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Hubble Space Telescope STIS Spectra of Nuclear Star Clusters in Spiral Galaxies: Dependence of Age and Mass on Hubble Type
We study the nuclear star clusters (NCs) in spiral galaxies of variousHubble types using spectra obtained with the STIS on board the HubbleSpace Telescope (HST). We observed the nuclear clusters in 40 galaxies,selected from two previous HST WFPC2 imaging surveys. At a spatialresolution of ~0.2" the spectra provide a better separation of clusterlight from underlying galaxy light than is possible with ground-basedspectra. Approximately half of the spectra have a sufficiently highsignal-to-noise ratio for detailed stellar population analysis. For theother half we only measure the continuum slope, as quantified by the B-Vcolor. To infer the star formation history, metallicity, and dustextinction, we fit weighted superpositions of single-age stellarpopulation templates to the high signal-to-noise ratio spectra. We usethe results to determine the luminosity-weighted age, mass-to-lightratio, and masses of the clusters. Approximately half of the sampleclusters contain a population younger than 1 Gyr. Theluminosity-weighted ages range from 10 Myr to 10 Gyr. The stellarpopulations of NCs are generally best fit as a mixture of populations ofdifferent ages. This indicates that NCs did not form in a single event,but that instead they had additional star formation long after theoldest stars formed. On average, the sample clusters in late-typespirals have a younger luminosity-weighted mean age than those inearly-type spirals (L=8.37+/-0.25 vs.9.23+/-0.21). The average mass-weighted ages are older by ~0.7 dex,indicating that there often is an underlying older population that doesnot contribute much light but does contain most of the mass. The averagecluster masses are smaller in late-type spirals than in early-typespirals (logM=6.25+/-0.21 vs. 7.63+/-0.24) and exceed the masses typicalof globular clusters. The cluster mass correlates loosely with totalgalaxy luminosity. It correlates more strongly with both the Hubble typeof the host galaxy and the luminosity of its bulge. The lattercorrelation has the same slope as the well-known correlation betweensupermassive black hole mass and bulge luminosity. The properties ofboth nuclear clusters and black holes in the centers of spiral galaxiesare therefore intimately connected to the properties of the host galaxy,and in particular its bulge component. Plausible formation scenarioshave to account for this. We discuss various possible selection biasesin our results, but conclude that none of them can explain thedifferences seen between clusters in early- and late-type spirals. Theinability to infer spectroscopically the populations of faint clustersdoes introduce a bias toward younger ages, but not necessarily towardhigher masses.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained from the Data Archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute,which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research inAstronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. These observations areassociated with proposals 9070 and 9783.
| A Comparison of Hα and Stellar Scale Lengths in Virgo and Field Spirals
The scale lengths of the old stars and ionized gas distributions arecompared for similar samples of Virgo Cluster members and field spiralgalaxies via Hα and broad R-band surface photometry. While theR-band and Hα scale lengths are, on average, comparable for thecombined sample, we find significant differences between the field andcluster samples. While the Hα scale lengths of the field galaxiesare a factor of 1.14+/-0.07 longer, on average, than their R-band scalelengths, the Hα scale lengths of Virgo Cluster members are, onaverage, 20% smaller than their R-band scale lengths. Furthermore, inVirgo, the scale length ratios are correlated with the size of thestar-forming disk: galaxies with smaller overall Hα extents alsoshow steeper radial falloff of star formation activity. At the sametime, we find no strong trends in scale length ratio as a function ofother galaxy properties, including galaxy luminosity, inclination,morphological type, central R-band light concentration, or bar type. Ourresults for Hα emission are similar to other results for dustemission, suggesting that Hα and dust have similar distributions.The environmental dependence of the Hα scale length placesadditional constraints on the evolutionary process(es) that cause gasdepletion and a suppression of the star formation rate in clusters ofgalaxies.
| Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Nearby Galaxies from ROSAT High Resolution Imager Observations I. Data Analysis
X-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.
| Completing H I observations of galaxies in the Virgo cluster
High 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
| Hα Morphologies and Environmental Effects in Virgo Cluster Spiral Galaxies
We describe the various Hα morphologies of Virgo Cluster andisolated spiral galaxies and associate the Hα morphologies withthe types of environmental interactions that have altered the clustergalaxies. The spatial distributions of Hα and R-band emission areused to divide the star formation morphologies of the 52 Virgo Clusterspiral galaxies into several categories: normal (37%), anemic (6%),enhanced (6%), and (spatially) truncated (52%). Truncated galaxies arefurther subdivided on the basis of their inner star formation rates intotruncated/normal (37%), truncated/compact (6%), truncated/anemic (8%),and truncated/enhanced (2%). The fraction of anemic galaxies isrelatively small (6%-13%) in both environments, suggesting thatstarvation is not a major factor in the reduced star formation rates ofVirgo spiral galaxies. The majority of Virgo spiral galaxies have theirHα disks truncated (52%), whereas truncated Hα disks arerarer in isolated galaxies (12%). Most of the Hα-truncatedgalaxies have relatively undisturbed stellar disks and normal toslightly enhanced inner disk star formation rates, suggesting thatintracluster medium-interstellar medium (ICM-ISM) stripping is the mainmechanism causing the reduced star formation rates of Virgo spiralgalaxies. Several of the truncated galaxies are peculiar, with enhancedcentral star formation rates, disturbed stellar disks, and barlikedistributions of luminous H II complexes inside the central 1 kpc but nostar formation beyond, suggesting that recent tidal interactions orminor mergers have also influenced their morphology. Two highly inclinedHα-truncated spiral galaxies have numerous extraplanar H IIregions and are likely in an active phase of ICM-ISM stripping. Severalspiral galaxies have one-sided Hα enhancements at the outer edgeof their truncated Hα disks, suggesting modest local enhancementsin their star formation rates due to ICM-ISM interactions. Low-velocitytidal interactions and perhaps outer cluster H I accretion seem to bethe triggers for enhanced global star formation in four Virgo galaxies.These results indicate that most Virgo spiral galaxies experienceICM-ISM stripping, many experience significant tidal effects, and manyexperience both.
| A Hubble Space Telescope Census of Nuclear Star Clusters in Late-Type Spiral Galaxies. II. Cluster Sizes and Structural Parameter Correlations
We investigate the structural properties of nuclear star clusters inlate-type spiral galaxies. More specifically, we fit analytical modelsto Hubble Space Telescope images of 39 nuclear clusters in order todetermine their effective radii after correction for the instrumentalpoint-spread function. We use the results of this analysis to comparethe luminosities and sizes of nuclear star clusters to those of otherellipsoidal stellar systems, in particular the Milky Way globularclusters. Our nuclear clusters have a median effective radius ofre=3.5 pc, with 50% of the sample falling in the range2.4pc<=re<=5.0pc. This narrow size distribution isstatistically indistinguishable from that of Galactic globular clusters,even though the nuclear clusters are, on average, 4 mag brighter thanthe old globular clusters. We discuss some possible interpretations ofthis result. From a comparison of nuclear cluster luminosities withvarious properties of their host galaxies, we confirm that more luminousgalaxies harbor more luminous nuclear clusters. It remains unclearwhether this correlation mainly reflects the influence of galaxy size,mass, and/or star formation rate. Since the brighter galaxies in oursample typically have stellar disks with a higher central surfacebrightness, nuclear cluster luminosity also correlates with thisproperty of their hosts. On the other hand, we find no evidence for acorrelation between the presence of a nuclear star cluster and thepresence of a large-scale stellar bar.
| Tracing the star formation history of cluster galaxies using the Hα/UV flux ratio
Since the Hα and UV fluxes from galaxies are sensitive to stellarpopulations of ages <107 and ≈ 108 yrrespectively, their ratio f(Hα)/f(UV) provides us with a tool tostudy the recent t ≤ 108 yr star formation history ofgalaxies, an exercise that we present here applied to 98 galaxies in 4nearby clusters (Virgo, Coma, Abell 1367 and Cancer). The observedf(Hα)/f(UV) ratio is a factor of two smaller than theexpected one as determined from population synthesis models assuming arealistic delayed, exponentially declining star formation history. Wediscuss various mechanisms that may have affected the observedf(Hα)/f(UV) ratio and we propose that the above discrepancy arisesfrom either the absorption of Lyman continuum photons by dust within thestar formation regions or from the occurrence of star formationepisodes. After splitting our sample into different subsamples accordingto evolutionary criteria we find that our reference sample of galaxiesunaffected by the cluster environment show an average value off(Hα)/f(UV) two times lower than the expected one. We argue thatthis difference must be mostly due to absorption of ≈45% of the Lymancontinuum photons within star forming regions. Galaxies with clear signsof an ongoing interaction show average values of f(Hα)/f(UV)slightly higher than the reference value, as expected if those objectshad SFR increased by a factor of ≃4. The accuracy of the currentUV and Hα photometry is not yet sufficient to clearly disentanglethe effect of interactions on the f(Hα)/f(UV) ratio, butsignificant observational improvements are shortly expected to resultfrom the GALEX mission.Tables 1-3 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| UV and FIR selected samples of galaxies in the local Universe. Dust extinction and star formation rates
We have built two samples of galaxies selected at 0.2 μm (hereafterUV) and 60 μm (hereafter FIR) covering a sky area of 35.36deg2. The UV selected sample contains 25 galaxies brighterthan AB0.2=17. All of them, but one elliptical, are detectedat 60 μm with a flux density larger or equal to 0.2 Jy. The UV countsare significantly lower than the Euclidean extrapolation towardsbrighter fluxes of previous determinations. The FIR selected samplecontains 42 galaxies brighter than f60=0.6 Jy. Except fourgalaxies, all of them have a UV counterpart at the limiting magnitudeAB0.2=20.3 mag. The mean extinction derived from the analysisof the FIR to UV flux ratio is 1 mag for the UV selected sample and2 mag for the FIR selected one. For each sample we compare severalindicators of the recent star formation rate (SFR) based on the FIRand/or the UV emissions. We find linear relationships with slopes closeto unity between the different SFR indicator, which means that, over thewhole converting offset. Various absolute calibrations for both samplesare discussed in this paper. A positive correlation between extinctionand SFR is found when both samples are considered together although witha considerable scatter. A similar result is obtained when using the SFRnormalized to the optical surface of the galaxies.Tables 3, 4 and Fig. 1 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Spectrophotometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II. The data
Drift-scan mode (3600-6800 Å) spectra with 500
| X-Ray Emission from a Sample of Young Supernovae
When a massive star produces a powerful stellar wind prior to itssupernova event, theory predicts that the collision of the explodedstellar ejecta with the wind leads to a reverse shock, creating softX-ray emission. To understand the frequency at which luminous youngX-ray supernovae occur, we used ROSAT to observe a complete sample ofnearby supernovae (vhelio<1700 km s-1) thatoccurred in the period 1985.5 through 1994.3, which included eight TypeIa supernovae and 19 Type Ib and Type II events. Three supernovae aredetected in this time frame, SN 1987A (LMC), SN 1993J (NGC 3031), and apreviously unreported source, SN 1992ad, a Type II supernova in NGC4411b. No supernova had 0.5-2 keV luminosities exceeding2×1039 ergs s-1, so at the 95% confidencelevel, the probability of an individual supernova exceeding thisluminosity limit is less than 12%. Two of these supernovae hadluminosities brighter than 6×1038 ergs s-1and at the 95% confidence level, the probability of a supernova beingdetected above this luminosity is in the range 8.7%-51%. It is unlikelyfor young supernovae to be a large component of the IntermediateLuminosity X-Ray Object (IXO or ULX) class, where the luminosity exceeds2×1039 ergs s-1. The rate of successfuldetections appears to increase for sensitivities in the 1037ergs s-1 range, especially when obtained close to the time ofthe event.
| Companions of Bright Barred Shapley-Ames Galaxies
Companion galaxy environment for a subset of 78 bright and nearby barredgalaxies from the Shapley-Ames Catalog is presented. Among the spiralbarred galaxies, there are Seyfert galaxies, galaxies with circumnuclearstructures, galaxies not associated with any large-scale galaxy cloudstructure, galaxies with peculiar disk morphology (crooked arms), andgalaxies with normal disk morphology; the list includes all Hubbletypes. The companion galaxy list includes the number of companiongalaxies within 20 diameters, their Hubble type, and projectedseparation distance. In addition, the companion environment was searchedfor four known active spiral galaxies, three of them are Seyfertgalaxies, namely, NGC 1068, NGC 1097, and NGC 5548, and one is astarburst galaxy, M82. Among the results obtained, it is noted that theonly spiral barred galaxy classified as Seyfert 1 in our list has nocompanions within a projected distance of 20 diameters; six out of 10Seyfert 2 bar galaxies have no companions within 10 diameters, six outof 10 Seyfert 2 galaxies have one or more companions at projectedseparation distances between 10 and 20 diameters; six out of 12 galaxieswith circumnuclear structures have two or more companions within 20diameters.
| Molecular gas in the central regions of the latest-type spiral galaxies
Using the IRAM 30 >m telescope, we have surveyed an unbiased sampleof 47 nearby spiral galaxies of very late (Scd-Sm) Hubble-type foremission in the 12CO(1-0) and (2-1) lines. The sensitivity ofour data (a few mK) allows detection of about 60% of our sample in atleast one of the CO lines. The median detected H2 mass is1.4x 107 >msun within the central few kpc, assuming astandard conversion factor. We use the measured line intensities tocomplement existing studies of the molecular gas content of spiralgalaxies as a function of Hubble-type and to significantly improve thestatistical significance of such studies at the late end of the spiralsequence. We find that the latest-type spirals closely follow thecorrelation between molecular gas content and galaxy luminosityestablished for earlier Hubble types. The molecular gas in late-typegalaxies seems to be less centrally concentrated than in earlier types.We use Hubble Space Telescope optical images to correlate the moleculargas mass to the properties of the central galaxy disk and the compactstar cluster that occupies the nucleus of most late-type spirals. Thereis no clear correlation between the luminosity of the nuclear starcluster and the molecular gas mass, although the CO detection rate ishighest for the brightest clusters. It appears that the central surfacebrightness of the stellar disk is an important parameter for the amountof molecular gas at the galaxy center. Whether stellar bars play acritical role for the gas dynamics remains unclear, in part because ofuncertainties in the morphological classifications of our sample.
| The Three-dimensional Structure of the Virgo Cluster Region from Tully-Fisher and H I Data
The 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.
| The UZC-SSRS2 Group Catalog
We 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.
| Narrow Lines in Type II Supernovae: Probing the Circumstellar Nebulae of the Progenitors
We have carried out a high-dispersion (R~30,000) echelle spectroscopicsurvey of 16 Type II supernovae (SNe) to search for narrow emissionlines from circumstellar nebulae ejected by their massive progenitors.Circumstellar nebulae, if detected, provide invaluable opportunities toprobe SN progenitors. Of the 16 SNe observed, SN ejecta are clearlydetected in four SNe and possibly in another two SNe, interstellar gasis detected in 12 SNe, and circumstellar material is detected only in SN1978K and SN 1998S. In the case of SN 1978K, we are able to place anupper limit of ~2.2 pc for the size of the circumstellar ejecta nebulaand note that this is more consistent with the typical sizes observedfor ejecta nebulae around luminous blue variables, rather thanWolf-Rayet stars. In the case of SN 1998S, our observations of thenarrow lines ~1 yr after the SN explosion show variations compared toearly epochs. The nebular lines we observe from SN 1998S eitheroriginate from the low-density outer region of a circumstellar nebula orhave become dominated by an interstellar component.
| A Hubble Space Telescope Census of Nuclear Star Clusters in Late-Type Spiral Galaxies. I. Observations and Image Analysis
We present new Hubble Space Telescope I-band images of a sample of 77nearby late-type spiral galaxies with low inclination. The main purposeof this catalog is to study the frequency and properties of nuclear starclusters. In 59 galaxies of our sample, we have identified a distinct,compact (but resolved), and dominant source at or very close to thephotocenter. In many cases, these clusters are the only prominent sourcewithin a few kiloparsecs from the galaxy nucleus. We present surfacebrightness profiles, derived from elliptical isophote fits, of allgalaxies for which the fit was successful. We use the fitted isophotesat radii larger than 2" to check whether the location of the clustercoincides with the photocenter of the galaxy and confirm that in nearlyall cases, we are truly dealing with ``nuclear'' star clusters. Fromanalytical fits to the surface brightness profiles, we derive thecluster luminosities after subtraction of the light contribution fromthe underlying galaxy disk and/or bulge. Based on observations made withthe NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space TelescopeScience Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. Theseobservations are associated with proposal 8599.
| Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. IV. The current star formation in nearby clusters of galaxies
Hα +[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, or``birthrate'' 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 gas``healthy'' (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
| Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II. Observations with the OHP and Calar Alto 1.2 m telescopes
We 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
| Molecular gas in normal late-type galaxies
We present 12CO(J=1-0) line observations of 22 low-luminosityspiral galaxies in the Virgo cluster. These data, together with 244others available in the literature, allow us to build a large samplethat we use to study the molecular gas properties of galaxies spanning alarge range of morphological types and luminosities and belonging todifferent environments (clusters - field). The molecular gas content ofthe target galaxies is estimated using a luminosity-dependent X =N(H_2)/I(CO) conversion factor that has been calibrated on a sample ofnearby galaxies. X spans from ~ 1020 mol cm-2 (Kkm s-1)-1 in giant spirals to ~ 1021mol cm-2 (K km s-1)-1 in dwarfirregulars. The value of the X conversion factor is found consistentwith a value derived independently from dust masses estimated from FIRfluxes, with a metallicity-dependent dust to gas ratio. Therelationships between X and the UV radiation field (as traced by theHα +[NII]EW), the metallicity and the H band luminosity areanalysed. We show that the molecular gas contained in molecular cloudsor complexes is of the order of 15% of the total gas on average whateverthe luminosity or the Hubble type of the galaxies. We discuss therelation between the star formation rate and the molecular gas contentand estimate the average star formation efficiency of late-typegalaxies. Based on observations made with the 12-m National RadioAstronomical Observatory, Kitt Peak, Arizona.
| Supernovae in isolated galaxies, in pairs and in groups of galaxies
In order to investigate the influence of environment on supernova (SN)production, we have performed a statistical investigation of the SNediscovered in isolated galaxies, in pairs and in groups of galaxies. 22SNe in 18 isolated galaxies, 48 SNe in 40 galaxy members of 37 pairs and211 SNe in 170 galaxy members of 116 groups have been selected andstudied. We found that the radial distributions of core-collapse SNe ingalaxies located in different environments are similar, and consistentwith those reported by Bartunov, Makarova & Tsvetkov. SNe discoveredin pairs do not favour a particular direction with respect to thecompanion galaxy. Also, the azimuthal distributions inside the hostmembers of galaxy groups are consistent with being isotropics. The factthat SNe are more frequent in the brighter components of the pairs andgroups is expected from the dependence of the SN rates on the galaxyluminosity. There is an indication that the SN rate is higher in galaxypairs compared with that in groups. This can be related to the enhancedstar formation rate in strongly interacting systems. It is concludedthat, with the possible exception of strongly interacting systems, theparent galaxy environment has no direct influence on SN production.
| An Atlas of Hα and R Images and Radial Profiles of 63 Bright Virgo Cluster Spiral Galaxies
Narrowband 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.
| 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.
| Interstellar Gas in the NGC 4410 Galaxy Group
We present new radio continuum, 21 cm H I, and 2.6 mm CO data for thepeculiar radio galaxy NGC 4410A and its companion NGC 4410B and comparewith available optical and X-ray maps. Our radio continuum maps show anasymmetric double-lobed structure, with a high surface brightness lobeextending 3.6′ (~100 kpc) to the southeast and a 6.2′(~180 kpc) low surface brightness feature in the northwest. Moleculargas is abundant in NGC 4410A, withMH2~4×109 Msolar(using the standard Galactic conversion factor) but is undetected in NGC4410B. H I is less abundant, with MHI~109Msolar for the pair. Our H I map shows a3×108 Msolar H I tail extending 1.7′(50 kpc) to the southeast of the pair, coincident with a faint opticaltail and partially overlapping with the southeastern radio lobe. The H Itail is anticoincident with a 2' (56 kpc) long X-ray structure alignedwith a stellar bridge that connects the pair to a third galaxy. If thisX-ray emission is associated with the group, we infer(3-8)×108 Msolar of hot gas in this feature.This may be either intracluster gas or shocked gas associated with thebridge. Our detection of abundant interstellar gas in this pair,including an H I-rich tidal tail near the southeastern radio lobe,suggests that the observed distortions in this lobe may have been causedby the interstellar medium in this system. The gravitational interactionof the two galaxies and the subsequent motion of the interstellar mediumin the system relative to the jet may have produced sufficient rampressure to bend and distort the radio jet. An alternative hypothesis isthat the jet was distorted by ram pressure due to an intraclustermedium, although the small radial velocity of NGC 4410A relative to thegroup and the lack of diffuse X-ray emission in the group makes thisless likely unless the group is not virialized or is in the process ofmerging with another group. Using our VLA data, we also searched for H Icounterparts to the other 10 known members of the NGC 4410 group and COfrom three other galaxies in the inner group. In our velocity range of6690-7850 km s-1, we detected six other galaxies above our HI sensitivity limits of 2×108 Msolar for theinner group and 4×108 Msolar for the outergroup. The total H I in the group is 1.4×1010Msolar, 80% of which arises from four galaxies in the outergroup. Three of these galaxies (VCC 822, VCC 831, and VCC 847) arespirals with MHI/LB ratios typical of fieldgalaxies, while FGC 170A appears to be a gas-rich dwarf galaxy(MB~-18, MHI~3×109Msolar). In the inner group, the SBa galaxy NGC 4410D (VCC934) was detected in H I and CO (MHI~5×108Msolar and MH2~8×108Msolar) and has a 1' (28 kpc) long H I tail that pointstoward the nearby disk galaxy NGC 4410F. NGC 4410F was also detected inH I (MHI~4×108 Msolar). Thegalaxies in the inner group appear to be somewhat deficient in H Icompared to their blue luminosities, suggesting phase changes driven bygalaxy-galaxy or galaxy-intracluster medium encounters.
| 1.65 ^mum (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. IV. observations of 170 galaxies with the Calar Alto 2.2 m telescope
We present near-infrared (H band) surface photometry of 170 galaxies,obtained in 1997 using the Calar Alto 2.2 m telescope equipped with theNICMOS3 camera MAGIC. The majority of our targets are selected amongbright members of the Virgo cluster, however galaxies in the A262 andCancer clusters and in the Coma/A1367 supercluster are also included.This data set is aimed at complementing the NIR survey in the Virgocluster discussed in \cite[Boselli et al. (1997)]{B97} and in the ComaSupercluster, presented in Papers I, II and III of this series.Magnitudes at the optical radius, total magnitudes, isophotal radii andlight concentration indices are derivedTables 1 and 2 (full version) are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html.Based on observations taken at the Calar Alto Observatory, operated bythe Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly withthe Spanish National Commission for Astronomy.
| 1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. V. Profile decomposition of 1157 galaxies
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm) surface brightness profiledecomposition for 1157 galaxies in five nearby clusters of galaxies:Coma, A1367, Virgo, A262 and Cancer, and in the bridge between Coma andA1367 in the ``Great Wall". The optically selected (mpg≤16.0) sample is representative of all Hubble types, from E to Irr+BCD,except dE and of significantly different environments, spanning fromisolated regions to rich clusters of galaxies. We model the surfacebrightness profiles with a de Vaucouleurs r1/4 law (dV), withan exponential disk law (E), or with a combination of the two (B+D).From the fitted quantities we derive the H band effective surfacebrightness (μe) and radius (re) of each component, theasymptotic magnitude HT and the light concentration indexC31. We find that: i) Less than 50% of the Ellipticalgalaxies have pure dV profiles. The majority of E to Sb galaxies is bestrepresented by a B+D profile. All Scd to BCD galaxies have pureexponential profiles. ii) The type of decomposition is a strong functionof the total H band luminosity (mass), independent of the Hubbleclassification: the fraction of pure exponential decompositionsdecreases with increasing luminosity, that of B+D increases withluminosity. Pure dV profiles are absent in the low luminosity rangeLH<1010 L\odot and become dominantabove 1011 L\odot . Based on observations taken atTIRGO, Gornergrat, Switzerland (operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy) and at the Calar Alto Observatory (operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy). Table 2 and Figs. 2, 3, 4are available in their entirety only in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Arcsecond Positions of UGC Galaxies
We present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.
| Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
Not Available
| The Star Formation Properties of Disk Galaxies: Hα Imaging of Galaxies in the Coma Supercluster
We present integrated Hα measurements obtained from imagingobservations of 98 late-type galaxies, primarily selected in the Comasupercluster. These data, combined with Hα photometry from theliterature, include a magnitude-selected sample of spiral (Sa to Irr)galaxies belonging to the ``Great Wall'' complete up to m_p = 15.4, andthus composed of galaxies brighter than M_p = -18.8 (H_0 = 100 km s^-1Mpc^-1). The frequency distribution of the Hα equivalent width,determined for the first time from an optically complete sample, isapproximately Gaussian, peaking at EW ~ 25 Å. We find that, at thepresent limiting luminosity, the star formation properties of spiral +Irr galaxy members of the Coma and A1367 Clusters do not differsignificantly from those of the isolated ones belonging to the GreatWall. The present analysis confirms the well-known increase of thecurrent massive star formation rate (SFR) with Hubble type. Moreover,perhaps a more fundamental anticorrelation exists between the SFR andthe mass of disk galaxies: low-mass spirals and dwarf systems havepresent SFRs ~50 times higher than giant spirals. This result isconsistent with the idea that disk galaxies are coeval, evolving as``closed systems'' with exponentially declining SFR, and that the massof their progenitor protogalaxies is the principal parameter governingtheir evolution. Massive systems having high initial efficiency ofcollapse, or a short collapse timescale, have retained little gas tofeed the present epoch of star formation. These findings support theconclusions of Gavazzi & Scodeggio, who studied the color-massrelation of a local galaxy sample, and agree with the analysis by Cowieet al., who traced the star formation history of galaxies up to z >1. Based on observations made at the Observatorio AstronómicoNacional (OAN), San Pedro Mártir, B.C., of the UniversidadNacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
| Catalogue of HI maps of galaxies. I.
A catalogue is presented of galaxies having large-scale observations inthe HI line. This catalogue collects from the literature the informationthat characterizes the observations in the 21-cm line and the way thatthese data were presented by means of maps, graphics and tables, forshowing the distribution and kinematics of the gas. It containsfurthermore a measure of the HI extension that is detected at the levelof the maximum sensitivity reached in the observations. This catalogueis intended as a guide for references on the HI maps published in theliterature from 1953 to 1995 and is the basis for the analysis of thedata presented in Paper II. The catalogue is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 orhttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
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