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 Radio and Optical Follow-up Observations of a Uniform Radio Transient Search: Implications for Gamma-Ray Bursts and SupernovaeWe present the first full characterization of the transient radio skyvia radio and optical follow-up observations of all the possible radiotransients we have discovered in a survey covering ~1/17 of the sky. Thetwo confirmed radio transients turn out to be an optically obscuredradio supernova (SN) in the nearby galaxy NGC 4216, the first such eventto be discovered by a wide-field radio survey, and a source notassociated with a bright host galaxy. We speculate that this secondsource may be a flare from a peculiar radio-loud AGN, or a burst from anunusual Galactic compact object, but its nature merits further study. Weplace an upper limit of 65 radio transients above 6 mJy over the entiresky (95% confidence level). The implications are as follows. First, wederive a limit on the typical beaming of GRBs; we findf-1b>~60, ~5 times higher than our earlierresults[f-1b≡(θ2jet/2)-1].Second, our results impose an upper limit on the rate of events thateject >~1051 ergs in unconfined relativistic ejecta,whether or not accompanied by detectable emission in wavebands otherthan the radio. Our estimated rate, n˙<=1000 yr-1Gpc-1, is about 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the rateof core-collapse SNe (and Type Ib/c events in particular), indicatingthat only a minority of such events eject significant amounts ofrelativistic material, which are required by fireball models oflong-soft GRBs. Finally, we show that wider and/or deeper radiovariability surveys are expected to detect numerous orphan radio GRBafterglows and illustrate the great potential of new radio instrumentsto revolutionize the study of nearby SNe. Gas and Stars in an H I-Selected Galaxy SampleWe present the results of a J-band study of the H I-selected AreciboDual-Beam Survey and Arecibo Slice Survey galaxy samples using TwoMicron All Sky Survey data. We find that these galaxies span a widerange of stellar and gas properties. However, despite the diversitywithin the samples, we find a very tight correlation between luminosityand size in the J band, similar to that found in a previous paper byRosenberg & Schneider between the H I mass and size. We also findthat the correlation between the baryonic mass and the J-band diameteris even tighter than that between the baryonic mass and the rotationalvelocity. Completing H I observations of galaxies in the Virgo clusterHigh sensitivity (rms noise  0.5 mJy) 21-cm H I line observationswere made of 33 galaxies in the Virgo cluster, using the refurbishedArecibo telescope, which resulted in the detection of 12 objects. Thesedata, combined with the measurements available from the literature,provide the first set of H I data that is complete for all 355 late-type(Sa-Im-BCD) galaxies in the Virgo cluster with mp ≤ 18.0mag. The Virgo cluster H I mass function (HIMF) that was derived forthis optically selected galaxy sample is in agreement with the HIMFderived for the Virgo cluster from the blind HIJASS H I survey and isinconsistent with the Field HIMF. This indicates that both in this richcluster and in the general field, neutral hydrogen is primarilyassociated with late-type galaxies, with marginal contributions fromearly-type galaxies and isolated H I clouds. The inconsistency betweenthe cluster and the field HIMF derives primarily from the difference inthe optical luminosity function of late-type galaxies in the twoenvironments, combined with the HI deficiency that is known to occur ingalaxies in rich clusters.Tables \ref{t1, \ref{sample_dat} and Appendix A are only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org A New Nonparametric Approach to Galaxy Morphological ClassificationWe present two new nonparametric methods for quantifying galaxymorphology: the relative distribution of the galaxy pixel flux values(the Gini coefficient or G) and the second-order moment of the brightest20% of the galaxy's flux (M20). We test the robustness of Gand M20 to decreasing signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and spatialresolution and find that both measures are reliable to within 10% forimages with average S/N per pixel greater than 2 and resolutions betterthan 1000 and 500 pc, respectively. We have measured G andM20, as well as concentration (C), asymmetry (A), andclumpiness (S) in the rest-frame near-ultraviolet/optical wavelengthsfor 148 bright local normal'' Hubble-type galaxies (E-Sd) galaxies, 22dwarf irregulars, and 73 0.05 Further clues to the nature of composite LINER/H II galaxiesWe have analyzed new, archival and published high resolution radio andX-ray observations of a sample of composite LINER/H II galaxies known toexhibit AGN-like properties. Five of the 16 AGN candidates havemilliarcsecond-scale detections and are found to display a compact, flatspectrum, high brightness temperature radio core, four of which alsoexhibit extended radio emission. Five of the eight AGN candidates withavailable high resolution X-ray observations were found to possess ahard X-ray nuclear source, two of which have no milliarcsecond radiodetection. The combined high resolution radio and X-ray data yield a 50%detection rate of low luminosity AGN among the AGN candidates, whichtranslates into a 12% detection rate for the entire composite LINER/H IIsample. In the sources where the AGN has been unambiguously detected,the ionizing power of the AGN is not sufficient to generate the observedemission lines, unless the hard X-rays are heavily obscured. We attemptto apply a canonical advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) and jetmodel to the sample sources in order to explain the observed radio andX-ray emission. While ADAFs may be responsible for the observed emissionin submillijansky radio cores like NGC 7331, they do not appearconsistent with the radio emission observed in the milliarcsecond-scaleradio detected cores; the latter sources are more likely to have anenergetically important contribution from a radio-emitting jet. Radio continuum spectra of galaxies in the Virgo cluster regionNew radio continuum observations of galaxies in the Virgo cluster regionat 4.85, 8.6, and 10.55 GHz are presented. These observations arecombined with existing measurements at 1.4 and 0.325 GHz. The sampleincludes 81 galaxies where spectra with more than two frequencies couldbe derived. Galaxies that show a radio-FIR excess exhibit centralactivity (HII, LINER, AGN). The four Virgo galaxies with the highestabsolute radio excess are found within 2° of the centerof the cluster. Galaxies showing flat radio spectra also host activecenters. There is no clear trend between the spectral index and thegalaxy's distance to the cluster center.Figure 3 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.orgTable 3 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/418/1 Spectrophotometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II. The dataDrift-scan mode (3600-6800 Å) spectra with 500 Deprojecting spiral galaxies using Fourier analysis. Application to the Frei sampleWe present two methods that can be used to deproject spirals, based onFourier analysis of their images, and discuss their potential andrestrictions. Our methods perform particularly well for galaxies moreinclined than 50° or for non-barred galaxies moreinclined than 35°. They are fast and straightforward touse, and thus ideal for large samples of galaxies. Moreover, they arevery robust for low resolutions and thus are appropriate for samples ofcosmological interest. The relevant software is available from us uponrequest. We use these methods to determine the values of the positionand inclination angles for a sample of 79 spiral galaxies contained inthe Frei et al. (\cite{frei96}) sample. We compare our results with thevalues found in the literature, based on other methods. We findstatistically very good agreementTable 7 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/415/849 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 Relationship between Stellar Light Distributions of Galaxies and Their Formation HistoriesA major problem in extragalactic astronomy is the inability todistinguish in a robust, physical, and model-independent way how galaxypopulations are physically related to each other and to their formationhistories. A similar, but distinct, and also long-standing question iswhether the structural appearances of galaxies, as seen through theirstellar light distributions, contain enough physical information tooffer this classification. We argue through the use of 240 images ofnearby galaxies that three model-independent parameters measured on asingle galaxy image reveal its major ongoing and past formation modesand can be used as a robust classification system. These parametersquantitatively measure: the concentration (C), asymmetry (A), andclumpiness (S) of a galaxy's stellar light distribution. When combinedinto a three-dimensional CAS'' volume all major classes of galaxies invarious phases of evolution are cleanly distinguished. We argue thatthese three parameters correlate with important modes of galaxyevolution: star formation and major merging activity. This is arguedthrough the strong correlation of Hα equivalent width andbroadband colors with the clumpiness parameter S, the uniquely largeasymmetries of 66 galaxies undergoing mergers, and the correlation ofbulge to total light ratios, and stellar masses, with the concentrationindex. As an obvious goal is to use this system at high redshifts totrace evolution, we demonstrate that these parameters can be measured,within a reasonable and quantifiable uncertainty with available data outto z~3 using the Hubble Space Telescope GOODS ACS and Hubble Deep Fieldimages. The Tully-Fisher Relation of Barred GalaxiesWe present new data exploring the scaling relations, such as theTully-Fisher relation (TFR), of bright barred and unbarred galaxies. Aprimary motivation for this study is to establish whether barrednesscorrelates with, and is a consequence of, virial properties of galaxies.Various lines of evidence suggest that dark matter is dominant in disksof bright unbarred galaxies at 2.2 disk scale lengths, the point of peakrotation for a pure exponential disk. We test the hypothesis that theTully-Fisher (TF) plane of barred high surface brightness galaxies isoffset from the mean TFR of unbarred galaxies, as might be expected ifbarred galaxies are maximal'' in their inner parts. We use existingand new TF data to search for basic structural differences betweenbarred and unbarred galaxies. Our new data consist of two-dimensionalHα velocity fields derived from SparsePak integral fieldspectroscopy and V- and I-band CCD images collected at the WIYNObservatory2 for 14 strongly barredgalaxies. Differences may exist between kinematic and photometricinclination angles of barred versus unbarred galaxies. These findingslead us to restrict our analysis to barred galaxies withi>50deg. We use WIYN/SparsePak (two-dimensional) velocityfields to show that long-slit (one-dimensional) spectra yield reliablecircular speed measurements at or beyond 2.2 disk scale lengths, farfrom any influence of the bar. This enables us to consider line widthmeasurements from extensive TF surveys that include barred and nonbarreddisks and derive detailed scaling relation comparisons. We find that fora given luminosity, barred and unbarred galaxies have comparablestructural and dynamical parameters, such as peak velocities, scalelengths, and colors. In particular, the location of a galaxy in the TFplane is independent of barredness. In a global dynamical sense, barredand unbarred galaxies behave similarly and are likely to have, onaverage, comparable fractions of luminous and dark matter at a givenradius. The Contribution of H I-rich Galaxies to the Damped Lyα Absorber Population at z = 0We present a study of the expected properties of the low-redshift dampedLyα absorber population determined from a sample of H I-selectedgalaxies in the local universe. Because of a tight correlation betweenthe H I mass and H I cross section, which we demonstrate spans allgalaxy types, we can use our H I-selected sample to predict theproperties of the absorption-line systems. We use measurements of thenumber density and H I cross section of galaxies to show that the totalH I cross section at column densities sufficient to produce dampedLyα absorption is consistent with no evolution of the absorberpopulation. We also find that the dN/dz distribution is dominated bygalaxies with H I masses near 109 Msolar. However,because of the large dispersion in the correlation between H I mass andstellar luminosity, we find that the distribution of dN/dz as a functionof LJ is fairly flat. In addition, we examine the line widthsof the H I-selected galaxies and show that there may be evolution in thekinematics of H I-rich galaxies, but it is not necessary for the higherredshift population to contain a greater proportion of high-massgalaxies than we find locally. The 2MASS Large Galaxy AtlasWe present the largest galaxies as seen in the near-infrared (1-2μm), imaged with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), ranging inangular size from 1' to 1.5d. We highlight the 100 largest in thesample. The galaxies span all Hubble morphological types, includingelliptical galaxies, normal and barred spirals, and dwarf and peculiarclasses. The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas provides the necessary sensitivityand angular resolution to examine in detail morphologies in thenear-infrared, which may be radically different from those in theoptical. Internal structures such as spirals, bulges, warps, rings,bars, and star formation regions are resolved by 2MASS. In addition tolarge mosaic images, the atlas includes astrometric, photometric, andshape global measurements for each galaxy. A comparison of fundamentalmeasures (e.g., surface brightness, Hubble type) is carried out for thesample and compared with the Third Reference Catalogue. We furthershowcase NGC 253 and M51 (NGC 5194/5195) to demonstrate the quality anddepth of the data. The atlas represents the first uniform, all-sky,dust-penetrated view of galaxies of every type, as seen in thenear-infrared wavelength window that is most sensitive to the dominantmass component of galaxies. The images and catalogs are availablethrough the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and Infrared ScienceArchive and are part of the 2MASS Extended Source Catalog. An Hα survey aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas in halos of edge-on spiral galaxies. II. The Hα survey atlas and catalogIn this second paper on the investigation of extraplanar diffuse ionizedgas in nearby edge-on spiral galaxies we present the actual results ofthe individual galaxies of our Hα imaging survey. A grand totalof 74 galaxies have been studied, including the 9 galaxies of a recentlystudied sub-sample \citep{Ro00}. 40.5% of all studied galaxies revealextraplanar diffuse ionized gas, whereas in 59.5% of the survey galaxiesno extraplanar diffuse ionized gas could be detected. The averagedistances of this extended emission above the galactic midplane rangefrom 1-2 kpc, while individual filaments in a few galaxies reachdistances of up to |z| ~ 6 kpc. In several cases a pervasive layer ofionized gas was detected, similar to the Reynolds layer in our MilkyWay, while other galaxies reveal only extended emission locally. Themorphology of the diffuse ionized gas is discussed for each galaxy andis compared with observations of other important ISM constituents in thecontext of the disk-halo connection, in those cases where publishedresults were available. Furthermore, we present the distribution ofextraplanar dust in these galaxies, based on an analysis of theunsharp-masked R-band images. The results are compared with thedistribution of the diffuse ionized gas.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (ESO No. 63.N-0070, ESO No. 64.N-0034, ESO No. 65.N.-0002).\ref{fig22}-\ref{fig54} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org An Hα survey aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas in halos of edge-on spiral galaxies. I. How common are gaseous halos among non-starburst galaxies?In a series of two papers we present results of a new Hα imagingsurvey, aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas inhalos of late-type spiral galaxies. We have investigated a sample of 74nearby edge-on spirals, covering the northern and southern hemisphere.In 30 galaxies we detected extraplanar diffuse emission at meandistances of |z| ~ 1-2 kpc. Individual filaments can be traced out to|z|<=6 kpc in a few cases. We find a good correlation between the FIRflux ratio (S60/S100) and the SFR per unit area(LFIR/D225), based on thedetections/non-detections. This is actually valid for starburst, normaland for quiescent galaxies. A minimal SFR per unit area for the lowestS60/S100 values, at which extended emission hasbeen detected, was derived, which amounts to dotEA25thres = (3.2+/-0.5)*E40ergs-1 kpc-2. There are galaxies where extraplanaremission was detected at smaller values ofLFIR/D225, however, only in combinationwith a significantly enhanced dust temperature. The results corroboratethe general view that the gaseous halos are a direct consequence of SFactivity in the underlying galactic disk.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (ESO No. 63.N-0070, ESO No. 64.N-0034, ESO No. 65.N.-0002). Galaxy classification using fractal signatureFractal geometry is becoming increasingly important in the study ofimage characteristics. For recognition of regions and objects in naturalscenes, there is always a need for features that are invariant and theyprovide a good set of descriptive values for the region. There are manyfractal features that can be generated from an image. In this paper,fractal signatures of nearby galaxies are studied with the aim ofclassifying them. The fractal signature over a range of scales proved tobe an efficient feature set with good discriminating power. Classifierswere designed using nearest neighbour method and neural networktechnique. Using the nearest distance approach, classification rate wasfound to be 92%. By the neural network method it has been found toincrease to 95%. A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxiesWe have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of normality''. Thedefinition of a normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5 A comparison of stellar populations in galaxy spheroids across a wide range of Hubble typesWe present line-strengths and kinematics from the central regions of 32galaxies with Hubble types ranging from E to Sbc. Spectral indices,based on the Lick system, are measured in the optical and near-infrared(NIR). The 24 indices measured, in conjunction with models of theeffects of varying abundance ratios, permit the breaking ofage/metallicity degeneracy, and allow estimation of enhancements inspecific light elements (particularly C and Mg). The large range ofHubble types observed allows direct comparison of line-strengths in thecentres of early-type galaxies (E and S0) with those in spiral bulges,free from systematic differences that have plagued comparisons ofresults from different studies. Our sample includes field and Virgocluster galaxies. For early-type galaxies our data are consistent withpreviously reported trends of Mg2 and Mgb with velocitydispersion. In spiral bulges we find trends in all indices with velocitydispersion. We estimate luminosity-weighted ages, metallicities andheavy-element abundance ratios (enhancements) from optical indices.These show that bulges are less enhanced in light (α-capture)elements and have lower average age than early-type galaxies. Trendsinvolving age and metallicity also differ sharply between early and latetypes. An anticorrelation exists between age and metallicity in earlytypes, while, in bulges, metallicity is correlated with velocitydispersion. We consider the implications of these findings for models ofthe formation of these galaxies. We find that primordial collapse modelsof galaxy formation are ruled out by our observations, while severalpredictions of hierarchical clustering (merger) models are confirmed. Catalog of Multicolor Profiles of GalaxiesA catalog of multicolor photometric profiles derived from aperturephotometry for a selected sample of galaxies is given. The data sources,homogenization procedures and selection criteria used are described. The Radio Properties of Composite LINER/H II GalaxiesArcsecond-resolution VLA observations-newly obtained as well aspublished-of 40 nearby galaxies are discussed, completing a study of theradio properties of a magnitude-limited sample of nearby galaxies of thecomposite LINER/H II type. Our results reveal an overall detection rateof at least 25% active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates among thesecomposite sources. The general properties of these AGN candidates, ascompared to non-AGN composite sources and H II galaxies, are discussed. Orphan Gamma-Ray Burst Radio Afterglows: Candidates and Constraints on BeamingThe number of orphan radio afterglows associated with gamma-ray bursts(GRBs) that should be detected by a flux-limited radio survey iscalculated. It is shown that for jetted GRBs, this number is smaller fora smaller jet opening angle θ, contrary to naive expectation. Fora beaming factorf-1b≡(θ2/2)-1~=500, roughly the value inferred by Frail et al. from analysisof afterglow light curves, we predict that between several hundred toseveral thousand orphan radio afterglows should be detectable (over allsky) above 1 mJy at GHz frequencies at any given time. This orphanpopulation is dominated by sources lying at distances of a few hundredMpc and having an age of ~1 yr. A search for pointlike radio transientswith flux densities greater than 6 mJy was conducted using the FIRST andNVSS surveys, yielding a list of nine orphan candidates. We argue thatmost of the candidates are unlikely to be radio supernovae. However, thepossibility that they are radio-loud active galactic nuclei cannot beruled out without further observation. Our analysis sets a conservative95% CL upper limit for the all-sky number of radio orphans, whichcorresponds to a lower limit f-1b>13 on thebeaming factor. Rejection of all candidates found in our search wouldimply f-1b>80. This, and the possibility thatsome candidates may indeed be radio afterglows, strongly motivatefurther observations of these transients. The H I Line Width/Linear Diameter Relationship as an Independent Test of the Hubble ConstantThe relationship between corrected H I line widths and linear diameters(LW/LD) for spiral galaxies is used as an independent check on the valueof the Hubble constant. After calibrating the Tully-Fisher (TF) relationin both the B and I bands, the B-band relation is used for galaxies ofmorphological/luminosity types Sc I, Sc I.2, Sc I.3, Sab, Sb, Sb I-II,and Sb II to derive the LW/LD relation. We find that for this sample thescatter in the LW/LD is smallest with a Hubble constant of 90-95 kms-1 Mpc-1. Lower values of the Hubble constantproduce a separation in the LW/LD relation that is a function ofmorphological type. Since a Hubble constant of 90-95 is significantlylarger than the final Key Project value of 72 km s-1Mpc-1, a comparison of TF, surface brightness fluctuation(SBF), and fundamental plane (FP) is made. This comparison indicatesthat the Key Project TF distances to 21 clusters may be too large. For asample of 11 clusters, the Key Project TF distances provide anunweighted mean Hubble constant of 77 km s-1Mpc-1, while a combination of the FP, SBF, and our TFdistances for the same 11 clusters gives H0=91 kms-1 Mpc-1. A more subtle result in our data is amorphological dichotomy in the Hubble constant. The data suggest that ScI galaxies follow a Hubble constant of 90-95 while Sb galaxies follow aHubble constant closer to 75 km s-1 Mpc-1.Possible explanations for this result are considered, but it is shownthat this Sb/Sc I Hubble flow discrepancy is also present in the VirgoCluster and is consistent with previous investigations that indicatethat some galaxies carry a component of age-related intrinsic redshift. The Three-dimensional Structure of the Virgo Cluster Region from Tully-Fisher and H I DataThe distances and H I contents of 161 spiral galaxies in the region ofthe Virgo cluster are used to gain insight into the complicatedstructure of this galaxy system. Special attention has been paid to theinvestigation of the suggestion presented in an earlier work that someperipheral Virgo groups may contain strongly gas-deficient spiralgalaxies. The three-dimensional galaxy distribution has been inferredfrom quality distance estimates obtained by averaging distance modulibased on the Tully-Fisher relationship taken from eight published datasets previously homogenized, resulting in a relation with a dispersionof 0.41 mag. Previous findings that the spiral distribution issubstantially more elongated along the line of sight than in the planeof the sky are confirmed by the current data. In addition, an importanteast-west disparity in this effect has been detected. The overallwidth-to-depth ratio of the Virgo cluster region is about 1:4, with themost distant objects concentrated in the western half. The filamentarystructure of the spiral population and its orientation are alsoreflected by the H I-deficient objects alone. The H I deficiency patternshows a central enhancement extending from ~16 to 22 Mpc inline-of-sight distance; most of this enhancement arises from galaxiesthat belong to the Virgo cluster proper. However, significant gasdeficiencies are also detected outside the main body of the cluster in aprobable group of galaxies at line-of-sight distances ~25-30 Mpc, lyingin the region dominated by the southern edge of the M49 subcluster andclouds W' and W, as well as in various foreground galaxies. In the Virgoregion, the H I content of the galaxies then is not a straightforwardindicator of cluster membership. 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. 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. Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. IV. The current star formation in nearby clusters of galaxiesHα +[NII] imaging observations of 369 late-type (spiral) galaxiesin the Virgo cluster and in the Coma/A1367 supercluster are analyzed,covering 3 rich nearby clusters (A1367, Coma and Virgo) and nearlyisolated galaxies in the Great-Wall. They constitute an opticallyselected sample (mp<16.0) observed with ~ 60 %completeness. These observations provide us with the current(T<107 yrs) star formation properties of galaxies that westudy as a function of the clustercentric projected distances (Theta ).The expected decrease of the star formation rate (SFR), as traced by theHα EW, with decreasing Theta is found only when galaxies brighterthan Mp ~ -19.5 are considered. Fainter objects show no orreverse trends. We also include in our analysis Near Infrared data,providing information on the old (T>109 yrs) stars. Puttogether, the young and the old stellar indicators give the ratio ofcurrently formed stars over the stars formed in the past, orbirthrate'' parameter b. For the considered galaxies we also determinethe global gas content'' combining HI with CO observations. We definethe gas deficiency'' parameter as the logarithmic difference betweenthe gas content of isolated galaxies of a given Hubble type and themeasured gas content. For the isolated objects we find that b decreaseswith increasing NIR luminosity. In other words less massive galaxies arecurrently forming stars at a higher rate than their giant counterpartswhich experienced most of their star formation activity at earliercosmological epochs. The gas-deficient objects, primarily members of theVirgo cluster, have a birthrate significantly lower than the isolatedobjects with normal gas content and of similar NIR luminosity. Thisindicates that the current star formation is regulated by the gaseouscontent of spirals. Whatever mechanism (most plausibly ram-pressurestripping) is responsible for the pattern of gas deficiency observed inspiral galaxies members of rich clusters, it also produces the observedquenching of the current star formation. A significant fraction of gashealthy'' (i.e. with a gas deficiency parameter less than 0.4) andcurrently star forming galaxies is unexpectedly found projected near thecenter of the Virgo cluster. Their average Tully-Fisher distance isfound approximately one magnitude further away (muo = 31.77)than the distance of their gas-deficient counterparts (muo =30.85), suggesting that the gas healthy objects belong to a cloudprojected onto the cluster center, but in fact lying a few Mpc behindVirgo, thus unaffected by the dense IGM of the cluster. Based onobservations taken at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional(Mexico), the OHP (France), Calar Alto and NOT (Spain) observatories.Table \ref{tab4} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org Radio sources in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. III. AGNs'' in a distance-limited sample of LLAGNs''This paper presents the results of a high resolution radio imagingsurvey of all known (96) low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs)at D <= 19 Mpc. We first report new 2 cm (150 mas resolution usingthe VLA) and 6 cm (2 mas resolution using the VLBA) radio observationsof the previously unobserved nuclei in our samples and then presentresults on the complete survey. We find that almost half of all LINERsand low-luminosity Seyferts have flat-spectrum radio cores when observedat 150 mas resolution. Higher (2 mas) resolution observations of aflux-limited subsample have provided a 100% (16 of 16) detection rate ofpc-scale radio cores, with implied brightness temperatures gtrsim108 K. The five LLAGNs with the highest core radio fluxesalso have pc-scale jets''. Compact radio cores are almost exclusivelyfound in massive ellipticals and in type 1 nuclei (i.e. nuclei withbroad Hα emission). Only a few transition'' nuclei have compactradio cores; those detected in the radio have optical emission-linediagnostic ratios close to those of LINERs/Seyferts. This indicates thatsome transition nuclei are truly composite Seyfert/LINER+H II regionnuclei, with the radio core power depending on the strength of theformer component. The core radio power is correlated with the nuclearoptical broad'' Hα luminosity, the nuclear optical narrow''emission-line luminosity and width, and with the galaxy luminosity. Inthese correlations LLAGNs fall close to the low-luminosityextrapolations of more powerful AGNs. The scalings suggest that many ofthe radio-non-detected LLAGNs are simply lower power versions of theradio-detected LLAGNs. The ratio of core radio power to nuclear opticalemission-line luminosity increases with increasing bulge luminosity forall LLAGNs. Also, there is evidence that the luminosity of the diskcomponent of the galaxy is correlated with the nuclear emission-lineluminosity (but not the core radio power). About half of all LLAGNs withmultiple epoch data show significant inter-year radio variability.Investigation of a sample of ~ 150 nearby bright galaxies, most of themLLAGNs, shows that the nuclear (<=150 mas size) radio power isstrongly correlated with both the black hole mass and the galaxy bulgeluminosity; linear regression fits to all ~ 150 galaxies give: logP2 cm = 1.31(+/-0.16) log {MMDO} + 8.77 and logP2 cm = 1.89(+/-0.21) log LB(bulge) -0.17. Lowaccretion rates (<=10-2-10-3 of the Eddingtonrate) are implied in both advection- and jet-type models. In brief, allevidence points towards the presence of accreting massive black holes ina large fraction, perhaps all, of LLAGNs, with the nuclear radioemission originating in either the accretion inflow onto the massiveblack hole or from jets launched by this black hole-accretion disksystem. Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II. Observations with the OHP and Calar Alto 1.2 m telescopesWe present Hα line imaging observations of 122 galaxies obtainedwith the 1.20 m telescopes of the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP)and of Calar Alto. The observed galaxies are mostly Virgo clustermembers (95), along with 10 objects in the Coma/A1367 supercluster, 6 inthe clusters A2197 and A2199, and 11 nearby galaxies taken as fillers.Hα +[NII] fluxes and equivalent widths, as well as images of allthe detected targets, are presented. Based on observations taken at theObservatoire de Haute Provence (OHP) (France), operated by the FrenchCNRS, and Calar Alto Observatory (Spain), operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy. Figure 1 is only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org A Chemically Decoupled Nucleus and Structure of the Nuclear Region in the S0 Galaxy NGC4036We present the results of a comprehensive spectrophotometric study ofthe central region in the regular lenticular galaxy NGC4036 with twospectrographs of the 6-m telescope. The unresolved nucleus of NGC4036 isshown to be chemically decoupled: [Mg/Fe] = +0.3 at the very center,whereas in the immediate vicinity of its nucleus, this ratio abruptlydrops to +0.1 and does not change further along the radius. A study ofisophotal morphology in combination with a kinematic analysis has proventhat the rotation of stars at the NGC4036 center is axisymmetric.However, the major-axis turn within R < 5" should be considered real.We interpret this turn as evidence for the existence of a tiltedcircumnuclear stellar disk with a radius of ~250 pc in NGC4036. TheNGC4036 bulge may be triaxial, and the ionized gas at the galacticcenter is then concentrated toward the principal plane of theellipsoidal potential. An Atlas of Hα and R Images and Radial Profiles of 63 Bright Virgo Cluster Spiral GalaxiesNarrowband Hα and broadband R images and radial profiles arepresented for 63 bright spiral galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. The sampleis complete for Sb-Scd galaxies with B0T<=12and inclination <=75°. Isophotal radii, disk scale lengths,concentration parameters, and integrated fluxes are derived for thesample galaxies.
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