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 An Atlas of Hα and R Images and Radial Profiles of 29 Bright Isolated Spiral GalaxiesNarrowband Hα+[N II] and broadband R images and surface photometryare presented for a sample of 29 bright (MB<-18 mag)isolated S0-Scd galaxies within a distance of 48 Mpc. These galaxies areamong the most isolated nearby spiral galaxies of their Hubbleclassifications as determined from the Nearby Galaxies Catalog. A Comparison of Hα and Stellar Scale Lengths in Virgo and Field SpiralsThe scale lengths of the old stars and ionized gas distributions arecompared for similar samples of Virgo Cluster members and field spiralgalaxies via Hα and broad R-band surface photometry. While theR-band and Hα scale lengths are, on average, comparable for thecombined sample, we find significant differences between the field andcluster samples. While the Hα scale lengths of the field galaxiesare a factor of 1.14+/-0.07 longer, on average, than their R-band scalelengths, the Hα scale lengths of Virgo Cluster members are, onaverage, 20% smaller than their R-band scale lengths. Furthermore, inVirgo, the scale length ratios are correlated with the size of thestar-forming disk: galaxies with smaller overall Hα extents alsoshow steeper radial falloff of star formation activity. At the sametime, we find no strong trends in scale length ratio as a function ofother galaxy properties, including galaxy luminosity, inclination,morphological type, central R-band light concentration, or bar type. Ourresults for Hα emission are similar to other results for dustemission, suggesting that Hα and dust have similar distributions.The environmental dependence of the Hα scale length placesadditional constraints on the evolutionary process(es) that cause gasdepletion and a suppression of the star formation rate in clusters ofgalaxies. The Stellar Populations in the Central Parsecs of Galactic BulgesWe present Hubble Space Telescope blue spectra at intermediate spectralresolution for the nuclei of 23 nearby disk galaxies. These objects wereselected to have nebular emission in their nuclei and span a range ofemission-line classifications, as well as Hubble types. In this paper wefocus on the stellar population as revealed by the continuum spectralenergy distribution measured within the central 0.13" (~8 pc) of thesegalaxies. The data were modeled with linear combinations of single-agestellar population synthesis models. The large majority (~80%) of thesurveyed nuclei have spectra whose features are consistent with apredominantly old (>~5×109 yr) stellar population.Approximately 25% of these nuclei show evidence of a component with ageyounger than 1 Gyr, with the incidence of these stars related to thenebular classification. Successful model fits imply an average reddeningcorresponding to AV~0.4 mag and a stellar metallicity of1-2.5 Zsolar. We discuss the implications of these resultsfor understanding the star formation history in the environment ofquiescent and active supermassive black holes. Our findings reinforcethe picture wherein Seyfert nuclei and the majority of low-ionizationnuclear emission-line regions are predominantly accretion-powered andsuggest that much of the central star formation in H II nuclei isactually circumnuclear.Based on observations obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, which isoperated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. The Stellar Populations of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph ObservationsWe present a study of the stellar populations of low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei (LLAGNs). Our goal is to search for spectroscopicsignatures of young and intermediate-age stars and to investigate theirrelationship with the ionization mechanism in LLAGNs. The method used isbased on the stellar population synthesis of the optical continuum ofthe innermost (20-100 pc) regions in these galaxies. For this purpose,we have collected high spatial resolution optical (2900-5700 Å)STIS spectra of 28 nearby LLAGNs that are available in the Hubble SpaceTelescope archive. The analysis of these data is compared with a similaranalysis also presented here for 51 ground-based spectra of LLAGNs. Ourmain findings are as follows: (1) No features due to Wolf-Rayet starswere convincingly detected in the STIS spectra. (2) Young starscontribute very little to the optical continuum in the ground-basedaperture. However, the fraction of light provided by these stars ishigher than 10% in most of the weak-[O I] ([OI]/Hα<=0.25) LLAGNSTIS spectra. (3) Intermediate-age stars contribute significantly to theoptical continuum of these nuclei. This population is more frequent inobjects with weak than with strong [O I]. Weak-[O I] LLAGNs that haveyoung stars stand out for their intermediate-age population. (4) Most ofthe strong-[O I] LLAGNs have predominantly old stellar population. A fewof these objects also show a featureless continuum that contributessignificantly to the optical continuum. These results suggest that youngand intermediate-age stars do not play a significant role in theionization of LLAGNs with strong [O I]. However, the ionization inweak-[O I] LLAGNs with young and/or intermediate-age populations couldbe due to stellar processes. A comparison of the properties of theseobjects with Seyfert 2 galaxies that harbor a nuclear starburst suggeststhat weak-[O I] LLAGNs are the lower luminosity counterparts of theSeyfert 2 composite nuclei.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555. Based on observations made with the Nordic OpticalTelescope (NOT), 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 Astrofísica deCanarias. Inner-truncated Disks in GalaxiesWe 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. Properties of isolated disk galaxiesWe present a new sample of northern isolated galaxies, which are definedby the physical criterion that they were not affected by other galaxiesin their evolution during the last few Gyr. To find them we used thelogarithmic ratio, f, between inner and tidal forces acting upon thecandidate galaxy by a possible perturber. The analysis of thedistribution of the f-values for the galaxies in the Coma cluster leadus to adopt the criterion f ≤ -4.5 for isolated galaxies. Thecandidates were chosen from the CfA catalog of galaxies within thevolume defined by cz ≤5000 km s-1, galactic latitudehigher than 40o and declination ≥-2.5o. Theselection of the sample, based on redshift values (when available),magnitudes and sizes of the candidate galaxies and possible perturberspresent in the same field is discussed. The final list of selectedisolated galaxies includes 203 objects from the initial 1706. The listcontains only truly isolated galaxies in the sense defined, but it is byno means complete, since all the galaxies with possible companions underthe f-criterion but with unknown redshift were discarded. We alsoselected a sample of perturbed galaxies comprised of all the diskgalaxies from the initial list with companions (with known redshift)satisfying f ≥ -2 and \Delta(cz) ≤500 km s-1; a totalof 130 objects. The statistical comparison of both samples showssignificant differences in morphology, sizes, masses, luminosities andcolor indices. Confirming previous results, we found that late spiral,Sc-type galaxies are, in particular, more frequent among isolatedgalaxies, whereas Lenticular galaxies are more abundant among perturbedgalaxies. Isolated systems appear to be smaller, less luminous and bluerthan interacting objects. We also found that bars are twice as frequentamong perturbed galaxies compared to isolated galaxies, in particularfor early Spirals and Lenticulars. The perturbed galaxies have higherLFIR/LB and Mmol/LB ratios,but the atomic gas content is similar for the two samples. The analysisof the luminosity-size and mass-luminosity relations shows similartrends for both families, the main difference being the almost totalabsence of big, bright and massive galaxies among the family of isolatedsystems, together with the almost total absence of small, faint and lowmass galaxies among the perturbed systems. All these aspects indicatethat the evolution induced by interactions with neighbors would proceedfrom late, small, faint and low mass Spirals to earlier, bigger, moreluminous and more massive spiral and lenticular galaxies, producing atthe same time a larger fraction of barred galaxies but preserving thesame relations between global parameters. The properties we found forour sample of isolated galaxies appear similar to those of high redshiftgalaxies, suggesting that the present-day isolated galaxies could bequietly evolved, unused building blocks surviving in low densityenvironments.Tables \ref{t1} and \ref{t2} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org An Efficient Strategy to Select Targets for Gasdynamical Measurements of Black Hole Masses Using the Hubble Space TelescopeGasdynamical studies using the Hubble Space Telescope are an integralcomponent for future progress in the search for massive black holes ingalactic nuclei. Here we present an extensive set of gas rotation curvesobtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph for the centralregions of 23 disk galaxies. We find that the bulges of randomlyselected, nearby spiral and S0 galaxies generally do not containwell-defined gaseous disks. Only 15%-20% of disk galaxies have regular,symmetric velocity fields useful for dynamical analysis. Throughcomparison of the kinematics with Hubble Space Telescope images of thenuclear regions, we show that the probability of success can besignificantly boosted by preselecting objects whose central dust lanesfollow a well-ordered, circularly symmetric pattern. The dust morphologycan be ascertained efficiently by visual inspection of unsharp-maskedimages. Based on observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope,which is operated by AURA, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. Limits on the Mass of the Central Black Hole in 16 Nearby BulgesWe report upper limits on the masses of black holes that can be presentin the centers of 16 nearby galaxy bulges. These limitsMlimBH for our statistically complete sample werederived from the modeling of the central emission-line widths ([N II] or[S II]), observed over a 0.25"×0.2" (R<~9 pc) aperture. Theexperiment has a mean detection sensitivity of ~3.9×106Msolar. For three sample members with direct determinationsof MBH our upper limits agree within the uncertainties, whilein general our upper limits are found to be close to the masses measuredin other bulges with global properties similar to ours. Remarkably, ourlimits are quite close to the recently derivedMBH-σ* relation. These results support apicture wherein the black hole mass and overall galaxy structure areclosely linked, as galaxies with exceptionally high MBH at agiven σ* apparently are rare. Based on observationsmade with the Hubble Space Telescope, which is operated by AURA, Inc.,under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. A Study of the Direct Fitting Method for Measurement of Galaxy Velocity DispersionsWe have measured the central stellar velocity dispersions of 33 nearbyspiral and elliptical galaxies, using a straightforward template-fittingalgorithm operating in the pixel domain. The spectra, obtained with theDouble Spectrograph at Palomar Observatory, cover both the Ca tripletand the Mg I b region, and we present a comparison of the velocitydispersion measurements from these two spectral regions. Model fits tothe Ca triplet region generally yield good results, with littlesensitivity to the choice of template star. In contrast, the Mg I bregion is more sensitive to template mismatch and to details of thefitting procedure, such as the order of a polynomial used to match thecontinuum shape of the template to the object. As a consequence of thecorrelation of the [Mg/Fe] ratio with velocity dispersion, it isdifficult to obtain a satisfactory model fit to the Mg I b lines and thesurrounding Fe blends simultaneously, particularly for giant ellipticalgalaxies with large velocity dispersions. We demonstrate that if themetallicities of the galaxy and template star are not well matched, thendirect template-fitting results are improved if the Mg I b linesthemselves are excluded from the fit and the velocity dispersion isdetermined from the surrounding weaker lines. Bar Galaxies and Their EnvironmentsThe prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment. Rotation curves and metallicity gradients from HII regions in spiral galaxiesIn this paper we study long slit spectra in the region of Hαemission line of a sample of 111 spiral galaxies with recognizable andwell defined spiral morphology and with a well determined environmentalstatus, ranging from isolation to non-disruptive interaction withsatellites or companions. The form and properties of the rotation curvesare considered as a function of the isolation degree, morphological typeand luminosity. The line ratios are used to estimate the metallicity ofall the detected HII regions, thus producing a composite metallicityprofile for different types of spirals. We have found that isolatedgalaxies tend to be of later types and lower luminosity than theinteracting galaxies. The outer parts of the rotation curves of isolatedgalaxies tend to be flatter than in interacting galaxies, but they showsimilar relations between global parameters. The scatter of theTully-Fisher relation defined by isolated galaxies is significantlylower than that of interacting galaxies. The [NII]/Hα ratios, usedas a metallicity indicator, show a clear trend between Z andmorphological type, t, with earlier spirals showing higher ratios; thistrend is tighter when instead of t the gradient of the inner rotationcurve, G, is used; no trend is found with the change in interactionstatus. The Z-gradient of the disks depends on the type, being almostflat for early spirals, and increasing for later types. The[NII]/Hα ratios measured for disk HII regions of interactinggalaxies are higher than for normal/isolated objects, even if all thegalaxy families present similar distributions of Hα EquivalentWidth. Tables 3 and 4 and Figs. 6, 7 and 21 are only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org. Table 5 is only availablein electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/393/389 Based on dataobtained Asiago/Ekar Observatory. Also based on observations made withINT operated on the island of La Palma by ING in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias. Local velocity field from sosie galaxies. I. The Peebles' modelPratton et al. (1997) showed that the velocity field around clusterscould generate an apparent distortion that appears as tangentialstructures or radial filaments. In the present paper we determine theparameters of the Peebles' model (1976) describing infall of galaxiesonto clusters with the aim of testing quantitatively the amplitude ofthis distortion. The distances are determined from the concept of sosiegalaxies (Paturel 1984) using 21 calibrators for which the distanceswere recently calculated from two independent Cepheid calibrations. Weuse both B and I-band magnitudes. The Spaenhauer diagram method is usedto correct for the Malmquist bias. We give the equations for theconstruction of this diagram. We analyze the apparent Hubble constant indifferent regions around Virgo and obtain simultaneously the Local Groupinfall and the unperturbed Hubble constant. We found:[VLG-infall = 208 ± 9 km s-1] [\log H =1.82 ± 0.04 (H ≈ 66 ± 6 km s-1Mpc-1).] The front side and backside infalls can be seenaround Virgo and Fornax. In the direction of Virgo the comparison ismade with the Peebles' model. We obtain: [vinfall} =CVirgo/r0.9 ± 0.2] withCVirgo=2800 for Virgo and CFornax=1350 for Fornax,with the adopted units (km s-1 and Mpc). We obtain thefollowing mean distance moduli: [μVirgo=31.3 ± 0.2(r=18 Mpc )] [μFornax=31.7 ± 0.3 (r=22 Mpc). ] Allthese quantities form an accurate and coherent system. Full Table 2 isonly available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/393/57 A morphological comparison between the central region in AGN and normal galaxies using HST dataWe study the morphology of the central region of a sample of ActiveGalactic Nuclei (AGN) and a control'' sample of normal galaxies usingarchival observations of the WFPC2 instrument onboard the Hubble SpaceTelescope (HST). We use the ellipse fitting technique in order to get agood description of the inner smooth'' light distribution of thegalaxy. We then divide the observed galaxy image by the artificial imagefrom the fitted ellipses in order to detect morphological signatures inthe central region around the nucleus of the galaxy. We performquantitative comparisons of different subgroups of our sample ofgalaxies (according to the Hubble type and the nuclear activity of thegalaxies) by calculating the average amplitude of the structures thatare revealed with the ellipse fitting technique. Our main conclusionsare as follows: 1) All AGNs show significant structure in their inner100 pc and 1 kpc regions whose amplitude is similar in all of them,independent of the Hubble type of the host galaxy. 2) When consideringearly-type galaxies, non-AGN galaxies show no structure at all, contraryto what we find for AGN. 3) When considering late-type galaxies, bothAGN and non-AGN galaxies show significant structure in their centralregion. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that allearly-type galaxies host a supermassive black hole, but only those thathave enough material in the central regions to fuel it show an activenucleus. The situation is more complicated in late-type galaxies. Eithernot all of them host a central black hole, or, in some of them, thematerial inside the innermost 100 pc region is not transported to thescales of the central engine for some reason, or the large amount of gasand dust hides the active nucleus from our sight. Based on observationsmade with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the dataarchive at the Space Telescope Science Institute. STScI is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., underthe NASA contract NAS5-26555. The Nature of Composite LINER/H II Galaxies as Revealed from High-Resolution VLA ObservationsA sample of 37 nearby galaxies displaying composite LINER/H II and pureH II spectra was observed with the VLA in an investigation of the natureof their weak radio emission. The resulting radio contour maps overlaidon optical galaxy images are presented here, together with an extensiveliterature list and discussion of the individual galaxies. Radiomorphological data permit assessment of the classical active galacticnucleus (AGN)'' contribution to the global activity observed in thesetransition'' LINER galaxies. One in five of the latter objects displayclear AGN characteristics: these occur exclusively in bulge-dominatedhosts. A Dynamical Study of Galaxies in the Hickson Compact GroupsTo investigate dynamical properties of spiral galaxies in the Hicksoncompact groups (HCGs), we present rotation curves of 30 galaxies in 20HCGs. We found as follows: (1) There is no significant relation betweendynamical peculiarity and morphological peculiarity in HCG spiralgalaxies. (2) There is no significant relation between the dynamicalproperties and the frequency distribution of nuclear activities in HCGspiral galaxies. (3) There are no significant correlations between thedynamical properties of HCG spiral galaxies and any group properties(i.e., size, velocity dispersion, galaxy number density, and crossingtime). (4) Asymmetric and peculiar rotation curves are more frequentlyseen in the HCG spiral galaxies than in field spiral galaxies or incluster ones. However, this tendency is more obviously seen in late-typeHCG spiral galaxies. These results suggest that the dynamical propertiesof HCG spiral galaxies do not strongly correlate with the morphology,the nuclear activity, and the group properties. Our results also suggestthat more frequent galaxy collisions occur in the HCGs than in the fieldand in the clusters. Arcsecond Positions of UGC GalaxiesWe 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. Galaxy coordinates. II. Accurate equatorial coordinates for 17298 galaxiesUsing images of the Digitized Sky Survey we measured coodinates for17298 galaxies having poorly defined coordinates. As a control, wemeasured with the same method 1522 galaxies having accurate coordinates.The comparison with our own measurements shows that the accuracy of themethod is about 6 arcsec on each axis (RA and DEC). Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.Not Available Bulge-Disk Decomposition of 659 Spiral and Lenticular Galaxy Brightness ProfilesWe present one of the largest homogeneous sets of spiral and lenticulargalaxy brightness profile decompositions completed to date. The 659galaxies in our sample have been fitted with a de Vaucouleurs law forthe bulge component and an inner-truncated exponential for the diskcomponent. Of the 659 galaxies in the sample, 620 were successfullyfitted with the chosen fitting functions. The fits are generally welldefined, with more than 90% having rms deviations from the observedprofile of less than 0.35 mag. We find no correlations of fittingquality, as measured by these rms residuals, with either morphologicaltype or inclination. Similarly, the estimated errors of the fittedcoefficients show no significant trends with type or inclination. Thesedecompositions form a useful basis for the study of the lightdistributions of spiral and lenticular galaxies. The object base issufficiently large that well-defined samples of galaxies can be selectedfrom it. 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. A catalogue of spatially resolved kinematics of galaxies: BibliographyWe 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 GalaxiesWe 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. A search for 'dwarf' Seyfert nuclei. 2: an optical spectral atlas of the nuclei of nearby galaxiesWe 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. Multiwavelength Energy Distributions and Bolometric Luminosities of the 12 Micron Galaxy SampleAbstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995ApJ...453..616S&db_key=AST The orientation of spin vectors of galaxies in the Ursa Major filamentSpin vectors of 60 galaxies in the 'Ursa Major filament' are obtainedfrom CCD images and spectroscopic determinations of the directions ofrotation. These data are used to remove the fourfold degeneracyintroduced by the projected images of galaxies, making possible thecomplete reconstruction of the galaxy spin vectors. Several possibleorganizations of spin vectors are investigated by means of statisticalanalyses of the three-dimensional spin vector maps. The results indicatethat there exists no significant alignment of galaxy spin vectors withrespect to the supergalactic plane, the supergalactic axis, or thecylindrical axis of the filament itself. No tendency for linearalignment of spin vectors toward any specific direction was detected. Wealso obtain a statistically negative result for azimuthal, radial, andcircular-helical orientation of spin vectors. Galaxies with f12 > f25We have compiled a sample of galaxies whose flux density is higher at 12microns (f12) than at 25 microns (f25). It is argued thatf12 >f25effectively selects quiescent galaxies which are less active ininfrared, radio, and optical bands than other types of normal galaxies.Moreover galaxies withf12 >f25 do not exhibit the well-knownrelations that normal galaxies show between far-infrared parameters, forexample, the negative correlation betweenf12/f25 andf60/f100. Thesegalaxies also show different far-infrared and radio properties. In ouropinion this sample of quiescent galaxies is suitable for use as acontrol sample when properties of more active galaxies are discussed. Itmay also be used in modeling galaxies with active star formation or anactive nucleus. An alternative view of flat rotation curves. II. The observations.Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1994RMxAA..28...35S&db_key=AST Exponential bulges in late-type spirals: an improved description of the light distributionIn many cases the modeling of spiral galaxies by an exponential disc andan R1/4-law bulge does not satisfactorily describe the meanradial distribution of light. This is most evident in non-linearleast-squares fitting techniques in which the resulting effective radiusand surface brightness of the bulge are characterized by largeuncertainties and are scattered over large ranges, in sharp contrast totheir disc counterparts. We attempt to decompose the major-axis profilesof 34 late-type spirals in terms of an alternative model consisting ofan exponential disc and an exponential bulge, using seeing-convolvedmodels. The results of this decomposition show that this model issuperior in the statistical aspects of the fitting procedure, in thesense that the various goodness-of-fit indicators are better and theresiduals are smaller. The fact that it also confines the parameters ofthe bulge to a range whose narrowness is comparable to that of theparameters of the disc indicates that this model has the potential togive a better and more consistent description of the bulges of late-typespirals. Infrared imaging of spiral galaxies: Colors and luminosity profilesWe present surface photometry of 43 SO and spiral galaxies in the K bandwith a subset also observed in J. Most of the data are photometricallycalibrated. We combine our data with published optical major-axisprofiles to construct a set of galaxies with rJK colors, divide themajor-axis profiles into bulge-dominated and disk-dominated regions, andcompute mean colors and color gradients separately for bulges and disks.Typically the disk colors are measured from 0.8 to 1.8 scale lengths.The colors of the bulge and disk components are strongly correlated,indicating that both components have a red stellar content that issimilar in both age and metallicity. In the mean the disks are 0.1 magbluer in r - K than bulges; this color difference would arise if thedisks are 2-4 x 109 yr younger or have lower metallicities byDelta(Fe/H) is approximately equal to -0.1 to -0.2. Many of the bulgesexhibit negative color gradients (bluer outward), which indicate thatmetallicity gradients of order Delta(Fe/H) is approximately -0.2 may becommon in bulges. Bulges of late-type galaxies are bluer on average thanthose of early types, probably a consequence of lower metallicity. About25% of the galaxies have especially red bulge and disk colors, which weinterpret as arising from large internal extinction rather than from anenhanced star-formation rate. A simple model to fit rotation curves.Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1993RMxAA..25..111M&db_key=AST
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