately4230-5110 A and approximately 6210-6860 A, with a spectral resolution ofapproximately 4 A in the blue half and approximately 2.5 A in the redhalf. This large, statistically significant survey contains uniformlyobserved and calibrated moderate-dispersion spectra of exceptionallyhigh quality. The data presented in this paper will be used for varioussystematic studies of the physical properties of the nuclei of nearbygalaxies, with special emphasis on searching for low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei, or 'dwarf' Seyferts. Our survey led to the discovery offour relatively obvious but previously uncataloged Seyfert galaxies (NGC3735, 492, 4639, and 6951), and many more galactic nuclei showingevidence for Seyfert activity. We have also identified numerouslow-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs), some of which maybe powered by nonstellar processes. Of the many 'starburst' nuclei inour sample, several exhibit the spectral features of Wolf-Rayet stars.
| Velocity dispersions for elliptical galaxies. I. First set of measurements.
Measurements of central velocity dispersions and heliocentric radialvelocities are presented for 94 field galaxies. Among these, 5 newradial velocities and 80 new central velocity dispersions are obtained.Reduction was performed independently by cross-correlation,Fourier-quotient and Fourier-correlation-quotient methods.
| Star formation in the disks of H I-rich S0 galaxies
We present the results of a H-alpha emission-line imaging survey of asample of neutral-gas-rich S galaxies. We find evidence of disk H IIregions in 14 of our sample of 32 galaxies, detect nuclear or faintdiffuse circumnuclear H-alpha + forbidden N II emission in another 11galaxies without disk H II regions, and obtain upper limits for 8galaxies. We find a striking dichotomy between Ss with and without H IIregions; either a galaxy has a number of H II regions, most oftendistributed into distinct rings or ringlike structures, or there arenone down to detection limits equivalent to a single unreddened H IIregion ionized by single O stars. We find that the S0s without disk H IIregions have a lower median MH I/L(B) than those with disk HII regions, but the distributions have a large range of dispersion. Ourdata suggest that S0s may lie in a regime where local threshold effects,perhaps primarily kinematic in origin, are more important in determiningthe star formation in these galaxies than the global stabilitymechanisms that recent empirical models for large-scale star formationhave suggested prevail in later-type spirals.
| General study of group membership. II - Determination of nearby groups
We present a whole sky catalog of nearby groups of galaxies taken fromthe Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database. From the 78,000 objects in thedatabase, we extracted a sample of 6392 galaxies, complete up to thelimiting apparent magnitude B0 = 14.0. Moreover, in order to considersolely the galaxies of the local universe, all the selected galaxieshave a known recession velocity smaller than 5500 km/s. Two methods wereused in group construction: a Huchra-Geller (1982) derived percolationmethod and a Tully (1980) derived hierarchical method. Each method gaveus one catalog. These were then compared and synthesized to obtain asingle catalog containing the most reliable groups. There are 485 groupsof a least three members in the final catalog.
| Face-on disc galaxies
The paper presents bidimensional photometry for 40 bright S0 galaxieswith apparent flattening of not less than 0.9 at the 25-mag/sq arcseclevel. They represent all of the bright S0s in the RC2 catalog which areseen almost face-on. Ellipticity and PA profiles of each system wereanalyzed in order to test for the presence of triaxiality in theirbulges and in their disks. Many of these systems are found to be quitefar from face-on orientation, at inclination not less than 20 deg. About45 percent are barred; 67 percent of the bulges of the unbarred S0sconsidered show twisting of the isophotes and appear to be triaxial, ordominated by a triaxial component following the r exp 1/4 law. Abouthalf of the disks exhibit the same behavior, suggesting a slighttriaxiality. Some oblate disks are found. Disks of barred and unbarredsystems do not appear to differ much. Two galaxies of the presentsample, and possibly two more from the literature, show no indicationsof stellar streaming which is not coplanar with the galaxy plane.
| Groups of galaxies within 80 Mpc. II - The catalogue of groups and group members
This paper gives a catalog of the groups and associations obtained bymeans of a revised hierarchical algorithm applied to a sample of 4143galaxies with diameters larger than 100 arcsec and redshifts smallerthan 6000 km/s. The 264 groups of galaxies obtained in this way (andwhich contain at least three sample galaxies) are listed, with the looseassociations surrounding them and the individual members of eachaggregate as well; moreover, the location of every entity among 13regions corresponding roughly to superclusters is specified. Finally,1729 galaxies belong to the groups, and 466 to the associations, i.e.,the total fraction of galaxies within the various aggregates amounts to53 percent.
| H I content and FIR emission of S0 galaxies
A sample of 252 S0 galaxies is used to study the relationship between HI content and far-IR emission. Logarithms of the H I content versus thefar-IR emission are employed statistically to develop a best-fit linearregression line which is compared to a slope of approximately unity. Theslopes are different for S0 and SB0 galaxies versus S0/a and SB0/agalaxies. The distribution of the 60-100 micron flux ratio is notsignificantly affected by the presence or absence of bars nor by thedifferences between the S0 and S0/a systems. The flux ratio is higherthan the critical value of Helou in 34 percent of the cases, and thevalue holds when nuclear emission is taken into account. In cases wherethe critical value is exceeded, most far-IR emissions are expected to bedue to star formation. S0 galaxies are generally found to have a normalISM, except where the systems have accreted their H I gas. Systems withdisproportionate FIR emission can be considered galaxies that areexperiencing enhanced star formation or that have had their H I gasswept away.
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