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Scale Heights of Non-Edge-on Spiral Galaxies
We present a method of calculating the scale height of non-edge-onspiral galaxies, together with a formula for errors. The method is basedon solving Poisson's equation for a logarithmic disturbance of matterdensity in spiral galaxies. We show that the spiral arms can not extendto inside the ``forbidden radius'' r0, due to the effect ofthe finite thickness of the disk. The method is tested by re-calculatingthe scale heights of 71 northern spiral galaxies previously calculatedby Ma, Peng & Gu. Our results differ from theirs by less than 9%. Wealso present the scale heights of a further 23 non-edge-on spiralgalaxies.
| Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes
Central black hole masses for 117 spiral galaxies representingmorphological stages S0/a through Sc and taken from the largespectroscopic survey of Ho et al. are derived using Ks-banddata from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Black hole masses are foundusing a calibrated black hole-Ks bulge luminosity relation,while bulge luminosities are measured by means of a two-dimensionalbulge-disk decomposition routine. The black hole masses are correlatedagainst a variety of parameters representing properties of the nucleusand host galaxy. Nuclear properties such as line width (FWHM [N II]), aswell as emission-line ratios (e.g., [O III]/Hβ, [O I]/Hα, [NII]/Hα, and [S II]/Hα), show a very high degree ofcorrelation with black hole mass. The excellent correlation with linewidth supports the view that the emission-line gas is in virialequilibrium with either the black hole or bulge potential. The very goodemission-line ratio correlations may indicate a change in ionizingcontinuum shape with black hole mass in the sense that more massiveblack holes generate harder spectra. Apart from theinclination-corrected rotational velocity, no excellent correlations arefound between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. Significantdifferences are found between the distributions of black hole masses inearly-, mid-, and late-type spiral galaxies (subsamples A, B, and C) inthe sense that early-type galaxies have preferentially larger centralblack holes, consistent with observations that Seyfert galaxies arefound preferentially in early-type systems. The line width distributionsshow a marked difference among subsamples A, B, and C in the sense thatearlier type galaxies have larger line widths. There are also cleardifferences in line ratios between subsamples A+B and C that likely arerelated to the level of ionization in the gas. Finally, aKs-band Simien & de Vaucouleurs diagram shows excellentagreement with the original B-band relation, although there is a largedispersion at a given morphological stage.
| Inner-truncated Disks in Galaxies
We present an analysis of the disk brightness profiles of 218 spiral andlenticular galaxies. At least 28% of disk galaxies exhibit innertruncations in these profiles. There are no significant trends oftruncation incidence with Hubble type, but the incidence among barredsystems is 49%, more than 4 times that for nonbarred galaxies. However,not all barred systems have inner truncations, and not allinner-truncated systems are currently barred. Truncations represent areal dearth of disk stars in the inner regions and are not an artifactof our selection or fitting procedures nor the result of obscuration bydust. Disk surface brightness profiles in the outer regions are wellrepresented by simple exponentials for both truncated and nontruncateddisks. However, truncated and nontruncated systems have systematicallydifferent slopes and central surface brightness parameters for theirdisk brightness distributions. Truncation radii do not appear tocorrelate well with the sizes or brightnesses of the bulges. Thissuggests that the low angular momentum material apparently missing fromthe inner disk was not simply consumed in forming the bulge population.Disk parameters and the statistics of bar orientations in our sampleindicate that the missing stars of the inner disk have not simply beenredistributed azimuthally into bar structures. The sharpness of thebrightness truncations and their locations with respect to othergalactic structures suggest that resonances associated with diskkinematics, or tidal interactions with the mass of bulge stars, might beresponsible for this phenomenon.
| The ISOPHOT 170 μm Serendipity Survey II. The catalog of optically identified galaxies%
The ISOPHOT Serendipity Sky Survey strip-scanning measurements covering≈15% of the far-infrared (FIR) sky at 170 μm were searched forcompact sources associated with optically identified galaxies. CompactSerendipity Survey sources with a high signal-to-noise ratio in at leasttwo ISOPHOT C200 detector pixels were selected that have a positionalassociation with a galaxy identification in the NED and/or Simbaddatabases and a galaxy counterpart visible on the Digitized Sky Surveyplates. A catalog with 170 μm fluxes for more than 1900 galaxies hasbeen established, 200 of which were measured several times. The faintest170 μm fluxes reach values just below 0.5 Jy, while the brightest,already somewhat extended galaxies have fluxes up to ≈600 Jy. For thevast majority of listed galaxies, the 170 μm fluxes were measured forthe first time. While most of the galaxies are spirals, about 70 of thesources are classified as ellipticals or lenticulars. This is the onlycurrently available large-scale galaxy catalog containing a sufficientnumber of sources with 170 μm fluxes to allow further statisticalstudies of various FIR properties.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.Members of the Consortium on the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey (CISS) areMPIA Heidelberg, ESA ISO SOC Villafranca, AIP Potsdam, IPAC Pasadena,Imperial College London.Full Table 4 and Table 6 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/422/39
| Properties of isolated disk galaxies
We 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
| 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.
| Radio Sources and Star Formation in the Local Universe
Galaxies from the entire Uppsala Galaxy Catalog (UGC) have beenidentified with 4583 radio sources stronger than 2.5 mJy at 1.4 GHz fromthe NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS). The complete sample of 3398 galaxiesbrighter than mp=14.5 in the area defined byδ>-2deg30' and |b|>20degyielded the UGC/NVSS sample of 1966 radio sources. Their dominant energysources were classified as stars (85%) or active galactic nuclei (15%).The luminosity function of star-forming galaxies agrees well with thefar-infrared (FIR) luminosity function converted to 1.4 GHz by theFIR/radio correlation. The spectral power density of star-forminggalaxies is USF=(1.53+/-0.07)×1019 WHz-1 Mpc-3 (statistical errors only) ifH0=70 km s-1 Mpc-1. We used a modelconsistent with the observed FIR/radio correlation to estimate thecorresponding star formation rate density within the pastτ~3×108 yr; it isρSF(M>0.1Msolar)~0.018 Msolaryr-1 Mpc-3. The radio sources in star-forminggalaxies may be evolving even at moderately low redshifts (z~0.1).
| Local velocity field from sosie galaxies. I. The Peebles' model
Pratton 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
| Galaxies with Rows
The results of a search for galaxies with straight structural elements,usually spiral-arm rows (“rows” in the terminology ofVorontsov-Vel'yaminov), are reported. The list of galaxies that possess(or probably possess) such rows includes about 200 objects, of whichabout 70% are brighter than 14m. On the whole, galaxies with rows makeup 6 8% of all spiral galaxies with well-developed spiral patterns. Mostgalaxies with rows are gas-rich Sbc-Scd spirals. The fraction ofinteracting galaxies among them is appreciably higher than amonggalaxies without rows. Earlier conclusions that, as a rule, the lengthsof rows are similar to their galactocentric distances and that theangles between adjacent rows are concentrated near 120° areconfirmed. It is concluded that the rows must be transient hydrodynamicstructures that develop in normal galaxies.
| 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.
| The I-Band Tully-Fisher Relation for SC Galaxies: 21 Centimeter H I Line Data
A compilation of 21 cm line spectral parameters specifically designedfor application of the Tully-Fisher (TF) distance method is presentedfor 1201 spiral galaxies, primarily field Sc galaxies, for which opticalI-band photometric imaging is also available. New H I line spectra havebeen obtained for 881 galaxies. For an additional 320 galaxies, spectraavailable in a digital archive have been reexamined to allow applicationof a single algorithm for the derivation of the TF velocity widthparameter. A velocity width algorithm is used that provides a robustmeasurement of rotational velocity and permits an estimate of the erroron that width taking into account the effects of instrumental broadeningand signal-to-noise. The digital data are used to establish regressionrelations between measurements of velocity widths using other commonprescriptions so that comparable widths can be derived throughconversion of values published in the literature. The uniform H I linewidths presented here provide the rotational velocity measurement to beused in deriving peculiar velocities via the TF method.
| The I-Band Tully-Fisher Relation for SC Galaxies: Optical Imaging Data
Properties derived from the analysis of photometric I-band imagingobservations are presented for 1727 inclined spiral galaxies, mostly oftypes Sbc and Sc. The reduction, parameter extraction, and errorestimation procedures are discussed in detail. The asymptotic behaviorof the magnitude curve of growth and the radial variation in ellipticityand position angle are used in combination with the linearity of thesurface brightness falloff to fit the disk portion of the profile. TotalI-band magnitudes are calculated by extrapolating the detected surfacebrightness profile to a radius of eight disk scale lengths. Errors inthe magnitudes, typically ~0.04 mag, are dominated by uncertainties inthe sky subtraction and disk-fitting procedures. Comparison is made withthe similar imaging database of Mathewson, Ford, & Buchhorn, both aspresented originally by those authors and after reanalyzing theirdigital reduction files using identical disk-fitting procedures. Directcomparison is made of profile details for 292 galaxies observed incommon. Although some differences occur, good agreement is found,proving that the two data sets can be used in combination with onlyminor accommodation of those differences. The compilation of opticalproperties presented here is optimized for use in applications of theTully-Fisher relation as a secondary distance indicator in studies ofthe local peculiar velocity field.
| Disk Galaxies in the Outer Local Supercluster: Optical CCD Surface Photometry and Distribution of Galaxy Disk Parameters
We report new B-band CCD surface photometry on a sample of 76 diskgalaxies brighter than B_T = 14.5 mag in the Uppsala General Catalogueof Galaxies that are confined within a volume located in the outer partof the Local Supercluster. With our earlier published I-band CCD andhigh signal-to-noise ratio 21 cm H I data, this paper completes ouroptical surface photometry campaign on this galaxy sample. As anapplication of this data set, the B-band photometry is used here toillustrate two selection effects that have been somewhat overlooked inthe literature but that may be important in deriving the distributionfunction of disk central surface brightness (CSB) of disk galaxies froma diameter- and/or flux-limited sample: a Malmquist-type bias againstdisk galaxies with small disk scale lengths (DSLs) at a given CSB and adisk inclination-dependent selection effect that may, for example, biastoward inclined disks near the threshold of a diameter-limited selectionif disks are not completely opaque in the optical. Taking intoconsideration these selection effects, we present a method ofconstructing a volume-sampling function and a way to interpret thederived distribution function of CSB and DSL. Application of this methodto our galaxy sample implies that if galaxy disks are optically thin,CSB and DSL may well be correlated in the sense that, up to aninclination-corrected limiting CSB of about 24.5 mag arcsec^-2 that isadequately probed by our galaxy sample, the DSL distribution of galaxieswith a lower CSB may have a longer tail toward large values unless thedistribution of disk galaxies as a function of CSB rises rapidly towardfaint values.
| Bulge-Disk Decomposition of 659 Spiral and Lenticular Galaxy Brightness Profiles
We 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.
| Asymmetry in high-precision global H I profiles of isolated spiral galaxies
New high-SNR 21 cm H I line profiles have been obtained for 104 galaxieswith the Green Bank 43 m telescope. The primary sample is composed ofisolated spirals with no known optical companions within a 1 radius anda median ratio of optical diameter to beamwidth of 0.17. An effort wasmade to ensure linearity of baseline fitting and precise flux densitycalibration to better than 5 percent. Two quantitative measures ofasymmetry are applied to assess the occurrence of lopsidedness in theglobal H I profiles. In agreement with previous estimates, half thegalaxies show significant H I profile asymmetries. The lopsidednesscannot be explained by pointing offsets but, rather, must result fromnoncircular motions, confusion with unidentified companions within thetelescope beam, or true distortions in the H I distribution.
| 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
| The thicknesses and inclinations of 71 northern spiral galaxies
This paper presents the thicknesses and inclinations (i.e., the anglebetween the galactic plane and the tangent plane) of 71 northern spiralgalaxies. The method for measuring the thickness has been proposed byPeng. It is based on the solution of Poisson's equation for alogarithmic disturbance of density. The inclination is determined byassuming that the pattern of spiral structure is a logarithmic spiral.We find that the thickness is correlated with color and with theH_α+[NII] equivalent width.
| 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.
| Molecular Gas, Morphology, and Seyfert Galaxy Activity
We probe the cause of the elevated star formation in host galaxies ofSeyfert 2 nuclei compared with Seyfert 1 hosts and with field galaxies.12CO (1--0) observations of a large sample of Seyfert galaxies indicateno significant difference in the total amount of molecular gas as afunction of the Seyfert nuclear type, nor are Seyfert galaxiessignificantly different in this regard from a sample of field galaxiesonce selection effects are accounted for. Therefore, the total amount ofmolecular gas is not responsible for the enhanced star-forming activityin Seyfert 2 hosts. To probe how this gas is being converted moreefficiently into stars in Seyfert 2 hosts than in the other galaxies, weinvestigate the occurrence of bars, interactions, and distortedmorphologies among Seyfert galaxies. We find a significantly higher rateof asymmetric morphologies for Seyfert 2 galaxies with respect toSeyfert 1 galaxies and field galaxies. Relative to field galaxies, theeffect is at a greater than 99.9% confidence level. The presence ofasymmetric morphologies in individual Seyfert galaxies is correlatedwith their tendency to exhibit enhanced star-forming activity. Theseresults suggest that asymmetric morphologies are an important cause forthe link between Seyfert type and star-forming activity: bars anddistortions in Seyfert 2 hosts are likely both to enhance star-formingactivity and to funnel gas into the nuclear region, thus obscuring andpossibly contributing to the feeding of the active nucleus.
| Short 21-cm WSRT observations of spiral and irregular galaxies. HI properties.
We present the analysis of neutral hydrogen properties of 108 galaxies,based on short 21-cm observations with the Westerbork Synthesis RadioTelescope (WSRT). The results of two HI surveys are analysed toinvestigate the existence of relations between optical and HIproperties, like diameters, hydrogen masses and average surfacedensities. For all galaxies in our sample we find that the HI diameter,defined at a surface density level of 1Msun_/pc^2^, is largerthan the optical diameter, defined at the 25^th^mag/arcsec^2^ isophotallevel. The Hi-to-optical-diameter ratio does not depend on morphologicaltype or luminosity. The strongest, physically meaningful, correlationfor the sample of 108 galaxies is the one between logM_HI_ and logD_HI_,with a slope of 2. This implies that the HI surface density averagedover the whole HI disc is constant from galaxy to galaxy, independent ofluminosity or type. The radial HI surface density profiles are studiedusing the technique of principal component analysis. We find that about81% of the variation in the density profiles of galaxies can beexplained by two dimensions. The most dominant component can be relatedto "scale" and the second principal component accounts for the variancein the behaviour of the radial profile in the central parts of galaxies(i.e. "peak or depression") . The third component accounts for 7% of thevariation and is most likely responsible for bumps and wiggles in theobserved density profiles.
| The Luminosity-Metallicity Relation for Bulges of Spiral Galaxies
Optical integrated spectra of bulges have been obtained for 28 spiralgalaxies for which the surface brightness profiles were decomposed intodisk and bulge contributions by Kent (ApJS, 59, 115(1985)] and Simien& de Vaucouleurs [ApJ, 302, 564 (1986)]. By applying an appropriateaperture size for each galaxy, the unavoidable contamination of diskstarlight has been carefully minimized and set to ~1/7 of the totalstellar light. The sample covers a wide range in bulge luminosity andmorphology. The Mg_2_ index shows a tight correlation with the bulgeintrinsic luminosity, similar-and extended at fainter magnitudes-to therelationship known for ellipticals. Other features such as CaII K, CN,G- band, and TiO show similar trend with the bulge luminosity. On thecontrary, the Fe5270 and Fe5335 iron lines are constant-within somedispersion-for all bulges. A simple application of a stellar populationsynthesis model suggests that magnesium should be most enhanced withrespect to iron in the brightest bulges. Concerning the structuralparameters, bulges do occupy the same region in the fundamental plane asellipticals. In conclusion, the present study favors the idea that thebulk of stars in bulges have formed with only moderate or negligibleinfluence of the disk material, likely by very similar processes asthose driving the formation of elliptical galaxies.
| Short WSRT HI observations of spiral galaxies.
We have obtained short HI observations of 60 late type spiral galaxieswith the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). Several HIproperties are presented, including the radial surface densitydistribution of HI and a position-velocity map. When possible these arecompared to those measured from single-dish observations. We confirmearlier results that there is no serious systematic difference betweenthe WSRT and single-dish observations in total flux and linewidths.
| 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.
| A Preliminary Classification Scheme for the Central Regions of Late-Type Galaxies
The 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 Galaxies
As 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.
| Measuring the Hubble constant and our Virgo-infall velocity independently
A sample of spiral galaxies with BT less than 14.5 located intwo local volumes, one in the direction of, but behind, the VirgoCluster (behind-Virgo volume (BV)) and the other in the oppositedirection (anti-Virgo volume (AV)), were used via a Tully-Fisher (TF)relation to derive the following two parameters: HAB, themean Hubble ratio between AV and BV, and delta vparallel, thepeculiar velocity of the Local Group in the direction of the VirgoCluster (VC) with respect to a uniformly expanding reference systemdefined by our AV and BV sub-samples. The two sampled volumes, separatedby a velocity interval of 5600 km/s, form an antipodal pair. Thisparticular geometry not only allows us to derive the two parametersindependently but also reduces the dynamical effect of the LocalSupercluster on HAB without increasing the Malmquist bias. Bylimiting our sample to spiral galaxies having large velocity widthsWR, we effectively reduce the TF scatter and Malmquist biasin our sample. The TF zero point and dispersion were then determined byfurther correcting for the small residual Malmquist bias. An additionalsample of fainter galaxies was used to test for a non-Gaussian tail tothe TF disperison. We found no evidence for such a tail and formallygive an upper limit of about 18% for the fractional contribution of anunseen tail. The average intrinsic TF dispersion for the dominantGaussian component is sigmaTF0 approximately 0.33mag for WR approximately equal to or greater than 180 km/s.Our numerical results are delta vparallel approximatelyequals 414 +/- 82 km/s and HAB approximately equals (84.0 +/-2.4)(1 + epsilon) km/s Mpc, where (1 + epsilon) accounts for anysystematic error between the calibrators and the sample galaxies.Various dynamical models were tested to explore the effect onHAB of the uncertainties in the local velocity field.Constrained by our observed delta vparallel as well as otherobservational quantities, we found that the rms deviation from unity ofHAB/H0 (where H0 is the Hubble constantfor each model) is 5%, making HAB a good indicator forH0. Taking this variation as an additional error, our formalestimate for the Hubble constant is H0 approximately equals(84 +/- 5)(1 + epsilon) km/s Mpc.
| On the size and formation mechanism of the largest star-forming complexes in spiral and irregular galaxies
The 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.
| Arm structure in normal spiral galaxies, 1: Multivariate data for 492 galaxies
Multivariate data have been collected as part of an effort to develop anew classification system for spiral galaxies, one which is notnecessarily based on subjective morphological properties. A sample of492 moderately bright northern Sa and Sc spirals was chosen for futurestatistical analysis. New observations were made at 20 and 21 cm; thelatter data are described in detail here. Infrared Astronomy Satellite(IRAS) fluxes were obtained from archival data. Finally, new estimatesof arm pattern radomness and of local environmental harshness werecompiled for most sample objects.
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