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Optical Counterparts of Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources Identified from Archival HST WFPC2 Images
We present a systematic analysis of archival HST WFPC2 ``Association''data sets that correlate with the Chandra positions of a set of 44ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) of nearby galaxies. The mainmotivation is to address the nature of ULXs by searching for opticalcounterparts. Sixteen of the ULXs are found in early-type galaxies (RC3Hubble type <3). We have improved the Chandra/HST relative astrometrywhenever possible, resulting in errors circles of 0.3"-1.7" in size.Disparate numbers of potential ULX counterparts are found, and in somecases none are found. The lack of or low number of counterparts in somecases may be due to insufficient depth in the WFPC2 images. Particularlyin late-type galaxies, the HST image in the ULX region was often complexor crowded, requiring source detection to be performed manually. Wetherefore address various scenarios for the nature of the ULX since itis not known which, if any, of the sources found are true counterparts.The optical luminosities of the sources are typically in the range104-106 Lsolar, with (effective) Vmagnitudes typically in the range 22-24. In several cases colorinformation is available, with the colors roughly tending to be more redin early-type galaxies. This suggests that, in general, the (potential)counterparts found in early-type galaxies are likely to be older stellarpopulations and are probably globular clusters. Several early-typegalaxy counterparts have blue colors, which may be due to youngerstellar populations in the host galaxies, however, these could also bebackground sources. In spiral galaxies the sources may also be due tolocalized structure in the disks rather than bound stellar systems.Alternatively, some of the counterparts in late-type galaxies may beisolated supergiant stars. The observed X-ray/optical flux ratio isdiluted by the optical emission of the cluster in cases where the systemis an X-ray binary in a cluster, particularly in the case of a low-massX-ray binaries in an old cluster. If any of the counterparts are boundsystems with ~104-106 stars and are the truecounterparts to the ULX sources, then the X-ray luminosities of the ULXare generally well below the Eddington limit for a black hole with mass~0.1% of the cluster mass. Finally, we find that the optical flux of thecounterparts is consistent with being dominated by emission from anaccretion disk around an intermediate-mass black hole if the black holehappens to have a mass >~102 Msolar and isaccreting at close to the Eddington rate, unless the accretion disk isirradiated (which would result in high optical disk luminosities atlower black hole masses).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. This project isassociated with Archival proposal 9545.
| 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.
| Kinematics in Hickson Compact Group 90
Using long-slit spectra observed at the VLT (ESO, Paranal) in May 2002,we studied the stellar kinematics in the core of the Hickson CompactGroup 90. The line of sight velocity distribution (LOSVD), the velocitydispersion profiles and the Hermite moments h3,h4 along two slitpositions are presented. The comparison with previous results isdiscussed. For kinematical analysis we used the parametrization for theLOSVD given in van der Marel et al. (1993).
| The Relation between Galaxy Activity and the Dynamics of Compact Groups of Galaxies
Using a sample of 91 galaxies distributed over 27 compact groups (CGs)of galaxies, we define an index that allows us to quantify their levelof activity due to an active galactic nucleus (AGN) or star formation.By combining the mean activity index with the mean morphological type ofthe galaxies in a group, we are able to quantify the evolutionary stateof the groups. We find that they span an evolutionary sequence thatcorrelates with the spatial configuration of the galaxies in the CG. Wedistinguish three main configuration types: A, B, and C. Type A CGs showpredominantly low velocity dispersions and are rich in late-type spiralsthat show active star formation or harbor an AGN. Type B groups haveintermediate velocity dispersions and contain a large fraction ofinteracting or merging galaxies. Type C comprises CGs with high velocitydispersions, which are dominated by elliptical galaxies that show noactivity. We suggest that evolution proceeds A==>B==>C. Mappingthe groups with different evolution levels in a diagram of radius versusvelocity dispersion does not reveal the pattern expected based on theconventional fast merger model for CGs, which predicts a direct relationbetween these two parameters. Instead, we observe a trend contrary toexpectation: the evolutionary state of a group increases with velocitydispersion. This trend seems to be related to the masses of thestructures in which CGs are embedded. In general, the evolutionary stateof a group increases with the mass of the structure. This suggestseither that galaxies evolve more rapidly in massive structures or thatthe formation of CGs embedded in massive structures predated theformation of CGs associated with lower mass systems. Our observationsare consistent with the structure formation predicted by the CDM model(or ΛCDM), only if the formation of galaxies is a biased process.
| An IRAS High Resolution Image Restoration (HIRES) Atlas of All Interacting Galaxies in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample
The importance of far-infrared observations for our understanding ofextreme activity in interacting and merging galaxies has beenillustrated by many studies. Even though two decades have passed sinceits launch, the most complete all-sky survey to date from which far-IRselected galaxy samples can be chosen is still that of the InfraredAstronomical Satellite (IRAS). However, the spatial resolution of theIRAS all-sky survey is insufficient to resolve the emission fromindividual galaxies in most interacting galaxy pairs, and hence previousstudies of their far-IR properties have had to concentrate either onglobal system properties or on the properties of very widely separatedand weakly interacting pairs. Using the HIRES image reconstructiontechnique, it is possible to achieve a spatial resolution ranging from30" to 1.5m (depending on wavelength and detector coverage), whichis a fourfold improvement over the normal resolution of IRAS. This issufficient to resolve the far-IR emission from the individual galaxiesin many interacting systems detected by IRAS, which is very importantfor meaningful comparisons with single, isolated galaxies. We presenthigh-resolution 12, 25, 60, and 100 μm images of 106 interactinggalaxy systems contained in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS,Sanders et al.), a complete sample of all galaxies having a 60 μmflux density greater than 5.24 Jy. These systems were selected to haveat least two distinguishable galaxies separated by less than threeaverage galactic diameters, and thus we have excluded very widelyseparated systems and very advanced mergers. Additionally, some systemshave been included that are more than three galactic diameters apart,yet have separations less than 4' and are thus likely to suffer fromconfusion in the RBGS. The new complete survey has the same propertiesas the prototype survey of Surace et al. We find no increased tendencyfor infrared-bright galaxies to be associated with other infrared-brightgalaxies among the widely separated pairs studied here. We find smallenhancements in far-IR activity in multiple galaxy systems relative toRBGS noninteracting galaxies with the same blue luminosity distribution.We also find no differences in infrared activity (as measured byinfrared color and luminosity) between late- and early-type spiralgalaxies.
| The 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
| Extraordinary Diffuse Light in Hickson Compact Group 90
A two-color photometric study is presented for the interacting compactsystem of galaxies Hickson Compact Group 90 (HCG 90). Currently, HCG90's galaxies are experiencing a strong tidal interaction, and as aresult, a significant luminous diffuse light component has formed.Through isophotal definition of the distinction between the galaxy lightand diffuse intracluster light, approximately 38%-48% of the total lightbelongs to the diffuse light component. Moreover, the surface brightnessof the ``tidal debris'' is much higher than seen in other interactingsystems. The intracluster light has a narrow color distribution centeredaround a mean color of V-R=0.67+/-0.03 mag, which is consistent with anold stellar population. Although a spiral galaxy is heavily involved inan interaction, an associated blue component to the diffuse light is notclearly seen. An interaction of this magnitude would also remove much ofthe cold gas in the interacting galaxies, which would then be heated bythe group potential; however, Chandra observations reveal only a veryfaint intracluster medium at energy of kT~0.7 keV. The X-ray-emittinggas shows a narrow bridge that connects two of the interacting galaxies.This morphology is similar to that exhibited by the diffuse opticalemission. This morphology might be an indicator of a young dynamical agefor this system. However, the overall luminosity ratio of X-ray gasemission to the diffuse light emission is less than 10-3, andthis might indicate a dynamical old system (e.g., the gas has cooled).Therefore, HCG 90 is a dynamical paradox in that it has a very largeamount of diffuse intracluster light and a very small amount of relatedhot intracluster gas and has overall features that give conflictinginferences concerning its dynamical age.
| A multiple galaxy collision in compact groups
It is shown that the dynamical paradox of the HCG 90, which is treatedas an old, and at the same time, as a young system (White et al), may besolved assuming that it is a rotating system in which multiplecollisions have occurred during Hubble time. In the frames of the samescenario a multiple collisions in SQ (HCG 92) are naturally explained.
| X-ray luminosities of galaxies in groups
We have derived the X-ray luminosities of a sample of galaxies ingroups, making careful allowance for contaminating intragroup emission.The LX:LB and LX:LFIRrelations of spiral galaxies in groups appear to be indistinguishablefrom those in other environments, however the elliptical galaxies fallinto two distinct classes. The first class is central-dominant groupgalaxies, which are very X-ray luminous and may be the focus of groupcooling flows. All other early-type galaxies in groups belong to thesecond class, which populates an almost constant band ofLX/LB over the range9.8
| Globular Cluster Population of Hickson Compact Group 22a and 90c
We present the first measurement of the globular cluster populations ofgalaxies in Hickson compact groups, in order to investigate the effectof these high-density environments on the formation and evolution ofglobular cluster systems. Based on V- and R-band images that we obtainedof HCG 22a and HCG 90c with the ESO New Technology Telescope (NTT), wefind a total globular cluster population of 1590+/-854 for HCG 22a and2136+/-718 for 90c. The specific frequency was found to beSN=1.9+/-1.0 for HCG 22a and SN=3.4+/-1.1 for HCG90c. A power-law fit to the globular cluster radial profile of HCG 22ayields σ~R-2.01+/-0.30, and for HCG 90c we foundσ~R-1.20+/-0.16. A comparison of the globular clusterradial profiles with the surface brightness of the parent galaxy showsthat the globular cluster systems are at least as extended as the halolight. The measured values for the specific frequency are consistentwith a scenario in which the host galaxies were in a low-density``fieldlike'' environment when they formed their globular clustersystems. Based on observations collected at the European SouthernObservatory, Chile.
| Southern Isolated Galaxy Triplets
Seventy-six isolated triple systems of galaxies with declinatiosnδ<-3° were selected using ESO/SERC and POSS-I sky surveydata. The equatorial coordinates, configuration types, angular sizes,component angular separations, component morphological types, totalmagnitudes, and other parameters are reported for each triplet.Radial-velocity estimates are available for all components in 33 of the76 triplets. The median values of the main dynamicalparametersradial-velocity dispersion, mean harmonic radius,absolute magnitudes of member galaxies, and mass-to-luminosityratiosare similar to those obtained earlier for 83 isolatedtriple systems with δ>-3°.
| 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.
| Seeing Galaxies through Thick and Thin. I. Optical Opacity Measures in Overlapping Galaxies
We describe the use of partially overlapping galaxies to provide directmeasurements of the effective absorption in galaxy disks, independent ofassumptions about internal disk structure. The nonoverlapping parts ofthe galaxies and symmetry considerations are used to reconstruct, viadifferential photometry, how much background galaxy light is lost inpassing through the foreground disks. Extensive catalog searches andfollow-up imaging yield ~15-25 nearby galaxy pairs suitable for varyingdegrees of our analysis; 11 of the best such examples are presentedhere. From these pairs, we find that interarm extinction is modest,declining from AB~1 mag at 0.3RB25 toessentially zero by RB25; the interarm dust has ascale length consistent with that of the disk starlight. In contrast,dust in spiral arms and resonance rings may be optically thick(AB>2) at virtually any radius. Some disks have flatterextinction curves than the Galaxy, with AB/AI~1.6this is probably the signature of clumpy dust distributions. Even thoughtypical spirals are not optically thick throughout their disks, wherethey are optically thick is correlated with where they are mostluminous: in spiral arms and inner disks. This correlation betweenabsorption and emission regions may account for their apparent surfacebrightness being only mildly dependent on inclination, erroneouslyindicating that spirals are generally optically thick. Taken as anensemble, the opacities of spiral galaxies may be just great enough tosignificantly affect QSO counts, though not enough to cause theirhigh-redshift cutoff. Based in part on archival observations with theNASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) obtained at the Space TelescopeScience Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
| The Evolution of Galaxies in Compact Groups
We present an analysis of the spectra of 62 galaxies in 15 compactgroups. The galaxies are classified into four activity classes: galaxieswithout emission, starburst galaxies, luminous AGNs (Seyfert andLINERs), and low-luminosity AGNs (LLAGNs). The star formation in theHickson compact group (HCG) starbursts is more intense than in normalspirals, but comparable to that observed in starburst-nucleus galaxies(SBNGs) in the field. In general, the HCG starbursts have mean solar gasmetallicity and do not follow the metallicity-luminosity relation tracedby the early-type SBNGs in the field, suggesting that most of them arelate-type SBNGs. This morphology preference, coupled with theobservation that the HCG starbursts are predominantly located in thehalos of the groups, is consistent with the idea that compact groups areembedded in sparser structures. The stellar metallicities of thenonstarburst galaxies are comparable to those observed in normalgalaxies with similar morphologies, but are relatively high for theirluminosities. In these galaxies, the metal absorption line equivalentwidths are slightly narrower than normal, while the Balmer absorptionlines are relatively strong. All these observations suggest the presenceof a population of intermediate-age stars. These galaxies could bepoststarburst, but at a very advanced stage of evolution, the lastbursts having happened more than 2 Gyr in the past. Our observationssupport a scenario in which the cores of the groups are slowlycollapsing evolved systems embedded in more extended structures. In thecores of the groups, the interactions were more frequent and thegalaxies evolved at a more rapid rate than in their halos.
| Effects of Interaction-induced Activities in Hickson Compact Groups: CO and Far-Infrared Study
A study of 2.6 mm CO J = 1 --> 0 and far-infrared (FIR) emission in adistance-limited (z < 0.03) complete sample of Hickson compact group(HCG) galaxies was conducted in order to examine the effects of theirunique environment on the interstellar medium of component galaxies andto search for a possible enhancement of star formation and nuclearactivity. Ubiquitous tidal interactions in these dense groups wouldpredict enhanced activities among the HCG galaxies compared to isolatedgalaxies. Instead, their CO and FIR properties (thus, "star formationefficiency") are surprisingly similar to isolated spirals. The CO datafor 80 HCG galaxies presented here (including 10 obtained from theliterature) indicate that the spirals globally show the same H2 contentas the isolated comparison sample, although 20% are deficient in COemission. Because of their large optical luminosity, low metallicity isnot likely the main cause for the low CO luminosity. The CO deficiencyappears linked with the group evolution, and gas exhaustion through paststar formation and removal of the external gas reserve by tidalstripping of the outer H I disk offer a possible explanation. The IRASdata for the entire redshift-limited complete sample of 161 HCG galaxieswere reanalyzed using ADDSCAN/SCANPI, improving the sensitivity by afactor of 3-5 over the existing Point Source Catalog (PSC) and resolvingbetter the contribution from individual galaxies. The new analysis ofthe IRAS data confirms the previous suggestion that FIR emission in HCGgalaxies is similar to isolated, Virgo Cluster, and weakly interactinggalaxies. Their H2 and FIR characteristics yield a star formationefficiency that is similar to that of these comparison samples. A factor2 enhancement in the 25-100 mu m flux ratio among the HCG spirals isfound, which suggests intense localized nuclear starburst activitysimilar to that of H II galaxies. A number of early-type galaxies inHCGs are detected in CO and FIR, lending further support to the ideathat tidal interactions and tidally induced evolution of the groups andmember galaxies are important in our sample.
| Structural and Dynamical Analysis of the Hickson Compact Groups
Based on the spectroscopic survey of de Carvalho et al., we analyze thestructural and dynamical properties of 17 Hickson compact groups. Thisanalysis probes a region of 0.dg5 x 0.dg5 around each group and showsthat most of them are part of larger structures. Our results alsosuggest that the Hickson sample is composed of different dynamicalstages of the groups" evolution. Specifically, we identify threepossible evolutionary phases among groups in the sample: loose groups,core + halo systems, and compact groups, each one presenting a distinctsurface density profile. This sequence is consistent with thereplenishment scenario for the formation and evolution of compact groupswithin larger and less dense systems.
| The Nature of the Activity in Hickson Compact Groups of Galaxies
We present the results of the spectral classification of the 82brightest galaxies in a sample of 17 compact groups. We verify that theactive galactic nuclei (AGNs) are preferentially located in the mostearly-type and luminous galaxies of the groups, as is usually observedin the field. But these AGNs also appear to be systematicallyconcentrated toward the central parts of the groups. Our observationssuggest a correlation between activity types, morphologies, anddensities of galaxies in the compact groups. This is consistent with ascenario in which galaxies of compact groups evolve by interacting withtheir environment and are currently in a quiet phase of their activity.
| The Kinematics of the Warm Gas in the Interacting Hickson Compact Group of Galaxies HCG 90
We present kinematic observations of Hα emission for twoearly-type galaxies and one disk system, members of the Hickson compactgroup 90 (HCG 90) obtained with a scanning Fabry-Perot interferometerand samplings of 16 km s^-1 and 1". Mapping of the gas kinematics waspossible to ~2r_eff for the disk galaxy NGC 7174 and to ~1.3r_eff and~1.7r_eff for the early-type galaxies NGC 7176 and NGC 7173,respectively. Evidence for ongoing interaction was found in theproperties of the warm gas of the three galaxies, some of which do nothave stellar counterparts. The system H90bd (NGC 7176-NGC 7174), whichwas previously suspected to be an optical double, may in reality be asystem in interaction. In the region where the galaxies spatiallyoverlap in projection (their continuum centers are only 25" apart), thegas profiles are separated in velocity space by ~50-100 km s^-1. The gascomponent of the early-type galaxy is highly concentrated in the regionclosest to the irregular galaxy, where the interaction between the twogalaxies may be taking place. The velocity fields of these galaxies aredisturbed, most probably because of the ongoing interaction; theyindicate that the galaxies are in prograde orbits, which is a favorablecondition for merging. H90c, morphologically classified as an ellipticalgalaxy, has a disk of ionized gas that rotates around an axis oriented60 deg with respect to the stellar rotation axis. This is strongevidence that the gas has an external origin. As is also the case forH90b, this galaxy may be a true S0 that was misclassified as anelliptical galaxy. We suggest the following evolutionary scenario forthe system: H90d is the warm-gas reservoir of the group, in the processof fueling H90b with gas. H90c and H90d have experienced pastinteraction with gas exchange. The gas acquired by H90c has alreadysettled and relaxed, but the effects of the interaction can still beseen in the morphology of the two galaxies and their stellar kinematics.This process will possibly result in a major merger.
| A catalogue of Mg_2 indices of galaxies and globular clusters
We present a catalogue of published absorption-line Mg_2 indices ofgalaxies and globular clusters. The catalogue is maintained up-to-datein the HYPERCAT database. The measurements are listed together with thereferences to the articles where the data were published. A codeddescription of the observations is provided. The catalogue gathers 3541measurements for 1491 objects (galaxies or globular clusters) from 55datasets. Compiled raw data for 1060 galaxies are zero-point correctedand transformed to a homogeneous system. Tables 1, 3, and 4 areavailable in electronic form only at the CDS, Strasbourg, via anonymousftp 130.79.128.5. Table 2 is available both in text and electronic form.
| 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
| Stellar populations of cluster E and S0 galaxies
Spectral line index data for a sample of 290 E and S0 galaxies are usedto investigate the stellar populations of these galaxies. 250 of thegalaxies are members of 11 nearby clusters (cz_CMB<11500 km s^-1). Westudy how the stellar populations of the galaxies are related to thevelocity dispersions, the masses of the galaxies, and the clusterenvironment. This is done by establishing relations between theseparameters and the line indices Mg_2, and Hβ_G. Thedifference between the slope of the Mg_2-sigma relation and the slope ofthe -sigma relation indicates that the abundance ratio [Mg/Fe]is 0.3-0.4 dex higher for galaxies with velocity dispersions of 250 kms^-1 compared to galaxies with velocity dispersions of 100 km s^-1. Thisis in agreement with previous estimates by Worthey et al. The index is more strongly correlated with the projected cluster surfacedensity, rho_cluster, than with the galactic mass or the velocitydispersion. Earlier we found that the residuals for the Mg_2-sigmarelation depend on the cluster environment. Here we determine how boththe Mg_2 index and the index depend on the velocitydispersion and rho_cluster. Alternative explanations that could create aspurious environment dependence are discussed. No obvious alternativesare found. The environment dependence of the Mg_2-sigma relation issupported by data from Faber et al. The dependence on the environmentimplies that [Mg/Fe] decreases with increasing density, rho_cluster. Thedecrease in [Mg/Fe] is 0.1 dex over 2.5 dex in rho_cluster. We have alsostudied the extent to which the mass-to-light (M/L) ratios of thegalaxies are determined by the stellar populations. The M/L ratios arestrongly correlated with the indices Mg_2 and Hβ_G, while the index is only weakly correlated with the M/L ratio. Based oncurrent stellar population models, we find that it is not yet possibleto derive unique physical parameters (mean age, mean abundances, meanIMF, and fraction of dark matter) from the observables (line indices,velocity dispersion, mass, M/L ratio).
| Redshift Survey of Galaxies around a Selected Sample of Compact Groups
We report the results of a spectroscopic survey of faint galaxies in theregions surrounding Hickson compact groups. Our sample is composed of 17groups within 9000 km s-1. The spectra were taken at the prime focus ofthe Tololo 4 m telescope, using the ARGUS fiber-fed spectrograph. Fromthese observations, redshifts were determined for the faint galaxiespreviously identified by de Carvalho, Ribeiro, & Zepf in thesurroundings of the groups. Statistical methods were applied to theresultant catalog in order to determine the kinematical structure ofeach group. This analysis confirms the idea that the Hickson sample ofcompact groups contains a wide variety of projection and dynamicalconfigurations. Our results demonstrate the necessity of newspectroscopic surveys around compact groups in order to assess theircomplete velocity distribution.
| Far infrared properties of Hickson compact groups of galaxies. I. High resolution IRAS maps and fluxes.
The Far Infrared (FIR) properties of galaxies which are members ofcompact groups bear relevant information on the dynamical status and thephysical properties of these structures. All studies published so farhave been undermined by the poor sensitivity and spatial resolution ofthe IRAS-PSC and IRAS Sky Survey data. We used the HIRAS softwareavailable at the IRAS server at the Laboratory for Space Research inGroningen to fully exploit the redundancy of the IRAS data and toapproach the theoretical diffraction limit of IRAS. Among the 97 groupswhich were observed by IRAS, 62 were detected in at least one band,while reliable upper limits were derived for all the others. Among thedetected groups, 49 were fully or partially resolved, i.e. it waspossible to discriminate which member or members emit most of the FIRlight. At 60μm, for instance, 87 individual sources were detected in62 groups. In order to ease the comparison with data obtained at otherwavelengths - and in particular in the X and radio domains - we giveco-added and HIRAS maps for all the detected groups.
| The molecular gas content of spiral galaxies in compact groups.
We present ^12^CO(J=1-0) line observations of 15 late-type opticallyselected galaxies in compact groups. In order to study the effects ofenvironment on the molecular content of compact group galaxies we usethe CO(1-0) emission to estimate an indicative molecular hydrogencontent of the target galaxies adopting a standard conversion factorX=N(H_2_)/I(CO). We compare the frequency distribution of the normalizedhybrid molecular gas surface density to the one obtained for anoptically selected reference sample of isolated galaxies. Despite theirhigh-density environment, compact group galaxies have, on average,similar CO emission compared to isolated galaxies of same sizes andluminosities. However there are some compact group galaxies withperturbed morphologies and high far-infrared fluxes which have anenhanced CO emissivity.
| Spectroscopy for E and S0 galaxies in nine clusters
Central velocity dispersions, Mg_2 line indices and radial velocitiesfor 220 E and S0 galaxies are derived on the basis of intermediateresolution spectroscopy. Galaxies in the following clusters have beenobserved: Abell 194, Abell 539, Abell 3381, Abell 3574, S639, S753,Doradus, HydraI (Abell 1060) and Grm 15. For 151 of the galaxies, thevelocity dispersion has not previously been measured. 134 of the Mg_2determinations are for galaxies with no previous measurement. Thespectra cover either 500 or 1000A, centred on the magnesium triplet at5177A. The observations were obtained with the Boller & Chivensspectrograph at the ESO 1.5-m telescope and with the OPTOPUS, amulti-object fibre-fed B&C spectrograph, at the ESO 3.6-m telescope.The data are part of our ongoing study of the large-scale motions in theUniverse and the physical background for the Fundamental Plane. TheFourier fitting method was used to derive the velocity dispersions andradial velocities. The velocity dispersions have been corrected for theeffect of the size of the aperture. The correction was established onthe basis of velocity dispersion profiles available in the literature. Acomparison with results from Davies et al. shows that the derivedcentral velocity dispersions have an rms error of 0.036 in logsigma.There is no offset relative to the velocity dispersions from Davies etal. The offset relative to data from Lucey & Carter is-0.017+/-0.011 in logsigma, with our velocity dispersions being thesmallest. The velocity dispersions derived from the B&C and theOPTOPUS observations, as well as the velocity dispersions published byDavies et al., Dressler, Lucey & Carter and Lucey et al., can bebrought on a system consistent within 3 per cent. The Mg_2 line indiceshave been corrected for the size of the apertures, transformed to theLick system, and corrected for the effect of the velocity dispersion.From comparison with data from Davies et al. and from Faber, we findthat the rms error of Mg_2 is 0.013. Comparisons of the radialvelocities with data from the literature show that our determinationsare accurate to within ~=35 km s^-1. The accuracies reached for theseobservations are adequate for the study of the large-scale motions inthe Universe and for investigations of the Fundamental Plane.
| The interstellar medium in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7172
We present aperture and surface photometry of the Seyfert galaxy NGC7172, which is a member of the compact group HCG90, and has a prominentequatorial dust lane. We use the observed colour excess in the dustlane, obtained from broad-band B and V images, to estimate the neutralhydrogen content as M^totHI = 2.6x10^8 M_solar and log(M_HI / L_B) =-1.8. We analyse the flux from NGC7172 at various wavelengths anddiscuss the properties of the interstellar medium in the galaxy. Basedon the results from surface photometry, and the properties of theinterstellar medium, we conclude that the morphology of NGC7172 is oftype S0-Sa.
| Discovery of an excess of blue star clusters around Hickson 90.
We present deep CCD photometry in B and R for a sample of brightunresolved objects around the compact group of interacting galaxiesHickson 90. Even though the maximum of the luminosity function is notreached in our data, there is a clear excess of objects having absoluteB magnitude ~-9.0. The (B-R) colour index of these objects shows amarked excess of the blue objects, thus suggesting that they arerecently formed populous clusters. The luminosity function of theclusters is the best fitted by a Gaussian with σ=1.4, which leadsto a total cluster population of A=740+-170. The large value of σcompared to the relatively small value of A, can be explained by someage dispersion among the young clusters. This result supports thehypothesis that strong interaction can trigger the formation of populousclusters.
| Galaxy properties in different environments. 1: The sample
This paper presents two galaxy samples, respectively in a high and in alow local density environments, that were generated from the SouthernSky Redshift Survey (SSRS) catalog using objective criteria. Apreliminary comparison of physical properties in these two samplesreveals that galaxies in high-density environments tend to be under ahigher starbursting activity, have a deficiency of the neutral hydrogencontent, present a higher fractional Seyfert population and a higherfraction of barred spirals as well. The present samples are intended tobe used in future spectroscopic observations for more detailedinvestigation.
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