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 Discovery of counter-rotating gas in the galaxies NGC 1596 and 3203 and the incidence of gas counter-rotation in S0 galaxiesWe have identified two new galaxies with gas counter-rotation (NGC 1596and 3203) and have confirmed similar behaviour in another one (NGC 128),this using results from separate studies of the ionized-gas and stellarkinematics of a well-defined sample of 30 edge-on disc galaxies. Gascounter-rotators thus represent 10 +/- 5 per cent of our sample, but thefraction climbs to 21 +/- 11 per cent when only lenticular (S0) galaxiesare considered and to 27 +/- 13 per cent for S0 galaxies with detectedionized gas only. Those fractions are consistent with but slightlyhigher than previous studies. A compilation from well-defined studies ofS0 galaxies in the literature yields fractions of 15 +/- 4 and 23 +/- 5per cent, respectively. Although mainly based on circumstantialevidence, we argue that the counter-rotating gas originates primarilyfrom minor mergers and tidally induced transfer of material from nearbyobjects. Assuming isotropic accretion, twice those fractions of objectsmust have undergone similar processes, underlining the importance of(minor) accretion for galaxy evolution. Applications of gascounter-rotators to barred galaxy dynamics are also discussed. On the Fraction of X-Ray-obscured Quasars in the Local UniverseRecent wide-area hard X-ray and soft gamma-ray surveys have shown thatthe fraction of X-ray-obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in thelocal universe significantly decreases with intrinsic luminosity. Inthis Letter we point out that two corrections have to be made to thesamples: (1) radio-loud AGNs have to be excluded, since their X-rayemission might be dominated by the jet component, and (2) Compton-thicksources have to be excluded too, since their hard X-ray and softgamma-ray emission are also strongly attenuated by Compton scattering.The soft gamma-ray-selected AGN samples obtained by Swift and INTEGRALprovide the best opportunity to study the fraction of obscured AGNs inthe local universe in the least biased way. We choose these samples tocheck if the corrections could alter the above result on the fraction ofobscured AGNs. We find that before the corrections both samples showsignificant anticorrelation between LX and NH,indicating an obvious decrease in the fraction of obscured AGNs withluminosity. However, after the corrections, we find only marginalevidence of anticorrelation (at the 98% confidence level) in the Swiftsample and no evidence at all in the INTEGRAL sample, which consists ofa comparable number of objects. We conclude that current samples onlyshow a marginal decrease in the fraction of obscured AGNs in the localuniverse and that much larger samples are required in order to reach amore robust conclusion. Dark and Baryonic Matter in Bright Spiral Galaxies. II. Radial Distributions for 34 GalaxiesWe decompose the rotation curves of 34 bright spiral galaxies intobaryonic and dark matter components. Stellar mass profiles are createdby applying color-M/L relations to near-infrared and optical photometry.We find that the radial profile of the baryonic-to-dark-matter ratio isself-similar for all galaxies, when scaled to the radius at which thecontribution of the baryonic mass to the rotation curve equals that ofthe dark matter (RX). We argue that this is due to thequasi-exponential nature of disks and rotation curves that are nearlyflat after an initial rise. The radius RX is found tocorrelate most strongly with baryonic rotation speed, such that galaxieswith RX measurements that lie further out in their disksrotate faster. This quantity also correlates very strongly with stellarmass, Hubble type, and observed rotation speed; B-band central surfacebrightness is less related to RX than these other galaxyproperties. Most of the galaxies in our sample appear to be close tomaximal disk. For these galaxies, we find that maximum observed rotationspeeds are tightly correlated with maximum rotation speeds predictedfrom the baryon distributions, such that one can create a Tully-Fisherrelation based on surface photometry and redshifts alone. Finally, wecompare our data to the NFW parameterization for dark matter profileswith and without including adiabatic contraction as it is most commonlyimplemented. Fits are generally poor, and all but two galaxies arebetter fit if adiabatic contraction is not performed. In order to havebetter fits, and especially to accommodate adiabatic contraction,baryons would need to contribute very little to the total mass in theinner parts of galaxies, seemingly in contrast with other observationalconstraints. Stellar Populations in Nearby Lenticular GalaxiesWe have obtained two-dimensional spectral data for a sample of 58 nearbyS0 galaxies with the Multi-Pupil Fiber/Field Spectrograph of the 6 mtelescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the RussianAcademy of Sciences. The Lick indices Hβ, Mg b, and arecalculated separately for the nuclei and for the bulges taken as therings between R=4'' and 7", and the luminosity-weighted ages,metallicities, and Mg/Fe ratios of the stellar populations are estimatedby comparing the data to single stellar population (SSP) models. Fourtypes of galaxy environments are considered: clusters, centers ofgroups, other places in groups, and the field. The nuclei are found tobe on average slightly younger than the bulges in any type ofenvironment, and the bulges of S0 galaxies in sparse environments areyounger than those in dense environments. The effect can be partlyattributed to the well-known age correlation with the stellar velocitydispersion in early-type galaxies (in our sample the galaxies in sparseenvironments are on average less massive than those in denseenvironments), but for the most massive S0 galaxies, withσ*=170-220 km s-1, the age dependence on theenvironment is still significant at the confidence level of 1.5 σ.Based on observations collected with the 6 m telescope (BTA) at theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) of the Russian Academy ofSciences (RAS). Objective Classification of Spiral Galaxies Having Extended Rotation Curves Beyond the Optical RadiusWe carry out an objective classification of four samples of spiralgalaxies having extended rotation curves beyond the optical radius. Amultivariate statistical analysis (viz., principal component analysis[PCA]) shows that about 96% of the total variation is due to twocomponents, one being the combination of absolute blue magnitude andmaximum rotational velocity beyond the optical region and the otherbeing the central density of the halo. On the basis of PCA a fundamentalplane has been constructed that reduces the scatter in the Tully-Fisherrelation up to a maximum of 16%. A multiple stepwise regression analysisof the variation of the overall shape of the rotation curves shows thatit is mainly determined by the central surface brightness, while theshape purely in the outer part of the galaxy (beyond the optical radius)is mainly determined by the size of the galactic disk. On the X-ray, optical emission line and black hole mass properties of local Seyfert galaxiesWe investigate the relation between X-ray nuclear emission, opticalemission line luminosities and black hole masses for a sample of 47Seyfert galaxies. The sample, which has been selected from the Palomaroptical spectroscopic survey of nearby galaxies (Ho et al. 1997a, ApJS,112, 315), covers a wide range of nuclear powers, from L2-10keV ~ 1043 erg/s down to very low luminosities(L2-10 keV ~ 1038 erg/s). Best available data fromChandra, XMM-Newton and, in a few cases, ASCA observations have beenconsidered. Thanks to the good spatial resolution available from theseobservations and a proper modeling of the various spectral components,it has been possible to obtain accurate nuclear X-ray luminosities notcontaminated by off-nuclear sources and/or diffuse emission. X-rayluminosities have then been corrected taking into account the likelycandidate Compton thick sources, which are a high fraction (>30%)among type 2 Seyferts in our sample. The main result of this study isthat we confirm strong linear correlations between 2-10 keV,[OIII]λ5007, Hα luminosities which show the same slope asquasars and luminous Seyfert galaxies, independent of the level ofnuclear activity displayed. Moreover, despite the wide range ofEddington ratios (L/L_Edd) tested here (six orders of magnitude, from0.1 down to ~10-7), no correlation is found between the X-rayor optical emission line luminosities and the black hole mass. Ourresults suggest that Seyfert nuclei in our sample are consistent withbeing a scaled-down version of more luminous AGN. X-ray spectral survey with XMM-Newton of a complete sample of nearby Seyfert galaxiesResults obtained from an X-ray spectral survey of nearby Seyfertgalaxies using XMM-Newton are reported. The sample was opticallyselected, well defined, complete in B magnitude, and distance limited:it consists of the nearest (D 22 Mpc) 27 Seyfert galaxies (9 oftype 1, 18 of type 2) taken from the Ho et al. (1997a, ApJS, 112, 315)sample. This is one of the largest atlases of hard X-ray spectra oflow-luminosity active galaxies ever assembled. All nuclear sourcesexcept two Seyfert 2s are detected between 2 and 10 keV, half for thefirst time ever, and average spectra are obtained for all of them.Nuclear luminosities reach values down to 1038 ergs-1. The shape of the distribution of X-ray parameters isaffected by the presence of Compton-thick objects (30% among type2s). The latter have been identified either directly from their intenseFeK line and flat X-ray spectra, or indirectly with flux diagnosticdiagrams which use isotropic indicators. After taking into account thesehighly absorbed sources, we find that (i) the intrinsic X-ray spectralproperties (i.e., spectral shapes and luminosities above 2 keV) areconsistent between type 1 and type 2 Seyferts, as expected from "unifiedmodels"; (ii) Seyfert galaxies as a whole are distributed fairlycontinuously over the entire range of N_H, between 1020 and1025 cm-2; and (iii) while Seyfert 1s tend to havelower NH and Seyfert 2s tend to have the highest, we find 30%and 10% exceptions, respectively. Overall the sample is of sufficientquality to well represent the average intrinsic X-ray spectralproperties of nearby active galactic nuclei, including a proper estimateof the distribution of their absorbing columns. Finally, we concludethat, with the exception of a few cases, the present study agrees withpredictions of unified models of Seyfert galaxies, and extends theirvalidity down to very low luminosities. MAMBO 1.25 mm observations of 3CR quasars at z ~ 1.5: on the debate of the unified schemesIn order to explore the nature of the 850 μm flux difference betweenpowerful radio galaxies and steep radio-spectrum quasars at z 1.5reported by Willott et al. (2002), we have observed 9 sources from theirsample of 11 quasars at 1.25 mm. For 7 sources the 1.25 mm fluxes aremuch brighter than one would expect from a purely thermal dust modelfitted to the submm data, providing evidence for the synchrotron natureof the observed 1.25 mm radiation. If we extrapolate a power-lawsynchrotron spectrum to shorter wavelengths, then for 6 of the 9 sourcesalso the 850 μm fluxes are dominated by synchrotron radiation. Wediscuss how far the (sub)-millimetre data can be interpreted inaccordance with the orientation-dependent unified schemes for powerfulradio galaxies and quasars. In this case the results challenge thereported evidence for the receding torus model and for the evolutionarytrend of a declining dust luminosity with increasing projected size ofthe radio lobes. Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Nearby Galaxies from ROSAT High Resolution Imager Observations I. Data AnalysisX-ray observations have revealed in other galaxies a class ofextranuclear X-ray point sources with X-ray luminosities of1039-1041 ergs s-1, exceeding theEddington luminosity for stellar mass X-ray binaries. Theseultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) may be powered by intermediate-massblack holes of a few thousand Msolar or stellar mass blackholes with special radiation processes. In this paper, we present asurvey of ULXs in 313 nearby galaxies withD25>1' within 40 Mpc with 467 ROSAT HighResolution Imager (HRI) archival observations. The HRI observations arereduced with uniform procedures, refined by simulations that help definethe point source detection algorithm employed in this survey. A sampleof 562 extragalactic X-ray point sources withLX=1038-1043 ergs s-1 isextracted from 173 survey galaxies, including 106 ULX candidates withinthe D25 isophotes of 63 galaxies and 110 ULX candidatesbetween 1D25 and 2D25 of 64 galaxies, from which aclean sample of 109 ULXs is constructed to minimize the contaminationfrom foreground or background objects. The strong connection betweenULXs and star formation is confirmed based on the striking preference ofULXs to occur in late-type galaxies, especially in star-forming regionssuch as spiral arms. ULXs are variable on timescales over days to yearsand exhibit a variety of long term variability patterns. Theidentifications of ULXs in the clean sample show some ULXs identified assupernovae (remnants), H II regions/nebulae, or young massive stars instar-forming regions, and a few other ULXs identified as old globularclusters. In a subsequent paper, the statistic properties of the surveywill be studied to calculate the occurrence frequencies and luminosityfunctions for ULXs in different types of galaxies to shed light on thenature of these enigmatic sources. The Swift/BAT High-Latitude Survey: First ResultsWe present preliminary results from the first 3 months of the SwiftBurst Alert Telescope (BAT) high Galactic latitude survey in the 14-195keV band. The survey reaches a flux of ~10-11 ergscm-2 s-1 and has ~2.7 arcmin (90% confidence)positional uncertainties for the faintest sources. This represents themost sensitive survey to date in this energy band. These data confirmthe conjectures that a high-energy-selected active galactic nucleus(AGN) sample would have very different properties from those selected inother bands and that it represents a true'' sample of the AGNpopulation. We have identified 86% of the 66 high-latitude sources.Twelve are Galactic-type sources, and 44 can be identified withpreviously known AGNs. All but five of the AGNs have archival X-rayspectra, enabling us to estimate the line-of-sight column densities andother spectral properties. Both of the z>0.11 objects are blazars.The median redshift of the others (excluding radio-loud objects) is0.012. We find that the column density distribution of these AGNs isbimodal, with 64% of the nonblazar sources having column densitiesNH>=1022 cm-2. None of the sourceswith logLX>43.5 (cgs units) show high column densities,and very few of the lower LX sources have low columndensities. Based on these data, we expect the final BAT catalog to have>200 AGNs and reach fluxes of less than ~10-11 ergscm-2 s-1 over the entire sky. The Distribution of Bar and Spiral Arm Strengths in Disk GalaxiesThe distribution of bar strengths in disk galaxies is a fundamentalproperty of the galaxy population that has only begun to be explored. Wehave applied the bar-spiral separation method of Buta and coworkers toderive the distribution of maximum relative gravitational bar torques,Qb, for 147 spiral galaxies in the statistically well-definedOhio State University Bright Galaxy Survey (OSUBGS) sample. Our goal isto examine the properties of bars as independently as possible of theirassociated spirals. We find that the distribution of bar strengthdeclines smoothly with increasing Qb, with more than 40% ofthe sample having Qb<=0.1. In the context of recurrent barformation, this suggests that strongly barred states are relativelyshort-lived compared to weakly barred or nonbarred states. We do notfind compelling evidence for a bimodal distribution of bar strengths.Instead, the distribution is fairly smooth in the range0.0<=Qb<0.8. Our analysis also provides a first look atspiral strengths Qs in the OSUBGS sample, based on the sametorque indicator. We are able to verify a possible weak correlationbetween Qs and Qb, in the sense that galaxies withthe strongest bars tend to also have strong spirals. Bar-induced perturbation strengths of the galaxies in the Ohio State University Bright Galaxy Survey - IBar-induced perturbation strengths are calculated for a well-definedmagnitude-limited sample of 180 spiral galaxies, based on the Ohio StateUniversity Bright Galaxy Survey. We use a gravitational torque method,the ratio of the maximal tangential force to the mean axisymmetricradial force, as a quantitative measure of the bar strength. Thegravitational potential is inferred from an H-band light distribution byassuming that the M/L ratio is constant throughout the disc. Galaxiesare deprojected using orientation parameters based on B-band images. Inorder to eliminate artificial stretching of the bulge, two-dimensionalbar-bulge-disc decomposition has been used to derive a reliable bulgemodel. This bulge model is subtracted from an image, the disc isdeprojected assuming it is thin, and then the bulge is added back byassuming that its mass distribution is spherically symmetric. We findthat removing the artificial bulge stretch is important especially forgalaxies having bars inside large bulges. We also find that the massesof the bulges can be significantly overestimated if bars are not takeninto account in the decomposition.Bars are identified using Fourier methods by requiring that the phasesof the main modes (m= 2, m= 4) are maintained nearly constant in the barregion. With such methods, bars are found in 65 per cent of the galaxiesin our sample, most of them being classified as SB-type systems in thenear-infrared by Eskridge and co-workers. We also suggest that as muchas ~70 per cent of the galaxies classified as SAB-types in thenear-infrared might actually be non-barred systems, many of them havingcentral ovals. It is also possible that a small fraction of the SAB-typegalaxies have weak non-classical bars with spiral-like morphologies. Stacking Searches for Gamma-Ray Emission above 100 MeV from Radio and Seyfert GalaxiesThe EGRET telescope on board Compton Gamma Ray Observatory detected morethan 60 sources of high-energy gamma radiation associated with activegalactic nuclei (AGNs). All but one of those belong to the blazarsubclass; the only exception is the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A.Since there is no obvious reason other than proximity to expect Cen A tobe the only nonblazar AGN emitting in high-energy gamma rays, we haveutilized the stacking'' technique to search for emission above 100 MeVfrom two nonblazar AGN subclasses, radio galaxies and Seyfert galaxies.Maps of gamma-ray counts, exposure, and diffuse background have beencreated, then co-added in varying numbers based on sorts by redshift, 5GHz flux density, and optical brightness, and finally tested forgamma-ray emission. No detection significance greater than 2 σ hasbeen found for any subclass, sorting parameter, or number of objectsco-added. Monte Carlo simulations have also been performed to validatethe technique and estimate the significance of the results. High-Resolution H I Observations of the Galaxy NGC 404: A Dwarf S0 with Abundant Interstellar GasAs part of a detailed study of the gas content in a sample of early-typegalaxies, we present 21 cm H I line maps of the S0 galaxy NGC 404 at aspatial resolution of 15.2"'×14.4"(α×δ) and a velocity resolution of 2.6 kms-1. The H I has been traced out to a radiusR~8R25 or 48 disk scale lengths, making it one of the largestH I extents reported (800" or 12.6 kpc at the assumed distance of 3.3Mpc). Approximately 75% of the H I resides in a doughnut, which is seenclose to face-on with inner and outer radii of ~R25 and~4R25, respectively. The optical galaxy fits snugly withinthe hole of the doughnut. The remaining 25% of the neutral gas is foundin an annulus concentric with the doughnut and with a somewhat largerellipticity, extending from a radius of ~4R25 to~8R25. A total H I mass of1.52+/-0.04×108Msolar is found, whichimplies an MHI/LB=0.22 in solar units. We arguethat most, if not all, of this gas is of external origin, most likelyfrom the merger of a dwarf irregular galaxy with MB~-15.5mag. The velocity field shows a steeply declining observed rotationcurve, compatible with Keplerian decline. However, because the galaxy isclose to face-on, there is a degeneracy in the determination of theintrinsic rotation curve and inclination. We therefore analyzed twoextreme cases, producing tilted-ring model fits forcing either aKeplerian or a flat rotation curve through the observations; bothapproaches result in equally plausible fits. In both model fits, theposition angle of the kinematical major axis of the annulus is distinctfrom that of the doughnut and ranges from 160° to 120° (for thedoughnut these values are 100° to 60°). Assuming a distance of3.3 Mpc, a total mass of 3×1010Msolar isfound on the basis of the Keplerian rotation curve. This implies aglobal MT/LB ratio of ~44 in solar units, which ishigh and likely a reflection of the low blue luminosity of the galaxy(~15 times lower than the average S0 luminosity). Values for a flatrotation curve are a factor of 4 higher. Inner-truncated Disks in GalaxiesWe present an analysis of the disk brightness profiles of 218 spiral andlenticular galaxies. At least 28% of disk galaxies exhibit innertruncations in these profiles. There are no significant trends oftruncation incidence with Hubble type, but the incidence among barredsystems is 49%, more than 4 times that for nonbarred galaxies. However,not all barred systems have inner truncations, and not allinner-truncated systems are currently barred. Truncations represent areal dearth of disk stars in the inner regions and are not an artifactof our selection or fitting procedures nor the result of obscuration bydust. Disk surface brightness profiles in the outer regions are wellrepresented by simple exponentials for both truncated and nontruncateddisks. However, truncated and nontruncated systems have systematicallydifferent slopes and central surface brightness parameters for theirdisk brightness distributions. Truncation radii do not appear tocorrelate well with the sizes or brightnesses of the bulges. Thissuggests that the low angular momentum material apparently missing fromthe inner disk was not simply consumed in forming the bulge population.Disk parameters and the statistics of bar orientations in our sampleindicate that the missing stars of the inner disk have not simply beenredistributed azimuthally into bar structures. The sharpness of thebrightness truncations and their locations with respect to othergalactic structures suggest that resonances associated with diskkinematics, or tidal interactions with the mass of bulge stars, might beresponsible for this phenomenon. Ionized gas and stellar kinematics of seventeen nearby spiral galaxiesIonized gas and stellar kinematics have been measured along the majoraxes of seventeen nearby spiral galaxies of intermediate to latemorphological type. We discuss the properties of each sample galaxy,distinguishing between those characterized by regular or peculiarkinematics. In most of the observed galaxies, ionized gas rotates morerapidly than stars and has a lower velocity dispersion, as is to beexpected if the gas is confined in the disc and supported by rotationwhile the stars are mostly supported by dynamical pressure. In a fewobjects, gas and stars show almost the same rotational velocity and lowvelocity dispersion, suggesting that their motion is dominated byrotation. Incorporating the spiral galaxies studied by Bertola et al.(\cite{Bertola1996}), Corsini et al. (\cite{Corsini1999},\cite{Corsini2003}) and Vega Beltrán et al. (\cite{Vega2001}) wehave compiled a sample of 50 S0/a-Scd galaxies, for which the major-axiskinematics of the ionized gas and stars have been obtained with the samespatial (≈1'') and spectral (≈50 km;s-1) resolution,and measured with the same analysis techniques. This allowed us toaddress the frequency of counter-rotation in spiral galaxies. It turnsout that less than 12% and less than 8% (at the 95% confidence level) ofthe sample galaxies host a counter-rotating gaseous and stellar disc,respectively. The comparison with S0 galaxies suggests that theretrograde acquisition of small amounts of external gas gives rise tocounter-rotating gaseous discs only in gas-poor S0s, while in gas-richspirals the newly acquired gas is swept away by the pre-existing gas.Counter-rotating gaseous and stellar discs in spirals are formed onlyfrom the retrograde acquisition of large amounts of gas exceeding thatof pre-existing gas, and subsequent star formation, respectively.Based on observations carried out at the European Southern Observatory,La Silla (Chile) (ESO 56.A-0684 and 57.A-0569).Tables 3 and 4 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/424/447Full Fig. \ref{fig:kinematics} and Figs. \ref{fig:gascomparison} and\ref{fig:starcomparison} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org The ISOPHOT 170 μm Serendipity Survey II. The catalog of optically identified galaxies%The ISOPHOT Serendipity Sky Survey strip-scanning measurements covering≈15% of the far-infrared (FIR) sky at 170 μm were searched forcompact sources associated with optically identified galaxies. CompactSerendipity Survey sources with a high signal-to-noise ratio in at leasttwo ISOPHOT C200 detector pixels were selected that have a positionalassociation with a galaxy identification in the NED and/or Simbaddatabases and a galaxy counterpart visible on the Digitized Sky Surveyplates. A catalog with 170 μm fluxes for more than 1900 galaxies hasbeen established, 200 of which were measured several times. The faintest170 μm fluxes reach values just below 0.5 Jy, while the brightest,already somewhat extended galaxies have fluxes up to ≈600 Jy. For thevast majority of listed galaxies, the 170 μm fluxes were measured forthe first time. While most of the galaxies are spirals, about 70 of thesources are classified as ellipticals or lenticulars. This is the onlycurrently available large-scale galaxy catalog containing a sufficientnumber of sources with 170 μm fluxes to allow further statisticalstudies of various FIR properties.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.Members of the Consortium on the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey (CISS) areMPIA Heidelberg, ESA ISO SOC Villafranca, AIP Potsdam, IPAC Pasadena,Imperial College London.Full Table 4 and Table 6 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/422/39 Minor-axis velocity gradients in disk galaxiesWe 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 Radio emission from AGN detected by the VLA FIRST surveyUsing the most recent (April 2003) version of the VLA FIRST survey radiocatalog, we have searched for radio emission from >2800 AGN takenfrom the most recent (2001) version of the Veron-Cetty and Veron AGNcatalog. These AGN lie in the 9033 square degrees of sky alreadycovered by the VLA FIRST survey. Our work has resulted in positivedetection of radio emission from 775 AGN of which 214 are new detectionsat radio wavelengths.Tables 3 and 4 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/416/35 The Leo I Cloud: Secular Nuclear Evolution of NGC 3379, NGC 3384, and NGC 3368?The central regions of the three brightest members of the Leo I galaxygroup-NGC 3368, NGC 3379, and NGC 3384-are investigated by means oftwo-dimensional spectroscopy. In all three galaxies we have foundseparate circumnuclear stellar and gaseous subsystems-more probably,disks-whose spatial orientations and spins are connected to the spatialorientation of the supergiant intergalactic H I ring reported previouslyby Schneider et al. and Schneider. In NGC 3368 the global gaseous diskseems also to be inclined to the symmetry plane of the stellar body,being probably of external origin. Although the rather young meanstellar age and spatial orientations of the circumnuclear disks in NGC3379, NGC 3384, and NGC 3368 could imply their recent formation frommaterial of the intergalactic H I cloud, the timescale of thesesecondary formation events, on the order of 3 Gyr, does not support thecollision scenario of Rood & Williams but is rather in line with theideas of Schneider regarding tidal interactions of the galaxies with theH I cloud on timescales of the intergroup orbital motions. On the Nature of Low-Luminosity Narrow-Line Active Galactic NucleiThere is clear observational evidence that some narrow-line (type 2)active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have a hidden broad-line region (BLR) andare thus intrinsically broad-line (type 1) AGNs. Does this AGNunification apply for all type 2 AGNs? Indirect arguments suggest thatsome true'' type 2 AGNs, i.e., AGNs having no obscured BLR, do exist,but it is not clear why the BLR is missing in these AGNs. Here we pointout a possible natural explanation. The observed radius-luminosityrelation for the BLR implies an increasing line width with decreasingluminosity for a given black hole mass (MBH). In addition,there appears to be an upper limit to the observed width of broademission lines in AGNs of Δvmax~25,000 kms-1, which may reflect a physical limit above which the BLRmay not be able to survive. Thus, at a low enough luminosity the BLRradius shrinks below the Δvmax radius, leaving noregion where the BLR can exist, although the AGN may remain otherwisenormal.'' The implied minimum bolometric luminosity required tosustain a BLR with Δv<25,000 km s-1 isLmin~1041.8(MBH/108Msolar)2.All AGNs with L The Role of Interactions in the Evolution of Highly Star-forming Early-Type (Sa-Sab) Spiral GalaxiesWe present a search for the signatures of galaxy-galaxy interactions inthe neutral gas of early-type spirals. New neutral hydrogen observationsfor four highly star-forming early-type spirals are presented here,along with H I data for three additional galaxies from other sources. HI maps of six of seven galaxies reveal unambiguous signs of a recentencounter, via tidal tails and H I bridges. Most of these galaxiesappear undisturbed in the optical, and these interactions probably wouldhave gone unnoticed without H I mapping. Such high rates of interactionsuggest that galactic encounters may play an important role in theevolution of early-type spiral galaxies. The Ringed Spiral Galaxy NGC 4622. I. Photometry, Kinematics, and the Case for Two Strong Leading Outer Spiral ArmsThe intriguing nearly face-on southern ringed spiral galaxy NGC 4622,the first galaxy definitively shown to have leading spiral structure, isrevisited in this paper with new images from the Hubble SpaceTelescope's (HST) WFPC2, together with ground-based optical and near-IRimaging, and a Fabry-Perot Hα velocity field. The data provide newinformation on the disk/bulge/halo mix, rotation curve, star formationin the galaxy, and the sense of winding of its prominent spiral arms.Previously, we suggested that the weaker, inner single arm most likelyhas the leading sense, based on a numerical simulation. Now, takingadvantage of HST resolution and using de Vaucouleurs' standardextinction and reddening technique to determine the near side of thegalaxy's slightly tilted disk, we come to the more surprising conclusionthat the two strong outer arms have the leading sense. We suggest thatthis highly unusual configuration may be the result of a past minormerger or mild tidal encounter. Possible evidence for a minor merger isfound in a short, central dust lane, although this is purelycircumstantial and an unrelated interaction with a different companioncould also be relevant. The leading arms may be allowed to persistbecause NGC 4622 is dark halo dominated (i.e., not maximum disk'' inthe inner regions) and displays a significantly rising rotation curve.The new HST observations also reveal a rich globular cluster system inthe galaxy. The mean color of these clusters is (V-I)0=1.04,and the specific frequency is 3.4+/-0.6. The luminosity function ofthese clusters confirms the membership of NGC 4622 in the CentaurusCluster.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., undercontract NAS 5-26555. The luminous and dark matter content of disk galaxiesWe have compiled a sample of disk galaxies with available photometry inthe B and K bands, velocity line-widths and HI integral fluxes. Severalparameters that trace the luminous, baryonic and dark matter contentswere inferred. We investigated how these parameters vary with differentgalaxy properties, and compared the results with predictions of galaxyevolutionary models in the context of the Λ Cold Dark Matter(ΛCDM) cosmogony. The ratio of disk-to-total maximum circularvelocity, (Vd,m/Vt,m), depends mainly on thecentral disk surface density Σd,0 (or surfacebrightness, SB), increasing roughly asΣd,00.15. While a fraction of high SBgalaxies have a (Vd,m/Vt,m) ratio corresponding tothe maximum disk solution, the low SB are completely dark matterdominated. The trend is similar for the models, although they haveslightly smaller (Vd,m/Vt,m) ratios thanobservations, in particular at the highest SBs and when small baryonfractions are used. The scatter in the(Vd,m/Vt,m)- Σd,0 plot is large.An analysis of residuals shows that (Vd,m/Vt,m)tends to decrease as the galaxy is redder, more luminous (massive), andof earlier type. The models allow us to explain the physics of theseresults, which imply a connexion between halo structure and luminousproperties. The dynamical-to-baryon mass and dynamical mass-to-light (Band K) ratios at a given radius were also estimated. All these ratios,for observations and models, decrease with Σd,0; (orSB) and do not correlate significantly with the galaxy scale, contraryto what has been reported in previous works, based on the analysis ofrotation curve shapes. We discuss this difference and state theimportance of solving the controversy of whether the dark and luminouscontents in disk galaxies depend on SB or luminosity. The broadagreement between the models and observations presented here regardingthe trends of the dynamical-to-baryon matter and mass-to-light ratioswith several galaxy properties favors the ΛCDM scenario. However,the excess of dark matter inside the optical region of disk galaxiesremains the main difficulty.Appendices A and B are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org. Table 1 is only available at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/412/633 An Efficient Strategy to Select Targets for Gasdynamical Measurements of Black Hole Masses Using the Hubble Space TelescopeGasdynamical studies using the Hubble Space Telescope are an integralcomponent for future progress in the search for massive black holes ingalactic nuclei. Here we present an extensive set of gas rotation curvesobtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph for the centralregions of 23 disk galaxies. We find that the bulges of randomlyselected, nearby spiral and S0 galaxies generally do not containwell-defined gaseous disks. Only 15%-20% of disk galaxies have regular,symmetric velocity fields useful for dynamical analysis. Throughcomparison of the kinematics with Hubble Space Telescope images of thenuclear regions, we show that the probability of success can besignificantly boosted by preselecting objects whose central dust lanesfollow a well-ordered, circularly symmetric pattern. The dust morphologycan be ascertained efficiently by visual inspection of unsharp-maskedimages. Based on observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope,which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. Modified Newtonian Dynamics as an Alternative to Dark MatterModified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) is an empirically motivatedmodification of Newtonian gravity or inertia suggested by Milgrom as analternative to cosmic dark matter. The basic idea is that ataccelerations below ao ~ 10-8 cm/s2 ~cHo/6 the effective gravitational attraction approaches√(gnao), where gn is the usualNewtonian acceleration. This simple algorithm yields flat rotationcurves for spiral galaxies and a mass-rotation velocity relation of theform M ∝ V4 that forms the basis for the observedluminosity-rotation velocity relation-the Tully-Fisher law. We reviewthe phenomenological success of MOND on scales ranging from dwarfspheroidal galaxies to superclusters and demonstrate that the evidencefor dark matter can be equally well interpreted as evidence for MOND. Wediscuss the possible physical basis for an acceleration-basedmodification of Newtonian dynamics as well as the extention of MOND tocosmology and structure formation. Far-Infrared Census of Starburst-Seyfert ConnectionFar-infrared flux densities are newly extracted from the IRAS databasefor the Revised Shapley-Ames and CfA complete samples of Seyfertgalaxies. These data are used to classify the Seyfert galaxies intothose where the far-infrared continuum emission is dominated by theactive galactic nucleus (AGN), circumnuclear starburst, or host galaxy.While AGN-dominant objects consist of comparable numbers of Seyfert 1and 2 galaxies, starburst- and host-dominant objects consistpreferentially of Seyfert 2 galaxies. Thus, in addition to the dustytorus, the circumnuclear starburst region and host galaxy are importantin hiding the broad-line region. Morphologically, starburst-dominantSeyfert galaxies are of later types and more strongly interacting thanAGN-dominant Seyfert galaxies. In a later type galaxy, the AGN centralengine has a lower Eddington luminosity, and the gaseous content ishigher. The gas is efficiently supplied to the starburst via agalaxy-galaxy interaction. Morphologies of host-dominant Seyfertgalaxies are of various types. Since starbursts in Seyfert galaxies areolder than those in classical starburst galaxies, we propose anevolution from starburst to starburst-dominant Seyfert to host-dominantSeyfert for a late-type galaxy. An evolution from AGN-dominant Seyfertto host-dominant Seyfert is proposed for an early-type galaxy. Thesesequences have durations of a few times 108 yr and occurrepeatedly within a galaxy during its evolution from a late type to anearly type. Bar Galaxies and Their EnvironmentsThe 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. Complex Formation History of the Lenticular Galaxies with Stellar Counterrotation: NGC 4138 and NGC 4550Two lenticular galaxies with counterrotating stellar components in theirdisks have been studied with the Multi-Pupil Fiber Spectrograph of the 6m telescope (at the Special Astrophysical Observatory). In NGC 4138 thenucleus is certainly chemically distinct, with the central concentrationof magnesium enhancement marginally exceeding that of iron. The ionizedgas within R=4" of the nucleus rotates circularly in an inclined ring,perhaps a kind of a circumnuclear polar ring surrounding a compactstellar minibar. NGC 4550 exhibits complex extended structures in itscenter that can be identified by enhanced levels of magnesium and ironindices; the stellar population of the unresolved nucleus is youngerthan that of the circumnuclear region. We conclude that although NGC4550 does not possess a chemically distinct nucleus in the ordinarysense of the term, there are nevertheless clear signatures of asecondary star formation burst confined perhaps to the counterrotatingstellar gaseous disk. We argue that the inclination of thecounterrotating disk differs from that of the main stellar disk,implying that the two disks are not coplanar. Both galaxies seem to havepossessed bars, either actually present or already dissolved. Partlybased on observations collected with the 6 m telescope (BTA) at theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The UZC-SSRS2 Group CatalogWe apply a friends-of-friends algorithm to the combined Updated ZwickyCatalog and Southern Sky Redshift Survey to construct a catalog of 1168groups of galaxies; 411 of these groups have five or more members withinthe redshift survey. The group catalog covers 4.69 sr, and all groupsexceed the number density contrast threshold, δρ/ρ=80. Wedemonstrate that the groups catalog is homogeneous across the twounderlying redshift surveys; the catalog of groups and their membersthus provides a basis for other statistical studies of the large-scaledistribution of groups and their physical properties. The medianphysical properties of the groups are similar to those for groupsderived from independent surveys, including the ESO Key Programme andthe Las Campanas Redshift Survey. We include tables of groups and theirmembers.
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