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Atomic and Molecular Gas in Colliding Galaxy Systems. I. The Data
We present H I and CO (1-0) interferometric observations of 10comparable-mass interacting systems obtained at the Very Large Array(VLA) and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) millimeter array.The primary intent of this study is to investigate the response of coldgas during the early stages of collision of massive disk galaxies. Thesample sources are selected based on their luminosity(MB<=-19), projected separation (5-40 kpc), andsingle-dish CO (1-0) content (SCO>=20 Jy kms-1). These selection criteria result in a sample thatprimarily consists of systems in the early stages of an interaction or amerger. Despite this sample selection, 50% of the systems show long H Itidal tails indicative of a tidal disruption in a prograde orbit. Inaddition, all (4/4) of the infrared luminous pairs (LIRGs) in the sampleshow long H I tails, suggesting that the presence of a long H I tail canbe a possible signature of enhanced star formation activity in acollision of gas-rich galaxies. More than half of the groups show adisplacement of H I peaks from the stellar disks. The CO (1-0)distribution is generally clumpy and widely distributed, unlike in mostIR-selected late stage mergers-in fact, CO peaks are displaced from thestellar nucleus in 20% (4/18) of the galaxies with robust CO detection.H I and CO (1-0) position-velocity diagrams (PVDs) and rotation curvesare also presented, and their comparison with the numerical simulationanalyzed in Paper I show evidence for radial inflow and wide occurrencesof nuclear molecular rings. These results are further quantified byexamining physical and structural parameters derived in comparison withisolated systems in the BIMA SONG sample in our forthcoming paper.
| The Structural Properties of Isolated Galaxies, Spiral-Spiral Pairs, and Mergers: The Robustness of Galaxy Morphology during Secular Evolution
We present a structural analysis of nearby galaxies in spiral-spiralpairs in optical BVRI bands and compare them with the structures ofisolated spiral galaxies and galaxies in ongoing mergers. We use thesecomparisons to determine how galaxy structure changes during galaxyinteractions and mergers. We analyze light concentration (C), asymmetry(A), and clumpiness (S) parameters, and use the projections of CASparameter space to compare these samples. We find that the CASparameters of paired galaxies are correlated with the projectedseparations of the pair. For the widest and closest pairs, the CASparameters tend to be similar to those of isolated and ongoing majormergers (e.g., ultraluminous infrared galaxies), respectively. Ourresults imply that galaxy morphology is a robust property that onlychanges significantly during a strong interaction or major merger. Thetypical timescale for this change in our paired sample, based ondynamical friction arguments, is short, τ~0.1-0.5 Gyr. We findaverage enhancement factors for the spiral-pair asymmetries andclumpiness values of ~2.2 and 1.5. The S parameter, which is related tostar formation (SF) activity, has a moderate level of enhancement,suggesting that this activity in modern spirals depends more on internalprocesses than on external conditions. We further test the statisticalcriterion for picking up interacting galaxies in an automated way byusing the A-S projection plane. The diversity of our spiral-pair samplein the CAS space suggests that structural/SF/morphological properties ofinteracting galaxies change abruptly only when the interaction becomesvery strong and the criteria given previously by Conselice for findinggalaxies involved in major mergers are effective.
| 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).
| 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 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.
| 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.
| Dynamical Effects of Interactions and the Tully-Fisher Relation for Hickson Compact Groups
We investigate the properties of the B-band Tully-Fisher (T-F) relationfor 25 compact group galaxies, using Vmax derived fromtwo-dimensional velocity maps. Our main result is that the majority ofthe Hickson Compact Group galaxies lie on the T-F relation. However,about 20% of the galaxies, including the lowest-mass systems, havehigher B luminosities for a given mass, or alternatively, a mass that istoo low for their luminosities. We favor a scenario in which outliershave been brightened because of either enhanced star formation ormerging. Alternatively, the T-F outliers may have undergone truncationof their dark halo due to interactions. It is possible that in somecases both effects contribute. The fact that the B-band T-F relation issimilar for compact group and field galaxies tells us that thesegalaxies show common mass-to-size relations and that the halos ofcompact group galaxies have not been significantly stripped insideR25. We find that 75% of the compact group galaxies studied(22 out of 29) have highly peculiar velocity fields. Nevertheless, acareful choice of inclination, position angle, and center, obtained fromthe velocity field, and an average of the velocities over a large sectorof the galaxy enabled the determination of fairly well-behaved rotationcurves for the galaxies. However, two of the compact group galaxies HCG91a and HCG 96a, which are the most massive members in M51-like pairs,have very asymmetric rotation curves, with one arm rising and the otherone falling, indicating most probably a recent perturbation by the smallclose companions.
| The infrared supernova rate in starburst galaxies
We report the results of our ongoing search for extincted supernovae(SNe) at near-infrared wavelengths. We have monitored at 2.2 mu m asample of 46 Luminous Infrared Galaxies and detected 4 SNe. The numberof detections is still small but sufficient to provide the firstestimate of supernova rate at near-infrared wavelengths. We measure a SNrate of SNNIR_r=7.6+/- 3.8 SNu which is an order of magnitudelarger than observed in quiescent galaxies. On the other hand, theobserved near-infrared rate is still a factor 3-10 smaller than thatestimated from the far-infrared luminosity of the galaxies. Amongvarious possibilities, the most likely scenario is that dust extinctionis so high (AV>30) to obscure most SNe even in thenear-IR.The role of type Ia SNe is also discussed within this context. We derivethe type Ia SN rate as a function of the stellar mass of the galaxy andfind a sharp increase toward galaxies with higher activity of starformation. This suggests that a significant fraction of type Ia SNe areassociated with young stellar populations.Finally, as a by-product, we give the average K-band light curve ofcore-collapse SNe based on all the existing data, and review therelation between SN rate and far-infrared luminosity.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (proposal 66.B-0417), at the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo(TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Centro Galileo Galileiof the INAF (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica), and at the StewardObservatory 61'' telescope.
| Radio sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey - II. Local radio luminosity functions for AGN and star-forming galaxies at 1.4 GHz
We have cross-matched the 1.4-GHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) with thefirst 210 fields observed in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS),covering an effective area of 325deg2 (about 20 per cent ofthe final 2dFGRS area). This yields a set of optical spectra of 912candidate NVSS counterparts, of which we identify 757 as genuine radioidentifications - the largest and most homogeneous set of radio sourcespectra ever obtained. The 2dFGRS radio sources span the redshift rangez=0.005 to 0.438, and are a mixture of active galaxies (60 per cent) andstar-forming galaxies (40 per cent). About 25 per cent of the 2dFGRSradio sources are spatially resolved by NVSS, and the sample includesthree giant radio galaxies with projected linear size greater than 1Mpc.The high quality of the 2dF spectra means we can usually distinguishunambiguously between AGN and star-forming galaxies. We make a newdetermination of the local radio luminosity function at 1.4GHz for bothactive and star-forming galaxies, and derive a local star formationdensity of 0.022+/-0.004Msolaryr-1Mpc-3(H0=50kms-1Mpc-1).
| Star Formation Rates in Interacting Starburst Galaxies
By narrowband imaging in Hα and in the adjacent red stellarcontinuum we have studied the rate and distribution of star formation in43 systems of luminous and ultraluminous IR galaxies currentlyundergoing interaction and merging. These galaxies are amongst the mostluminous at 60 μm and range in distance from ~50 up to 100 Mpc. Herewe present the Hα and the adjacent red-continuum narrowbandimages, and we compare the star formation rates derived from Hαwith those estimated from the IR luminosity. We find clear evidence forsubstantial extinction and obscuration of star-forming regions in theoptical. Without correction for reddening in the host galaxy orcorrection for [N II] contamination, the star formation rates derivedfor Hα are typically 0.5-1.0 dex lower than those estimated fromthe IR flux, and the scatter in the correlation is very large. However,an unexpected result is that when spectroscopic data are used toeliminate objects dominated by an active nucleus, to determine thegalaxian extinction, and to correct the Hα flux for both reddeningand for the contamination by the [N II] emission, a remarkably goodcorrelation emerges between the star formation rates estimated from theHα flux and those derived from the FIR continuum. In addition, astrong correlation is found between the extinction in the line-emittingregion, AHα, and the rate of star formation. Ourresults invalidate the use of Hα imaging as a reliable indicatorof star formation in starburst galaxies unless spectroscopic data arealso available. This has important implications for the determination ofstar formation rates in high-redshift galaxies. Finally, we find nocorrelation between the measured star formation rates, and theinteraction class, suggesting that the enhanced star formation ratestriggered by the interaction continue throughout the whole of themerging sequence.
| BVRI surface photometry of (S+S) binary galaxies I. The data
We present multicolour broad band (BVRI) photometry for a sample of 33spiral-spiral (S+S) binary galaxies drawn from the KarachentsevCatalogue of Isolated Pairs of Galaxies (KPG). The data is part of ajoint observational programme devoted to systematic photometric study ofone of the most complete and homogeneous pair samples available in theliterature. We present azimuthally averaged colour and surfacebrightness profiles, colour index (B-I) maps, B band and sharp/filteredB band images as well as integrated magnitudes, magnitudes at differentcircular apertures and integrated colours for each pair. Internal andexternal data comparisons show consistency within the estimated errors.Two thirds of the sample have total aperture parameters homogeneouslyderived for the first time. After reevaluating morphology for all thepairs, we find a change in Hubble type for 24 galaxies compared to theoriginal POSS classifications. More than half of our pairs showmorphological concordance which could explain, in part, the strongcorrelation in the (B-V) colour indices (Holmberg Effect) between paircomponents. We find a tendency for barred galaxies to show grand designmorphologies and flat colour profiles. The measurements will be used ina series of forthcoming papers where we try to identify and isolate themain structural and photometric properties of disk galaxies at differentstages of interaction. Table A.1 is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/379/54 and Tables 2-4 arealso available in electronic form at the CDS. Full Fig. 5 is onlyavailable in electronic form at the http://www.edpsciences.org Based ondata obtained at the 2.1 m telescope of the Observatorio Guillermo Haroat Cananea, Sonora, México, operated by the Instituto Nacional deAstrofísica, Optica y Electrónica.
| 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.
| Compact Radio Emission from Warm Infrared Galaxies
In this paper, we present a comparison between the optical spectroscopicdata and the incidence of compact radio emission for a sample of 60 warminfrared galaxies. We find that 80% of optically classified activegalactic nucleus (AGN)-type galaxies contain compact radio sources,while 37% of optically classified starburst galaxies contain compactradio sources. The compact radio luminosity shows a bimodaldistribution, indicating two populations in our sample. The majority ofthe higher radio luminosity class (L>104Lsolar) are AGNs, while the majority of the lower radioluminosity class (L<104 Lsolar) are starbursts.The compact radio emission in the starburst galaxies may be due toeither obscured AGNs or complexes of extremely luminous supernovae suchas that seen in Arp 220. The incidence of optically classified AGNsincreases with increasing far-infrared (FIR) luminosity. Using FIRcolor-color diagrams, we find that globally the energetics of 92% of thegalaxies in our sample are dominated by starburst activity, including60% of galaxies that we find to contain AGNs on the basis of theiroptical classification. The remainder are energetically dominated bytheir AGNs in the infrared. For starburst galaxies, electron densityincreases with dust temperature, consistent with the merger model forinfrared galaxies.
| Optical Spectral Signatures of Dusty Starburst Galaxies
We analyze the optical spectral properties of the complete sample ofVery Luminous Infrared Galaxies presented by Wu et al., and we find ahigh fraction (~50%) of spectra showing both a strong Hδ line inabsorption and relatively modest [O II] emission [e(a) spectra]. Thee(a) signature has been proposed as an efficient method to identifydusty starburst galaxies, and we study the star formation activity andthe nature of these galaxies, as well as the effects of dust on theirobserved properties. We examine their emission-line characteristics, inparticular their [O II]/Hα ratio, and we find this to be greatlyaffected by reddening. A search for AGN spectral signatures reveals thatthe e(a) galaxies are typically H II/LINER galaxies. We compare the starformation rates derived from the FIR luminosities with the estimatesbased on the Hα line and find that the values obtained from theoptical emission lines are a factor of 10-70 (Hα) and 20-140 ([OII]) lower than the FIR estimates (50-300 Msolaryr-1). We then study the morphological properties of the e(a)galaxies, looking for a near companion or signs of a merger/interaction.In order to explore the evolution of the e(a) population, we present anoverview of the available observations of e(a) galaxies in differentenvironments both at low and high redshift. Finally, we discuss the roleof dust in determining the e(a) spectral properties and we propose ascenario of selective obscuration in which the extinction decreases withthe stellar age.
| H I observations of emission-line galaxies
We present single-dish Lovell telescope H i observations of a sample of67 emission-line and UV-excess galaxies, of which 52 are taken from theUniversity of Michigan (UM) catalogue. In addition, H i observations of24 gas-rich irregular galaxies are presented. We find that emission-linegalaxies are H i-rich with a median H i mass to blue luminosity ratioMHI/LB of ~ 0.45 Msun/Lsun.Within the UM galaxy sample the MHI/LB ratio tendsto increase with decreasing luminosity. Finally, it is found that themost H i-rich UM galaxies are the most metal deficient, implying thatthese objects are less evolved.
| 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.
| Investigation of Barred Galaxies. V. Surroundings of SB and SA Galaxies
Not Available
| The Supernova Rate in Starburst Galaxies
We conducted an optical CCD search for supernovae in a sample of 142bright [m(B) <= 16 mag], nearby (z<=0.03) starburst galaxies overthe period 1988 December to 1991 June, to a limiting R-band magnitude of18. Five supernovae were found, in all cases outside the host galaxy'snucleus. We determine supernova rates (in supernova units or SNU) in theextranuclear regions to be 0.7 h^2 SNU for Type Ia, 0.7 h^2 SNU for TypeIb/c, and ~0.6 h^2 SNU for Type II, with large uncertainties but upperlimits of 2.2 h^2, 2.5 h^2, and 1.7 h^2 SNU, respectively. These ratesare similar to those measured in ``normal'' galaxies. We found noevidence for a supernova-induced brightening in any galactic nucleusand, with a few reasonable assumptions, can place upper limits of 9 h^2,12 h^2, and 7 h^2 SNU on the rates of unobscured supernovae Types Ia,Ib/c, and II, respectively, inside the nuclei.
| UBVRI photometry of the Durham-AAT redshift survey
Using the PDS microdensitometer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, wehave acquired U, B, V, R and I surface photometry from UK Schmidtphotographic plates for all the galaxies with measured redshifts in theDurham-AAT redshift survey. By comparison with CCD photometry we showthat such precision photographic photometry of galaxies off IIIaemulsions is capable of an accuracy as good as a few hundredths of amagnitude. We discuss the color-related properties of these galaxies,and derive luminosity functions in each waveband. We show that, whendivided by color, the faint-end slope of the luminosity function of thebluer galaxies is significantly steeper than that for the redder ones.
| The Pico DOS Dias Survey Starburst Galaxies
We discuss the nature of the galaxies found in the Pico dos Dias Survey(PDS) for young stellar objects. The PDS galaxies were selected from theIRAS Point Source catalog. They have flux density of moderate or highquality at 12, 25, and 60 μm and spectral indices in the ranges -3.00<= alpha(25, 12) <= + 0.35 and -2.50 <= alpha(60, 25) <=+0.85. These criteria allowed the detection of 382 galaxies, which are amixture of starburst and Seyfert galaxies. Most of the PDS Seyfertgalaxies are included in the catalog of warm IRAS sources by de Grijp etal. The remaining galaxies constitute a homogeneous sample of luminous[log F (L_B/L_ȯ) = 9.9 +/- 0.4] starburst galaxies, 67% of whichwere not recognized as such before. The starburst nature of the PDSgalaxies is established by comparing their L_IR/L_B ratios and IRAScolors with a sample of emission-line galaxies from the literaturealready classified as starburst galaxies. The starburst galaxies show anexcess of FIR luminosity, and their IRAS colors are significantlydifferent from those of Seyfert galaxies-99% of the starburst galaxiesin our sample have a spectral index alpha(60, 25) < -1.9. As opposedto Seyfert galaxies, very few PDS starbursts are detected in X-rays. Inthe infrared, the starburst galaxies form a continuous sequence withnormal galaxies. But they generally can be distinguished from normalgalaxies by their spectral index alpha(60, 25) > -2.5. This colorcutoff also marks a change in the dominant morphologies of the galaxies:the normal IRAS galaxies are preferentially late-type spirals (Sb andlater), while the starbursts are more numerous among early-type spirals(earlier than Sbc). This preference of starbursts for early-type spiralsis not new, but a trait of the massive starburst nucleus galaxies(Coziol et al.). As in other starburst nucleus galaxy samples, the PDSstarbursts show no preference for barred galaxies. No difference isfound between the starbursts detected in the FIR and those detected onthe basis of UV excess. The PDS starburst galaxies represent the FIRluminous branch of the UV-bright starburst nucleus galaxies, with meanFIR luminosity log (L_IR/L_ȯ) = 10.3 +/- 0.5 and redshifts smallerthan 0.1. They form a complete sample limited in flux in the FIR at 2 x10^-10 ergs cm^-2 s^-1.
| The Starburst-AGN Connection. II. The Nature of Luminous Infrared Galaxies as Revealed by VLBI, VLA, Infrared, and Optical Observations
We present here detailed results of an 18 cm VLBI survey of 31 luminous(LFIR > 1011.25 Lȯ), radio-compact ( theta <~ 0."25) infraredgalaxies (LIGs). High-resolution VLA maps at 15 and 22 GHz are presentedfor 14 of these galaxies that exhibit compact milliarcsecond-scaleemission, providing information about radio structure of LIGs on scalesfrom 0."004 to 1."0. We also present new optical spectrophotometricobservations. Over half the sample galaxies show high brightnesstemperature radio emission from the VLBI data, with Tb > 105 K andstructure on scales of 5-150 mas, as previously reported in Lonsdale,Smith, & Lonsdale. The median VLBI power for detected sources is logPVLBI = 22.0 (W Hz-1), and the mean ratio of VLBI to total 1.6 GHz fluxdensity is = 0.12. Further structure is observedon the larger VLA scales. No highly significant (P < 1%) statisticalcorrelations are found between the presence or strength of the VLBIemission and other observed quantities, including total radio power,radio spectral index, IR luminosity and colors, radio-infrared ratio,molecular gas mass, and optical excitation. Statistical analysis doessuggest that the infrared luminosity, molecular gas emission, and radioemission on VLA and VLBI scales are physically related. Previous work(Lonsdale, Smith, & Lonsdale) demonstrated that hidden(dust-enshrouded) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are capable of poweringLIGs and giving rise to the observed VLBI- and VLA-scale structures;here we investigate the complementary question of whether a starburstcan completely explain the observed characteristics, including the highbrightness temperature radio emission. Simple starburst models show thatthe far-infrared luminosity can be explained by starbursts in all casesexcept Mrk 231, although for some objects the constraints imposed on theinitial mass function are severe. Using our starburst models we modelthe VLBI data for 11 galaxies with detailed radio structural informationusing complexes of radio supernovae. The required supernova rates are nusn ~ 0.1-2 yr-1, consistent with the rates derived from the starburstmodel to explain the observed far-infrared luminosities. However in allcases we require complexes of extremely luminous radio supernovae (RSNs)to explain the high-Tb emission. In some cases the RSN must haveimplausibly high radio powers, more than an order of magnitude largerthan any previously reported RSNs; in our view these sources representAGN radio cores. In most cases an acceptable fit requires that the RSNbe clustered on parsec scales. Furthermore, only a few clumps may beactive in the radio at a given time. Based on this analysis we concludethat 7/11 systems can be plausibly explained as starbursts. Fourgalaxies, UGC 2369, Mrk 231, UGC 5101, and NGC 7469, almost certainlyhouse AGN radio cores. From our modeling, coupled with other recent VLBIand infrared evidence, we conclude that Arp 220 is dominated by amassive starburst at radio and infrared wavelengths.
| Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
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| The Distribution of Mid- and Far-Infrared Emission in 10 Interacting Galaxy Systems
A sample of 10 interacting and merging galaxy systems has been mapped atmid-infrared (10 μm) and far-infrared (100-160 μm) wavelengthswith spatial resolutions of 4"and 45", respectively. The interacting andmerging systems are known to be strong IRAS sources; however, the IRASdata contain limited information concerning the distribution of infraredemission between the two galaxies in each pair and no information on thedistribution within each galaxy. The observations presented here showthat in five of the seven paired systems, one galaxy is the dominant orthe only infrared source. There is a good correlation between theHα and infrared emission levels for these galaxies, indicatingthat the infrared emission is closely tied to dust heated by youngstars. There is also a good spatial correlation between the Hα,infrared, and radio continuum morphologies of these systems, whichfurther strengthens the belief that the infrared, as well as the radioemission, is associated with regions of active star formation. The 10μm emission is concentrated around the nuclei of most of thesegalaxies, indicating that the highest levels of current star formationactivity are also confined to the near-nuclear regions. Some systems,however, show evidence for significant star formation activitythroughout the outer disk regions of the galaxies. All the samplegalaxies that are bright in the infrared also have optical indicationsof high levels of star formation or nuclear activity, suggesting thatthese conditions are necessary in order for a galaxy to exhibit excessinfrared emission.
| A statistical study of the spectra of very luminous IRAS galaxies. II. Spectral and environmental analysis
Spectroscopic observations of a sample of 73 very luminous IRAS galaxies(log(LIR/Lsun)>=11.5 for H0=50 km\s(-1) ; Mpc(-1) ,q0=0.5) from the 2 Jy redshift surveycatalogue were carried out using the 2.16 m telescope at the BeijingAstronomical Observatory. The observational data, including the opticalimages (extracted from Digital Sky Survey) and spectra for thesegalaxies, are presented in Paper I \cite[(Wu et al. 1998)]{wu98}. Inthis paper, we give the spectral and morphological classifications forthese very luminous IRAS galaxies (VLIRGs). We show that about 60% ofVLIRGs exhibit AGN-like spectra (Seyfert 1s, Seyfert 2s, LINER-likegalaxies). This fraction goes up to 82% for the ultraluminous IRASgalaxies (ULIRGs) subsample (Log(LIR/Lsun) >=12.0). 56% of the VLIRGs show strong interaction or merging signatures;this fraction rises to 91% for the ULIRGs. These statistical resultsstrongly suggest that interaction triggers nuclear activities andenhances the infrared luminosity. We find that LINER and a mixture typewhich have optical properties of both HII galaxies and LINERs could beat the transition stage from infrared luminous HII galaxies to AGNs;their main energy production is from starbursts as well as AGNs. Bothinfrared luminosities and Hα equivalent widths increasedramatically as nuclear separations between VLIRGs and their nearestneighbors decrease. There is little doubt that strong starbursts happenin the nuclei of VLIRGs. Assuming class 0 as advanced merger, weconstruct a simple merger sequence, from morphological classes 1 to 4(with near or far companions), to class 5 and 6 (interacting pairs andmergers) and then to class 0 (isolated galaxies). Along this sequence,VLIRGs evolve from HII galaxies to AGNs. Table 1 is only available atthe CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr
| 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 statistical study of the spectra of very luminous IRAS galaxies. I. Data
This paper presents the results of spectral observations for the largestcomplete sample of very luminous IRAS galaxies obtained to date. Thesample consists of those 73 objects for which log(L_IR/Lsun)>= 11.5 (H0=50;km; s(-1) Mpc(-1) , q0=0.5) andmag <= 15.5 , and was extracted from the 2 Jy IRAS redshift catalog.All the spectra were obtained using the 2.16 m telescope of BeijingAstronomical Observatory during the years 1994-1996. A total of 123galaxy spectra were obtained with spectral ranges of 4400;Angstroms to7100;Angstroms and 3500;Angstroms to 8100;Angstroms at resolutions of11.2;Angstroms and 9.3;Angstroms respectively. In addition to the 73spectra for sample galaxies, we also present spectra for ten non-samplegalaxies and a further 40 for the companions of sample galaxies. Thedata presented include nuclear spectrum and the parameters describingthe emission lines, absorption lines and continua as well as DSS imagesand environmental parameters. Table 1 is also available in electricform, Table 2-4 are only available in electronic form form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130. 79.128.5) or via http:cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html. Figures 4 and 9 are published in theon-line version of A&A..
| Spectroscopy of Luminous Infrared Galaxies at 2 Microns. II. Data for Galaxies with 11.2 <= (L IR/L ) 11.9
Spectra across the infrared K band are presented for a flux-limitedsample of powerful, bright, "infrared" galaxies. The sample in thepresent paper, consisting of 43 systems (47 individual galaxies) withinfrared luminosities LIR in the range 11.2 <~ log (LIR/Lȯ)<~ 11.9, was chosen from the IRAS Bright Galaxy Catalogue. Thespectra have resolving powers of ~340--680. When combined with the 13spectra we have already published for the "ultraluminous" galaxies,those with log (LIR/Lȯ) >~ 12.0, this constitutes the largestdatabase of high-quality infrared spectra yet assembled for awell-defined sample of galaxies. The spectra are, in general, dominatedby emission lines, which are due to the Br gamma hydrogen recombinationline and to several quadrupole transitions of excited molecularhydrogen. Emission from He I also appears frequently. Deep absorptionbands from CO are present in virtually all the spectra, as are a varietyof weaker stellar absorption features. The data are analyzed in acompanion paper (Paper III).
| Spectroscopy of Luminous Infrared Galaxies at 2 Microns. III. Analysis for Galaxies with log (L IR/L ) 11.2
We have obtained spectra across the K window for the first large sampleof luminous galaxies selected from the IRAS survey. This paper containsthe principal analysis of the 43 systems in our sample with luminositiesof 11.2 <~ log (LIR/Lȯ) <~ 11.9. The spectra themselves werepresented in a companion paper by Goldader et al. (Paper II). The Brgamma luminosities are proportional to LIR, at levels similar to thoseof star-forming regions. This strongly suggests that star formationaccounts for the bulk of the energy production in these objects, ingeneral agreement with previous studies. Good agreement is found for thecontinuous star formation models of Leitherer & Heckman with uppermass cutoffs well below 100 Msolar . The models accommodate arange in starburst ages of ~107 to 109 yr. Instantaneous starburstmodels fit the data but imply an unrealistically short range of ages forthe entire sample. It is difficult to avoid concluding that the initialmass functions are deficient in stars of less than ~1 Msolar. Strong emission lines from molecular hydrogen are detected. The H2 v =1--0 S(1) line luminosities are proportional to LIR; the correlationextends through the ultraluminous infrared galaxies. The H2 emission inthe galaxies tends to be more spatially extended than the Br gammaemission. Measured values and upper limits for the ratios of the variousH2 lines visible in our spectra indicate that the H2 seen in emission at2 mu m is consistent with being shock excited. However, othermechanisms, operating at sufficiently high densities that the H2 energylevels are thermalized by collisions, cannot be excluded. Based onenergy considerations, we suggest that the shocks are due to supernovaremnants expanding into the interstellar medium. The frequency of TypeII supernovae necessary to account for the H2 line emission agrees withfrequencies deduced from the starburst models and the radio/far-infraredcorrelation. However, there remain a number of galaxies that cannot bemade to fit this model. A decade after its discovery, a universalexplanation of the strong H2 emission in luminous infrared galaxiescontinues to elude us. No previously unrecognized broad-line activenuclei were discovered in our survey; either they are weak or absent orthe true optical depths at 2 mu m are much higher than indicated byconventional extinction measures. However, there are clear differencesbetween the K-band properties of galaxies that contain broad-line activenuclei and those that do not. The differences seem to be due to thepresence of strong nonstellar continuum emission coming from the activenuclei themselves. With the addition of the 13 ultraluminous galaxieswith log (LIR/Lȯ) >~ 12 from Goldader et al. (Paper I), thenumber of systems observed in this program totals 56. We haveincorporated these ultraluminous galaxies in some parts of the analysisto examine properties across the entire luminosity range of our sample.
| Soft X-Ray Properties of Seyfert Galaxies in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey
We present the results of ROSAT All-Sky Survey observations of Seyfertand IR luminous galaxies from the extended 12 micron galaxy sample andthe optically selected CfA sample. Detections are available for 80%(44/55) of the Seyfert 1's and 34% (23/67) of the Seyfert 2's in the 12micron sample, and for 76% (26/34) of the Seyfert 1's and 38% (6/16) ofthe Seyfert 2's in the CfA sample. Roughly half of the Seyfert galaxies(mostly Seyfert 1's) have been fitted to an absorbed power-law model,yielding an average photon index of {GAMMA} = 2.26 +/- 0.11 for 43Seyfert 1's and {GAMMA} = 2.45 +/- 0.18 for 10 Seyfert 2's, with bothtypes having a median value of 2.3. The soft X-ray luminosity correlateswith the 12 micron luminosity, with Seyfert 1's having relatively moresoft X-ray emission than Seyfert 2's of similar mid-IR luminosities by afactor of 1.6 +/- 0.3. Several physical interpretations of these resultsare discussed, including the standard unified model for Seyfertgalaxies. Infrared luminous non- Seyferts are shown to have similardistributions of soft X-ray luminosity and X-ray-to-IR slope as Seyfert2's, suggesting that some of them may harbor obscured active nuclei (ashas already been shown to be true for several objects) and/or that thesoft X-rays from some Seyferts 2's may be nonnuclear. A soft X-rayluminosity function (XLF) is calculated for the 12 micron sample, whichis described well by a single power law with a slope of - 1.75. Thenormalization of this XLF agrees well with that of a hard X-ray selectedsample. Several of our results, related to the XLF and the X- ray-to-IRrelation, are shown to be consistent with the hard X-ray observations ofthe 12 micron sample by Barcons et al.
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