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HI content in galaxies in loose groups
Gas deficiency in cluster spirals is well known and ram-pressurestripping is considered the main gas removal mechanism. In some compactgroups too gas deficiency is reported. However, gas deficiency in loosegroups is not yet well established. Lower dispersion of the membervelocities and the lower density of the intragroup medium in small loosegroups favour tidal stripping as the main gas removal process in them.Recent releases of data from the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) andcatalogues of nearby loose groups with associated diffuse X-ray emissionhave allowed us to test this notion. In this paper, we address thefollowing questions: (i) do galaxies in groups with diffuse X-rayemission statistically have lower gas content compared to the ones ingroups without diffuse X-ray emission? (ii) does HI deficiency vary withthe X-ray luminosity, LX, of the loose group in a systematicway? We find that (i) galaxies in groups with diffuse X-ray emission, onaverage, are HI deficient, and have lost more gas compared to those ingroups without X-ray emission; the latter are found not to havesignificant HI deficiency; (ii) no systematic dependence of the HIdeficiency with LX is found. Ram-pressure-assisted tidalstripping and evaporation by thermal conduction are the two possiblemechanisms to account for this excess gas loss.
| Evidence for radio-source heating of groups
We report evidence that the gas properties of X-ray groups containingradio galaxies differ from those of radio-quiet groups. For awell-studied sample of ROSAT-observed groups, we found that more thanhalf of the elliptical-dominated groups can be considered `radio-loud',and that radio-loud groups are likely to be hotter at a given X-rayluminosity than radio-quiet groups. We tested three different models forthe origin of the effect and conclude that radio-source heating is themost likely explanation. We found several examples of groups where thereis strong evidence from Chandra or XMM-Newton images for interactionsbetween the radio source and the group gas. A variety of radio-sourceheating processes are important, including shock-heating by youngsources and gentler heating by larger sources. The heating effects canbe longer-lasting than the radio emission. We show that the sample ofX-ray groups used in our study is not significantly biased in thefraction of radio-loud groups that it contains. This allows us toconclude that the energy per particle that low-power radio galaxies caninject over the group lifetime is comparable to the requirements ofstructure formation models.
| Cold and warm dust along a merging galaxy sequence
We investigate the cold and warm dust properties during galaxyinteractions using a merging galaxy sample ordered into a chronologicalsequence from pre- to post-mergers. Our sample comprises a total of 29merging systems selected to have far-infrared and submillimetreobservations. The submillimetre data are mainly culled from theliterature, while for five galaxies (NGC 3597, 3690, 6090, 6670 and7252) the submillimetre observations are presented here for the firsttime. We use the 100- to 850-μm flux density ratio,f100/f850, as a proxy for the mass fraction of thewarm and cold dust in these systems. We find evidence for an increase inf100/f850 along the merging sequence from early toadvanced mergers, and interpret this trend as an increase of the warmrelative to the cold dust mass. We argue that the two key parametersaffecting the f100/f850 flux ratio is the starformation rate and the dust content of individual systems relative tothe stars. Using a sophisticated model for the absorption andre-emission of the stellar ultraviolet radiation by dust, we show thatthese parameters can indeed explain both the increase and the observedscatter in f100/f850 along the merging galaxysequence. We also discuss our results under the hypothesis thatelliptical galaxies are formed via disc galaxy mergers.
| The GEMS project: X-ray analysis and statistical properties of the group sample
The Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS) involves amultiwavelength study of a sample of 60 galaxy groups, chosen to span awide range of group properties. Substantial ROSAT Position SensitiveProportional Counter (PSPC) observations, available for all of thesegroups, are used to characterize the state of the intergalactic mediumin each. We present the results of a uniform analysis of these ROSATdata and a statistical investigation of the relationship between X-rayand optical properties across the sample. Our analysis improves inseveral respects on previous work: (i) we distinguish between systems inwhich the hot gas is a group-scale medium and those in which it appearsto be just a hot halo associated with a central galaxy; (ii) weextrapolate X-ray luminosities to a fixed overdensity radius(r500) using fitted surface brightness models, in order toavoid biases arising from the fact that cooler systems are detectable tosmaller radii, and (iii) optical properties have been rederived in auniform manner from the NASA Extragalactic Database, rather than relyingon the data in the disparate collection of group catalogues from whichour systems are drawn.The steepening of the LX-TX relation in the groupregime reported previously is not seen in our sample, which fits well onto the cluster trend, albeit with large non-statistical scatter. Anumber of biases affect the fitting of regression lines under thesecircumstances, and until the impact of these has been thoroughlyinvestigated it seems best to regard the slope of the groupLX-TX relation as being poorly determined. Asignificant problem in comparing the properties of groups and clustersis the derivation of system radii, to allow different systems to becompared within regions having the same overdensity. We find evidencethat group velocity dispersion (σv) provides a veryunreliable measure of system mass (and hence radius), with a number ofgroups having remarkably low values of σv, given thatthey appear from their X-ray properties to be collapsed systems. Weconfirm that the surface brightness profiles of groups are significantlyflatter than those of clusters - the maximum value of theβfit parameter for our sample is 0.58, lower than thetypical value of 0.67 seen in clusters - however, we find no significanttendency within our sample for cooler groups to show flatter profiles.This result is inconsistent with simple universal pre-heating models.The morphology of the galaxies in the GEMS groups is correlated to theirX-ray properties in a number of ways: we confirm the very strongrelationship between X-ray emission and a dominant early-type centralgalaxy, which has been noted since the early X-ray studies of groups,and also find that spiral fraction is correlated with the temperature ofthe hot gas and hence the depth of the gravitational potential. A classof spiral-rich groups with little or no X-ray emission probablycorresponds to groups that have not yet fully collapsed.
| Galaxy Interaction and the Starburst-Seyfert Connection
Galaxy interactions are studied in terms of the starburst-Seyfertconnection. The starburst requires a high rate of gas supply. Since theefficiency for supplying the gas is high in a galaxy interaction,although the companion is not necessarily discernible, Seyfert galaxieswith circumnuclear starbursts are expected to be interacting. Since thelarge amounts of circumnuclear gas and dust obscure the broad-lineregion, they are expected to be observed as Seyfert 2 galaxies. Theactive galactic nucleus itself does not require a high rate of gassupply. Seyfert galaxies without circumnuclear starbursts are notnecessarily expected to be interacting even at the highest luminosities.They are not necessarily expected to evolve from Seyfert galaxies withcircumnuclear starbursts. We derive these and other theoreticalexpectations and confirm them with statistics on observational data ofmagnitude-limited samples of Seyfert galaxies.
| An IRAS High Resolution Image Restoration (HIRES) Atlas of All Interacting Galaxies in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
The importance of far-infrared observations for our understanding ofextreme activity in interacting and merging galaxies has beenillustrated by many studies. Even though two decades have passed sinceits launch, the most complete all-sky survey to date from which far-IRselected galaxy samples can be chosen is still that of the InfraredAstronomical Satellite (IRAS). However, the spatial resolution of theIRAS all-sky survey is insufficient to resolve the emission fromindividual galaxies in most interacting galaxy pairs, and hence previousstudies of their far-IR properties have had to concentrate either onglobal system properties or on the properties of very widely separatedand weakly interacting pairs. Using the HIRES image reconstructiontechnique, it is possible to achieve a spatial resolution ranging from30" to 1.5m (depending on wavelength and detector coverage), whichis a fourfold improvement over the normal resolution of IRAS. This issufficient to resolve the far-IR emission from the individual galaxiesin many interacting systems detected by IRAS, which is very importantfor meaningful comparisons with single, isolated galaxies. We presenthigh-resolution 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm images of 106 interactinggalaxy systems contained in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS,Sanders et al.), a complete sample of all galaxies having a 60 μmflux density greater than 5.24 Jy. These systems were selected to haveat least two distinguishable galaxies separated by less than threeaverage galactic diameters, and thus we have excluded very widelyseparated systems and very advanced mergers. Additionally, some systemshave been included that are more than three galactic diameters apart,yet have separations less than 4' and are thus likely to suffer fromconfusion in the RBGS. The new complete survey has the same propertiesas the prototype survey of Surace et al. We find no increased tendencyfor infrared-bright galaxies to be associated with other infrared-brightgalaxies among the widely separated pairs studied here. We find smallenhancements in far-IR activity in multiple galaxy systems relative toRBGS noninteracting galaxies with the same blue luminosity distribution.We also find no differences in infrared activity (as measured byinfrared color and luminosity) between late- and early-type spiralgalaxies.
| Infrared Observations of Galaxies in the Local Universe. II. 391 Calibrated Images with Photometric and Structural Measurements
This paper presents empirical results from a deep imaging survey ofgalaxies in the local universe at the J and Ks wavelengths.Three hundred ninety-one images have been obtained and calibrated usingthe same camera and filter set with the Steward Observatory 1.6 m KuiperTelescope on Mount Bigelow and the 2.3 m Bok Telescope on Kitt Peak. Thelimiting magnitude is typically 22 mag arcsec-1 at J and 21mag arcsec-1 at Ks. The central surfacebrightness, apparent magnitudes, sizes, scale lengths, and inclinationsare tabulated from measurements made using these data. The purpose ofthis paper is to provide basic near-infrared data on a variety of galaxytypes.
| CO Molecular Gas in Infrared-luminous Galaxies
We present the first statistical survey of the properties of the12CO(1-0) and 12CO(3-2) line emission from thenuclei of a nearly complete subsample of 60 infrared (IR) luminousgalaxies selected from SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey (SLUGS). Thissubsample is flux limited at S60μm>=5.24 Jy with far-IR(FIR) luminosities mostly at LFIR>1010Lsolar. We compare the emission line strengths of12CO(1-0) and (3-2) transitions at a common resolution of~15". The measured 12CO(3-2) to (1-0) line intensity ratiosr31 vary from 0.22 to 1.72, with a mean value of 0.66 for thesources observed, indicating a large spread of the degree of excitationof CO in the sample. These CO data, together with a wide range of dataat different wavelengths obtained from the literature, allow us to studythe relationship between the CO excitation conditions and the physicalproperties of gas/dust and star formation in the central regions ofgalaxies. Our analysis shows that there is a nonlinear relation betweenCO and FIR luminosities, such that their ratioLCO/LFIR decreases linearly with increasingLFIR. This behavior was found to be consistent with theSchmidt law relating star formation rate to molecular gas content, withan index N=1.4+/-0.3. We also find a possible dependence of the degreeof CO gas excitation on the efficiency of star-forming activity. Usingthe large velocity gradient (LVG) approximation to model the observeddata, we investigate the CO-to-H2 conversion factor X for theSLUGS sample. The results show that the mean value of X for the SLUGSsample is lower by a factor of 10 compared to the conventional valuederived for the Galaxy, if we assume the abundance of CO relative toH2, ZCO=10-4. For a subset of 12galaxies with H I maps, we derive a mean total face-on surface densityof H2+HI of about 42 Msolar pc-2 withinabout 2 kpc of the nucleus. This value is intermediate between that ingalaxies like our own and those with strong star formation.
| 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 distribution of atomic gas and dust in nearby galaxies - I. Presentation of matched-resolution VLA H I and SCUBA 850-μm maps
We present matched-resolution VLA HI and SCUBA 850-μm maps of 20IRAS-bright galaxies. Of the galaxies observed, two were not detected inHI and two were detected in absorption. The HI distributions of thegalaxies have a range of morphologies. Some of the systems appear HIdeficient in the central regions which could be due to a high conversionrate of HI into molecules or HI absorption. In contrast to the HI, the850-μm emission has a smooth distribution which is concentratedtowards the optical centre of each galaxy. We also find evidence for850-μm emission extending to the periphery of the optical disc insome of the galaxies. Finally, we note that the relative lack of850-μm emission when compared with HI does not necessarily mean thatthe atomic gas and dust do not have similar mass distributions.
| ``Hidden'' Seyfert 2 Galaxies and the X-Ray Background
Obscured active galactic nuclei, which are classified optically as type2 (narrow line) Seyfert galaxies in the local universe, are by far themost promising candidates for the origin of the hard (2-10 keV) X-raybackground radiation. However, optical follow-up observations of faintX-ray sources in deep Chandra images have revealed surprising numbers ofapparently normal galaxies at modest redshift. Such objects represent~40%-60% of the sources classified in deep Chandra surveys, raising thepossibility that the X-ray galaxy population has evolved with cosmictime. Alternatively, most of the faint X-ray galaxies in question are sodistant that their angular diameters are comparable to the slit widthsused in ground-based spectroscopic observations; thus, their nuclearspectral features may be overwhelmed (``hidden'') by host galaxy light.To test this hypothesis, we have obtained integrated spectra of a sampleof nearby, well-studied Seyfert 2 galaxies. The data, which accuratelysimulate observations of distant Chandra sources, demonstrateconvincingly that the defining spectral signatures of Seyfert 2s can behidden by light from their host galaxies. In fact, 60% of the observedobjects would not be classified as Seyfert 2s on the basis of theirintegrated spectra, similar to the fraction of faint X-ray sourcesidentified with ``normal'' galaxies. Thus, the numbers of narrow-lineactive galaxies in deep Chandra surveys (and perhaps all ground-basedspectroscopic surveys of distant galaxies) are likely to have beenunderestimated.
| The UZC-SSRS2 Group Catalog
We apply a friends-of-friends algorithm to the combined Updated ZwickyCatalog and Southern Sky Redshift Survey to construct a catalog of 1168groups of galaxies; 411 of these groups have five or more members withinthe redshift survey. The group catalog covers 4.69 sr, and all groupsexceed the number density contrast threshold, δρ/ρ=80. Wedemonstrate that the groups catalog is homogeneous across the twounderlying redshift surveys; the catalog of groups and their membersthus provides a basis for other statistical studies of the large-scaledistribution of groups and their physical properties. The medianphysical properties of the groups are similar to those for groupsderived from independent surveys, including the ESO Key Programme andthe Las Campanas Redshift Survey. We include tables of groups and theirmembers.
| Circumnuclear Stellar Population, Morphology, and Environment of Seyfert 2 Galaxies: An Evolutionary Scenario
We investigate the relation between the characteristics of thecircumnuclear stellar population and both the galaxy morphology and thepresence of close companions for a sample of 35 Seyfert 2 nuclei.Fifteen galaxies present unambiguous signatures of recent episodes ofstar formation within ~300 pc of the nucleus. When we relate thisproperty to the Hubble type of the host galaxy, we find that theincidence of recent circumnuclear star formation increases along theHubble sequence; it seems to be greater than that in non-Seyfertgalaxies for the early Hubble types S0 and Sa but similar to that innon-Seyfert galaxies for later Hubble types. In both early-type andlate-type Seyfert galaxies, the presence of recent circumnuclear starformation is related to the galaxy morphology in the inner fewkiloparsecs, as observed in Hubble Space Telescope images through thefilter F606W by Malkan et al., who have assigned a late ``inner Hubbletype'' to most Seyfert 2 galaxies with recent circumnuclear starformation. This new classification is due to the presence of dust lanesand spiral structures in the inner region. The presence of recent starformation around Seyfert 2 nuclei is also related to interactions: amongthe 13 galaxies of the sample with close companions or in mergers, ninehave recent star formation in the nuclear region. These correlationsbetween the presence of companions, the inner morphology, and theincidence of recent star formation suggest an evolutionary scenario inwhich the interaction is responsible for sending gas inward, which bothfeeds the active galactic nucleus and triggers star formation. Thestarburst then fades with time and the composite Seyfert 2+starburstnucleus evolves to a ``pure'' Seyfert 2 nucleus with an old stellarpopulation. This scenario can reconcile the hypothesis that the activenucleus in Seyfert galaxies is triggered by interactions with theresults of previous studies, which find only a small excess ofinteracting galaxies in Seyfert samples when compared with non-Seyfertsamples. The large excess can only be found early after the interaction,in the phase in which a composite (Seyfert+starburst) nucleus isobserved.
| HI observations of loose galaxy groups. I. Data and global properties
At Nançay, 21-cm H I line observations were made of 15spiral-dominated loose groups of galaxies, divided into two samples: an``interacting'' sample containing at least one pair of interactinggalaxies, and a ``control'' sample having no optical evidence ofinteractions or morphological disturbances among the group members. Theinteracting sample consists of 62 galaxies representing 9 differentgroups, and the control sample contains 40 galaxies representing 6groups. Of the 91 galaxy and galaxy pairs observed, 74 were detected,while upper limits were placed on the remaining 17 objects. Thesehomogeneous H I data, which will be used in future analyses, providecomparative information on the H I content of groups and serve as aprobe of the vicinity of the target spirals for H I clouds or very lowsurface brightness gas-rich galaxies.
| Cold gas and star formation in a merging galaxy sequence
We explore the evolution of the cold gas (molecular and neutralhydrogen) and star formation activity during galaxy interactions, usinga merging galaxy sequence comprising both pre- and post-mergercandidates. Data for this study come from the literature, but aresupplemented by some new radio observations presented here. First, weconfirm that the ratio of far-infrared luminosity to molecular hydrogenmass (LFIRM(H2); star formation efficiency)increases close to nuclear coalescence. After the merging of the twonuclei there is evidence that the star formation efficiency declinesagain to values typical of ellipticals. This trend can be attributed toM(H2) depletion arising from interaction induced starformation. However, there is significant scatter, likely to arise fromdifferences in the interaction details (e.g., disc-to-bulge ratio,geometry) of individual systems. Secondly, we find that the centralmolecular hydrogen surface density, ΣH2,increases close to the final stages of the merging of the two nuclei.Such a trend, indicating gas inflows caused by gravitationalinstabilities during the interaction, is also predicted by numericalsimulations. Furthermore, there is evidence for a decreasing fraction ofcold gas mass from early interacting systems to merger remnants,attributed to neutral hydrogen conversion into other forms (e.g., stars,hot gas) and molecular hydrogen depletion resulting from ongoing starformation. The evolution of the total-radio to blue-band luminosityratio, reflecting the total (disc and nucleus) star formation activity,is also investigated. Although this ratio is on average higher than thatfor isolated spirals, we find a marginal increase along the mergingsequence, attributed to the relative insensitivity of disc starformation to interactions. However, a similar result is also obtainedfor the nuclear radio emission, although galaxy interactions arebelieved to significantly affect the activity (star formation, AGN) inthe central galaxy regions. Nevertheless, the nuclear-radio to blue-bandluminosity ratio is significantly elevated compared with that forisolated spirals. Finally, we find that the FIR-radio flux ratiodistribution of interacting galaxies is consistent with star formationbeing the main energizing source.
| The SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey - I. First measurements of the submillimetre luminosity and dust mass functions
This is the first of a series of papers presenting results from theSCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey (SLUGS), the first statistical surveyof the submillimetre properties of the local Universe. As the initialpart of this survey, we have used the SCUBA camera on the James ClerkMaxwell Telescope to observe 104 galaxies from the IRAS Bright GalaxySample. We present here the 850-μm flux measurements. The 60-, 100-,and 850-μm flux densities are well fitted by single-temperature dustspectral energy distributions, with the sample mean and standarddeviation for the best-fitting temperature beingTd=35.6+/-4.9K and for the dust emissivity indexβ=1.3+/-0.2. The dust temperature was found to correlate with60-μm luminosity. The low value of β may simply mean that thesegalaxies contain a significant amount of dust that is colder than thesetemperatures. We have estimated dust masses from the 850-μm fluxesand from the fitted temperature, although if a colder component ataround 20K is present (assuming a β of 2), then the estimated dustmasses are a factor of 1.5-3 too low. We have made the first directmeasurements of the submillimetre luminosity function (LF) and of thedust mass function. Unlike the IRAS 60-μm LF, these are well fittedby Schechter functions. The slope of the 850-μm LF at lowluminosities is steeper than -2, implying that the LF must flatten atluminosities lower than we probe here. We show that extrapolating the60-μm LF to 850μm using a single temperature and β does notreproduce the measured submillimetre LF. A population of `cold' galaxies(Td<25K) emitting strongly at submillimetre wavelengthswould have been excluded from the 60-μm-selected sample. If suchgalaxies do exist, then this estimate of the 850-μm flux is biased(it is underestimated). Whether such a population does exist is unknownat present. We correlate many of the global galaxy properties with theFIR/submillimetre properties. We find that there is a tendency for lessluminous galaxies to contain hotter dust and to have a greater starformation efficiency (cf. Young). The average gas-to-dust ratio for thesample is 581+/-43 (using both the atomic and molecular hydrogen), whichis significantly higher than the Galactic value of 160. We believe thatthis discrepancy is probably due to a `cold dust' component atTd<=20K in our galaxies. There is a surprisingly tightcorrelation between dust mass and the mass of molecular hydrogen,estimated from CO measurements, with an intrinsic scatter of ~=50percent.
| Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups
In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.
| 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.
| A Subarcsecond-Resolution Near-Infrared Study of Seyfert and ``Normal'' Galaxies. I. Imaging Data
We present new high-resolution near-infrared observations in the J, H,and K bands, obtained to study the properties of Seyfert host galaxies.The data set consists of images in the three bands of practically theentire CfA sample of Seyfert galaxies, and K-band images of a controlsample of nonactive, ``normal,'' galaxies, matched to the Seyfert samplein the distribution of type and inclination. The spatial resolution andsampling of the new images is a factor of 2 better than previouslypublished K-band data. In this paper, we present the data in the form ofprofiles of surface brightness and color, ellipticity and major axisposition angle, as well as gray-scale maps of surface brightness in H orK and both J-H and H-K colors. We compare our surface brightness andcolor profiles with the literature and find good agreement. Our data arediscussed in detail in three subsequent publications, where we analyzethe morphologies of Seyfert and normal hosts, quantify the strength ofnonaxisymmetric features in disks and their relationship to nuclearactivity, address the question of bar fraction in Seyferts and normalgalaxies, and analyze the color information in the framework of emissionmechanisms in Seyfert 1's and 2's and in nonactive galaxies.
| A Near-IR Spectral Atlas of IR-Selected Nearby Spirals
We have secured long-slit spectra with R~ 440, covering the K, H and Jbands, of 28, 26 and 13 nearby galaxies respectively. The target listcomprises complete samples, flux-limited at 25 μm, of `normal'(control) galaxies (undistorted morphology, normal IRAS colours),`normal starbursts' (undistorted morphology, starburst IRAS colours),`interacting/merger starbursts' (multiple/ disturbed morphology,starburst IRAS colours), Seyferts 1 and 2 and two low-metallicitystar-forming systems. LINERs were included but were not separatelyselected. We here describe this data set, which is to be made publiclyavailable as an atlas of spectra, and remark on a few results alreadyapparent in the partially-reduced data.
| Radio-loud and Radio-quiet Active Galactic Nuclei
We have generated a sample of 409 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) forwhich both the radio luminosity at 5 GHz and the line luminosity in [OIII] lambda5007 have been measured. The radio luminosity spans a rangeof 10 orders of magnitude, and the [O III] line luminosity spans a rangeof 8 orders of magnitude-both considerably larger than the ranges inprevious studies. We show that these two quantities are correlated in asimilar way for both radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs. We demonstratethat the observed correlation can be explained in terms of a model inwhich jets are accelerated and collimated by a vertical magnetic field.
| Molecular Gas in Strongly Interacting Galaxies. I. CO (1-0) Observations
We present observations of the CO (1-0) line in 80 interacting galaxiesas part of a program to study the role of interactions and mergers intriggering starbursts. The sample, which only includes obviouslyinteracting pairs of galaxies, is the largest such sample observed inCO. The observations were carried out at the NRAO 12 m and IRAM 30 mtelescopes. CO emission was detected in 56 galaxies (of which 32 are newdetections), corresponding to a detection rate of 70%. Because mostgalaxies are slightly larger than the telescope beam, correction factorswere applied to include CO emission outside the beam. The correctionfactors were derived by fitting a Gaussian function or an exponential CObrightness distribution to galaxies with multiple pointings and byassuming an exponential model for galaxies with single pointing. Wecompared the global CO fluxes of 10 galaxies observed by us at bothtelescopes. We also compared the measured fluxes for another 10 galaxiesobserved by us with those by other authors using the NRAO 12 m and FCRAO14 m telescopes. These comparisons provide an estimate of the accuracyof our derived global fluxes, which is ~40%. Mapping observations of twoclose pairs of galaxies, UGC 594 (NGC 317) and UGC 11175 (NGC 6621), arealso presented. In subsequent papers we will report the statisticalanalyses of the molecular properties in our sample galaxies and makecomparisons between isolated spirals and interacting galaxies.
| Neutral hydrogen absorption observations of the central region of NGC 5929
We present 0.15-arcsec (25-pc) resolution MERLIN observations of neutralhydrogen absorption detected towards the nuclear region of the type 2Seyfert galaxy NGC 5929. Absorption is detected only towards thenorth-eastern radio component with a column density of(6.5+/-0.6)x10^21cm^-2. Based on comparison with an HST WFPC2 continuumimage, we propose that the absorption is caused by a 1.5-arcsecstructure of neutral gas and dust offset 0.3 arcsec south-east of thenucleus and running NE-SW. A separate cloud of dust is apparent 1.5arcsec to the south-west of the nucleus in the HST image. A comparisonof the centroid velocity (2358+/-5kms^-1) and full width at half-maximum(43+/-6kms^-1) of the absorbing gas with previous [OIII] observationssuggests that both the neutral and ionized gas are undergoing galacticrotation towards the observer in the north-east and away from theobserver in the south-west. The main structure is consistent with aninclined ring of gas and dust encircling the active galactic nucleus(AGN); alternatively it may be a bar or inner spiral arm. We do notdetect neutral hydrogen absorption or dust obscuration against the radionucleus (column density <3.1x10^21cm^-2) expected by a torus ofneutral gas and dust in unified models of AGNs for a type 2 Seyfertgalaxy.
| Infrared Observations of Galaxies in the Local Universe. I. The Survey and Some Representative Results
This paper introduces a continuing survey of galaxies in the localuniverse. Consistent deep images are being acquired for a representativesample of 321 galaxies in the Uppsala General Catalogue down to 21.7 magarcsec-2 at Ks (2.16 mu m) and 22.4 mag arcsec-2 at J (1.25 mu m) usinga NICMOS camera with a 3.'8 x 3.'8 field of view attached to the 61 inch(1.5 m) telescope on Mount Bigelow. We provide some examples of theresults being obtained by employing 64 deep images of a subset of 44galaxies. Bulge-to-disk ratios are tabulated for 30 galaxies. Thebrightness of the central region of 44 galaxies declines approximately 5mag from Hubble type S0 to Sm. An exponential vertical scale height atKs is found to be 500 pc for the disk of UGC 5173. Arm amplitudes offour nearly face-on spiral galaxies are found to range between 11% and88% compared to the interarm region. There is some evidence that the armamplitude is larger at Ks than it is at J. Color gradients are measuredfor 15 galaxies with only one showing a significant nonzero result. Ameasurement of galactic symmetry applied to 64 deep images reveals anaverage asymmetry of 7.6% ( sigma = 4.6%) for these galaxies.
| Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of ARP Interacting Galaxies
We discuss near-infrared spectra of 20 interacting galaxies from the ArpCatalog and analyze the properties of similar galaxies for which onlyoptical spectra are available. We find excellent agreement between thetypes of activity determined from the infrared and optical,demonstrating that obscuration does not seriously bias the opticalresults. None of the 20 galaxies show infrared spectral characteristicsthat differ from expectations for isolated galaxies; the very strongshock-excited lines seen in a few interacting systems must be uncommon.Most of the galaxies in our infrared sample are the sites of starburststhat appear to have had durations of 1 to 5 Myr and to be observed 3 to10 Myr after the peak star-forming episode. Four of the 20 galaxies haveLINER or composite starburst/LINER spectra that are likely to arise fromshocks due to supernovae in late phase starbursts. In the fullinteracting galaxy sample, there is a substantial excess of Seyfert 2nuclei, supporting previous indications that this type of activity tendsto occur in interacting host galaxies.
| Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
Not Available
| Optical colour maps of Seyfert galaxies. II. More Seyfert 2s
We present optical broad band B-I colour maps of a further sample of 10Seyfert 2 galaxies. In these bands, the contribution from emission linesto the total flux is small, and hence the images predominantly trace thecontinuum distribution. As in our earlier colour maps of a sample ofSeyferts type 1 and 2, we detect extended blue continuum components inthe circumnuclear region of several galaxies. These components areeither elongated (in Mkn 533, Mkn 607, Mkn 1066, NGC 5347, NGC 5953 andNGC 7319) or form a double structure across the nucleus (in NGC 5929).They are closely aligned with the radio and emission line axes of thesegalaxies and probably arise from scattering of nuclear continuum lightby extranuclear mirrors. Similar blue elongations (in Mkn 1 and NGC7212) and double structures (in NGC 788) are less well aligned with theradio and line emission, and their relationship with scattering regionsmust be considered uncertain. The colours of the blue maxima areconsistent with those expected from scattering off dust or electrons, aconclusion strengthened by the combined sample of the two papers in thisseries. Our findings thus strongly support the current unified models ofAGN. Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.
| Kinematics of the local universe. VII. New 21-cm line measurements of 2112 galaxies
This paper presents 2112 new 21-cm neutral hydrogen line measurementscarried out with the meridian transit Nan\c cay radiotelescope. Amongthese data we give also 213 new radial velocities which complement thoselisted in three previous papers of this series. These new measurements,together with the HI data collected in LEDA, put to 6 700 the number ofgalaxies with 21-cm line width, radial velocity, and apparent diameterin the so-called KLUN sample. Figure 5 and Appendices A and B forcorresponding comments are available in electronic form at thehttp://www.edpsciences.com
| 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
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