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Radio bubbles in the composite AGN-starburst galaxy NGC6764
We present multifrequency radio continuum as well as HI observations ofthe composite galaxy NGC6764, which has a young, circumnuclear starburstand also harbours an active galactic nucleus (AGN). These observationshave been made at a number of frequencies ranging from ~600MHz to 15GHzusing both the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Very LargeArray (VLA). They reveal the structure of the bipolar bubbles ofnon-thermal radio emission which are along the minor axis of the galaxyand extend up to ~1.1 and 1.5kpc on the northern and southern sides,respectively. Features in the radio bubbles appear to overlap withfilaments of Hα emission. The high-resolution observations reveala compact source, likely to be associated with the nucleus of thegalaxy, and a possible radio jet towards the south-west. We havecompiled a representative sample of galaxies with bubbles of non-thermalradio emission and find that these are found in galaxies with an AGN.The HI observations with the GMRT show two peaks of emission on bothends of the stellar bar and depletion of HI in the central region of thegalaxy. We also detect HI in absorption against the central radio peakat the systemic velocity of the galaxy. The HI absorption spectrum alsosuggests a possible weak absorption feature blueshifted by~120kms-1, which requires confirmation. A similar feature hasalso been reported from observations of CO in emission, suggesting thatthe circumnuclear starburst and nuclear activity affect the kinematicsof the atomic and molecular gas components, in addition to the ionizedgas seen in Hα and [NII].
| Kinematics of Interstellar Gas in Nearby UV-selected Galaxies Measured with HST STIS Spectroscopy
We measure Doppler shifts of interstellar absorption lines in HST STISspectra of individual star clusters in nearby UV-selected galaxies.Values for systemic velocities, which are needed to quantify outflowspeeds, are taken from the literature and verified with stellar lines.We detect outflowing gas in 8 of 17 galaxies via low-ionization lines(e.g., C II, Si II, Al II), which trace cold and/or warm gas. Thestarbursts in our sample are intermediate in luminosity (and mass) todwarf galaxies and luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), and we confirmthat their outflow speeds (ranging from -100 to nearly -520 kms-1, with an accuracy of ~80 km s-1) areintermediate to those previously measured in dwarf starbursts and LIRGs.We do not detect the outflow in high-ionization lines (such as C IV orSi IV); higher quality data will be needed to empirically establish howvelocities vary with the ionization state of the outflow. We do verifythat the low-ionization UV lines and optical Na I doublet give roughlyconsistent outflow velocities, solidifying an important link betweenstudies of galactic winds at low and high redshift. To obtain a highersignal-to-noise ratio (S/N), we create a local average compositespectrum and compare it to the high-z Lyman break composite spectrum. Itis surprising that the low-ionization lines show similar outflowvelocities in the two samples. We attribute this to a combination ofweighting toward higher luminosities in the local composite, as well asboth samples being, on average, brighter than the ``turnover''luminosity in the v-SFR relation.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained from the Data Archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute,which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research inAstronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations areassociated with program GO-9036.
| Examining the Seyfert-Starburst Connection with Arcsecond-Resolution Radio Continuum Observations
We compare the arcsecond-scale circumnuclear radio continuum propertiesof five Seyfert and five starburst galaxies, concentrating on the searchfor any structures that could imply a spatial or causal connectionbetween the nuclear activity and a circumnuclear starburst ring. Noevidence is found in the radio emission for a link between thetriggering or feeding of nuclear activity and the properties ofcircumnuclear star formation. Conversely, there is no clear evidence ofnuclear outflows or jets triggering activity in the circumnuclear ringsof star formation. Interestingly, the difference in the angle betweenthe apparent orientation of the most elongated radio emission and theorientation of the major axis of the galaxy is on average larger inSeyfert galaxies than in starburst galaxies, and Seyfert galaxies appearto have a larger physical size scale of the circumnuclear radiocontinuum emission. The concentration, asymmetry, and clumpinessparameters of radio continuum emission in Seyfert galaxies andstarbursts are comparable, as are the radial profiles of radio continuumand near-infrared line emission. The circumnuclear star formation andsupernova rates do not depend on the level of nuclear activity. Theradio emission usually traces the near-infrared Brγ andH2 1-0 S(1) line emission on large spatial scales, butlocally their distributions are different, most likely because of theeffects of varying local magnetic fields and dust absorption andscattering.
| Outflows from three active galaxies: NGC 1482, NGC 4438 and NGC 6764.
Not Available
| Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Nearby Galaxies from ROSAT High Resolution Imager Observations I. Data Analysis
X-ray observations have revealed in other galaxies a class ofextranuclear X-ray point sources with X-ray luminosities of1039-1041 ergs s-1, exceeding theEddington luminosity for stellar mass X-ray binaries. Theseultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) may be powered by intermediate-massblack holes of a few thousand Msolar or stellar mass blackholes with special radiation processes. In this paper, we present asurvey of ULXs in 313 nearby galaxies withD25>1' within 40 Mpc with 467 ROSAT HighResolution Imager (HRI) archival observations. The HRI observations arereduced with uniform procedures, refined by simulations that help definethe point source detection algorithm employed in this survey. A sampleof 562 extragalactic X-ray point sources withLX=1038-1043 ergs s-1 isextracted from 173 survey galaxies, including 106 ULX candidates withinthe D25 isophotes of 63 galaxies and 110 ULX candidatesbetween 1D25 and 2D25 of 64 galaxies, from which aclean sample of 109 ULXs is constructed to minimize the contaminationfrom foreground or background objects. The strong connection betweenULXs and star formation is confirmed based on the striking preference ofULXs to occur in late-type galaxies, especially in star-forming regionssuch as spiral arms. ULXs are variable on timescales over days to yearsand exhibit a variety of long term variability patterns. Theidentifications of ULXs in the clean sample show some ULXs identified assupernovae (remnants), H II regions/nebulae, or young massive stars instar-forming regions, and a few other ULXs identified as old globularclusters. In a subsequent paper, the statistic properties of the surveywill be studied to calculate the occurrence frequencies and luminosityfunctions for ULXs in different types of galaxies to shed light on thenature of these enigmatic sources.
| ISO observations of the Wolf-Rayet galaxies NGC 5430, NGC 6764, Mrk 309 and VII Zw 19
Observations of four WR galaxies (NGC 5430, NGC 6764, Mrk 309 and VII Zw19) using the Infrared Space Observatory are presented here. ISOCAM mapsof NGC 5430, Mrk 309 and NGC 6764 revealed the location of starformation regions in each of these galaxies. ISOPHOT spectralobservations from 4 to 12 μm detected the ubiquitous PAH bands in thenuclei of the targets and several of the disk star forming regions,while LWS spectroscopy detected [O I] and [C II] emission lines from twogalaxies, NGC 5430 and NGC 6764. Using a combination of ISO and IRASflux densities, a dust model based on the sum of modified blackbodycomponents was successfully fitted to the available data. These modelswere then used to calculate new values for the total IR luminosities foreach galaxy, the size of the various dust populations, and the globalSFR. The derived flux ratios, the SFRs, the high L(PAH)/L(40-120 μm)and F(PAH 7.7 μm)/F(7.7 μm continuum) values suggest that most ofthese galaxies are home to only a compact burst of star formation. Theexception is NGC 6764, whose F(PAH 7.7 μm)/F(7.7 μm continuum)value of 1.22 is consistent with the presence of an AGN, yet theL(PAH)/L(40-120 μm) is more in line with a starburst, a finding inline with a compact low-luminosity AGN dominated by the starburst.
| Massive star populations in Wolf-Rayet galaxies
We analyse long-slit spectral observations of 14 Wolf-Rayet (WR)galaxies from the sample of Schaerer, Contini & Pindao. All 14galaxies show broad WR emission in the blue region of the spectrum,consisting of a blend of NIIIλ4640, CIIIλ4650,CIVλ4658 and HeIIλ4686 emission lines, which is a spectralcharacteristic of WN stars. Broad CIVλ5808 emission, termed thered bump, is detected in nine galaxies and CIIIλ5996 is detectedin six galaxies. These emission features are due to WC stars. We derivethe numbers of late WN and early WC stars from the luminosity of theblue and red bumps, respectively. The number of O stars is estimatedfrom the luminosity of the Hβ emission line, after subtracting thecontribution of WR stars. The Schaerer & Vacca models predict thatthe number of WR stars relative to O stars,NWR/NO, increases with metallicity. Forlow-metallicity galaxies, the results agree with predictions ofevolutionary synthesis models for galaxies with a burst of starformation, and indicate an initial mass function (IMF) slope -2<~Γ<~- 2.35 in the low-metallicity regime. Forhigh-metallicity galaxies our observations suggest a Salpeter IMF(Γ=-2.35) and an extended short burst. The main possible sourcesof error are the adopted luminosities for single WCE and WNL stars. Wealso report, for the first time, on NGC 450 as a galaxy with WRcharacteristics. For NGC 450, we estimate the number of WN and WC stars.The number ratio NWR/NO, and the equivalent widthsof the blue bump, EWλ4686, and of the red bump,EWλ5808, in NGC 450 are also in good agreement withthe instantaneous burst model prediction for WR galaxies.
| Classification of Spectra from the Infrared Space Observatory PHT-S Database
We have classified over 1500 infrared spectra obtained with the PHT-Sspectrometer aboard the Infrared Space Observatory according to thesystem developed for the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) spectra byKraemer et al. The majority of these spectra contribute to subclassesthat are either underrepresented in the SWS spectral database or containsources that are too faint, such as M dwarfs, to have been observed byeither the SWS or the Infrared Astronomical Satellite Low ResolutionSpectrometer. There is strong overall agreement about the chemistry ofobjects observed with both instruments. Discrepancies can usually betraced to the different wavelength ranges and sensitivities of theinstruments. Finally, a large subset of the observations (~=250 spectra)exhibit a featureless, red continuum that is consistent with emissionfrom zodiacal dust and suggest directions for further analysis of thisserendipitous measurement of the zodiacal background.Based on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), aEuropean Space Agency (ESA) project with instruments funded by ESAMember States (especially the Principle Investigator countries: France,Germany, Netherlands, and United Kingdom) and with the participation ofthe Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
| A Green Bank Telescope Search for Water Masers in Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei
Using the Green Bank Telescope, we have conducted a survey for 1.3 cmwater maser emission toward the nuclei of nearby active galaxies, themost sensitive large survey for H2O masers to date. Among 145galaxies observed, maser emission was newly detected in 11 sources andconfirmed in one other. Our survey targeted nearby (v<12,000 kms-1), mainly type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) north ofδ=-20deg and includes a few additional sources as well.We find that more than one-third of Seyfert 2 galaxies have strong maseremission, although the detection rate declines beyond v~5000 kms-1 because of sensitivity limits. Two of the masersdiscovered during this survey are found in unexpected hosts: NGC 4151(Seyfert 1.5) and NGC 2782 (starburst). We discuss the possiblerelations between the large X-ray column to NGC 4151 and a possiblehidden AGN in NGC 2782 to the detected masers. Four of the masersdiscovered here, NGC 591, NGC 4388, NGC 5728, and NGC 6323, havehigh-velocity lines symmetrically spaced about the systemic velocity, alikely signature of molecular gas in a nuclear accretion disk. The masersource in NGC 6323, in particular, reveals the classic spectrum of a``disk maser'' represented by three distinct groups of Dopplercomponents. Future single-dish and VLBI observations of these fourgalaxies could provide a measurement of the distance to each galaxy andof the Hubble constant, independent of standard candle calibrations.
| NGC 3125-1: The Most Extreme Wolf-Rayet Star Cluster Known in the Local Universe
We use Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph long-slit ultravioletspectroscopy of local starburst galaxies to study the massive starcontent of a representative sample of super-star clusters, with aprimary focus on their Wolf-Rayet (W-R) content as measured from the HeII λ1640 emission feature. The goals of this work are threefold.First, we quantify the W-R and O-star content for selected massive youngstar clusters. These results are compared with similar estimates madefrom optical spectroscopy available in the literature. We conclude thatthe He II λ4686 equivalent width is a poor diagnostic measure ofthe true W-R content. Second, we present the strongest known He IIλ1640 emission feature in a local starburst galaxy. This featureis clearly of stellar origin in the massive cluster NGC 3125-1, as it isbroadened (~1000 km s-1). Strong N IV λ1488 and N Vλ1720 emission lines commonly found in the spectra of individualW-R stars of WN subtype are also observed in the spectrum of NGC 3125-1.Finally, we create empirical spectral templates to gain a basicunderstanding of the recently observed strong He II λ1640 featureseen in Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at redshifts z~3. The UV fieldobserved in local starbursts provides a good overall match to thecontinuum and weak photospheric features in LBGs in the spectral rangeλλ1300-1700 but cannot reproduce the He II λ1640emission seen in the composite LBG sample of Shapley et al. Anadditional (ad hoc) 10%-15% contribution from ``extreme'' W-R clusterssimilar to NGC 3125-1 on top of the field provides a good match to thestrength of this feature.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 NAS5-26555.
| Stacking Searches for Gamma-Ray Emission above 100 MeV from Radio and Seyfert Galaxies
The EGRET telescope on board Compton Gamma Ray Observatory detected morethan 60 sources of high-energy gamma radiation associated with activegalactic nuclei (AGNs). All but one of those belong to the blazarsubclass; the only exception is the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A.Since there is no obvious reason other than proximity to expect Cen A tobe the only nonblazar AGN emitting in high-energy gamma rays, we haveutilized the ``stacking'' technique to search for emission above 100 MeVfrom two nonblazar AGN subclasses, radio galaxies and Seyfert galaxies.Maps of gamma-ray counts, exposure, and diffuse background have beencreated, then co-added in varying numbers based on sorts by redshift, 5GHz flux density, and optical brightness, and finally tested forgamma-ray emission. No detection significance greater than 2 σ hasbeen found for any subclass, sorting parameter, or number of objectsco-added. Monte Carlo simulations have also been performed to validatethe technique and estimate the significance of the results.
| 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
| A joint mid-infrared spectroscopic and X-ray imaging investigation of LINER galaxies
We present a comprehensive comparative high resolution mid-IRspectroscopic and X-ray imaging investigation of LINERs using archivalobservations from the ISO-SWS and the Chandra Advanced CCD ImagingSpectrometer. Although the sample is heterogenous and incomplete, thisis the first comprehensive study of the mid-infrared fine structure lineemission of LINERs. These results have been compared with similarobservations of starburst galaxies and AGN. We find that LINERs veryclearly fall between starbursts and AGN in their mid-IR fine structureline spectra, showing L[OIV]26 μm/LFIR andL[OIV]26 μm/L[NeII]12.8 μm ratios, bothmeasures of the dominant nuclear energy source in dust-enshroudedgalaxies, intermediate between those of AGN and starbursts. Chandraimaging observations of the LINERs reveal hard nuclear point sourcesmorphologically consistent with AGN in most (67%) of the sample, with aclear trend with IR-brightness. Most LINERs that show a single dominanthard compact X-ray core are IR-faint (LFIR/LB <1), whereas most LINERs that show scattered X-ray sources are IR-bright.A comparative X-ray/mid-IR spectroscopic investigation of LINERs revealssome puzzling results. Objects that display strong hard nuclear X-raycores should also display high excitation lines in the IR. However, wefind two LINERs disagree with this expectation. The galaxy NGC 404 showsweak soft X-ray emission consistent with a starburst but has the mostprominent highest excitation mid-IR spectrum of our entire sample. UsingIR emission line diagnostics alone, this galaxy would be classified ashosting a dominant AGN. Conversely, the IR luminous LINER NGC 6240 hasan extremely luminous binary AGN as revealed by the X-rays but showsweak IR emission lines. With the advent of SIRTF, and future IR missionssuch as Herschel and JWST, it is increasingly critical to determine theorigin of these multiwavelength anomalies.Table 2 is also available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/414/825Table 3 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| The PDS versus Markarian starburst galaxies: comparing strong and weak IRAS emitter at 12 and 25 μm in the nearby Universe
The characteristics of the starburst galaxies from the Pico dos Diassurvey (PDS) are compared with those of the nearby ultraviolet (UV)bright Markarian starburst galaxies, having the same limit in redshift(vh < 7500 km s-1) and absolute B magnitude(MB < -18). An important difference is found: theMarkarian galaxies are generally undetected at 12 and 25 μm in IRAS.This is consistent with the UV excess shown by these galaxies andsuggests that the youngest star-forming regions dominating thesegalaxies are relatively free of dust.The far-infrared selection criteria for the PDS are shown to introduce astrong bias towards massive (luminous) and large size late-type spiralgalaxies. This is contrary to the Markarian galaxies, which are found tobe remarkably rich in smaller size early-type galaxies. These resultssuggest that only late-type spirals with a large and massive disc arestrong emitters at 12 and 25 μm in IRAS in the nearby Universe.The Markarian and PDS starburst galaxies are shown to share the sameenvironment. This rules out an explanation of the differences observedin terms of external parameters. These differences may be explained byassuming two different levels of evolution, the Markarian being lessevolved than the PDS galaxies. This interpretation is fully consistentwith the disc formation hypothesis proposed by Coziol et al. to explainthe special properties of the Markarian SBNG.
| A High Resolution Imaging Survey of CO, HCN and HCO+ Lines towards Nearby Seyfert Galaxies
We have conducted a high resolution imaging survey of mm-wave molecularlines, i.e., CO(1-0), HCN(1-0), and HCO+(1-d$0) towards nearby Seyfertgalaxies using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array and the RAINBOWinterferometer. Some of Seyfert galaxies show extremely high HCN/CO andHCN/HCO+ line ratios, which are not observed in nuclear starburstgalaxies. These molecular line ratios can be a new diagnostic tool toinvestigate the ``AGN - starburst connection'' in active galaxies.
| H II Regions in Spiral Galaxies: Size Distribution, Luminosity Function, and New Isochrone Diagnostics of Density-Wave Kinematics
We investigate the relationship of the H II region luminosity function(H II LF) to the H II region size distribution and density-wavetriggering in grand-design spiral galaxies. We suggest that thedifferential nebular size distribution is described by a power lawapproximately of slope -4, with flattening at radii below ~130 pc. Thiscontrasts with the conventional exponential description, but it isphysically and quantitatively consistent with the typical observed valueof -2 for the H II LF slope. To study H II LF evolution, we havedeveloped an interactive code that computes spatial isochrones for theevolving loci of spiral density waves in disk galaxies. This allowscomparison of the nebular spatial distribution with the spatialisochrones for simple rotation curve parameters. Our comparisons forfour grand-design galaxies suggest that the corotation radiusrco coincides with the outer ends of the star-forming arms.This value for rco yields the best spatial correspondencebetween the H II regions and the isochrones and also appears to yield acoincidence between the inner Lindblad resonance with the radial onsetof star formation in the arms. Thus, we suggest that isochrones offer anew, simple, and effective technique for determining rco andthus the spiral pattern speed. However, application of the isochronesalso demonstrates that the evolution of the nebular population isdifficult to spatially isolate in these galaxies.
| 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.
| The far-infrared/radio correlation in the ISO era. The warm and cold far-infrared/radio correlations
We present the correlation between the far-infrared (FIR) and radioemissions from a composite sample of 72 nearby normal galaxies observedwith the ISOPHOT instrument on board the Infrared Space Observatory. Thegalaxies in the sample have measurements at three FIR wavelengths (60,100 and 170 mu m), which allowed a direct determination of the warm andcold FIR emission components. This is the first time that thecorrelation has been established for the total FIR luminosity, of whichmost is carried by the cold dust component predominantly emittinglongwards of the spectral coverage of IRAS. The slope of thiscorrelation is slightly non-linear (1.10+/- 0.03). Separate correlationsbetween the warm and cold FIR emission components and the radio emissionhave also been derived. The slope of the warm FIR/radio correlation wasfound to be linear (1.03 +/- 0.03). For the cold FIR/radio correlationwe found a slightly non-linear (1.13 +/- 0.04) slope. We qualitativelyinterpret the correlations in terms of star formation rate and find thatboth the FIR and radio emissions may be consistent with a non-lineardependence on star formation rate for galaxies not undergoing starburstactivity.Based on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), an ESAproject with instruments funded by ESA member States (especially the PIcountries: France, Germany, The Netherlands, and the UK) and with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA.Table \ref{Tab2} and Appendices A and B are only available in electronicform at http://www.edpsciences.org
| The nature of arms in spiral galaxies. II. The sample
We present here the results of an imaging study of eight grand-designand two intermediate-arm galaxies, based on CCD observations in U, B, V,R and I. We give grey-scale images, both in individual and in colourindices. Also we present a decomposition into bulge and disc followingan iterative method. This provides us with a reasonable estimate of thebulge size and disc scale length, and shows the disc deviation from anexponential law, which can be interpreted as due to the long-term starformation caused by the spiral arms. To evaluate the contribution of thespiral arms to the disc luminosity distribution, with the aid of a maskwe have decomposed each image into two parts: arms (which include bulgeand nucleus, and eventually bars) and inter-arms (which include theouter disc).In subsequent papers in this series (del Río & Cepa\cite{del1998}, hereafter Paper III; del Río & Cepa\cite{del1999}, hereafter Paper IV) the data presented here are used toanalyse the spiral structure of the galaxies of the sample, using themethods of Beckman & Cepa (\cite{Beckman}, hereafter Paper I) andthe Fourier transform method to find the different symmetry degrees.Figures 1 to 4 and Fig. 7 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org}
| How the most highly luminous H II regions in galaxies ionize the interstellar and intergalactic media.
Not Available
| Magellan Spectroscopy of the Galaxy Cluster RX J1347.5-1145: Redshift Estimates for the Gravitationally Lensed Arcs
We present imaging and spectroscopic observations of the gravitationallylensed arcs in the field of RX J1347.5-1145, the most X-ray luminousgalaxy cluster known. Based on the detection of the [O II] λ3727emission line, we confirm that the redshift of one of the arcs isz=0.806. Its color and [O II] line strength are consistent with those ofdistant, actively star-forming galaxies. In a second arc, we tentativelyidentify a pair of absorption lines superposed on a red continuum; thelines are consistent with Ca II λ3933 (K) and Ca II λ3968(H) at z=0.785. We detected a faint blue continuum in two additionalarcs, but no spectral line features could be measured. We establishlower limits to their redshifts based on the absence of [O II] emission,which we argue should be present and detectable in these objects.Redshifts are also given for a number of galaxies in the field of thecluster.
| Automated Galaxy Morphology: A Fourier Approach
We use automated surface photometry and pattern classificationtechniques to morphologically classify galaxies. The two-dimensionallight distribution of a galaxy is reconstructed using Fourier seriesfits to azimuthal profiles computed in concentric elliptical annulicentered on the galaxy. Both the phase and amplitude of each Fouriercomponent have been studied as a function of radial bin number for alarge collection of galaxy images using principal-component analysis. Wefind that up to 90% of the variance in many of these Fourier profilesmay be characterized in as few as three principal components and thattheir use substantially reduces the dimensionality of the classificationproblem. We use supervised learning methods in the form of artificialneural networks to train galaxy classifiers that detect morphologicalbars at the 85%-90% confidence level and can identify the Hubble typewith a 1 σ scatter of 1.5 steps on the 16 step stage axis of therevised Hubble system. Finally, we systematically characterize theadverse effects of decreasing resolution and signal-to-noise ratio onthe quality of morphological information predicted by these classifiers.
| Analysis of the distribution of HII regions in external galaxies. IV. The new galaxy sample. Position and inclination angles
We have compiled a new sample of galaxies with published catalogs of HIIregion coordinates. This sample, together with the former catalog ofGarcía-Gómez & Athanassoula (\cite{gga1}), will formthe basis for subsequent studies of the spiral structure in discgalaxies. In this paper we address the problem of the deprojection ofthe galaxy images. For this purpose we use two deprojection methodsbased on the HII region distribution and compare the results with thevalues found in the literature using other deprojection methods. Takinginto account the results of all the methods, we propose optimum valuesfor the position and inclination angles of all the galaxies in oursample. Tables 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Seyfert Galaxies with Circumnuclear/Nuclear Starbursts
In this paper, we present our preliminary results on Seyfert galaxieswith circumnuclear/nuclear starburst (SB) activity. We have searched therecent available literature and found 76 active galaxies with clearevidence of nuclear SB activity, among which 16 are Seyfert 1s, 51Seyfert 2s, and 9 LINERs. After studying the 51 Seyfert 2s, we find thatthose Seyfert 2s with hidden Seyfert 1 nuclei, have similarInfrared-Radio properties as Seyfert 1 galaxies, and are different from``real'' Seyfert 2s without a hidden Seyfert 1 nucleus. The later aresimilar to starburst galaxies.
| Recovering physical parameters from galaxy spectra using MOPED
We derive physical parameters of galaxies from their observed spectrausing MOPED, the optimized data compression algorithm of Heavens,Jimenez & Lahav. Here we concentrate on parametrizing galaxyproperties, and apply the method to the NGC galaxies in Kennicutt'sspectral atlas. We focus on deriving the star formation history,metallicity and dust content of galaxies. The method is very fast,taking a few seconds of CPU time to estimate ~17 parameters, and istherefore specially suited to studying large data sets, such as theAnglo-Australian two-degree-field (2dF) galaxy survey and the SloanDigital Sky Survey (SDSS). Without the power of MOPED, the recovery ofstar formation histories in these surveys would be impractical. InKennicutt's atlas, we find that for the spheroidals a small recent burstof star formation is required to provide the best fit to the spectrum.There is clearly a need for theoretical stellar atmospheric models withspectral resolution better than 1Å if we are to extract all therich information that large redshift surveys contain in their galaxyspectra.
| Near-infrared spectroscopy of starburst galaxies
We present new K-band spectroscopy for a sample of 48 starburstgalaxies, obtained using UKIRT in Hawaii. This constitutes a fair sampleof the most common types of starburst galaxies found in the nearbyUniverse, containing galaxies with different morphologies, masses andmetallicities, with far-infrared luminosityLIR<1010Lsolar. The variety ofnear-infrared spectral features shown by these galaxies impliesdifferent bursts characteristics, which suggests that we survey galaxieswith different star formation histories or at different stages of theirburst evolution. Using synthetic starburst models, we conclude that theensemble of parameters that best describes starburst galaxies in thenearby UniverseQ1 is a constant rate of star formation, a Salpeterinitial mass function (IMF) with an upper mass cut-off ofMup=30Msolar and bursts ages between 10Myr and1Gyr. The model is fully consistent with the differences observed in theoptical and far-infrared (FIR) between the different types ofstarbursts. It suggests that Hii galaxies have younger bursts and lowermetallicities than starburst nucleus galaxies (SBNGs), while luminousinfrared galaxies (LIRGs) have younger bursts but higher metallicities.Although the above solution from the synthetic starburst model is fullyconsistent with our data, it may not constitute a strong constraint onthe duration of the bursts and the IMF. A possible alternative may be asequence of short bursts (which may follow an universal IMF) over arelatively long period of time. In favour of the multiple-bursthypothesis, we distinguish in our spectra some variations ofnear-infrared (NIR) features with the aperture that can be interpretedas evidence that the burst regions are not homogeneous in space andtime. We also found that the burst stellar populations are dominated byearly-type B stars, a characteristic which seems difficult to explainwith only one evolved burst. Our observations suggest that the starburstphenomenon must be a sustained or self-sustained phenomenon: either starformation is continuous in time, or multiple bursts happen in sequenceover a relatively long period of time. The generality of ourobservations implies that this is a characteristic of starburst galaxiesin the nearby Universe.
| Supernovae in the nuclear regions of starburst galaxies
The feasibility of using near-infrared observations to discoversupernovae in the nuclear and circumnuclear regions of nearby starburstgalaxies is investigated. We provide updated estimates of the intrinsiccore-collapse supernova rates in these regions. We discuss the problemof extinction, and present new estimates of the extinction towards 33supernova remnants in the starburst galaxy M 82. This is done using Hiand H2 column density measurements. We estimate the molecularto atomic hydrogen mass ratio to be 7.4+/-1.0 in M 82. We have assemblednear-infrared photometric data for a total of 13 core-collapsesupernovae, some unpublished hitherto. This constitutes the largestdatabase of infrared light curves for such events. We show that theinfrared light curves fall into two classes, `ordinary' and `slowlydeclining'. Template JHKL light curves are derived for both classes. Forordinary core-collapse supernovae, the average peak JHKL absolutemagnitudes are -18.4, -18.6, -18.6 and -19.0 respectively. The slowlydeclining core-collapse supernovae are found to be significantly moreluminous than the ordinary events, even at early times, having averagepeak JHKL absolute magnitudes of -19.9, -20.0, -20.0 and -20.4respectively. We investigate the efficiency of a computerized imagesubtraction method in supernova detection. We then carry out a MonteCarlo simulation of a supernova search using K-band images of NGC 5962.The effects of extinction and observing strategy are discussed. Weconclude that a modest observational programme will be able to discovera number of nuclear supernovae.
| Strömgren Photometry from z=0 to z~1. I. The Method
We use rest-frame Strömgren photometry to observe clusters ofgalaxies in a self-consistent manner from z=0 to z=0.8. Strömgrenphotometry of galaxies is intended as a compromise between standardbroadband photometry and spectroscopy, in the sense that it is moresensitive to subtle variations in spectral energy distributions than theformer, yet much less time-consuming than the latter. principalcomponent analysis is used to facilitate extraction of information fromthe Strömgren data. By calibrating the principal components usingwell-studied galaxies, as well as models of stellar populations, wedevelop a purely empirical method to detect, and subsequently classify,cluster galaxies at all redshifts smaller than 0.8. Interlopers arediscarded with unprecedented efficiency (up to 100%). The firstprincipal component essentially reproduces the Hubble sequence and canthus be used to determine the global star formation history of clustermembers. The (PC2, PC3) plane allows us to identify Seyfert galaxies(and distinguish them from starbursts) based on photometric colorsalone. In the case of E/S0 galaxies with known redshift, we are able toresolve the age-dust-metallicity degeneracy, albeit at the accuracylimit of our present observations. We use this technique in later papersto probe galaxy clusters well beyond their cores and to faintermagnitudes than spectroscopy can achieve, because the faint end of theluminosity function as well as the outer cluster regions seem to exhibitthe strongest evolutionary trends. We are able to directly compare thesedata over the entire redshift range without a priori assumptions becauseour observations do not require first-order k-corrections. Thecompilation of such data for different cluster types over a wideredshift range is likely to set important constraints on the evolutionof galaxies and on the clustering process.
| H I Gas in the Environment of the Seyfert Galaxies NGC 6764 and Markarian 1126
We present the results of a 21 cm line study of the environment of twoSeyfert galaxies: NGC 6764 and Mrk 1126. Both galaxies are embedded inlarge and slightly distorted gaseous disks that extend 2-4 times fartherthan their optical diameters. The asymmetry of the H I distribution andprofile is indicative of a weak perturbation, although one that is notstrong enough to disturb either the gas or the stars in the inner partsof the galaxies. Whereas Mrk 1126 does have a nearby companion, MCG-02-58-017, the gravitational interaction between the two galaxies isquite weak, and it is unlikely that MCG -02-58-017 is responsible fordriving the nuclear activity in Mrk 1126. NGC 6764 has no companionswithin a radius of 160 kpc. We conclude that the nuclear activity in NGC6764 and Mrk 1126 is unrelated to the galaxies' immediate environment.
| The Origin of the Diffuse Hα in Spirals
Using high-quality H_α images of five spiral galaxies, we havestudied the luminosity and distribution of the emission from diffuseionized gas (DIG). The estimated DIG luminosities account for 25-60% ofthe total H_α emission in each galaxy and analysis of thedistribution has shown that the DIG is highly correlated geometricallywith the most luminous HII regions of the galaxies. The power requiredto ionize the DIG is very high. The mean ionization rates per unitsurface area of a galaxy disc are of the order of 10^7 cm^-2 s^-1. Lymancontinuum photons (Lyc) from OB asociations are the most probablesources of this ionization. Here we propose a specific model for thesesources: we show that the Lyman photon flux that leaks out of thedensity-bounded HII regions of the galaxies is more than enough toionize the measured DIG in the five galaxies analysed.
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