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The 18-cm light curves of the luminous radio supernova candidates in Arp 220
We present multi-epoch observations of Arp 220 with the VLBA and focuson the continuum emission from the luminous radio supernovae (RSNe)whose 1.6-GHz light curves are shown. The supernovae seem to begenerally stable or only slowly decaying in flux with time, a resultwhich deviates from the model of Type IIn RSNe. Hints of new eruptionsconfirm that they are indeed new sources and not supernova remnants,which could be several hundred years old. The slow decay of the sourcesfor which monitoring data were available forces us to reconsider thestarburst model for Arp 220 and adopt a more modest value of0.7yr-1 for the supernova rate based on these new eruptions.The starburst efficiency should also be modified accordingly which givesrise to the issue of an active nucleus once more. The question is raisedwhether it is the starburst which creates this active nucleus, somethingwhich could affect the evolution of starburst galaxies as a group.
| A radio study of the superwind galaxy NGC 1482
We present multifrequency radio continuum as well as HI observations ofthe superwind galaxy NGC 1482, with both the Giant Metrewave RadioTelescope (GMRT) and the Very Large Array (VLA). This galaxy has aremarkable hourglass-shaped optical emission-line outflow as well asbipolar soft X-ray bubbles on opposite sides of the galactic disc. Thelow-frequency, lower-resolution radio observations show a smoothstructure. From the non-thermal emission, we estimate the availableenergy in supernovae, and examine whether this would be adequate todrive the observed superwind outflow. The high-frequency,high-resolution radio image of the central starburst region located atthe base of the superwind bi-cone shows one prominent peak and moreextended emission with substructure. This image has been compared withthe infrared, optical red continuum, Hα, and soft and hard X-rayimages from Chandra to understand the nature and relationship of thevarious features seen at different wavelengths. The peak of the infraredemission is the only feature that is coincident with the prominent radiopeak, and possibly defines the centre of the galaxy.The HI observations with the GMRT show two blobs of emission on oppositesides of the central region. These are rotating about the centre of thegalaxy and are located at ~2.4 kpc from it. In addition, theseobservations also reveal a multicomponent HI absorption profile againstthe central region of the radio source, with a total width of ~250 kms-1. The extreme blue- and redshifted absorption componentsare at 1688 and 1942 km s-1, respectively, while the peakabsorption is at 1836 km s-1. This is consistent with theheliocentric systemic velocity of 1850 +/- 20 km s-1,estimated from a variety of observations. We discuss possibleimplications of these results.
| An IRAS High Resolution Image Restoration (HIRES) Atlas of All Interacting Galaxies in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
The importance of far-infrared observations for our understanding ofextreme activity in interacting and merging galaxies has beenillustrated by many studies. Even though two decades have passed sinceits launch, the most complete all-sky survey to date from which far-IRselected galaxy samples can be chosen is still that of the InfraredAstronomical Satellite (IRAS). However, the spatial resolution of theIRAS all-sky survey is insufficient to resolve the emission fromindividual galaxies in most interacting galaxy pairs, and hence previousstudies of their far-IR properties have had to concentrate either onglobal system properties or on the properties of very widely separatedand weakly interacting pairs. Using the HIRES image reconstructiontechnique, it is possible to achieve a spatial resolution ranging from30" to 1.5m (depending on wavelength and detector coverage), whichis a fourfold improvement over the normal resolution of IRAS. This issufficient to resolve the far-IR emission from the individual galaxiesin many interacting systems detected by IRAS, which is very importantfor meaningful comparisons with single, isolated galaxies. We presenthigh-resolution 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm images of 106 interactinggalaxy systems contained in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS,Sanders et al.), a complete sample of all galaxies having a 60 μmflux density greater than 5.24 Jy. These systems were selected to haveat least two distinguishable galaxies separated by less than threeaverage galactic diameters, and thus we have excluded very widelyseparated systems and very advanced mergers. Additionally, some systemshave been included that are more than three galactic diameters apart,yet have separations less than 4' and are thus likely to suffer fromconfusion in the RBGS. The new complete survey has the same propertiesas the prototype survey of Surace et al. We find no increased tendencyfor infrared-bright galaxies to be associated with other infrared-brightgalaxies among the widely separated pairs studied here. We find smallenhancements in far-IR activity in multiple galaxy systems relative toRBGS noninteracting galaxies with the same blue luminosity distribution.We also find no differences in infrared activity (as measured byinfrared color and luminosity) between late- and early-type spiralgalaxies.
| The IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
IRAS flux densities, redshifts, and infrared luminosities are reportedfor all sources identified in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample(RBGS), a complete flux-limited survey of all extragalactic objects withtotal 60 μm flux density greater than 5.24 Jy, covering the entiresky surveyed by IRAS at Galactic latitudes |b|>5°. The RBGS includes629 objects, with median and mean sample redshifts of 0.0082 and 0.0126,respectively, and a maximum redshift of 0.0876. The RBGS supersedes theprevious two-part IRAS Bright Galaxy Samples(BGS1+BGS2), which were compiled before the final(Pass 3) calibration of the IRAS Level 1 Archive in 1990 May. The RBGSalso makes use of more accurate and consistent automated methods tomeasure the flux of objects with extended emission. The RBGS contains 39objects that were not present in the BGS1+BGS2,and 28 objects from the BGS1+BGS2 have beendropped from RBGS because their revised 60 μm flux densities are notgreater than 5.24 Jy. Comparison of revised flux measurements forsources in both surveys shows that most flux differences are in therange ~5%-25%, although some faint sources at 12 and 25 μm differ byas much as a factor of 2. Basic properties of the RBGS sources aresummarized, including estimated total infrared luminosities, as well asupdates to cross identifications with sources from optical galaxycatalogs established using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Inaddition, an atlas of images from the Digitized Sky Survey with overlaysof the IRAS position uncertainty ellipse and annotated scale bars isprovided for ease in visualizing the optical morphology in context withthe angular and metric size of each object. The revised bolometricinfrared luminosity function, φ(Lir), forinfrared-bright galaxies in the local universe remains best fit by adouble power law, φ(L)~Lα, withα=-0.6(+/-0.1) and α=-2.2(+/-0.1) below and above the``characteristic'' infrared luminosityL*ir~1010.5Lsolar,respectively. A companion paper provides IRAS High Resolution (HIRES)processing of over 100 RBGS sources where improved spatial resolutionoften provides better IRAS source positions or allows for deconvolutionof close galaxy pairs.
| An Hα survey aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas in halos of edge-on spiral galaxies. I. How common are gaseous halos among non-starburst galaxies?
In a series of two papers we present results of a new Hα imagingsurvey, aiming at the detection of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas inhalos of late-type spiral galaxies. We have investigated a sample of 74nearby edge-on spirals, covering the northern and southern hemisphere.In 30 galaxies we detected extraplanar diffuse emission at meandistances of |z| ~ 1-2 kpc. Individual filaments can be traced out to|z|<=6 kpc in a few cases. We find a good correlation between the FIRflux ratio (S60/S100) and the SFR per unit area(LFIR/D225), based on thedetections/non-detections. This is actually valid for starburst, normaland for quiescent galaxies. A minimal SFR per unit area for the lowestS60/S100 values, at which extended emission hasbeen detected, was derived, which amounts to dotEA25thres = (3.2+/-0.5)*E40ergs-1 kpc-2. There are galaxies where extraplanaremission was detected at smaller values ofLFIR/D225, however, only in combinationwith a significantly enhanced dust temperature. The results corroboratethe general view that the gaseous halos are a direct consequence of SFactivity in the underlying galactic disk.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (ESO No. 63.N-0070, ESO No. 64.N-0034, ESO No. 65.N.-0002).
| A New Database of Observed Spectral Energy Distributions of Nearby Starburst Galaxies from the Ultraviolet to the Far-Infrared
We present a database of UV-to-FIR data of 83 nearby starburst galaxies.The galaxies are selected based upon the availability of IUE data. Wehave recalibrated the IUE UV spectra for these galaxies by incorporatingthe most recent improvements. For 45 of these galaxies we useobservations by Storchi-Bergmann et al. and McQuade et al. for thespectra in the optical range. The NIR data are from new observationsobtained at the NASA/IRTF and the Mount Laguna Observatory, combinedwith the published results from observations at the Kitt Peak NationalObservatory. In addition, published calibrated ISO data are included toprovide mid-IR flux densities for some of the galaxies. Theoptical-to-IR data are matched as closely as possible to the IUE largeaperture. In conjunction with IRAS and ISO FIR flux densities, all thesedata form a set of observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of thenuclear regions of nearby starburst galaxies. The SEDs should be usefulin studying star formation and dust/gas attenuation in galaxies. We alsopresent the magnitudes in the standard BVRI and various HST/WFPC2bandpasses synthesized from the UV and optical wavelength ranges ofthese SEDs. For some of the galaxies, the HST/WFPC2 magnitudessynthesized from the SEDs are checked with those directly measured fromWFPC2 images to test the photometric errors of the optical data andtheir effective matching of apertures with the UV data. The implicationsof the new SEDs on the star formation rates and dust/gas attenuation arebriefly discussed.
| A Hubble Space Telescope Survey of the Mid-Ultraviolet Morphology of Nearby Galaxies
We present a systematic imaging survey of 37 nearby galaxies observedwith the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2(WFPC2) in the mid-UV F300W filter, centered at 2930 Å, as well asin the I-band (F814W) filter at 8230 Å. Eleven of these galaxieswere also imaged in the F255W filter, centered at 2550 Å. Oursample is carefully selected to include galaxies of sufficiently smallradius and high predicted mid-UV surface brightness to be detectablewith WFPC2 in one orbit and covers a wide range of Hubble types andinclinations. The mid-UV (2000-3200 Å) spans the gap betweenground-based UBVR(IJHK) images, which are available or were acquired forthe current study, and far-UV images available from the Astro/UITmissions for 15 galaxies in our sample. The first qualitative resultsfrom our study are as follows:1. Early-type galaxies show a significantdecrease in surface brightness going from the red to the mid-UV,reflecting the absence of a dominant young stellar population and insome cases the presence of significant (central) dust lanes. Galaxiesthat are early types in the optical show a variety of morphologies inthe mid-UV that can lead to a different morphological classification,although not necessarily as later type. Some early-type galaxies becomedominated by a blue nuclear feature or a point source in the mid-UV,e.g., as a result of the presence of a Seyfert nucleus or a LINER. Thisis in part due to our mid-UV surface brightness selection, but it alsosuggests that part of the strong apparent evolution of weak AGNs inearly-type galaxies may be due to surface brightness dimming of theirUV-faint stellar population, which renders the early-type host galaxiesinvisible at intermediate to higher redshifts.2. About half of themid-type spiral and star-forming galaxies appear as a latermorphological type in the mid-UV, as Astro/UIT also found primarily inthe far-UV. Sometimes these differences are dramatic (e.g., NGC 6782shows a spectacular ring of hot stars in the mid-UV). However, not allmid-type spiral galaxies look significantly different in the mid-UV.Their mid-UV images show a considerable range in the scale and surfacebrightness of individual star-forming regions. Almost without exception,the mid-type spirals in our sample have their small bulges bisected by adust lane, which often appears to be connected to the inner spiral armstructure.3. The majority of the heterogeneous subset of late-type,irregular, peculiar, and merging galaxies display F300W morphologiesthat are similar to those seen in F814W, but with important differencesdue to recognizable dust features absorbing the bluer light and to hotstars, star clusters, and star formation ``ridges'' that are bright inthe mid-UV. Less than one-third of the galaxies classified as late typein the optical appear sufficiently different in the mid-UV to result ina different classification.Our HST mid-UV survey of nearby galaxiesshows that, when observed in the rest-frame mid-UV, early- to mid-typegalaxies are more likely to be misclassified as later types thanlate-type galaxies are to be misclassified as earlier types. This isbecause the later type galaxies are dominated by the same young and hotstars in all filters from the mid-UV to the red and so have a smaller``morphological K-correction'' than true earlier type galaxies. Themorphological K-correction can thus explain part, but certainly not all,of the excess faint blue late-type galaxies seen in deep HST fields.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy(AURA), Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. Also based in part onobservations made with the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope: theAlice P. Lennon Telescope and the Thomas J. Bannan AstrophysicsFacility.
| Bar Galaxies and Their Environments
The prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment.
| The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. II. R-band surface photometry of late-type dwarf galaxies
R-band surface photometry is presented for 171 late-type dwarf andirregular galaxies. For a subsample of 46 galaxies B-band photometry ispresented as well. We present surface brightness profiles as well asisophotal and photometric parameters including magnitudes, diameters andcentral surface brightnesses. Absolute photometry is accurate to 0.1 magor better for 77% of the sample. For over 85% of the galaxies the radialsurface brightness profiles are consistent with published data withinthe measured photometric uncertainty. For most of the galaxies in thesample H I data have been obtained with the Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope. The galaxies in our sample are part of the WHISP project(Westerbork H I Survey of Spiral and Irregular Galaxies), which aims atmapping about 500 nearby spiral and irregular galaxies in H I. Theavailability of H I data makes this data set useful for a wide range ofstudies of the structure, dark matter content and kinematics oflate-type dwarf galaxies. Based on observations made with INT operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisicade Canarias. The tables in Appendix A are only available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/390/863. Thefigures in Appendix B are only available in electronic formhttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Radio observations of the circumnuclear ring in NGC 6951
We present sensitive, high-resolution radio observations of thecircumnuclear region of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 6951. Theseobservations reveal a ring of radio emission with many discretecomponents and a marginally resolved nuclear component. We compare theradio ring with observations at other wavelengths, and discuss thenature of the compact radio components.
| The Nature of the Compact Supernova Remnants in Starburst Galaxies
Radio observations of starburst regions in galaxies have revealed groupsof compact nonthermal sources that we interpret as radiative supernovaremnants expanding in the interclump medium of molecular clouds. Becauseof the high pressure in starburst regions, the interclump medium mayhave a density ~103 H atoms cm-3 in a starburstnucleus like M82 and >~104 H atoms cm-3 in anultraluminous galaxy like Arp 220. In M82, our model can account for thesizes, the slow evolution, the high radio luminosities, and the lowX-ray luminosities of the sources. We predict expansion velocities ~500km s-1, which is slower than the one case measured by VLBItechniques. Although we predict the remnants to be radiative, theexpected radiation is difficult to detect because it is at infraredwavelengths and the starburst is itself very luminous; one detectionpossibility is broad [O I] 63 μm line emission at the positions ofthe radio remnants. The more luminous and compact remnants in Arp 220can be accounted for by the higher molecular cloud density. In ourmodel, the observed remnants lose most of the supernova energy toradiation. Other explosions in a lower density medium may directly heata hot, low density interstellar component, leading to the superwindsthat are associated with starburst regions.
| Environment status of blue compact galaxies and trigger of star formation
The work studies of the environment of low-mass galaxies with activestar formation (SF) and a possible trigger of SF bursts due togravitational interaction. Following the study by Taylor et al. (1995),we extend the search for possible disturbing galaxies of various massesto a much larger sample of 86 BCGs from the sky region of the SecondByurakan survey (SBS). The BCG magnitudes and radial velocities arerevised and up-dated. The sample under study is separated by thecriteria: EW([O III]λ5007) > 45 Å andVh < 6,000 kms and should be representative of alllow-mass galaxies which experience SF bursts. We argue that the moderatetidal disturbers should be taken into account, and incorporate therespective range of distances in the search for disturbing neighbours.The majority of the neighbours in the vicinity of the studied BCGs arefound through the study of their environment among UZC (Falco et al.\cite{Falco99}) galaxies, and the follow-up careful search of thefainter galaxies in the NED database. For the remaining BCGs, theneighbouring galaxies are found based on the results of the SAO 6mtelescope spectroscopy. By studing the data on the radial velocities ofgalaxies in the vicinity of BCGs we found: 1) 33 of the studied BCGs(~38.5%) are associated with significantly brighter galaxies (Δ B>= 1.5m); 2) 23 BCGs (~26.5%) have neighbours either ofcomparable or significantly lower brightness; 3) 14 of the studied BCGs(16\%) with no evident associated galaxy are either certain, orprobable, mergers. Summarizing, we conclude that in ~80% (or more) BCGsfrom the studied sample, the SF bursts are triggered either by tidalaction of various strengths from other galaxies, or due to mergers oflow-mass galaxies. We briefly discuss the implications of our mainconclusion for evolutionary links of BCGs to other types of low-massgalaxies. Part of our sample falls into the volume belonging to theLocal Supercluster. Therefore we formulate the results separately on the``Local Supercluster volume'' and ``general field region''. The totalfractions of BCGs likely triggered by interaction with other galaxy arerespectively, ~84.5% and 80% for the nearby volume and for the generalfield. The fractions of BCGs with significantly brighter disturbers inthese two groups are seemingly different (~54±14% vs.~31.5±7%, respectively). Among the so called ``isolated'' BCGs(that is, without a bright neighbouring galaxy) in both the LocalSupercluster volume and in general field, ~43±10% are probablydisturbed by dwarf galaxies and ~26±8% have a merger morphology.In the Appendix we present the results of the spectroscopy with the SAO6m telescope of 27 galaxies in an attempt to find possible disturbinggalaxies in the vicinity of some of the sample BCGs. Tables 2, 3 and A.1with their notes and Figs. A.1-A.3 are only available in electronic format http://www.edpsciences.org
| A Search for Flux Density Variations in 24 Compact Radio Sources in M82
We report results of the most extensive and accurate monitoring yetundertaken for a supernova population in a starburst galaxy. The numberof sources being monitored in M82's starburst nuclear region has beenincreased to 24, all of which now have detailed radio spectra. Animproved calibration method was applied to 11 observation epochs atλ6 cm, beginning shortly after the VLA's inauguration in 1980, upto 1992 December. They show that about 25% of the sources have somedegree of measurable variability over the 11.8 yr period. In contrast,approximately 75% were remarkably constant over the period between 1981and 1993. The range of variability was from ~-100% yr-1 toless than ~0.1% yr-1. A small number of the sources have adegree of flux consistency that is, at least collectively, comparablewith the best extragalactic radio source flux density calibrators forradio interferometers. The average luminosity decay over the abovemonitoring period of 41.9+58 has been determined to be 8.4%+/-0.1%yr-1, with an excellent fit to an exponential decay form.
| 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.
| Signatures of the Youngest Starbursts: Optically Thick Thermal Bremsstrahlung Radio Sources in Henize 2-10
VLA radio continuum imaging reveals compact (<8 pc)~1 mJy radiosources in the central 5" starburst region of the blue compact galaxyHenize 2-10. While the global radio continuum spectrum is a power law(Sν~να) indicative of nonthermalprocesses (α~=-0.5), the radio sources have positive(α>0.0) spectral indices suggesting an optically thick thermalbremsstrahlung origin. We model the luminosities and spectral energydistributions of these radio knots, finding that they are consistentwith unusually dense H II regions having electron densities, 1500cm-3
| An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst Galaxies
IR and radio-band observations of heavily extinguished regions instarburst galaxies suggest a high supernova (SN) rate associated withsuch regions. Optically measured SN rates may therefore underestimatethe total SN rate by factors of up to 10, as a result of the very highextinction (A_B~10-20 mag) to core-collapse SNe in starburst regions.The IR/radio SN rates come from a variety of indirect means, however,which suffer from model dependence and other problems. We describe adirect measurement of the SN rate from a regular patrol of starburstgalaxies done with K'-band imaging to minimize the effects ofextinction. A collection of K'-band measurements of core-collapse SNenear maximum light is presented. Such measurements (excluding 1987A) arenot well reported in the literature. Results of a preliminary K'-bandsearch, using the MIRC camera at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory and animproved search strategy using the new ORCA optics, are described. Amonthly patrol of a sample of IRAS bright (mostly starburst) galaxieswithin 25 Mpc should yield 1-6 SNe yr^-1, corresponding to the range ofestimated SN rates. Our initial MIRC search with low resolution (2.2"pixels) failed to find extinguished SNe in the IRAS galaxies, limitingthe SN rate outside the nucleus (at greater than 15" radius) to lessthan 3.8 far-IR SN rate units (SNe per century per 10^10 L_solarmeasured at 60 and 100 mum, or FIRSRU) at 90% confidence. The MIRCcamera had insufficient resolution to search nuclear starburst regions,where starburst and SN activity is concentrated; therefore, we wereunable to rigorously test the hypothesis of high SN rates in heavilyobscured star-forming regions. We conclude that high-resolution nuclearSN searches in starburst galaxies with small fields are more productivethan low-resolution, large-field searches, even for our sample of large(often several arcminutes) galaxies. With our ORCA high-resolutionoptics, we could limit the total SN rate to less than 1.3 FIRSRU at 90%confidence in 3 years of observations, lower than most estimates.
| Ultraviolet spectral properties of magellanic and non-magellanic irregulars, H BT II and starburst galaxies
This paper presents the results of a stellar population analysisperformed on nearby (V_R<=5 000 km s^{-1}) star-forming galaxies,comprising magellanic and non-magellanic irregulars, H Ii and starburstgalaxies observed with the IUE satellite. Before any comparison ofgalaxy spectra, we have formed subsets according to absolute magnitudeand morphological classification. Subsequently, we have coadded thespectra within each subset into groups of similar spectral properties inthe UV. As a consequence, high signal-to-noise ratio templates have beenobtained, and information on spectral features can now be extracted andanalysed. Seven groups resulted from this procedure: the magellanicirregulars (including H Ii galaxies) produced two different bluespectral groups; the non-magellanic irregulars could be grouped into twospectral groups with rather peculiar properties; and the luminousstarbursts produced one flat and two blue template spectra. Theirstellar populations are analysed by means of a population synthesisalgorithm based on star cluster spectral components. The syntheticspectra reproduce the observed ones successfully (except thenon-magellanic irregular groups) both in terms of continuum distributionand spectral features. The synthesis flux fractions of different agegroups were transformed into mass fractions, allowing inferences on thestar formation histories. Young stellar populations (age <500 Myrs)are the main flux contributors; in a few cases the intermediate agepopulation (age~1 M_B-2 Myrs) is important, while the old bulgepopulation contributes at most with ~2 % of the lambda2646 Angstromsflux in the case of starburst galaxies, and is negligible in themagellanic irregulars. We also study the reddening values and theextinction law: an SMC-like extinction law is appropriate for all cases.Based upon data collected with the International Ultraviolet Explorer(IUE) Satellite, supported by NASA, SERC and ESA.
| Neutral hydrogen absorption observations of the central region of NGC 3628
Using MERLIN with 0.2-arcsec resolution we have observed neutralhydrogen absorption against the central region of the starburst galaxyNGC 3628. The central region resolves into ~16 continuum components at1.4 GHz. From comparison with published 15-GHz data, we infer that thesecomponents are supernova remnants, although three components may beconsistent with a weak active galactic nucleus. Neutral hydrogenabsorption is seen against the continuum emission with column densities~10^22cm^-2. The absorption appears to be from two separate absorbingstructures. Assuming a simple morphology, the main velocity structurecan be attributed to a ring of neutral gas with a radius 130 pc rotatingaround a central starburst with a velocity gradient of 1270 km s^-1kpc^-1. From simple assumptions, the mass interior to this ring is0.9x10^9M_solar. The second absorption structure may represent outflowfrom the starburst region or a large-scale galactic structure.Alternatively the absorption structure may be non-axisymmetric, such asa bar.
| 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.
| A catalogue of spatially resolved kinematics of galaxies: Bibliography
We present a catalogue of galaxies for which spatially resolved data ontheir internal kinematics have been published; there is no a priorirestriction regarding their morphological type. The catalogue lists thereferences to the articles where the data are published, as well as acoded description of these data: observed emission or absorption lines,velocity or velocity dispersion, radial profile or 2D field, positionangle. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are proposed in electronic form only, and areavailable from the CDS, via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (to130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| A Search for ``Dwarf'' Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies
We have completed an optical spectroscopic survey of the nuclear regions(r <~ 200 pc) of a large sample of nearby galaxies. Although the mainobjectives of the survey are to search for low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei and to quantify their luminosity function, the databasecan be used for a variety of other purposes. This paper presentsmeasurements of the spectroscopic parameters for the 418 emission-linenuclei, along with a compilation of the global properties of all 486galaxies in the survey. Stellar absorption generally poses a seriousobstacle to obtaining accurate measurement of emission lines in nearbygalactic nuclei. We describe a procedure for removing the starlight fromthe observed spectra in an efficient and objective manner. The mainparameters of the emission lines (intensity ratios, fluxes, profilewidths, and equivalent widths) are measured and tabulated, as areseveral stellar absorption-line and continuum indices useful forstudying the stellar population. Using standard nebular diagnostics, wedetermine the probable ionization mechanisms of the emission-lineobjects. The resulting spectral classifications provide extensiveinformation on the demographics of emission-line nuclei in the nearbyregions of the universe. This new catalog contains over 200 objectsshowing spectroscopic evidence for recent star formation and an equallylarge number of active galactic nuclei, including 46 that show broad Halpha emission. These samples will serve as the basis of future studiesof nuclear activity in nearby galaxies.
| An Einstein X-Ray Survey of Optically Selected Galaxies. I. Data
We present the results of a complete Einstein imaging proportionalcounter X-ray survey of optically selected galaxies from theShapley-Ames Catalog, the Uppsala General Catalogue, and the EuropeanSouthern Observatory Catalog. Well-defined optical criteria are used toselect the galaxies, and X-ray fluxes are measured at the opticallydefined positions. The result is a comprehensive list of X-ray detectionand upper limit measurements for 1018 galaxies. Of these, 827 haveeither independent distance estimates or radial velocities. Associatedoptical, redshift, and distance data have been assembled for thesegalaxies, and their distances come from a combination of directlypredicted distances and those predicted from the Faber-Burstein GreatAttractor/Virgocentric infall model. The accuracy of the X-ray fluxeshas been checked in three different ways; all are consistent with thederived X-ray fluxes being of <=0.1 dex accuracy. In particular,there is agreement with previously published X-ray fluxes for galaxiesin common with a 1991 study by Roberts et al. and a 1992 study byFabbiano et al. The data presented here will be used in further studiesto characterize the X-ray output of galaxies of various morphologicaltypes and thus to enable the determination of the major sourcescontributing to the X-ray emission from galaxies.
| The Nature of Starburst Galaxies
Utilizing a large sample of infrared-selected starburst galaxies havingoptical images and long-slit spectra, we explore the interrelationshipsbetween the properties of starbursts and relate these properties tothose of the "host" galaxy. We find that the half-light radius of theHα-emitting region (r_e,Hα_) enters into severalcorrelations that suggest it is physically related to the actualstarburst radius. Most suggestively, the effective IR surface brightness(L_IR_/πr^2^_e,Hα_) correlates strongly with the far-IR colortemperature. This can be reproduced roughly with an idealized model of asurrounding dust screen whose far-IR emissivity is determined by thelocal energy density of UV starburst light. Typical values forr_e,Hα_ are a few hundred pc to a few kpc (with the Hαemission being significantly more compact than the red starlight). Thisconfirms the "circumnuclear" scales of typical starbursts. We show alsothat starbursts seem to obey a limiting IR surface brightness of about10^11^L_sun_ kpc^2^, corresponding to a maximum star formation rate ofabout 20 M_sun_ yr^-1^ kpc^2^ for a normal initial mass function. Weargue that this upper limit suggests that starbursts are self-regulatingin some way. We show that most of these galaxies have relatively normal,symmetric rotation curves. This implies that the galactic disk need notsuffer severe dynamical damage in order to "fuel" a typical starburst.We show also that the starbursts occur preferentially in the innerregion of solid-body rotation. This may reflect both bar-driven inflowof gas to the region between the inner Lindblad resonances and thedominance of gravitational instability over tidal shear in this region.Most of the starbursts reside in galaxies with rotation speeds of120-200 km s^-1^ (compared to 220 km s^-1^ for a fiducial L^*^ galaxylike the Milky Way). The lack of a correlation between galaxy rotationspeed and starburst luminosity means that even relatively modestgalaxies (masses~10% of the Milky Way) can host powerful starbursts. Weargue on the basis of causality that the internal velocity dispersion ina starburst sets an upper limit to the star formation rate. The mostextreme starbursts approach this limit, but most are well below.Finally, we show that the relative narrowness of the nuclear emissionlines in starbursts (relative to the galaxy rotation speed) arisesbecause the gas in the nuclear "bin" usually does not sample fully thesolid-body part of the rotation curve. The narrow lines do notnecessarily imply that the starburst is not in dynamical equilibrium.
| Ionized Gas in the Halos of Edge-on Starburst Galaxies: Evidence for Supernova-driven Superwinds
Supernova-driven galactic winds ("superwinds") have been invoked toexplain many aspects of galaxy formation and evolution. Such windsshould arise when the supernova rate is high enough to create a cavityof very hot shock-heated gas within a galaxy. This gas can then expandoutward as a high-speed wind that can accelerate and heat ambientinterstellar or circum-galactic gas causing it to emit optical lineradiation and/or thermal X-rays. Theory suggests that such winds shouldbe common in starburst galaxies and that the nature of the winds shoulddepend on the star formation rate and distribution. In order tosystematize our observational understanding of superwinds (determinetheir incidence rate and the dependence of their properties on the starformation that drives them) and to make quantitative comparisons withthe theory of superwinds, we have analyzed data from an opticalspectroscopic and narrow-band imaging survey of an infrared flux-limited(S_60 microns_ >= 5.4 Jy) sample of about 50 IR-warm (S_60microns_/S_100 microns_ > 0.4), starburst galaxies whose stellardisks are viewed nearly edge-on (b/a ~> 2). This sample containsgalaxies with infrared luminosities from ~10^10^-10^12^ L_sun_ andallows us to determine the properties of superwinds over a wide range ofstar formation rates. We have found that extraplanar emission-line gasis a very common feature of these edge-on, IR-bright galaxies and theproperties of the extended emission-line gas are qualitatively andquantitatively consistent with the superwind theory. We can summarizethese properties as morphological, ionization, dynamical, and physical.1. Morphological properties.-Extraplanar filamentary and shell-likeemission-line morphologies on scales of hundreds of parsecs to 10 kpcare common, there is a general "excess" of line emission along the minoraxis, the minor axis emission-line "excess" correlates with "IRactivity," and the minor axis emission-line "excess" also correlateswith the relative compactness of the Hα emission. 2. Ionizationproperties.-Line ratios become more "shocklike" (high ratios of [N II]λ6583/Hα, [S II] λλ6716, 6731/Hα, and[O I] λ6300/Hα) at more extreme IR properties, the most"shocklike" line ratios occur far out along the minor axis, "shocklike"line ratios corresponds to broad emission lines, and the most extremeline ratios correspond to the most extreme IR properties, especially forthe emission-line gas farthest out along the minor axis. 3. Dynamicalproperties.-Lines are broader along the minor axis than along the majoraxis, line widths correlate with the "IR activity," line widthscorrelate with line ratios, line widths do not correlate with rotationspeed, minor axis shear (a measure of the systematic velocity changealong the minor axis) correlates with "IR activity," minor axis shearcorrelates with axial ratio and implies that a face-on galaxy would havean outflow/inflow speed of 170_-80_^+150^ km s^-1^, and the starburstsshow statistically blueward line profile asymmetries. 4. Physicalproperties.-Pressures in the nuclei of these galaxies are 3 orders ofmagnitude higher than the ambient pressure in the interstellar medium ofour galaxy, and the pressure falls systematically with radius. Whilenone of these results are in themselves proof of the superwind model, webelieve that when the results are taken as a whole, the superwindhypothesis is very successful in explaining what we have observed. Inaddition, these results have implications for galaxy evolution and thenature of the intergalactic medium. Those galaxies with the bestevidence for driving superwinds are those with large IR luminosities(L_IR_ ~> 10^44^ ergs s^-1^), large IR excesses (L_IR_/L_OPT_ ~>2), and warm far-IR colors (S_60 microns_/S_100 microns_ ~> 0.5).Integrating over the local far-IR luminosity function for galaxiesmeeting the above criteria, multiplying by the age of the universe, andthen dividing by the local space density of galaxies implies thatsuperwinds have carried out ~5 x 10^8^ M_sun_ in metals and 10^59^ ergsin kinetic plus thermal energy per average (Schecter L^*^) galaxy overthe history of the universe. We note that these two quantities areapproximately equal to the mass of metals contained inside an averagegalaxy and the gravitational binding energy of an average galaxy,respectively. Even with the conservative assumptions of this calculation(we have neglected that star formation rates were presumably higher inthe early universe), it is obvious that superwinds may have a majorimpact on the evolution of individual galaxies and the intergalacticmedium by injecting mass, metals, and kinetic energy into the galactichalo and potentially the intergalactic medium.
| An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.
A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.
| CCD and HI observations of LSB dwarf galaxies in the general field.
CCD B and V observations of 16 low-surface-brightness galaxies and HIdata for a subsample of 4 of them are presented. Both paired andisolated dwarf galaxies are observed to study possible environmentaleffects on their characteristics. Most of the observed galaxies are truedwarfs with -8.0>=M_B_>=-16.0, blue colours(0.16<=B-V<=0.76) and low central surface brightnesses22.2<=μ_B_<=24.0mag/arcsec^2^. Most of them show exponentiallight profiles with a central light depression. About half of them havebright generally blue knots or peculiar loops.
| Evolutionary models of the radio emission in compact starbursts
We present the first complete set of evolutionary models developed toinvestigate the temporal evolution of the radio emission properties incompact starbursts. The constituents of the radio emission are thethermal free-free emission from the ionized gas, the non-thermalemission from young bright radio supernovae, and the non-thermalemission from old supernova remnants. Both instantaneous and continuousbursts are considered in a wide variety of models characterized bydifferent metallicities and initial mass function (IMF) parameters, i.e.IMF slope and mass limits. The outputs of the models have a directapplicability in the study of dusty star-forming environments like thosepresent in starburst galaxies, in general. Also, the models can be usedfor direct comparison with radio observations of ultraluminous infraredgalaxies (ULIRG) to reveal the nature - active galactic nucleus (AGN) ornuclear starburst - of the energy source in the central regions of thesegalaxies.
| A Spectrophotometric Survey of Merging Galaxies
We present long-slit spectrophotometry of 40 merging or stronglyinteracting galaxy systems in the wavelength range 3650-7100 A. Alongwith optically selected objects, the sample includes 10 ultraluminousIRAS galaxies with evidence of ongoing merger activity. The data show awide variety of phenomena, with spectra resembling those of isolatedelliptical galaxies, early and late-type spiral galaxies, activegalactic nuclei starbursts, and poststarburst systems.
| A search for 'dwarf' Seyfert nuclei. 2: an optical spectral atlas of the nuclei of nearby galaxies
We present an optical spectral atlas of the nuclear region (generally 2sec x 4 sec, or r approximately less than 200 pc) of a magnitude-limitedsurvey of 486 nearby galaxies having BT less than or = 12.5mag and delta greater than 0 deg. The double spectrograph on the Hale 5m telescope yielded simultaneous spectral coverage of approximately4230-5110 A and approximately 6210-6860 A, with a spectral resolution ofapproximately 4 A in the blue half and approximately 2.5 A in the redhalf. This large, statistically significant survey contains uniformlyobserved and calibrated moderate-dispersion spectra of exceptionallyhigh quality. The data presented in this paper will be used for varioussystematic studies of the physical properties of the nuclei of nearbygalaxies, with special emphasis on searching for low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei, or 'dwarf' Seyferts. Our survey led to the discovery offour relatively obvious but previously uncataloged Seyfert galaxies (NGC3735, 492, 4639, and 6951), and many more galactic nuclei showingevidence for Seyfert activity. We have also identified numerouslow-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs), some of which maybe powered by nonstellar processes. Of the many 'starburst' nuclei inour sample, several exhibit the spectral features of Wolf-Rayet stars.
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