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Minor-axis velocity gradients in disk galaxies
We present the ionized-gas kinematics and photometry of a sample of 4spiral galaxies which are characterized by a zero-velocity plateau alongthe major axis and a velocity gradient along the minor axis,respectively. By combining these new kinematical data with thoseavailable in the literature for the ionized-gas component of the S0s andspirals listed in the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog of Bright Galaxies werealized that about 50% of unbarred galaxies show a remarkable gasvelocity gradient along the optical minor axis. This fraction rises toabout 60% if we include unbarred galaxies with an irregular velocityprofile along the minor axis. This phenomenon is observed all along theHubble sequence of disk galaxies, and it is particularly frequent inearly-type spirals. Since minor-axis velocity gradients are unexpectedif the gas is moving onto circular orbits in a disk coplanar to thestellar one, we conclude that non-circular and off-plane gas motions arenot rare in the inner regions of disk galaxies.Based on observations carried out at the European Southern Observatoryin La Silla (Chile) (ESO 69.B-0706 and 70.B-0338), with the MultipleMirror Telescope which is a joint facility of the SmithsonianInstitution and the University of Arizona, and with the ItalianTelescopio Nazionale Galileo (AOT-5, 3-18) at the Observatorio del Roquede los Muchachos in La Palma (Spain).Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org. Table 5 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/416/507

A Survey for H2O Megamasers. III. Monitoring Water Vapor Masers in Active Galaxies
We present single-dish monitoring of the spectra of 13 extragalacticwater megamasers taken over a period of 9 years and a single epoch ofsensitive spectra for seven others. The primary motivation is a searchfor drifting line velocities analogous to those of the systemic featuresin NGC 4258, which are known to result from centripetal acceleration ofgas in an edge-on, subparsec molecular disk. We detect a velocity driftanalogous to that in NGC 4258 in only one source, NGC 2639. Another, themaser source in NGC 1052, exhibits erratic changes in its broad maserprofile over time. Narrow maser features in all of the other diskgalaxies discussed here either remain essentially constant in velocityover the monitoring period or are sufficiently weak or variable inintensity that individual features cannot be traced reliably from oneepoch to the next. In the context of a circumnuclear, molecular diskmodel, our results suggest that either (a) the maser lines seen aresystemic features subject to a much smaller acceleration than present inNGC 4258, presumably because the gas is farther from the nuclear blackhole, or (b) we are detecting ``satellite'' lines for which theacceleration is in the plane of the sky.Our data include the first K-band science observations taken with thenew 100 m Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The GBT data were taken duringtesting and commissioning of several new components and so are subjectto some limitations; nevertheless, they are in most cases the mostsensitive H2O spectra ever taken for each source and cover800 MHz (~=10,800 km s-1) of bandwidth. Many new maserfeatures are detected in these observations. Our data also include atentative and a clear detection of the megamaser in NGC 6240 at epochs ayear and a few months, respectively, prior to the detections reported byHagiwara et al. and Nakai et al.We also report a search for water vapor masers toward the nuclei of 58highly inclined (i>80deg), nearby galaxies. These sourceswere selected to investigate the tendency that H2O megamasersfavor inclined galaxies. None were detected, confirming that megamasersare associated exclusively with active galactic nuclei.

The IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
IRAS flux densities, redshifts, and infrared luminosities are reportedfor all sources identified in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample(RBGS), a complete flux-limited survey of all extragalactic objects withtotal 60 μm flux density greater than 5.24 Jy, covering the entiresky surveyed by IRAS at Galactic latitudes |b|>5°. The RBGS includes629 objects, with median and mean sample redshifts of 0.0082 and 0.0126,respectively, and a maximum redshift of 0.0876. The RBGS supersedes theprevious two-part IRAS Bright Galaxy Samples(BGS1+BGS2), which were compiled before the final(Pass 3) calibration of the IRAS Level 1 Archive in 1990 May. The RBGSalso makes use of more accurate and consistent automated methods tomeasure the flux of objects with extended emission. The RBGS contains 39objects that were not present in the BGS1+BGS2,and 28 objects from the BGS1+BGS2 have beendropped from RBGS because their revised 60 μm flux densities are notgreater than 5.24 Jy. Comparison of revised flux measurements forsources in both surveys shows that most flux differences are in therange ~5%-25%, although some faint sources at 12 and 25 μm differ byas much as a factor of 2. Basic properties of the RBGS sources aresummarized, including estimated total infrared luminosities, as well asupdates to cross identifications with sources from optical galaxycatalogs established using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Inaddition, an atlas of images from the Digitized Sky Survey with overlaysof the IRAS position uncertainty ellipse and annotated scale bars isprovided for ease in visualizing the optical morphology in context withthe angular and metric size of each object. The revised bolometricinfrared luminosity function, φ(Lir), forinfrared-bright galaxies in the local universe remains best fit by adouble power law, φ(L)~Lα, withα=-0.6(+/-0.1) and α=-2.2(+/-0.1) below and above the``characteristic'' infrared luminosityL*ir~1010.5Lsolar,respectively. A companion paper provides IRAS High Resolution (HIRES)processing of over 100 RBGS sources where improved spatial resolutionoften provides better IRAS source positions or allows for deconvolutionof close galaxy pairs.

Bar Galaxies and Their Environments
The prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment.

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.

Compact Radio Emission from Warm Infrared Galaxies
In this paper, we present a comparison between the optical spectroscopicdata and the incidence of compact radio emission for a sample of 60 warminfrared galaxies. We find that 80% of optically classified activegalactic nucleus (AGN)-type galaxies contain compact radio sources,while 37% of optically classified starburst galaxies contain compactradio sources. The compact radio luminosity shows a bimodaldistribution, indicating two populations in our sample. The majority ofthe higher radio luminosity class (L>104Lsolar) are AGNs, while the majority of the lower radioluminosity class (L<104 Lsolar) are starbursts.The compact radio emission in the starburst galaxies may be due toeither obscured AGNs or complexes of extremely luminous supernovae suchas that seen in Arp 220. The incidence of optically classified AGNsincreases with increasing far-infrared (FIR) luminosity. Using FIRcolor-color diagrams, we find that globally the energetics of 92% of thegalaxies in our sample are dominated by starburst activity, including60% of galaxies that we find to contain AGNs on the basis of theiroptical classification. The remainder are energetically dominated bytheir AGNs in the infrared. For starburst galaxies, electron densityincreases with dust temperature, consistent with the merger model forinfrared galaxies.

Box- and peanut-shaped bulges. I. Statistics
We present a classification for bulges of a complete sample of ~ 1350edge-on disk galaxies derived from the RC3 (Third Reference Catalogue ofBright Galaxies, de Vaucouleurs et al. \cite{rc3}). A visualclassification of the bulges using the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) inthree types of b/p bulges or as an elliptical type is presented andsupported by CCD images. NIR observations reveal that dust extinctiondoes almost not influence the shape of bulges. There is no substantialdifference between the shape of bulges in the optical and in the NIR.Our analysis reveals that 45% of all bulges are box- and peanut-shaped(b/p). The frequency of b/p bulges for all morphological types from S0to Sd is > 40%. In particular, this is for the first time that such alarge frequency of b/p bulges is reported for galaxies as late as Sd.The fraction of the observed b/p bulges is large enough to explain theb/p bulges by bars. Partly based on observations collected at ESO/LaSilla (Chile), DSAZ/Calar Alto (Spain), and Lowell Observatory/Flagstaff(AZ/U.S.A.). Tables 6 and 7 are only available in electronic form at CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Taxonomy of Blue Amorphous Galaxies. II. Structure and Evolution
Dwarf galaxies play an important role in our understanding of galaxyformation and evolution, and starbursts are believed to affect thestructure and evolution of dwarf galaxies strongly. We have thereforeembarked on a systematic study of 12 of the nearest dwarf galaxiesthought to be undergoing bursts of star formation. These were selectedprimarily by their morphological type (blue ``amorphous'' galaxies). Weshow that these blue amorphous galaxies are not physicallydistinguishable from dwarfs selected as starbursting by other methods,such as blue compact dwarfs (BCDs) and H II galaxies. All these classesexhibit surface brightness profiles that are exponential in the outerregions (r>~1.5r_e) but often have a predominantly central blueexcess, suggesting a young burst in an older, redder galaxy. Typically,the starbursting ``cores'' are young (~10^7-10^8 yr) events compared tothe older (~10^9-10^10 yr) underlying galaxy (the ``envelope''). Theratio of the core to envelope in blue light ranges from essentially zeroto about 2. These starbursts are therefore modest events involving onlya few percent of the stellar mass. The envelopes have surfacebrightnesses that are much higher than typical dwarf irregular (dI)galaxies, so it is unlikely that there is a straightforward evolutionaryrelation between typical dIs and dwarf starburst galaxies. Instead wesuggest that amorphous galaxies may repeatedly cycle through starburstand quiescent phases, corresponding to the galaxies with strong andweak/absent cores, respectively. Once amorphous galaxies use up theavailable gas (either through star formation or galactic winds) so thatstar formation is shut off, the faded remnants would strongly resembledwarf elliptical galaxies. However, in the current cosmological epoch,this is evidently a slow process that is the aftermath of a series ofmany weak, recurring bursts. Present-day dE's must have experienced morerapid and intense evolution than this in the distant past.

An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies
IR and radio-band observations of heavily extinguished regions instarburst galaxies suggest a high supernova (SN) rate associated withsuch regions. Optically measured SN rates may therefore underestimatethe total SN rate by factors of up to 10, as a result of the very highextinction (A_B~10-20 mag) to core-collapse SNe in starburst regions.The IR/radio SN rates come from a variety of indirect means, however,which suffer from model dependence and other problems. We describe adirect measurement of the SN rate from a regular patrol of starburstgalaxies done with K'-band imaging to minimize the effects ofextinction. A collection of K'-band measurements of core-collapse SNenear maximum light is presented. Such measurements (excluding 1987A) arenot well reported in the literature. Results of a preliminary K'-bandsearch, using the MIRC camera at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory and animproved search strategy using the new ORCA optics, are described. Amonthly patrol of a sample of IRAS bright (mostly starburst) galaxieswithin 25 Mpc should yield 1-6 SNe yr^-1, corresponding to the range ofestimated SN rates. Our initial MIRC search with low resolution (2.2"pixels) failed to find extinguished SNe in the IRAS galaxies, limitingthe SN rate outside the nucleus (at greater than 15" radius) to lessthan 3.8 far-IR SN rate units (SNe per century per 10^10 L_solarmeasured at 60 and 100 mum, or FIRSRU) at 90% confidence. The MIRCcamera had insufficient resolution to search nuclear starburst regions,where starburst and SN activity is concentrated; therefore, we wereunable to rigorously test the hypothesis of high SN rates in heavilyobscured star-forming regions. We conclude that high-resolution nuclearSN searches in starburst galaxies with small fields are more productivethan low-resolution, large-field searches, even for our sample of large(often several arcminutes) galaxies. With our ORCA high-resolutionoptics, we could limit the total SN rate to less than 1.3 FIRSRU at 90%confidence in 3 years of observations, lower than most estimates.

Morphology of star formation regions in irregular galaxies
The location of HII regions, which indicates the locus of present starformation in galaxies, is analysed for a large collection of 110irregular galaxies (Irr) imaged in Hα and nearby continuum. Theanalysis is primarily by visual inspection, although a two-dimensionalquantitative measure is also employed. The two different analyses yieldessentially identical results. HII regions appear preferentially at theedges of the light distribution, predominantly on one side of thegalaxy, contrary to what is expected from stochastic self-propagatingstar formation scenarios. This peculiar distribution of star-formingregions cannot be explained by a scenario of star formation triggered byan interaction with extragalactic gas, or by a strong one-armed spiralpattern.

Bulge-Disk Decomposition of 659 Spiral and Lenticular Galaxy Brightness Profiles
We present one of the largest homogeneous sets of spiral and lenticulargalaxy brightness profile decompositions completed to date. The 659galaxies in our sample have been fitted with a de Vaucouleurs law forthe bulge component and an inner-truncated exponential for the diskcomponent. Of the 659 galaxies in the sample, 620 were successfullyfitted with the chosen fitting functions. The fits are generally welldefined, with more than 90% having rms deviations from the observedprofile of less than 0.35 mag. We find no correlations of fittingquality, as measured by these rms residuals, with either morphologicaltype or inclination. Similarly, the estimated errors of the fittedcoefficients show no significant trends with type or inclination. Thesedecompositions form a useful basis for the study of the lightdistributions of spiral and lenticular galaxies. The object base issufficiently large that well-defined samples of galaxies can be selectedfrom it.

The Southern Sky Redshift Survey
We report redshifts, magnitudes, and morphological classifications for5369 galaxies with m_B <= 15.5 and for 57 galaxies fainter than thislimit, in two regions covering a total of 1.70 sr in the southerncelestial hemisphere. The galaxy catalog is drawn primarily from thelist of nonstellar objects identified in the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog (GSC). The galaxies have positions accurate to ~1"and magnitudes with an rms scatter of ~0.3 mag. We compute magnitudes(m_SSRS2) from the relation between instrumental GSC magnitudes and thephotometry by Lauberts & Valentijn. From a comparison with CCDphotometry, we find that our system is homogeneous across the sky andcorresponds to magnitudes measured at the isophotal level ~26 magarcsec^-2. The precision of the radial velocities is ~40 km s^-1, andthe redshift survey is more than 99% complete to the m_SSRS2 = 15.5 maglimit. This sample is in the direction opposite that of the CfA2; incombination the two surveys provide an important database for studies ofthe properties of galaxies and their large-scale distribution in thenearby universe. Based on observations obtained at Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatories,operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation;Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, operated under agreement between theConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de laRepública Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata,Córdoba, and San Juan; the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla, Chile, partially under the bilateral ESO-ObservatórioNacional agreement; Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory;Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, Brazil; and the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory.

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 catalogue of spatially resolved kinematics of galaxies: Bibliography
We present a catalogue of galaxies for which spatially resolved data ontheir internal kinematics have been published; there is no a priorirestriction regarding their morphological type. The catalogue lists thereferences to the articles where the data are published, as well as acoded description of these data: observed emission or absorption lines,velocity or velocity dispersion, radial profile or 2D field, positionangle. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are proposed in electronic form only, and areavailable from the CDS, via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (to130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Taxonomy of Blue Amorphous Galaxies. I. H alpha and UBVI Data
Dwarf galaxies play an important role in our understanding of galaxyformation and evolution. We have embarked on a systematic study of 12nearby dwarf galaxies (most of which have been classified as amorphous)selected preferentially by their blue colors. The properties of thegalaxies in the sample suggest that they are in a burst or postburststate. It seems likely that these amorphous galaxies are closely relatedto other "starburst" dwarfs such as blue compact dwarfs (BCDs) and H IIgalaxies but are considerably closer and therefore easier to study. Ifso, these galaxies may offer important insights into dwarf galaxyevolution. In an effort to clarify the role of starbursts inevolutionary scenarios for dwarf galaxies, we present H alpha and UBVIdata for our sample. Blue amorphous galaxies, like BCDs and H IIgalaxies, have surface brightness profiles that are exponential in theouter regions (r >~ 1.5re) but have a predominantly blue centralexcess, which suggests a young burst in an older, redder galaxy. Sevenof the galaxies have the bubble or filamentary H alpha morphology anddouble-peaked emission lines that are the signature of superbubbles orsuperwind activity. These galaxies are typically the ones with thestrongest central excesses. The underlying exponential galaxies are verysimilar to those found in BCDs and H II galaxies. How amorphous galaxiesfit into the dwarf irregular--"starburst dwarf"--dwarf ellipticalevolutionary debate is less clear. In this paper, we present our dataand make some preliminary comparisons between amorphous galaxies andother classes of dwarf galaxies. In a future companion paper, we willcompare this sample more quantitatively with other dwarf galaxy samplesin an effort to determine if amorphous galaxies are a physicallydifferent class of object from other starburst dwarfs such as BCDs and HII galaxies and also investigate their place in dwarf galaxy evolutionscenarios.

Comparative study of fine structure in samples of isolated and paired early-type galaxies
Fine structure in early-type galaxies is considered to be among the morerobust indicators of a past merging or acquisition event, althoughgrowing evidence from numerical simulations suggests that fine structuremay be also interpreted in a `weak interaction' framework. We present amorphological study of a sample composed of 61 `isolated' early-typegalaxies addressed to the detection of fine structure. This sample hasbeen selected in order to be statistically comparable to a set of 54early-type galaxies, members of pairs analysed by Reduzzi & Rampazzowith a similar technique. The rate of occurrence of fine structuredetected in the `isolated' galaxy sample is significantly higher thanthat found for the pairs. In particular, the fraction of isolatedearly-type galaxies exhibiting shells is 16.4 per cent, a percentagesimilar to that found by Malin & Carter for RC2 isolated objects inthe southern sky, while the fraction of early-type galaxies in pairs is~=4 per cent. We discuss the comparison between the two samples in thecontext of the merger versus the weak interaction origin of finestructures. Concerning the formation of shells, although the mergerorigin cannot be ruled out, the observed difference is more naturallyexplained within the weak interaction framework.

The bar-enhanced star-formation activities in spiral galaxies.
We use the ratio L_FIR_/L_B_ and the IRAS color index S_25_/S_12_ (bothwidely used as indices of relative star formation rates in galaxies) toanalyse subsets (containing no known AGNs or merging/interactinggalaxies) of: (a) the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample, (b) galaxies from theoptically complete RSA sample which have IRAS detections in all fourbands, and (c) a volume-limited IR-unselected sample. We confirm thatIR-bright barred (SB) galaxies do, on average, have very significantlyhigher values of the FIR-optical and S_25_/S_12_ ratios (and presumably,higher relative star formation rates, SFR) than that do unbarred ones;the effect is most obvious in the IR colors. We also confirm that thesedifferences are confined to early-type (S0/a-Sbc) spirals and are notevident among late-type systems (Sc-Sdm). Unlike others, we see noenhancement of the SFR in weakly-barred (SAB) galaxies. We furtherconfirm that the effect of bars on the SFR is associated with therelative IR luminosity and show that it is detectable only in galaxieswith L_FIR_/L_B_>1/3, suggesting that as soon as they have anyeffect, bars translate their host galaxies into this relativelyIR-luminous group. Conversely, for galaxies with L_FIR_/L_B_ below ~0.1this luminosity ratio is lower among barred than unbarred systems, againconfirming and quantifying an earlier result. Although there is nosimple physical relation between H I content and star formation, astrong correlation of H I content with the presence of bars has beenfound for early-type spirals with L_FIR_/L_B_>1/3. This suggests thatthe availability of fuel is the factor determining just which galaxiesundergo bar-induced starbursts.

Multiwavelength Energy Distributions and Bolometric Luminosities of the 12 Micron Galaxy Sample
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995ApJ...453..616S&db_key=AST

Observations of the impact of starbursts on the interstellar medium in dwarf galaxies
Dwarf galaxies play a crucial role in our understanding of the formationand evolution of galaxies, and the concept of supernova-driven massoutflows is a vital ingredient in theories of the structure andevolution of dwarf galaxies. Despite the theoretical importance of theseoutflows, there is a very limited amount of direct observationalevidence for their existence. We have therefore begun a detailedmulti-wave-band search for outflows in dwarf (MB greater thanor = -18) galaxies with extensive recent or ongoing centrallyconcentrated star formation. We report the first results of this searchin the present paper. Observations of the ionized gas in dwarf amorphousgalaxies with centrally concentrated populations of massive starsprovide evidence for the large-scale expansion of their expansion oftheir ionized interstellar media. Fabry-Perot H alpha images reveal thepresence of kiloparsec-scale 'superbubbles' and filaments which tend tobe oriented along the galaxy minor axis. These structures are comparablein size to the chracteristic optical sizes of the galaxies, and dominatethe morphology of the galaxies at low surface brightness in H alpha.Since expanding structure of this size and velocity are not observed inall low-mass galaxies with recent or ongoing star formation, we suggestthat we are witnessing transient events that likely have a relativelylow 'duty cycle' in such galaxies. That is, we argue that the particulargalaxies in the present paper have had significantly elevated starformation rates over the past 107-108 yr (i.e.,these are starburst or young poststarburst systems). This interpretationis consistent with the optical colors and emission-line properties ofthese galaxies.

Integrated photoelectric magnitudes and color indices of bright galaxies in the Johnson UBV system
The photoelectric total magnitudes and color indices published in theThird Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (RC3) are based on ananalysis of approximately equals 26,000 B, 25,000 B-V, and 17,000 U-Bmultiaperture measurements available up to mid 1987 from nearly 350sources. This paper provides the full details of the analysis andestimates of internal and external errors in the parameters. Thederivation of the parameters is based on techniques described by theVaucouleurs & Corwin (1977) whereby photoelectric multiaperture dataare fitted by mean Hubble-type-dependent curves which describe theintegral of the B-band flux and the typical B-V and U-B integrated colorgradients. A sophisticated analysis of the residuals of thesemeasurements from the curves was made to allow for the random andsystematic errors that effect such data. The result is a homogeneous setof total magnitudes BTA total colors(B-V)T and (U-B)T, and effective colors(B-V)e and (U-B)e for more than 3000 brightgalaxies in RC3.

The extended 12 micron galaxy sample
We have selected an all-sky (absolute value of b greater than or equalto 25 deg) 12 micron flux-limited sample of 893 galaxies from the IRASFaint Source Catalog, Version 2 (FSC-2). We have obtained accurate totalfluxes in the IRAS wavebands by using the ADDSCAN procedure for allobjects with FSC-2 12 micron fluxes greater than 0.15 Jy and increasingflux densities from 12 to 60 microns, and defined the sample by imposinga survey limit of 0.22 Jy on the total 12 micron flux. Its completenessis verified, by means of the classical log N - log S andV/Vmax tests, down to 0.30 Jy, below which we have measuredthe incompleteness down to the survey limit, using the log N - log Splot, for our statistical analysis. We have obtained redshifts (mostlyfrom catalogs) for virtually all (98.4%) the galaxies in the sample.Using existing catalogs of active galaxies, we defined a subsample of118 objects consisting of 53 Seyfert 1s and quasars, 63 Seyfert 2s, andtwo blazars (approximately 13% of the full sample), which is the largestunbiased sample of Seyfert galaxies ever assembled. Since the 12 micronflux has been shown to be about one-fifth of the bolometric flux forSeyfert galaxies and quasars, the subsample of Seyferts (includingquasars and blazars) is complete not only to 0.30 Jy at 12 microns butalso with respect to a bolometric flux limit of approximately 2.0 x10-10 ergs/s/sq cm. The average value of V/Vmaxfor the full sample, corrected for incompleteness at low fluxes, is 0.51+/- 0.04, expected for a complete sample of uniformly distributedgalaxies, while the value for the Seyfert galaxy subsample is 0.46 +/-0.10. We have derived 12 microns and far-infrared luminosity functionsfor the AGNs, as well as for the entire sample. We extracted from oursample a complete subsample of 235 galaxies flux-limited (8.3 Jy) at 60microns. The 60 micron luminosity function computed for this subsampleis in satisfactory agreement with the ones derived from the brightgalaxy sample (BGS) and the deep high-galactic latitude sample, bothselected at 60 microns.

Effect of Malmquist bias on correlation studies with IRAS data base
The relationships between galaxy properties in the sample of Trinchieriet al. (1989) are reexamined with corrections for Malmquist bias. Thelinear correlations are tested and linear regressions are fit forlog-log plots of L(FIR), L(H-alpha), and L(B) as well as ratios of thesequantities. The linear correlations for Malmquist bias are correctedusing the method of Verter (1988), in which each galaxy observation isweighted by the inverse of its sampling volume. The linear regressionsare corrected for Malmquist bias by a new method invented here in whicheach galaxy observation is weighted by its sampling volume. The resultsof correlation and regressions among the sample are significantlychanged in the anticipated sense that the corrected correlationconfidences are lower and the corrected slopes of the linear regressionsare lower. The elimination of Malmquist bias eliminates the nonlinearrise in luminosity that has caused some authors to hypothesizeadditional components of FIR emission.

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.

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.

A 1.49 GHz atlas of the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample
The VLA has been used in its A-, B-, C-, and D-configurations to make1.49 GHz maps of sources in both the original and revised IRAS BrightGalaxy Samples of strong extragalactic sources selected at a wavelengthof 60 microns. Integrated 1.49 GHz flux densities were obtained from thelowest resolution maps, and maps were made with higher resolution sothat nearly all of the radio sources have been at least partiallyresolved. Only NGC 1377 was not detected at 1.49 GHz. An atlas ofcontour maps, a table of total flux densities plus other radio sourceparameters, and references to published radio maps are given. Since theinfrared and radio continuum brightness distributions of IR-selectedgalaxies are usually similar, these high-resolution radio maps can beused as substitutes for the unavailable IR maps to indicate the sizesand precise locations of the IR-emitting regions.

Far-infrared emission and star formation in spiral galaxies
The correlations between the emission in the far-IR, H-alpha, and bluein a sample of normal spiral galaxies are investigated. It is found thatthe luminosities in these three bands are all tightly correlated,although both the strength of the correlations and their functionaldependencies are a function of the galaxies' morphological types. Thebest-fit power laws to these correlations are different for thecomparison of different quantities and deviate significantly fromlinearity in some cases, implying the presence of additional emissionmechanisms not related to the general increase of luminosity withgalactic mass. Clear evidence is found of two independent effects in theincidence of warm far-IR emission in late-type spirals. One is aluminosity effect shown by the presence of excess far-IR relative toH-alpha or optical emission in the more luminous galaxies. The other isa dependence on widespread star-formation activity.

The 12 micron galaxy sample. I - Luminosity functions and a new complete active galaxy sample
An all-sky 12 micron flux-limited sample of active galaxies was selectedfrom the IRAS Point Source Catalog. Most of the sample galaxies are inexisting catalogs, and 99 percent have measured redshifts. The 12-micronand the far-infrared luminosity functions of active and normal galaxiesare derived using IRAS co-added data. A total of 22 percent of thesample galaxies harbor active nuclei. The sample consists almost equallyof Seyfert 1, Seyfert 2, and LINER nuclei. The derived luminosityfuctions for Seyfert 1 and Seyfert 2 galaxies are indistinguishable fromthose of the optically selected CfA sample. Thus, 12 micron selection isthe most efficient available technique for finding complete activegalaxy samples.

The IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample. IV - Complete IRAS observations
Total flux densities, peak flux densities, and spatial extents at 12,25, 60, and 100 microns are presented for the 330 sources in the IRASBright Galaxy Sample. The flux density ratios Snu (60microns)/Snu (100 microns) and Snu (12microns)/Sn (25 microns) are found to correlate with both theinfrared luminosity and the ratio of IR to visible flux. The relationbetween these two flux density ratios is shown to follow that foundpreviously, with different slopes appearing for the warmer and coldergalaxies in the sample. The results suggest that single photon heatingof small grains (often the dominant source of 12 and 25 micron radiationfrom galaxies) significantly affects the emission of some galaxies at 60microns, and that optical depth effects may alter the emergent radiationat 12 and 25 microns.

A southern redshift survey. I - Accurate redshifts for 500 galaxies observed at SAAO
Radial velocities are presented for about 500 galaxies observed with anintensified Reticon photon-counting detector attached to the 1.9 mtelescope at the Sutherland field station of SAAO. The velocities weredetermined by cross correlation with standard velocity templates, fromthe measured wavelengths of emission lines, or from both techniques,with spectra covering the wavelength range from 3700 to 5400 A. Thefinal velocities appear to have the same zero point as H I radiovelocities, and have standard deviations of the order of 35 km/s, thoughcross-correlation velocities on their own may have significantly largererrors.

The preponderance of bar and ring features in starburst galaxies and active galactic nuclei
A detailed study of the spiral galaxy NGC 4321 showed that the nuclearstar formation mechanism in this galaxy is very likely related to theorbits perturbation at the Inner Linblad Resonances. In order to testthe hypothesis that the same physical mechanism accounts generally forsuch activity in spiral galaxies, a morphological analysis of a sampleof starburst nuclei and active galactic nuclei (STB, AGN) as well as acontrol sample of normal galaxies has been carried out. It is found thatthe morphological type expected for starbursters like NGC 4321 (SAB(rs)or stronger), occurs at a much higher frequency in the sample of STBsand AGNs than in the control sample. The effect is stronger for STBsthan for AGNs. This provides strong evidences that active formation ofstars in the nuclei of spiral galaxies is linked to the perturbation oforbits at the Inner Linblad Resonances. This interpretation leads to thesuggestion that an effective nuclear starburst phase is an inhibitionmechanism to a more powerful type of nuclear activity like in AGNs.

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Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Coupe
Right ascension:11h53m56.90s
Declination:-23°09'45.0"
Aparent dimensions:3.802′ × 1.175′

Catalogs and designations:
Proper Names   (Edit)
NGC 2000.0NGC 3955
HYPERLEDA-IPGC 37320

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