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 Hubble Space Telescope STIS Spectra of Nuclear Star Clusters in Spiral Galaxies: Dependence of Age and Mass on Hubble TypeWe 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. Dynamical mass estimates for two luminous star clusters in galactic merger remnantsWe 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. Masses of Star Clusters in the Nuclei of Bulgeless Spiral GalaxiesIn 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 GalaxiesThe distribution of bar strengths in disk galaxies is a fundamentalproperty of the galaxy population that has only begun to be explored. Wehave applied the bar-spiral separation method of Buta and coworkers toderive the distribution of maximum relative gravitational bar torques,Qb, for 147 spiral galaxies in the statistically well-definedOhio State University Bright Galaxy Survey (OSUBGS) sample. Our goal isto examine the properties of bars as independently as possible of theirassociated spirals. We find that the distribution of bar strengthdeclines smoothly with increasing Qb, with more than 40% ofthe sample having Qb<=0.1. In the context of recurrent barformation, this suggests that strongly barred states are relativelyshort-lived compared to weakly barred or nonbarred states. We do notfind compelling evidence for a bimodal distribution of bar strengths.Instead, the distribution is fairly smooth in the range0.0<=Qb<0.8. Our analysis also provides a first look atspiral strengths Qs in the OSUBGS sample, based on the sametorque indicator. We are able to verify a possible weak correlationbetween Qs and Qb, in the sense that galaxies withthe strongest bars tend to also have strong spirals. Bar-induced perturbation strengths of the galaxies in the Ohio State University Bright Galaxy Survey - IBar-induced perturbation strengths are calculated for a well-definedmagnitude-limited sample of 180 spiral galaxies, based on the Ohio StateUniversity Bright Galaxy Survey. We use a gravitational torque method,the ratio of the maximal tangential force to the mean axisymmetricradial force, as a quantitative measure of the bar strength. Thegravitational potential is inferred from an H-band light distribution byassuming that the M/L ratio is constant throughout the disc. Galaxiesare deprojected using orientation parameters based on B-band images. Inorder to eliminate artificial stretching of the bulge, two-dimensionalbar-bulge-disc decomposition has been used to derive a reliable bulgemodel. This bulge model is subtracted from an image, the disc isdeprojected assuming it is thin, and then the bulge is added back byassuming that its mass distribution is spherically symmetric. We findthat removing the artificial bulge stretch is important especially forgalaxies having bars inside large bulges. We also find that the massesof the bulges can be significantly overestimated if bars are not takeninto account in the decomposition.Bars are identified using Fourier methods by requiring that the phasesof the main modes (m= 2, m= 4) are maintained nearly constant in the barregion. With such methods, bars are found in 65 per cent of the galaxiesin our sample, most of them being classified as SB-type systems in thenear-infrared by Eskridge and co-workers. We also suggest that as muchas ~70 per cent of the galaxies classified as SAB-types in thenear-infrared might actually be non-barred systems, many of them havingcentral ovals. It is also possible that a small fraction of the SAB-typegalaxies have weak non-classical bars with spiral-like morphologies. A Hubble Space Telescope Census of Nuclear Star Clusters in Late-Type Spiral Galaxies. II. Cluster Sizes and Structural Parameter CorrelationsWe 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 sampleWe 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 Nebular abundances of nearby southern dwarf galaxiesThe results of optical spectroscopy of H II regions in a sample ofsouthern dwarf irregulars consisting of five dwarf galaxies in theCentaurus A group, four dwarfs in the Sculptor group, and eightadditional dwarf galaxies are presented. Oxygen abundances are derivedusing the direct method where [O III]lambda 4363 is detected;otherwise, abundances are derived with the bright-line method using theMcGaugh and the Pilyugin calibrations. ESO358-G060 has the lowest oxygenabundance (12+log(O/H) = 7.32) in the sample, which is comparable to thevalue for the second most metal-poor galaxy known (SBS 0335-052). Inall, new oxygen abundances are reported for nine dwarf galaxies; updatedvalues are presented for the remaining galaxies. Derived oxygenabundances are in the range from 3% to 26% of the solar value. Oxygenabundances for dwarfs in the southern sample are consistent with themetallicity-luminosity relationship defined by a control sample of dwarfirregulars with [O III]lambda 4363 abundances and well-measureddistances. However, NGC 5264 appears to have an (upper branch) oxygenabundance approximately two to three times higher than other dwarfs atsimilar luminosities. Nitrogen-to-oxygen and neon-to-oxygen abundanceratios are also reported; in particular, IC 1613 and IC 5152 showelevated nitrogen-to-oxygen ratios for their oxygen abundances. The Visibility of Galactic Bars and Spiral Structure at High RedshiftsWe 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 AnalysisWe 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. Magnetic fields in barred galaxies. I. The atlasThe total and polarized radio continuum emission of 20 barred galaxieswas observed with the Very Large Array (VLA) at lambda 3, 6, 18 and 22cm and with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at lambda 6 cmand 13 cm. Maps at 30\arcsec angular resolution are presented here.Polarized emission (and therefore a large-scale regular magnetic field)was detected in 17 galaxies. Most galaxies of our sample are similar tonon-barred galaxies with respect to the radio/far-infrared fluxcorrelation and equipartition strength of the total magnetic field.Galaxies with highly elongated bars are not always radio-bright. Wediscuss the correlation of radio properties with the aspect ratio of thebar and other measures of the bar strength. We introduce a new measureof the bar strength, Lambda , related to the quadrupole moment of thebar's gravitational potential. The radio surface brightness I of thebarred galaxies in our sample is correlated with Lambda , I~Lambda0.4+/-0.1, and thus is highest in galaxies with a long barwhere the velocity field is distorted by the bar over a large fractionof the disc. In these galaxies, the pattern of the regular field issignificantly different from that in non-barred galaxies. In particular,field enhancements occur upstream of the dust lanes where the fieldlines are oriented at large angles to the bar's major axis. Polarizedradio emission seems to be a good indicator of large-scalenon-axisymmetric motions. Tables 3, 4 and Figs. 8-10, 13, 15, 16, 18 and22 are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of GroupsIn 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. Young massive star clusters in nearby spiral galaxies. III. Correlations between cluster populations and host galaxy propertiesWe present an analysis of correlations between integrated properties ofgalaxies and their populations of young massive star clusters. Data for21 nearby galaxies presented by Larsen & Richtler (\cite{lr99}) areused together with literature data for 10 additional galaxies, spanninga range in specific U-band cluster luminosity T_L(U) from 0 to 15. Wefind that T_L(U) correlates with several observable host galaxyparameters, in particular the ratio of Far-Infrared (FIR) tomBox{B-band} flux and the surface brightness. Taking the FIRluminosity as an indicator of the star formation rate (SFR), it is foundthat T_L(U) correlates very well with the SFR per unit area. A similarcorrelation is seen between T_L(U) and the atomic hydrogen surfacedensity. The cluster formation efficiency seems to depend on the SFR ina continuous way, rather than being related to any particularly violentmode of star formation. We discuss fundamental features of possiblescenarios for cluster formation. One possibility is that the correlationbetween T_L(U) and SFR is due to a common controlling parameter, mostprobably the high density of the ISM. Another scenario conceives a highT_L(U) as resulting from the energy input from many massive stars incase of a high SFR. Based on observations made with the Nordic OpticalTelescope, operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, andwith the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, La Silla, Chile. Young massive star clusters in nearby galaxies. II. Software tools, data reductions and cluster sizesA detailed description is given of the data analysis leading to thediscovery of young massive star clusters (YMCs) in a sample of 21 nearbygalaxies. A new useful tool, ishape, for the derivation of intrinsicshape parameters of compact objects is presented, and some test resultsare shown. Completeness tests for the cluster samples are discussed, andishape is used to estimate cluster sizes. Half-light radii of 0-20 pcare derived for clusters in 2 of the most cluster-rich galaxies,NGC 1313 and NGC 5236, which iswithin the range spanned by globular clusters in the Milky Way and byYMCs in the LMC and some starburst galaxies. Photometric data for allclusters, along with positions and estimated half-light radii, aretabulated. Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, and with theDanish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, La Silla, Chile. Table \ref{tab:clusters}is also available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp(130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Young massive star clusters in nearby galaxies . I. Identification and general properties of the cluster systemsUsing ground-based UBVRIHα CCD photometry we have been carryingout a search for young massive star clusters (YMCs) in a sampleconsisting of 21 nearby spiral galaxies. We find a large varietyconcerning the richness of the cluster systems, with some galaxiescontaining no YMCs at all and others hosting very large numbers of YMCs.Examples of galaxies with poor cluster systems are NGC 300 and NGC 4395,while the richest cluster systems are found in the galaxies NGC 5236 (M83), NGC 2997 and NGC 1313. The age distributions of clusters in thesegalaxies show no obvious peaks, indicating that massive clusters areformed as an ongoing process rather than in bursts. This is in contrastto what is observed in starbursts and merger galaxies. The radialdistributions of clusters follow the Hα surface brightnesses. Forthe galaxies in our sample there is no correlation between themorphological type and the presence of YMCs. Based on observations madewith the Nordic Optical Telescope, operated on the island of La Palmajointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisicade Canarias, and with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, La Silla,Chile. Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxiesWe 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. The Stromlo-APM Redshift Survey. IV. The Redshift CatalogThe Stromlo-APM Redshift Survey consists of 1797 galaxies with b_J_ <17.15 selected randomly at a rate of 1 in 20 from automated platemeasurement (APM) scans. The survey covers a solid angle of 1.3 sr (4300deg^2^) in the south Galactic cap. Redshifts have been measured for 1790(99.6%) of the galaxies. The median galaxy recession velocity is 15,300km s^-1^, and so the volume probed is V ~ 1.38 x 10^6^ h^-3^ Mpc^3^. Inthis paper we describe the construction of the redshift catalog andpresent the survey data. The Absence of X-Ray Flashes from Nearby Galaxies and the Gamma-Ray Burst Distance ScaleIf typical gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have X-ray counterparts similar tothose detected by Ginga, then sensitive-focusing X-ray telescopes willbe able to detect GRBs 3 orders of magnitude fainter than the detectionlimit of the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE). If asubstantial portion of the burst population detected by BATSE originatesin a Galactic halo at distances greater than or equal to 150 kpc,existing X-ray telescopes will be able to detect GRBs in externalgalaxies out to a distance of at least 4.5 Mpc. As reported in Gotthelf,Hamilton, & Helfand, the imaging proportional counter (IPC) on boardthe Einstein Observatory detected 42 transient events with pointlikespatial characteristics and timescales of less than 10 s. These eventsare distributed isotropically on the sky; in particular, they are notconcentrated in the directions of nearby external galaxies. For halomodels of the BATSE bursts with radii of 150 kpc or greater, we wouldexpect to see several burst events in observations pointed toward nearbygalaxies. We see none. We therefore conclude that if the Gingadetections are representative of the population of GRBs sampled byBATSE, GRBs cannot originate in a Galactic halo population with limitingradii between 150 and 400 kpc. Inasmuch as halos with limiting radiioutside of this range have been excluded by the BATSE isotropymeasurements, our result indicates that all halo models are excluded.This result is independent of whether the flashes we do detect have anastronomical origin. Nuclei of Nearby Disk Galaxies.I.A Hubble Space Telescope Imaging SurveyWe present deconvolved images of the central regions of 20 nearby diskgalaxies, obtained with the original Planetary Camera of the HubbleSpace Telescope. The galaxies span a range in Hubble type from S0 to Sm.We have measured surface brightness profiles, and inverted these toestimate luminosity-density profiles. Surface brightness profiles in thecentral regions show a variety of forms, sometimes clearly affected byheavy dust obscuration. All galaxies in the sample earlier than type Scshow a continuing rise in surface brightness up to the resolution limitin the deconvolved images. Later types show shallower slopes, consistentwith exponential disks either continuing into the center or elseflattening in the central regions. These galaxies often, but not always,exhibit an unresolved nucleus which is likely a dense nuclear starcluster. Luminosity densities in the earlier-type galaxies reach orexceed 10^4^ L_sun_,V_ pc^-3^, and the nuclei of the later-type galaxiesoccasionally approach the same level. The dS0 galaxies in our samplehave central characteristics most closely resembling the late-typegalaxies. A comparison of the central luminosity and central surfacebrightness of our galaxies with elliptical galaxies and nucleated dwarfssupports an association of late-type disks systems and such dwarfs. The Catalog of Southern Ringed GalaxiesThe Catalog of Southern Ringed Galaxies (CSRG) is a comprehensivecompilation of diameters, axis ratios, relative bar position angles, andmorphologies of inner and outer rings, pseudorings, and lenses in 3692galaxies south of declination -17 deg. The purpose of the catalog is toevaluate the idea that these ring phenomena are related to orbitalresonances with a bar or oval in galaxy potentials. The catalog is basedon visual inspection of most of the 606 fields of the Science ResearchCouncil (SRC) IIIa-J southern sky survey, with the ESO-B, ESO-R, andPalomar Sky surveys used as auxiliaries when needed for overexposed coreregions. The catalog is most complete for SRC fields 1-303 (mostly southof declination -42 deg). In addition to ringed galaxies, a list of 859mostly nonringed galaxies intended for comparison with other catalogs isprovided. Other findings from the CSRG that are not based on statisticsare the identification of intrinsic bar/ring misalignment; bars whichunderfill inner rings; dimpling of R'1pseudorings; pointy, rectangular, or hexagonal inner or outer ringshapes; a peculiar polar-ring-related system; and other extreme examplesof spiral structure and ring morphology. A Preliminary Classification Scheme for the Central Regions of Late-Type GalaxiesThe large-scale prints in The Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies have been usedto formulate a classification scheme for the central regions oflate-type galaxies. Systems that exhibit small bright central bulges ordisks (type CB) are found to be of earlier Hubble type and of higherluminosity than galaxies that do not contain nuclei (type NN). Galaxiescontaining nuclear bars, or exhibiting central regions that are resolvedinto individual stars and knots, and galaxies with semistellar nuclei,are seen to have characteristics that are intermediate between those oftypes CB and NN. The presence or absence of a nucleus appears to be auseful criterion for distinguishing between spiral galaxies andmagellanic irregulars. Quantitative Morphology of Bars in Spiral GalaxiesAs suggested by numerical simulations, the axis ratio of the bar is afundamental parameter to describe the dynamical evolution of a barredgalaxy. In a first-order approximation considering bars as ellipticalfeatures, visual measurements of bar axis ratios and lengths of 136spiral galaxies were performed on photographs of good linear scale.Despite the limitations affecting such measurements, morphologicalproperties of bars in spirals along the Hubble sequence as well as therelationship between the bar axis ratio and nuclear star formationactivity are studied. It is found that the relative length of bars inearly-type galaxies is, on average, about a factor of 3 larger than thelength observed in late-type spirals. Also, a relation between barlengths and bulge diameters is observed for both early-type andlate-type spirals, confirming results from previous works. Furthermore,although the number of objects is small, there is an apparentcorrelation between the presence of nuclear star formation activity andthe bar axis ratio: about 71% of the starburst galaxies included in thesample have a strong bar (b/a < 0.6). The introduction of thesequantitative parameters in galaxy classification schemes is discussed. Integrated photoelectric magnitudes and color indices of bright galaxies in the Johnson UBV systemThe photoelectric total magnitudes and color indices published in theThird Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (RC3) are based on ananalysis of approximately equals 26,000 B, 25,000 B-V, and 17,000 U-Bmultiaperture measurements available up to mid 1987 from nearly 350sources. This paper provides the full details of the analysis andestimates of internal and external errors in the parameters. Thederivation of the parameters is based on techniques described by theVaucouleurs & Corwin (1977) whereby photoelectric multiaperture dataare fitted by mean Hubble-type-dependent curves which describe theintegral of the B-band flux and the typical B-V and U-B integrated colorgradients. A sophisticated analysis of the residuals of thesemeasurements from the curves was made to allow for the random andsystematic errors that effect such data. The result is a homogeneous setof total magnitudes BTA total colors(B-V)T and (U-B)T, and effective colors(B-V)e and (U-B)e for more than 3000 brightgalaxies in RC3. On the size and formation mechanism of the largest star-forming complexes in spiral and irregular galaxiesThe average diameters of the largest star complexes in most of thespiral and irregular galaxies in the Sandage and Bedke Atlas of Galaxieswere measured from the Atlas photographs. The complex diametersDc correlate with galaxy magnitude as Dc = 0.18 -0.14MB, which has about the same slope as the correlation forthe largest H II regions studied by Kennicutt. There is no obviouscorrelation between Dc and either Hubble type or spiral armclass at a given magnitude. The variation of Dc withMB closely matches the expected variation in thecharacteristic length of the gaseous gravitational instabilityconsidering that the rotation curve varies with MB and thatthe stability parameter Q is about 1 in the outer regions of the disk.This match corresponds to an effective velocity dispersion of 6.1 km/sthat is about the same for all spiral and irregular galaxies. The extended 12 micron galaxy sampleWe have selected an all-sky (absolute value of b greater than or equalto 25 deg) 12 micron flux-limited sample of 893 galaxies from the IRASFaint Source Catalog, Version 2 (FSC-2). We have obtained accurate totalfluxes in the IRAS wavebands by using the ADDSCAN procedure for allobjects with FSC-2 12 micron fluxes greater than 0.15 Jy and increasingflux densities from 12 to 60 microns, and defined the sample by imposinga survey limit of 0.22 Jy on the total 12 micron flux. Its completenessis verified, by means of the classical log N - log S andV/Vmax tests, down to 0.30 Jy, below which we have measuredthe incompleteness down to the survey limit, using the log N - log Splot, for our statistical analysis. We have obtained redshifts (mostlyfrom catalogs) for virtually all (98.4%) the galaxies in the sample.Using existing catalogs of active galaxies, we defined a subsample of118 objects consisting of 53 Seyfert 1s and quasars, 63 Seyfert 2s, andtwo blazars (approximately 13% of the full sample), which is the largestunbiased sample of Seyfert galaxies ever assembled. Since the 12 micronflux has been shown to be about one-fifth of the bolometric flux forSeyfert galaxies and quasars, the subsample of Seyferts (includingquasars and blazars) is complete not only to 0.30 Jy at 12 microns butalso with respect to a bolometric flux limit of approximately 2.0 x10-10 ergs/s/sq cm. The average value of V/Vmaxfor the full sample, corrected for incompleteness at low fluxes, is 0.51+/- 0.04, expected for a complete sample of uniformly distributedgalaxies, while the value for the Seyfert galaxy subsample is 0.46 +/-0.10. We have derived 12 microns and far-infrared luminosity functionsfor the AGNs, as well as for the entire sample. We extracted from oursample a complete subsample of 235 galaxies flux-limited (8.3 Jy) at 60microns. The 60 micron luminosity function computed for this subsampleis in satisfactory agreement with the ones derived from the brightgalaxy sample (BGS) and the deep high-galactic latitude sample, bothselected at 60 microns. General study of group membership. II - Determination of nearby groupsWe present a whole sky catalog of nearby groups of galaxies taken fromthe Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database. From the 78,000 objects in thedatabase, we extracted a sample of 6392 galaxies, complete up to thelimiting apparent magnitude B0 = 14.0. Moreover, in order to considersolely the galaxies of the local universe, all the selected galaxieshave a known recession velocity smaller than 5500 km/s. Two methods wereused in group construction: a Huchra-Geller (1982) derived percolationmethod and a Tully (1980) derived hierarchical method. Each method gaveus one catalog. These were then compared and synthesized to obtain asingle catalog containing the most reliable groups. There are 485 groupsof a least three members in the final catalog. Mean galaxy luminosity classificationsTo prepare a catalog of weighted means on the classification system ofvan den Bergh, we have combined eight independent lists of luminosityclass estimates, L. Luminosity class values from each set weretransformed to the standard system and weighted according to the errorsderived through a statistical comparison of L differences betweencatalog pairs. Relations were derived for predicting accidental errorsassociated with galaxy diameter and inclination. In addition, we presentformulas for correcting systematic errors associated with diameter andinclination. Finally, we tabulate a high weight subsample of the meanluminosity classes usable as standards. Most values are tabulated in theThird Reference Catalog of Bright Galaxies. Groups of galaxies within 80 Mpc. II - The catalogue of groups and group membersThis paper gives a catalog of the groups and associations obtained bymeans of a revised hierarchical algorithm applied to a sample of 4143galaxies with diameters larger than 100 arcsec and redshifts smallerthan 6000 km/s. The 264 groups of galaxies obtained in this way (andwhich contain at least three sample galaxies) are listed, with the looseassociations surrounding them and the individual members of eachaggregate as well; moreover, the location of every entity among 13regions corresponding roughly to superclusters is specified. Finally,1729 galaxies belong to the groups, and 466 to the associations, i.e.,the total fraction of galaxies within the various aggregates amounts to53 percent. Southern Sky Redshift Survey - The catalogThe catalog of radial velocities for galaxies which comprise thediameter-limited sample of the Southern Sky Redshift Survey ispresented. It consolidates the data of observations carried out at theLas Campanas Observatory, Observatorio Nacional, and South AfricanAstronomical Observatory. The criteria used for the sample selection aredescribed, as well as the observational procedures and the techniqueutilized to obtain the final radial velocities. The intercomparisonbetween radial velocity measurements from different telescopes indicatesthat the final data base is fairly homogeneous with a typical error ofabout 40 km/s. The sample is at present 90 percent complete, and themissing galaxies are predominantly objects with very low surfacebrightness for which it is very difficult to obtain optical redshifts. Gaseous content of galaxies inside groupsThe gaseous content of a sample constituted of 84 Sb and 95 Sc galaxiesinside groups has been analyzed. After correcting for the luminosityeffect, no gas deficiency was found for those galaxies in spite of aspan of about 2 orders of magnitude in the galaxy density. Anyintergalactic gas present in the considered groups must have densitiessmaller than 0.0003/cu cm.
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