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 Cepheid Distances to SNe Ia Host Galaxies Based on a Revised Photometric Zero Point of the HST WFPC2 and New PL Relations and Metallicity CorrectionsWith this paper we continue the preparation for a forthcoming summaryreport of our experiment with the HST to determine the Hubble constantusing Type Ia supernovae as standard candles. Two problems areaddressed. (1) We examine the need for, and determine the value of, thecorrections to the apparent magnitudes of our program Cepheids in the 11previous calibration papers due to sensitivity drifts and chargetransfer effects of the HST WFPC2 camera over the life time of theexperiment from 1992 to 2001. (2) The corrected apparent magnitudes areapplied to all our previous photometric data from which revised distancemoduli are calculated for the eight program galaxies that are parents tothe calibrator Ia supernovae. Two different Cepheid P-L relations areused; one for the Galaxy and one for the LMC. These differ both in slopeand zero point at a fixed period. The procedures for determining theabsorption and reddening corrections for each Cepheid are discussed.Corrections for the effects of metallicity differences between theprogram galaxies and the two adopted P-L relations are derived andapplied. The distance moduli derived here for the eight supernovaeprogram galaxies, and for 29 others, average 0.20 mag fainter (moredistant) than those derived by Gibson et al. and Freedman et al. intheir 2000 and 2001 summary papers for reasons discussed in this paper.The effect on the Hubble constant is the subject of our forthcomingsummary paper. 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. The Hα Galaxy Survey . III. Constraints on supernova progenitors from spatial correlations with Hα emissionAims.We attempt to constrain progenitors of the different types ofsupernovae from their spatial distributions relative to star formationregions in their host galaxies, as traced by Hα + [Nii] lineemission. Methods: .We analyse 63 supernovae which have occurredwithin galaxies from our Hα survey of the local Universe. Threestatistical tests are used, based on pixel statistics, Hα radialgrowth curves, and total galaxy emission-line fluxes. Results:.Many type II supernovae come from regions of low or zero emission lineflux, and more than would be expected if the latter accurately traceshigh-mass star formation. We interpret this excess as a 40% "Runaway"fraction in the progenitor stars. Supernovae of types Ib and Ic doappear to trace star formation activity, with a much higher fractioncoming from the centres of bright star formation regions than is thecase for the type II supernovae. Type Ia supernovae overall show a weakcorrelation with locations of current star formation, but there isevidence that a significant minority, up to about 40%, may be linked tothe young stellar population. The radial distribution of allcore-collapse supernovae (types Ib, Ic and II) closely follows that ofthe line emission and hence star formation in their host galaxies, apartfrom a central deficiency which is less marked for supernovae of typesIb and Ic than for those of type II. Core-collapse supernova ratesoverall are consistent with being proportional to galaxy totalluminosities and star formation rates; however, within this total thetype Ib and Ic supernovae show a moderate bias towards more luminoushost galaxies, and type II supernovae a slight bias towardslower-luminosity hosts. The extragalactic Cepheid bias: a new test using the period-luminosity-color relationWe use the Period-Luminosity-Color relation (PLC) for Cepheids to testfor the existence of a bias in extragalactic distances derived from theclassical Period-Luminosity (PL) relation. We calculate the parametersof the PLC using several galaxies observed with the Hubble SpaceTelescope and show that this calculation must be conducted with a PLCwritten in a form where the parameters are independent. The coefficientsthus obtained are similar to those derived from theoretical models.Calibrating with a few unbiased galaxies, we apply this PLC to allgalaxies of the Hubble Space Telescope Key Program (HSTKP) and comparethe distance moduli with those published by the HSTKP team. The newdistance moduli are larger (more exactly, the larger the distance thelarger the difference), consistent with a bias. Further, the bias trendthat is observed is the same previously obtained from two independentmethods based either on the local Hubble law or on a theoretical modelof the bias. The results are quite stable but when we force the PLCrelation closer to the classical PL relation by using unrealisticparameters, the agreement with HSTKP distance moduli is retrieved. Thisalso suggests that the PL relation leads to biased distance moduli. Thenew distance moduli reduce the scatter in the calibration of theabsolute magnitude of supernovae SNIa at their maximum. This may alsosuggest that the relation between the amplitude at maximum and the decayof the light curve Δ m15 may not be as strong asbelieved. The linearity of the Wesenheit function for the Large Magellanic Cloud CepheidsThere is strong evidence that the period-luminosity (PL) relation forthe Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Cepheids shows a break at a periodaround 10 d. Because the LMC PL relation is extensively used in distancescale studies, the non-linearity of the LMC PL relation may affect theresults based on this LMC calibrated relation. In this paper we showthat this problem can be remedied by using the Wesenheit function inobtaining Cepheid distances. This is because the Wesenheit function islinear, although recent data suggest that the PL and the period-colour(PC) relations that make up the Wesenheit function are not. We test thelinearity of the Wesenheit function and find strong evidence that theLMC Wesenheit function is indeed linear. This is because thenon-linearity of the PL and PC relations cancel out when the Wesenheitfunction is constructed. We discuss this result in the context ofdistance scale applications. We also compare the distance moduliobtained fromμ0=μV-R(μV-μI)(equivalent to Wesenheit functions) constructed with the linear and thebroken LMC PL relations, and we find that the typical difference indistance moduli is ~+/-0.03 mag. Hence, the broken LMC PL relation doesnot seriously affect current distance scale applications. We alsodiscuss the random error calculated with equationμ0=μV-R(μV-μI),and show that there is a correlation term that exists from thecalculation of the random error. The calculated random error will belarger if this correlation term is ignored. Reddening, Absorption, and Decline Rate Corrections for a Complete Sample of Type Ia Supernovae Leading to a Fully Corrected Hubble Diagram to v < 30,000 km s-1Photometric (BVI) and redshift data corrected for streaming motions arecompiled for 111 Branch-normal,'' four 1991T-like, seven 1991bg-like,and two unusual supernovae of Type Ia (SNe Ia). Color excessesE(B-V)host of normal SNe Ia, due to the absorption of thehost galaxy, are derived by three independent methods, giving excellentagreement leading to the intrinsic colors at maximum of(B-V)00=-0.024+/-0.010 and (V-I)00=-0.265+/-0.016if normalized to a common decline rate of Δm15=1.1. Thestrong correlation between redshift absolute magnitudes (based on anarbitrary Hubble constant of H0=60 km s-1Mpc-1), corrected only for the extrinsic Galactic absorption,and the derived E(B-V)host color excesses leads to thewell-determined yet abnormal absorption-to-reddening ratios ofRBVI=3.65+/-0.16, 2.65+/-0.15, and 1.35+/-0.21.Comparison with the canonical Galactic values of 4.1, 3.1, and 1.8forces the conclusion that the law of interstellar absorption in thepath length to the SN in the host galaxy is different from the localGalactic law, a result consistent with earlier conclusions by others.Improved correlations of the fully corrected absolute magnitudes (on thesame arbitrary Hubble constant zero point) with host galaxymorphological type, decline rate, and intrinsic color are derived. Werecover the result that SNe Ia in E/S0 galaxies are ~0.3 mag fainterthan in spiral galaxies for possible reasons discussed in the text. Thenew decline rate corrections to absolute magnitudes are smaller thanthose by some authors for reasons explained in the text. The fourspectroscopically peculiar 1991T-type SNe are significantly overluminousas compared to Branch-normal SNe Ia. The overluminosity of the seven1999aa-like SNe is less pronounced. The seven 1991bg types in the sampleconstitute a separate class of SNe Ia, averaging in B 2 mag fainter thanthe normal Ia. New Hubble diagrams in B, V, and I are derived out to~30,000 km s-1 using the fully corrected magnitudes andvelocities, corrected for streaming motions. Nine solutions for theintercept magnitudes in these diagrams show extreme stability at the0.02 mag level using various subsamples of the data for both low andhigh extinctions in the sample, proving the validity of the correctionsfor host galaxy absorption. We shall use the same precepts for fullycorrecting SN magnitudes for the luminosity recalibration of SNe Ia inthe forthcoming final review of our Hubble Space Telescope Cepheid-SNexperiment for the Hubble constant. Light and Motion in the Local VolumeUsing high-quality data on 149 galaxies within 10 Mpc, I find nocorrelation between luminosity and peculiar velocity at all. There is nounequivocal sign on scales of 1-2 Mpc of the expected gravitationaleffect of the brightest galaxies, in particular infall toward groups, orof infall toward the supergalactic plane on any scale. Either darkmatter is not distributed in the same way as luminous matter in thisregion, or peculiar velocities are not due to fluctuations in mass. Thesensitivity of peculiar velocity studies to the background model ishighlighted. The Local Group and Other Neighboring Galaxy GroupsOver the last few years, rapid progress has been made in distancemeasurements for nearby galaxies based on the magnitude of stars on thetip of the red giant branch. Current CCD surveys with the Hubble SpaceTelescope (HST) and large ground-based telescopes bring ~10% accuratedistances for roughly a hundred galaxies within 5 Mpc. The new data ondistances to galaxies situated in (and around) the nearest groups-theLocal Group, M81 Group, Cen A/M83 Group, IC 342/Maffei Group, Sculptorfilament, and Canes Venatici cloud-allowed us to determine their totalmass from the radius of the zero-velocity surface, R0, whichseparates a group as bound against the homogeneous cosmic expansion. Thevalues of R0 for the virialized groups turn out to be closeeach other, in the range of 0.9-1.3 Mpc. As a result, the total massesof the groups are close to each other, as well, yielding total mass toblue luminosity ratios of 10-40 MsolarL-1solar. The new total mass estimates are 3-5times lower than old virial mass estimates of these groups. Becauseabout half of galaxies in the Local volume belong to such loose groups,the revision of the amount of dark matter (DM) leads to a low localdensity of matter, Ωm~=0.04, which is comparable withthe global baryonic fraction Ωb but much lower than theglobal density of matter, Ωm=0.27. To remove thediscrepancy between the global and local quantities ofΩm, we assume the existence of two different DMcomponents: (1) compact dark halos around individual galaxies and (2) anonbaryonic dark matter ocean'' with ΩDM1~=0.07 andΩDM2~=0.20, respectively.Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. The extragalactic Cepheid bias: significant influence on the cosmic distance scaleThe unique measurements with the Hubble Space Telescope of Cepheidvariable stars in nearby galaxies led to extragalactic distances thatmade the HST Key Project conclude that the Hubble constant isH0 = 72 km s-1 Mpc-1. The idea thatH0 is now known is widely spread among the astronomicalcommunity. Some time ago, we suggested that a strong selection effectmay still exist in the Cepheid method, resulting in too short distances.Using a model similar to traditional bias corrections, we deduce herenew estimates of distances from HST and previous ground-basedobservations which are both affected by this effect, showing the sametrend which starts at different distances. The recent measurement of M83 with the VLT is unbiased. Revisiting the calibration of HSTKP's withour new scale, makes long-range distance criteria more concordant andreduces the value of H0 to ≈60 km s-1Mpc-1. Locally, the corrected Cepheid distances giveHlocal=56 km s-1 Mpc-1 and reduce thevelocity dispersion in the Hubble flow. These numbers are indicative ofthe influence of the suggested Cepheid bias in the context of the HSTKPstudies and are not final values. Dwarf and Normal Spiral Galaxies: are they Self-Similar?The investigation presented here was focused on clarifying the existenceof dwarf spiral galaxies as a separate group from classical spirals.First, a list of spiral galaxies with small sizes was obtained.Information on colors, luminosities, morphologies and chemical contentwas searched for in the literature for these galaxies. Using thisinformation, it can be concluded that dwarf spirals are not likely to bethe tail of the distribution of classical galaxies. On the contrary,significant differences in some of the most important properties ofspiral galaxies, such as the metallicity gradient and the bar frecuency,were found. In any case, further and more accurate observations areneeded for a definitive answer. Cepheid calibration of Type Ia supernovae and the Hubble constant We investigate how a different calibration of the Cepheidperiod-luminosity (PL) relation, taking into account metallicitycorrections, affects the absolute magnitude calibration of Type Iasupernovae (SNe Ia) and, in turn, the determination of the Hubbleconstant H0. We use SN Ia light curves from the literatureand previously unpublished data to establish theMB-Δm15(B) relation, and calibrate the zeropoint by means of nine SNe Ia with Cepheid-measured distances. Thisrelation is then used to establish the Hubble diagram, and in turn toderive H0. In the attempt to correct for the host-galaxyextinction, we find that the data suggest a value for the total toselective absorption ratio of RB= 3.5, which is smaller thanthe standard value for our own Galaxy of RB= 4.315.Depending on the metallicity correction for the Cepheid PL relation, thevalue of RB, and SN sample selection criteria, the value ofthe Hubble constant H0 takes a value in the range 68-74 kms-1 Mpc-1, with associated uncertainties of theorder of 10 per cent.Unpublished photometry is also presented for 18 SNe of our sample(1991S, 1991T, 1992A, 1992K, 1993H, 1993L, 1994D, 1994M, 1994ae, 1995D,1995ac, 1995bd, 1996bo, 1997bp, 1997br, 1999aa, 1999dk, 2000cx). Thesedata are the results of a long-standing effort in supernova monitoringat ESO - La Silla and Asiago observatories. The dispersion in the Cepheid period-luminosity relation and the consequences for the extragalactic distance scaleUsing published Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cepheid data from 25galaxies, we have found a correlation between the dispersion in theCepheid period-luminosity (P-L) relation and host galaxy metallicity,which is significant at the ~3σ level in the V band. In the I bandthe correlation is less significant, although the tighter intrinsicdispersion of the P-L relation in I may make it harder to detect such acorrelation in the HST sample. One possibility is that low metallicitygalaxies have smaller metallicity gradients than high metallicitygalaxies; if the Cepheid P-L relation has a significant dependence onmetallicity then this might explain the higher P-L dispersion in thehigher metallicity galaxies. A second possibility is that the increasedP-L dispersion is driven by metallicity dispersion but now due to arelation between metallicity and Cepheid colour rather than luminosity.A third possibility is that the increased P-L dispersion is caused by anincrease in the width of the instability strip with metallicity.Whatever the explanation, the high observed dispersions in the HSTCepheid P-L relations have the important consequence that the bias dueto incompleteness in the P-L relation at faint magnitudes is moresignificant than previously thought. Using a maximum likelihoodtechnique which takes into account the effect on the P-L relations oftruncation by consistently defined magnitude completeness limits, werederive the Cepheid distances to the 25 galaxies. In the case of thegalaxies with the highest P-L dispersion at the largest distances, wefind that the published distance modulus underestimates the truedistance modulus by up to ~0.5 mag.When both metallicity and magnitude incompleteness corrections are made,a scale error in the published Cepheid distances is seen in the sensethat the published distance moduli are increasingly underestimated atlarger distances. This results in the average distance modulus to thefour galaxies in the Virgo cluster core increasing from(m-M)0= 31.2 +/- 0.19 to (m-M)0= 31.4 +/- 0.19 ifthe γVI=-0.24 mag dex-1 metallicitycorrection of Kennicutt et al. is assumed. For the 18 HST galaxies withgood Tully-Fisher (TF) distances and (m-M)0 > 29.5 theCepheid-TF distance modulus average residual increases from 0.44 +/-0.09 to 0.63 +/- 0.1 mag with γVI=-0.24. This indicatesa significant scale error in TF distances, which reduces the previousPierce & Tully TF estimate of H0= 85 +/- 10 kms-1 Mpc-1 to H0= 63 +/- 7 kms-1 Mpc-1, assuming γVI=-0.24 anda still uncertain Virgo infall model. Finally, for the eight HSTgalaxies with Type Ia supernovae (SNIa), the metallicity andincompleteness corrected Cepheid distances marginally suggest there maybe a metallicity dependence of SNIa peak luminosity in the sense thatmetal-poor hosts have lower luminosity SNIa. Thus, SNIa Hubble diagramestimates of both H0 and q0 may therefore alsorequire significant corrections for metallicity, once the exact sizes ofthe Cepheid metallicity corrections become better established. The Effect of Metallicity on Cepheid-based DistancesWe have used the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on board the Hubble SpaceTelescope to obtain V and I images of seven nearby galaxies. For each,we have measured a distance using the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB)method. By comparing the TRGB distances with published Cepheiddistances, we investigate the metallicity dependence of the Cepheidperiod-luminosity relation. Our sample is supplemented by 10 additionalgalaxies for which both TRGB and Cepheid distances are available in theliterature, thus providing a uniform coverage in Cepheid abundancesbetween 1/20 and 2 (O/H)solar. We find that the differencebetween Cepheid and TRGB distances decreases monotonically withincreasing Cepheid abundance, consistent with a mean metallicitydependence of the Cepheid distance moduli ofδ(m-M)/δ[O/H]=-0.24+/-0.05 mag dex-1.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., underNASA contract NAS5-26555. These observations are associated with programGO-8584. Classical Cepheids and the Distances of HST Program GalaxiesThe distances of HST program galaxies are revised using the PL-relationswe have obtained previously along with a different method from thatemployed by Freedman et al. On the average, the resulting distances tothese galaxies have higher internal accuracies than those obtainedbefore by others. In addition, we have used no corrections formetallicity or for the incompleteness of the samples of classicalcepheids in deriving these distances. Despite this, our distance moduli,with a dispersion of ±0m.395, agree with those of Freedman et al.This indicates that these two effects have little or even no effect forthe samples of classical cepheids in the HST program galaxies. 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. The Kinematic State of the Local VolumeThe kinematics of galaxies within 10 Mpc of the Milky Way isinvestigated using published distances and radial velocities. Withrespect to the average Hubble flow (isotropic or simple anisotropic),there is no systematic relation between peculiar velocity dispersion andabsolute magnitude over a range of 10 mag; neither is there any apparentvariation with galaxy type or between field and cluster members. Thereare several possible explanations for the lack of variation, though allhave difficulties: either there is no relationship between light andmass on these scales, the peculiar velocities are not produced bygravitational interaction, or the background dynamical picture is wrongin some systematic way. The extremely cold local flow of 40-60 kms-1 dispersion reported by some authors is shown to be anartifact of sparse data, a velocity dispersion of over 100 kms-1 being closer to the actual value. Galaxies with a high(positive) radial velocity have been selected against in studies of thisvolume, biasing numerical results. The extra-galactic Cepheid distance scale from LMC and Galactic period-luminosity relationsIn this paper, we recalibrate the Cepheid distance to some nearbygalaxies observed by the HST Key Project and the Sandage-Tammann-Sahagroup. We use much of the Key Project methodology in our analysis butapply new techniques, based on Fourier methods to estimate the mean of asparsely sampled Cepheid light curve, to published extra-galacticCepheid data. We also apply different calibrating PL relations toestimate Cepheid distances, and investigate the sensitivity of thedistance moduli to the adopted calibrating PL relation. We re-determinethe OGLE LMC PL relations using a more conservative approach and alsostudy the effect of using Galactic PL relations on the distance scale.For the Key Project galaxies after accounting for charge transfereffects, we find good agreement with an average discrepancy of -0.002and 0.075 mag when using the LMC and Galaxy, respectively, as acalibrating PL relation. For NGC 4258 which has a geometric distance of29.28 mag, we find a distance modulus of 29.44+/-0.06(random) mag, aftercorrecting for metallicity. In addition we have calculated the Cepheiddistance to 8 galaxies observed by the Sandage-Tammann-Saha group andfind shorter distance moduli by -0.178 mag (mainly due to the use ofdifferent LMC PL relations) and -0.108 mag on average again when usingthe LMC and Galaxy, respectively, as a calibrating PL relation. Howevercare must be taken to extrapolate these changed distances to changes inthe resulting values of the Hubble constant because STS also usedistances to NGC 3368 and 4414 and because STS calibration of SN Ia isoften decoupled from the distance to the host galaxy through their useof differential extinction arguments. We also calculate the distance toall these galaxies using PL relations at maximum light and find verygood agreement with mean light PL distances.However, after correcting for metallicity effects, the differencebetween the distance moduli obtained using the two sets of calibratingPL relations becomes negligible. This suggests that Cepheids in the LMCand Galaxy do follow different PL relations and constrains the sign forthe coefficient of the metallicity correction, gamma , to be negative,at least at the median period log (P) ~ 1.4, of the target galaxies.Full Table 1 is 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/411/361 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 Near-Infrared and Optical Morphology of Spiral GalaxiesWe announce the initial release of data from the Ohio State University(OSU) Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey, a BVRJHK imaging survey of awell-defined sample of 205 bright, nearby spiral galaxies. We presentH-band morphological classification on the Hubble sequence for the OSUSurvey sample. We compare the H-band classification to B-bandclassification from our own images and from standard galaxy catalogs.Our B-band classifications match well with those of the standardcatalogs. On average, galaxies with optical classifications from Sathrough Scd appear about one T type earlier in the H band than in the Bband, but with large scatter. This result does not support recent claimsmade in the literature that the optical and near-IR morphologies ofspiral galaxies are uncorrelated. We present detailed descriptions ofthe H-band morphologies of our entire sample, as well as B- and H-bandimages for a set of 17 galaxies chosen as type examples and BRHcolor-composite images of six galaxies chosen to demonstrate the rangein morphological variation as a function of wavelength. Based partiallyon observations obtained at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory,operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy(AURA), Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National ScienceFoundation. A Search for Radio Emission from Supernovae with Ages from about 1 Week to More than 80 YearsWe report Very Large Array radio observations of 29 supernovae (SNe)with ages ranging from 10 days to about 90 yr past explosion. Theseobservations significantly contribute to the existing data pool on suchobjects. Included are detections of known radio SNe 1950B, 1957D, 1970G,and 1983N, the suspected radio SN 1923A, and the possible radio SN1961V. None of the remaining 23 observations resulted in detections,providing further evidence to support the observed trend that most SNeare not detectable radio emitters. To investigate the apparent lack ofradio emission from the SNe reported here, we have followed standardpractice and used Chevalier's standard model'' to derive (upper limitsto) the mass-loss rates for the supernova progenitors. These upperlimits to the fluxes are consistent with a lack of circumstellarmaterial needed to provide detectable radio emission for SNe at theseages and distances. Comparison of the radio luminosities of thesesupernovae as a function of age past explosion to other well-observedradio SNe indicates that the Type II SNe upper limits are moreconsistent with the extrapolated light curves of SN 1980K than of SN1979C, suggesting that SN 1980K may be a more typical radio emitter thanSN 1979C. For completeness, we have included an appendix where theresults of analyses of the non-SN radio sources are presented. Wherepossible, we make (tentative) identifications of these sources usingvarious methods. Unveiling the Kinematics and Dynamics of Ionized Gas in the Nearby Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449A detailed kinematic analysis of ionized gas in the nearby irregulargalaxy NGC 4449 is presented. Observations were conducted in thespectral lines of Hα and [S II]. Our scanning Fabry-Perotinterferometric observations are presented from both a global and alocal perspective. We have analyzed the global velocity field, thespatially extended diffuse gaseous component, and the H II regionpopulations and, furthermore, have determined the rotation curve basedon the heliocentric radial velocities of the global Hα spatialdistribution. Our results for NGC 4449 show that the optical velocityfield decreases in radial velocity along the optical bar from northeastto southwest, presenting an anticorrelation relative to the outervelocity field of the H I component. This is in agreement with previousstudies. The diffuse gaseous component that permeates the entire galaxyis analyzed (up to a limiting surface brightness of~3.165×10-5 ergs cm-2 s-1sr-1) in terms of its radial velocity field, as well as itsvelocity dispersions. We find that the diffuse gas component presentspeculiar kinematic features, such as abrupt velocity gradients andhighly supersonic velocity dispersions (σ~4 times the values ofthe nearest H II regions), but that its kinematic and dynamicalinfluence is important on both global and local scales. The opticalrotation curve of this nearby irregular galaxy shows that the northeastsector rotates like a solid body (vrot~40 km s-1at R=2 kpc). In contrast, for the southwest side our results are notconclusive; the behavior of the gas at those locations is chaotic. Weconclude that the origin of such complex kinematics and dynamics isundoubtedly related to the aftermath of an interaction experienced bythis galaxy in the past. The Type Ia Supernova 1999aw: A Probable 1999aa-like Event in a Low-Luminosity Host GalaxySN 1999aw was discovered during the first campaign of the NearbyGalaxies Supernova Search project. This luminous, slow-declining[Δm15(B)=0.81+/-0.03] Type Ia supernova was noteworthyin at least two respects. First, it occurred in an extremely lowluminosity host galaxy that was not visible in the template images norin initial subsequent deep imaging. Second, the photometric and spectralproperties of this supernova indicate that it very likely was similar tothe subclass of Type Ia supernovae whose prototype is SN 1999aa. Thispaper presents the BVRI and JsHKs light curves ofSN 1999aw (through ~100 days past maximum light), as well as severalepochs of optical spectra. From these data, we calculate the bolometriclight curve and give estimates of the luminosity at maximum light andthe initial 56Ni mass. In addition, we present deep BVIimages obtained recently with the Baade 6.5 m telescope at Las CampanasObservatory that reveal the remarkably low-luminosity host galaxy. The Dwarf Irregular/Wolf-Rayet Galaxy NGC 4214. I. A New Distance, Stellar Content, and Global ParametersWe present the results of a detailed optical and near-IR study of thenearby star-forming dwarf galaxy NGC 4214. We discuss the stellarcontent, drawing particular attention to the intermediate-age and/or oldfield stars, which are used as a distance indicator. On images obtainedwith the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 andNear-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) instrumentsin the equivalents of the V, R, I, J and H bands, the galaxy is wellresolved into stars. We achieve limiting magnitudes of F814W~27 in theWF chips and F110W~25 in the NICMOS 2 camera. The optical andnear-infrared color-magnitude diagrams confirm a core-halo galaxymorphology: an inner, high surface brightness, young population within~1.5′ (~1 kpc) from the center of the galaxy, where the stars areconcentrated in bright complexes along a barlike structure, and arelatively low surface brightness, field star population extending outto at least 8' (7 kpc). The color-magnitude diagrams of the core regionshow evidence of blue and red supergiants, main-sequence stars,asymptotic giant branch stars, and blue loop stars. We identify somecandidate carbon stars from their extreme near-IR color. The field-starpopulation is dominated by the red tangle,'' which contains the redgiant branch. We use the I-band luminosity function to determine thedistance based on the tip of the red giant branch method: 2.7+/-0.3 Mpc.This is much closer than the values usually assumed in the literature,and we provide revised distance-dependent parameters such as physicalsize, luminosity, H I mass, and star formation rate. From the mean colorof the red giant branch in V and I, we estimate the mean metal abundanceof this population to be [Fe/H]~=-1.7 dex, with a large internalabundance spread characterized by σint([Fe/H])~1 dex.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., underNASA contract NAS 5-26555. A Hubble Space Telescope Census of Nuclear Star Clusters in Late-Type Spiral Galaxies. I. Observations and Image AnalysisWe present new Hubble Space Telescope I-band images of a sample of 77nearby late-type spiral galaxies with low inclination. The main purposeof this catalog is to study the frequency and properties of nuclear starclusters. In 59 galaxies of our sample, we have identified a distinct,compact (but resolved), and dominant source at or very close to thephotocenter. In many cases, these clusters are the only prominent sourcewithin a few kiloparsecs from the galaxy nucleus. We present surfacebrightness profiles, derived from elliptical isophote fits, of allgalaxies for which the fit was successful. We use the fitted isophotesat radii larger than 2" to check whether the location of the clustercoincides with the photocenter of the galaxy and confirm that in nearlyall cases, we are truly dealing with nuclear'' star clusters. Fromanalytical fits to the surface brightness profiles, we derive thecluster luminosities after subtraction of the light contribution fromthe underlying galaxy disk and/or bulge. Based on observations made 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. Theseobservations are associated with proposal 8599. 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. Calibration of the distance scale from galactic Cepheids. II. Use of the HIPPARCOS calibrationNew estimates of the distances of 36 nearby galaxies is presented. Theseare based on the calibration of the V- and I-band Period-Luminosityrelations for galactic Cepheids measured by the HIPPARCOS mission. Thedistance moduli are obtained in a classical way. The statistical biasdue to the incompleteness of the sample is corrected according to theprecepts introduced by Teerikorpi (\cite{Tee87}). We adopt a constantslope (the one obtained with LMC Cepheids). The correction forincompleteness bias introduces an uncertainty that depends on eachgalaxy. On average, this uncertainty is small (0.04 mag) but it mayreach 0.3 mag. We show that the uncertainty due to the correction of theextinction is small (propably less than 0.05 mag). The correlationbetween the metallicity and the morphological type of the host galaxysuggests that we should reduce the application to spiral galaxies inorder to bypass the problem of metallicity. We suspect that the adoptedPL slopes are not valid for all morphological types of galaxies. Thismay induce a mean systematic shift of 0.1 mag on distance moduli. Acomparison with the distance moduli recently published by Freedman etal. (\cite{Fre01}) shows there is a reasonably good agreement with ourdistance moduli. The compilation of raw data is only available inelectronic form at 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/389/19 and on ouranonymous ftp-server www-obs.univ-lyon1.fr (pub/base/CEPHEIDES.tar.gz).
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