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Late-type galaxies observed with SAURON: two-dimensional stellar and emission-line kinematics of 18 spirals
We present the stellar and gas kinematics of a sample of 18 nearbylate-type spiral galaxies (Hubble types ranging from Sb to Sd), observedwith the integral-field spectrograph SAURON at the 4.2-m WilliamHerschel Telescope. SAURON covers the spectral range 4800-5380Å,allowing us to measure the Hβ, Fe, Mgb absorption features and theemission in the Hβ line and the [OIII]λλ4959,5007Å and [NI]λλ5198, 5200Å doublets over a 33× 41-arcsec2 field of view. The maps cover the nuclearregion of these late-type galaxies and in all cases include the entirebulge. In many cases the stellar kinematics suggests the presence of acold inner region, as visible from a central drop in the stellarvelocity dispersion. The ionized gas is almost ubiquitous and behaves ina complicated fashion: the gas velocity fields often display morefeatures than the stellar ones, including wiggles in the zero-velocitylines, irregular distributions, ring-like structures. The line ratio[OIII]/Hβ often takes on low values over most of the field,probably indicating a wide-spread star formation.
| The Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies. I. Description and Initial Results
We introduce the Survey for Ionization in Neutral Gas Galaxies (SINGG),a census of star formation in H I-selected galaxies. The survey consistsof Hα and R-band imaging of a sample of 468 galaxies selected fromthe H I Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS). The sample spans three decadesin H I mass and is free of many of the biases that affect otherstar-forming galaxy samples. We present the criteria for sampleselection, list the entire sample, discuss our observational techniques,and describe the data reduction and calibration methods. This paperfocuses on 93 SINGG targets whose observations have been fully reducedand analyzed to date. The majority of these show a single emission linegalaxy (ELG). We see multiple ELGs in 13 fields, with up to four ELGs ina single field. All of the targets in this sample are detected inHα, indicating that dormant (non-star-forming) galaxies withMHI>~3×107 Msolar are veryrare. A database of the measured global properties of the ELGs ispresented. The ELG sample spans 4 orders of magnitude in luminosity(Hα and R band), and Hα surface brightness, nearly 3 ordersof magnitude in R surface brightness and nearly 2 orders of magnitude inHα equivalent width (EW). The surface brightness distribution ofour sample is broader than that of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)spectroscopic sample, the EW distribution is broader than prism-selectedsamples, and the morphologies found include all common types ofstar-forming galaxies (e.g., irregular, spiral, blue compact dwarf,starbursts, merging and colliding systems, and even residual starformation in S0 and Sa spirals). Thus, SINGG presents a superior censusof star formation in the local universe suitable for further studiesranging from the analysis of H II regions to determination of the localcosmic star formation rate density.
| The structure of galactic disks. Studying late-type spiral galaxies using SDSS
Using imaging data from the SDSS survey, we present the g' and r' radialstellar light distribution of a complete sample of ~90 face-on tointermediate inclined, nearby, late-type (Sb-Sdm) spiral galaxies. Thesurface brightness profiles are reliable (1 σ uncertainty lessthan 0.2 mag) down to μ27 mag/''. Only ~10% of all galaxies havea normal/standard purely exponential disk down to our noise limit. Thesurface brightness distribution of the rest of the galaxies is betterdescribed as a broken exponential. About 60% of the galaxies have abreak in the exponential profile between 1.5-4.5 times thescalelength followed by a downbending, steeper outer region. Another~30% shows also a clear break between 4.0-6.0 times thescalelength but followed by an upbending, shallower outer region. A fewgalaxies have even a more complex surface brightness distribution. Theshape of the profiles correlates with Hubble type. Downbending breaksare more frequent in later Hubble types while the fraction of upbendingbreaks rises towards earlier types. No clear relation is found betweenthe environment, as characterised by the number of neighbours, and theshape of the profiles of the galaxies.
| Toward a clean sample of ultra-luminous X-ray sources
Context: .Observational follow-up programmes for the characterization ofultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs) require the construction of cleansamples of such sources in which the contamination byforeground/background sources is minimum. Aims: .We calculate thedegree of foreground/background contaminants among the ULX samplecandidates in a published catalogue and compare these computations withavailable spectroscopic identifications. Methods: .We usestatistics based on known densities of X-ray sources and AGN/QSOsselected in the optical. The analysis is done individually for eachparent galaxy. The existing identifications of the optical counterpartsare compiled from the literature. Results: .More than a half ofthe ULXs, within twice the distance of the major axis of the 25mag/arcsec2 isophote from RC3 nearby galaxies and with X-rayluminosities L_X[ 2-10 keV] ≥ 1039 erg/s, are expected tobe high redshift background QSOs. A list of 25 objects (clean sample)confirmed to be real ULXs or to have a low probability of beingcontaminant foreground/background objects is provided.
| Dynamical mass estimates for two luminous star clusters in galactic merger remnants
We present high-dispersion spectra of two extremely massive starclusters in galactic merger remnants, obtained using the UVESspectrograph mounted on the ESO Very Large Telescope. One cluster, W30,is located in the ~500 Myr old merger remnant NGC 7252 and has avelocity dispersion and effective radius of σ=27.5±2.5 kms-1 and Reff=9.3±1.7 pc, respectively. Theother cluster, G114, located in the ~3 Gyr old merger remnant NGC 1316,is much more compact, Reff=4.08±0.55 pc, and has avelocity dispersion of σ=42.1±2.8 km s-1. Thesemeasurements allow an estimate of the virial mass of the two clusters,yielding Mdyn(W30)=1.59(±0.26)× 10^7Mȯ and Mdyn(G114)=1.64(±0.13)×10^7 Mȯ. Both clusters are extremely massive, being morethan three times heavier than the most massive globular clusters in theGalaxy. For both clusters we measure light-to-mass ratios, which whencompared to simple stellar population (SSP) models of the appropriateage, are consistent with a Kroupa-type stellar mass function. Usingmeasurements from the literature we find a strong age dependence on howwell SSP models (with underlying Kroupa or Salpeter-type stellar massfunctions) fit the light-to-mass ratio of clusters. Based on this resultwe suggest that the large scatter in the light-to-mass ratio of theyoungest clusters is not due to variations in the underlying stellarmass function, but instead to the rapidly changing internal dynamics ofyoung clusters. Based on sampling statistics we argue that while W30 andG114 are extremely massive, they are consistent with being the mostmassive clusters formed in a continuous power-law cluster massdistribution. Finally, based on the positions of old globular clusters,young massive clusters (YMCs), ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) anddwarf-globular transition objects (DGTOs) in κ-space we concludethat 1) UCDs and DGTOs are consistent with the high mass end of starclusters and 2) YMCs occupy a much larger parameter space than oldglobular clusters, consistent with the idea of preferential disruptionof star clusters.
| Massive star formation in the central regions of spiral galaxies
Context: . The morphology of massive star formation in the centralregions of galaxies is an important tracer of the dynamical processesthat govern the evolution of disk, bulge, and nuclear activity. Aims. Wepresent optical imaging of the central regions of a sample of 73 spiralgalaxies in the Hα line and in optical broad bands, and deriveinformation on the morphology of massive star formation. Methods. Weobtained images with the William Herschel Telescope, mostly at a spatialresolution of below one second of arc. For most galaxies, no Hαimaging is available in the literature. We outline the observing anddata reduction procedures, list basic properties, and present the I-bandand continuum-subtracted Hα images. We classify the morphology ofthe nuclear and circumnuclear Hα emission and explore trends withhost galaxy parameters. Results. We confirm that late-type galaxies havea patchy circumnuclear appearance in Hα, and that nuclear ringsoccur primarily in spiral types Sa-Sbc. We identify a number ofpreviously unknown nuclear rings, and confirm that nuclear rings arepredominantly hosted by barred galaxies. Conclusions. Other than instimulating nuclear rings, bars do not influence the relative strengthof the nuclear Hα peak, nor the circumnuclear Hα morphology.Even considering that our selection criteria led to an over-abundance ofgalaxies with close massive companions, we do not find any significantinfluence of the presence or absence of a close companion on therelative strength of the nuclear Hα peak, nor on the Hαmorphology around the nucleus.
| From young massive star cluster to old globular: the LV-σ0 relationship as a diagnostic tool
We present a new analysis of the properties of the young massive starclusters (YMCs) forming profusely in intense starburst environments,which demonstrates that these objects are plausible progenitors of theold globular clusters (GCs) seen abundantly in the Local Group. Themethod is based on the tight relationship for old GCs between theirV-band luminosities, LV, and (central) velocity dispersions,σ0. We improve the significance of the relationship byincreasing the GC sample size and find that its functional form,LV/Lsolar~σ1.57+/-0.100(km s-1), is fully consistent with previous determinationsfor smaller Galactic and M31 GC samples. The tightness of therelationship for a GC sample drawn from environments as diverse as thosefound in the Local Group implies that its origin must be sought inintrinsic properties of the GC formation process itself. We evolve theluminosities of those YMCs in the local Universe which have velocitydispersion measurements to an age of 12 Gyr, adopting a variety ofinitial mass function (IMF) descriptions, and find that most YMCs willevolve to loci close to, or to slightly fainter luminosities than theimproved GC relationship. In the absence of significant externaldisturbances, this implies that these objects may potentially survive tobecome old GC-type objects over a Hubble time. The main advantage of ournew method is its simplicity. Whereas alternative methods, based ondynamical mass estimates, require one to obtain accurate size estimatesand to make further assumptions, the only observables required here arethe system's velocity dispersion and luminosity. The most importantfactor affecting the robustness of our conclusions is the adopted formof the IMF. We use the results of N-body simulations to confirm thatdynamical evolution of the clusters does not significantly alter ourconclusions about the likelihood of individual clusters surviving tolate times. Finally, we find that our youngest observed clusters areconsistent with having evolved from a relation of the form . Thisrelation may actually correspond to the origin of the GC fundamentalplane.
| 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.
| Masses of Star Clusters in the Nuclei of Bulgeless Spiral Galaxies
In the last decade star clusters have been found in the centers ofspiral galaxies across all Hubble types. We here present a spectroscopicstudy of the exceptionally bright (106-108Lsolar) but compact (re~5 pc) nuclear starclusters in very late type spirals with the Ultraviolet and VisualEchelle Spectrograph at the VLT. We find that the velocity dispersionsof the nine clusters in our sample range from 13 to 34 kms-1. Using photometric data from the Hubble Space TelescopeWFPC2 and spherically symmetric dynamical models, we determine massesbetween 8×105 and 6×107Msolar. The mass-to-light ratios range from 0.2 to 1.5 in theI band. This indicates a young mean age for most clusters, in agreementwith previous studies. Given their high masses and small sizes, we findthat nuclear clusters are among the objects with the highest meansurface density known (up to 105 Msolarpc-2). From their dynamical properties we infer that, ratherthan small bulges, the closest structural kin of nuclear clusters appearto be massive compact star clusters. This includes such differentobjects as globular clusters, ``super star clusters,'' ultracompactdwarf galaxies (UCDs), and the nuclei of dwarf elliptical galaxies. Itis a challenge to explain why, despite the widely different currentenvironments, all different types of massive star clusters share verysimilar and structural properties. A possible explanation links UCDs andmassive globular clusters to nuclear star clusters through stripping ofnucleated dwarf galaxies in a merger event. The extreme properties ofthis type of cluster would then be a consequence of the clusters'location in the centers of their respective host galaxies.
| The Distribution of Bar and Spiral Arm Strengths in Disk Galaxies
The 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.
| A catalogue of ultraluminous X-ray sources in external galaxies
We present a catalogue of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in externalgalaxies. The aim of this catalogue is to provide easy access to theproperties of ULXs, their possible counterparts at other wavelengths(optical, IR, and radio), and their host galaxies. The cataloguecontains 229 ULXs reported in the literature until April 2004. Most ULXsare stellar-mass-black hole X-ray binaries, but it is not excluded thatsome ULXs could be intermediate-mass black holes. A small fraction ofthe candidate ULXs may be background Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) andSupernova Remnants (SNRs). ULXs with luminosity above 1040ergs s-1 are found in both starburst galaxies and in thehalos of early-type galaxies.Table 1 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/429/1125
| Structure and star formation in disk galaxies. III. Nuclear and circumnuclear Hα emission
From Hα images of a carefully selected sample of 57 relativelylarge, Northern spiral galaxies with low inclination, we study thedistribution of the Hα emission in the circumnuclear and nuclearregions. At a resolution of around 100 parsec, we find that the nuclearHα emission in the sample galaxies is often peaked, andsignificantly more often so among AGN host galaxies. The circumnuclearHα emission, within a radius of two kpc, is often patchy inlate-type, and absent or in the form of a nuclear ring in early-typegalaxies. There is no clear correlation of nuclear or circumnuclearHα morphology with the presence or absence of a bar in the hostgalaxy, except for the nuclear rings which occur in barred hosts. Thepresence or absence of close bright companion galaxies does not affectthe circumnuclear Hα morphology, but their presence does correlatewith a higher fraction of nuclear Hα peaks. Nuclear rings occur inat least 21% (±5%) of spiral galaxies, and occur predominantly ingalaxies also hosting an AGN. Only two of our 12 nuclear rings occur ina galaxy which is neither an AGN nor a starburst host. We confirm thatweaker bars host larger nuclear rings. The implications of these resultson our understanding of the occurrence and morphology of massive starformation, as well as non-stellar activity, in the central regions ofgalaxies are discussed.
| Bar-induced perturbation strengths of the galaxies in the Ohio State University Bright Galaxy Survey - I
Bar-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.
| Companions to Isolated Elliptical Galaxies: Revisiting the Bothun-Sullivan Sample
We investigate the number of physical companion galaxies for a sample ofrelatively isolated elliptical galaxies. The NASA/IPAC ExtragalacticDatabase (NED) has been used to reinvestigate the incidence of satellitegalaxies for a sample of 34 elliptical galaxies, first investigated byBothun & Sullivan using a visual inspection of Palomar Sky Surveyprints out to a projected search radius of 75 kpc. We have repeatedtheir original investigation using data cataloged in NED. Nine of theseelliptical galaxies appear to be members of galaxy clusters; theremaining sample of 25 galaxies reveals an average of +1.0+/-0.5apparent companions per galaxy within a projected search radius of 75kpc, in excess of two equal-area comparison regions displaced by 150-300kpc. This is significantly larger than the +0.12+/-0.42companions/galaxy found by Bothun & Sullivan for the identicalsample. Making use of published radial velocities, mostly availablesince the completion of the Bothun-Sullivan study, identifies thephysical companions and gives a somewhat lower estimate of +0.4companions per elliptical galaxy. This is still 3 times larger than theoriginal statistical study, but given the incomplete and heterogeneousnature of the survey redshifts in NED, it still yields a firm lowerlimit on the number (and identity) of physical companions. An expansionof the search radius out to 300 kpc, again restricted to sampling onlythose objects with known redshifts in NED, gives another lower limit of4.5 physical companions per galaxy. (Excluding five elliptical galaxiesin the Fornax Cluster, this average drops to 3.5 companions perelliptical.) These physical companions are individually identified andlisted, and the ensemble-averaged radial density distribution of theseassociated galaxies is presented. For the ensemble, the radial densitydistribution is found to have a falloff consistent withρ~R-0.5 out to approximately 150 kpc. For non-FornaxCluster companions the falloff continues out to the 300 kpc limit of thesurvey. The velocity dispersion of these companions is found to reach amaximum of 350 km s-1 at around 120 kpc, after which theyfall at a rate consistent with Keplerian falloff. This falloff may thenindicate the detection of a cut-off in the mass-density distribution inthe elliptical galaxies' dark matter halo at ~100 kpc.
| Inner-truncated Disks in Galaxies
We 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.
| 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.
| Deprojecting spiral galaxies using Fourier analysis. Application to the Ohio sample
We use two new methods developed recently (Barberàet al.\cite{bar03}, A&A, 415, 849), as well as information obtained fromthe literature, to calculate the orientation parameters of the spiralgalaxies in the Ohio State University Bright Galaxy Survey. We comparethe results of these methods with data from the literature, and find ingeneral good agreement. We provide a homogeneous set of mean orientationparameters which can be used to approximately deproject the disks of thegalaxies and facilitate a number of statistical studies of galaxyproperties.Table 1 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/421/595
| Structure and star formation in disc galaxies - I. Sample selection and near-infrared imaging
We present near-infrared imaging of a sample of 57 relatively large,northern spiral galaxies with low inclination. After describing theselection criteria and some of the basic properties of the sample, wegive a detailed description of the data collection and reductionprocedures. The Ksλ= 2.2-μm images cover most ofthe disc for all galaxies, with a field of view of at least 4.2 arcmin.The spatial resolution is better than 1 arcsec for most images. We fitbulge and exponential disc components to radial profiles of the lightdistribution. We then derive the basic parameters of these components,and the bulge/disc ratio, and explore correlations of these parameterswith several galaxy parameters.
| Searching for Bulges at the End of the Hubble Sequence
We investigate the stellar disk properties of a sample of 19 nearbyspiral galaxies with low inclination and late Hubble type (Scd orlater). We combine our high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope I-bandobservations with existing ground-based optical images to obtain surfacebrightness profiles that cover a high dynamic range of galactic radii.Most of these galaxies contain a nuclear star cluster, as discussed in aseparate paper. The main goal of the present work is to constrain theproperties of stellar bulges at these extremely late Hubble types. Wefind that the surface brightness profiles of the latest-type spiralgalaxies are complex, with a wide range in shapes. We have sorted oursample in a sequence, starting with ``pure'' disk galaxies(approximately 30% of the sample). These galaxies have exponentialstellar disks that extend inward to within a few tens of parsecs fromthe nucleus, where the light from the nuclear cluster starts todominate. They appear to be truly bulgeless systems. Progressing alongthe sequence, the galaxies show increasingly prominent deviations from asimple exponential disk model on kiloparsec scales. Traditionally, suchdeviations have prompted ``bulge-disk'' decompositions. Indeed, thesurface brightness profiles of these galaxies are generally well fittedby adding a second (exponential) bulge component. However, we find thatmost surface brightness profiles can be fitted equally well (or better)with a single Sérsic-type R1/n profile over the entireradial range of the galaxy without requiring a separate ``bulge''component. We warn in a general sense against identification of bulgessolely on the basis of single-band surface brightness profiles. Despitethe narrow range of Hubble types in our sample, the surface brightnessprofiles are far from uniform. The differences between the variousgalaxies appear unrelated to their Hubble types, thus questioning theusefulness of the Hubble sequence for the subcategorization of thelatest-type spiral galaxies. A number of galaxies show central excessemission on spatial scales of a few hundred parsecs that cannot beattributed to the nuclear cluster, the Sérsic-type description ofthe stellar disk, or what one would generally consider to be a bulgecomponent. The origin of this light component remains unclear.Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associatedwith proposal 8599.
| A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxies
We 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
| The shroud around the twin radio jets in NGC 1052
We discuss multiple Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) continuumand spectral line imaging observations and Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope spectroscopy of the compact variable nuclear radio jet sourcein the elliptical galaxy NGC 1052. Absorption andemission signatures reveal ionised, atomic, and molecular components ofthe surrounding medium.Ten epochs of Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) data at 15 GHz, spanningalmost six years, show bi-symmetric jets, in which multiple sub-parsecscale features display outward motions of typically vapp ~0.26c (H0=65 km s-1 Mpc-1) on eachside. The jets are most likely oriented near the plane of the sky.Multi-frequency VLBA observations at seven frequencies between 43 and1.4 GHz show free-free absorption in the inner parsec around thenucleus, probably together with synchrotron self-absorption. Thefree-free absorption is apparently due to a structure which isgeometrically thick and oriented roughly orthogonal to the jets, butwhich is patchy. The western jet is covered more deeply and extensively,and hence is receding.HI spectral line VLBI observations reveal atomic gas in front of theapproaching as well as the receding jet. There appear to be threevelocity systems. Broad, shallow absorption asymmetrically straddles thesystemic velocity spanning -35 to 85 km s-1. This gas couldbe local to the AGN environment, or distributed on galactic scales.Superimposed in the range 25 to 95 km s-1 are several sharper(3-15 km s-1) features, each detectable over a few tenths ofa pc at various places along the inner 2 pc of the approaching jet. Thethird, deepest system is at ``high velocities", which is receding by 125to 200 km s-1 with respect to the systemic velocity ofNGC 1052. It may have a continuous velocity gradientacross the nucleus of some 10 km s-1 pc-1. Thisatomic gas seems restricted to a shell 1-2 pc away from the core, withinwhich it might be largely ionised.Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope spectroscopy has revealed the 18 cmOH main lines (1667 and 1665 MHz) in absorption along the full velocityspan of -35 to 200 km s-1, with their line ratio varyingroughly from 1:1 to 2:1. They are deepest in the high velocity system,where the OH profiles are similar to HI, suggesting co-location of thatatomic and molecular gas, and leaving unclear the connection to theH2O masing gas seen elsewhere. In the high velocity system wehave also detected the 18 cm OH satellite lines: 1612 MHz in absorption,and 1720 MHz in emission. The conjugate behaviour of the satellite lineprofiles, and the variable main line ratio resemble the situation inCen A and NGC 253.
| Bar strengths in spiral galaxies estimated from 2MASS images
Non-axisymmetric forces are presented for a sample of 107 spiralgalaxies, of which 31 are barred (SB) and 53 show nuclear activity. As adata base we use JHK images from the 2 Micron All-sky Survey, and thenon-axisymmetries are characterized by the ratio of the tangential forceto the mean axisymmetric radial force field, following Buta & Block.Bar strengths have an important role in many extragalactic problems andtherefore it is important to verify that the different numerical methodsapplied for calculating the forces give mutually consistent results. Weapply both direct Cartesian integration and a polar grid integrationutilizing a limited number of azimuthal Fourier components of density.We find that the bar strength is independent of the method used toevaluate the gravitational potential. However, because of thedistance-dependent smoothing by Fourier decomposition, the polar methodis more suitable for weak and noisy images. The largest source ofuncertainty in the derived bar strength appears to be the uncertainty inthe vertical scaleheight, which is difficult to measure directly formost galaxies. On the other hand, the derived bar strength is ratherinsensitive to the possible gradient in the vertical scaleheight of thedisc or to the exact model of the vertical density distribution,provided that the same effective vertical dispersion is assumed in allmodels. In comparison with the pioneering study by Buta & Block, thebar strength estimate is improved here by taking into account thedependence of the vertical scaleheight on the Hubble type: we find thatfor thin discs bar strengths are stronger than for thick discs by anamount that may correspond to as much as one bar strength class. Weconfirm the previous result by Buta and co-workers showing that thedispersion in bar strength is large among all the de Vaucouleurs opticalbar classes. In the near-infrared 40 per cent of the galaxies in oursample have bars (showing constant phases in the m= 2 Fourier amplitudesin the bar region), while in the optical band one-third of these barsare obscured by dust. Significant non-axisymmetric forces can also beinduced by the spiral arms, generally in the outer parts of the galacticdiscs, which may have important implications on galaxy evolution.Possible biases of the selected sample are also studied: we find thatthe number of bars identified drops rapidly when the inclination of thegalactic disc is larger than 50°. A similar bias is found in theThird Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies, which might be of interestwhen comparing bar frequencies at high and low redshifts.
| A Catalog of Candidate Intermediate-Luminosity X-Ray Objects
ROSAT, and now Chandra, X-ray images allow studies of extranuclear X-raypoint sources in galaxies other than our own. X-ray observations ofnormal galaxies with ROSAT and Chandra have revealed that off-nuclear,compact, intermediate-luminosity(LX[2-10keV]>=1039.0 ergs s-1) X-rayobjects (IXOs, a.k.a. ULXs [ultraluminous X-ray sources]) are quitecommon. Here we present a catalog and finding charts for 87 IXOs in 54galaxies, derived from all of the ROSAT HRI imaging data for galaxieswith cz<=5000 km s-1 from the Third Reference Catalog ofBright Galaxies. We have defined the cutoff LX for IXOs sothat it is well above the Eddington luminosity of a 1.4Msolar black hole (1038.3 ergs s-1), soas not to confuse IXOs with ``normal'' black hole X-ray binaries. Thiscatalog is intended to provide a baseline for follow-up work withChandra and XMM-Newton, and with space- and ground-based survey work atwavelengths other than X-ray. We demonstrate that elliptical galaxieswith IXOs have a larger number of IXOs per galaxy than nonellipticalgalaxies with IXOs and note that they are not likely to be merelyhigh-mass X-ray binaries with beamed X-ray emission, as may be the casefor IXOs in starburst galaxies. Approximately half of the IXOs withmultiple observations show X-ray variability, and many (19) of the IXOshave faint optical counterparts in DSS optical B-band images. Follow-upobservations of these objects should be helpful in identifying theirnature.
| ``Sloshing'' Librations in Lopsided Disk Galaxies
A combined particle-mesh N-body/gridded hydrodynamics/stellar evolutioncode is employed to model the response of a galaxy disk to an impulsiveperturbation. The resulting galaxy is examined for asymmetry inmorphology and dynamics to answer the question of whether free``sloshing'' librations in the plane of the disk can explain therelatively large proportion of asymmetric field spirals. The simulationproduced a perturbed disk containing streamers of gas and stars, gasshocks, and m=1 and m=2 spiral structure. Strong kinematic peculiaritieswere generated as well. However, although the resulting disk reproducedmany of the kinematic features observed in H I synthesis maps, theeffects are relatively short-lived, lasting only on the order of adynamical timescale. The similarities between the model and the tidallydeformed galaxy NGC 5474, however, do leave open the possibility offorced sloshing modes playing a role in galaxies undergoing tidalinteractions.
| The Visibility of Galactic Bars and Spiral Structure at High Redshifts
We investigate the visibility of galactic bars and spiral structure inthe distant universe by artificially redshifting 101 B-band CCD imagesof local spiral galaxies from the Ohio State University Bright SpiralGalaxy Survey. These local galaxy images represent a much fairerstatistical baseline than the galaxy atlas images presented by Frei etal. in 1995, the most commonly used calibration sample for morphologicalwork at high redshifts. Our artificially redshifted images correspond toHubble Space Telescope I814-band observations of the localgalaxy sample seen at z=0.7, with integration times matching those ofboth the very deep northern Hubble Deep Field (HDF) data and the muchshallower HDF flanking field observations. The expected visibility ofgalactic bars is probed in two ways: (1) using traditional visualclassification and (2) by charting the changing shape of the galaxydistribution in ``Hubble space,'' a quantitative two-parameterdescription of galactic structure that maps closely onto Hubble'soriginal tuning fork. Both analyses suggest that over two-thirds ofstrongly barred luminous local spirals (i.e., objects classified as SBin the Third Reference Catalogue) would still be classified as stronglybarred at z=0.7 in the HDF data. Under the same conditions, most weaklybarred spirals (classified SAB in the Third Reference Catalogue) wouldbe classified as regular spirals. The corresponding visibility of spiralstructure is assessed visually, by comparing luminosity classificationsfor the artificially redshifted sample with the corresponding luminosityclassifications from the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog. We find that forexposure times similar to that of the HDF, spiral structure should bedetectable in most luminous (MB~M*) low-inclination spiralgalaxies at z=0.7 in which it is present. However, obvious spiralstructure is only detectable in ~30% of comparable galaxies in the HDFflanking field data using the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Our studyof artificially redshifted local galaxy images suggests that, whenviewed at similar resolution, noise level, and redshift-correctedwavelength, barred spirals are less common at z~0.7 than they are atz=0.0, although more data are needed to definitively rule out thepossibility that cosmic variance is responsible for much of this effect.
| 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.
| Galaxies with Rows
The results of a search for galaxies with straight structural elements,usually spiral-arm rows (“rows” in the terminology ofVorontsov-Vel'yaminov), are reported. The list of galaxies that possess(or probably possess) such rows includes about 200 objects, of whichabout 70% are brighter than 14m. On the whole, galaxies with rows makeup 6 8% of all spiral galaxies with well-developed spiral patterns. Mostgalaxies with rows are gas-rich Sbc-Scd spirals. The fraction ofinteracting galaxies among them is appreciably higher than amonggalaxies without rows. Earlier conclusions that, as a rule, the lengthsof rows are similar to their galactocentric distances and that theangles between adjacent rows are concentrated near 120° areconfirmed. It is concluded that the rows must be transient hydrodynamicstructures that develop in normal galaxies.
| Arm and Interarm Star Formation in Spiral Galaxies
We present an outline of our study of the effects of star formation onthe different components of the interstellar medium in the discs ofspiral galaxies, both globally and as a function of arm and interarmenvironment. We are in the process of obtaining images of 57 spiralgalaxies at low inclinations, and analysing them to study thedistribution of recent massive star formation, old stars, young stars,gas and dust. We will dissect the images into arm and interarm regionsand compare and contrast the morphology and scale lengths within theseregions in H_α, HI, the near infrared, optical and (whereavailable) CO. Modelling will show how the scale lengths are affected bystar formation, how this differs between arms and interarms, and whetherthe Schmidt Law varies from the global values in the arm and interarmregions.
| The gravitational torque of bars in optically unbarred and barred galaxies
The relative bar torques for 45 galaxies observed at K-band with the 4.2m William Herschel Telescope are determined by transforming the lightdistributions into potentials and deriving the maximum ratios of thetangential forces relative to the radial forces. The results arecombined with the bar torques for 30 other galaxies determined from ourprevious K-band survey (Buta & Block \cite{buta01}). Relative bartorques determine the degree of spiral arm forcing, gas accretion, andbar evolution. They differ from other measures of bar strength, such asthe relative amplitude of the bar determined photometrically, becausethey include the bulge and other disk light that contributes to theradial component of the total force. If the bulge is strong and theradial forcing large, then even a prominent bar can have a relativelyweak influence on the azimuthal motions in the disk. Here we find thatthe relative bar torque correlates only weakly with the optical bar typelisted in the Revised Shapley-Ames and de Vaucouleurs systems. In fact,some classically barred galaxies have weaker relative bar torques thanclassically unbarred galaxies. The optical class is a poor measure ofazimuthal disk forcing for two reasons: some infrared bars are not seenoptically, and some bars with strong bulges have their azimuthal forcesso strongly diluted by the average radial force that they exert onlysmall torques on their disks. The Hubble classification scheme poorlyrecognizes the gravitational influence of bars. Applications of our bartorque method to the high-redshift universe are briefly discussed. Basedon observations made with the William Herschel Telescope, operated onthe island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias.
| Southern Isolated Galaxy Triplets
Seventy-six isolated triple systems of galaxies with declinatiosnδ<-3° were selected using ESO/SERC and POSS-I sky surveydata. The equatorial coordinates, configuration types, angular sizes,component angular separations, component morphological types, totalmagnitudes, and other parameters are reported for each triplet.Radial-velocity estimates are available for all components in 33 of the76 triplets. The median values of the main dynamicalparametersradial-velocity dispersion, mean harmonic radius,absolute magnitudes of member galaxies, and mass-to-luminosityratiosare similar to those obtained earlier for 83 isolatedtriple systems with δ>-3°.
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