Home     Getting Started     To Survive in the Universe    
Inhabited Sky
    News@Sky     Astro Photo     The Collection     Forum     Blog New!     FAQ     Press     Login  

NGC 4429


Contents

Images

Upload your image

DSS Images   Other Images


Related articles

Why X-Ray-selected Active Galactic Nuclei Appear Optically Dull
We investigate why half of X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs)in deep surveys lack signs of accretion in their optical spectra. Themajority of these ``optically dull'' AGNs are no more than ~6 timesfainter than their host galaxies in rest-frame R band; as such, AGNlines are unlikely to be overwhelmed by stellar continuum in at leasthalf the sample. We find that optically dull AGNs have the mid-infraredemission and LX/LIR ratios characteristic of localSeyfert galaxies, suggesting that the cause of optical dullness is notmissing UV-optical continua. We compare the morphologies of 22 opticallydull and 9 optically active AGNs at 0.5

Stellar Populations in Nearby Lenticular Galaxies
We have obtained two-dimensional spectral data for a sample of 58 nearbyS0 galaxies with the Multi-Pupil Fiber/Field Spectrograph of the 6 mtelescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the RussianAcademy of Sciences. The Lick indices Hβ, Mg b, and arecalculated separately for the nuclei and for the bulges taken as therings between R=4'' and 7", and the luminosity-weighted ages,metallicities, and Mg/Fe ratios of the stellar populations are estimatedby comparing the data to single stellar population (SSP) models. Fourtypes of galaxy environments are considered: clusters, centers ofgroups, other places in groups, and the field. The nuclei are found tobe on average slightly younger than the bulges in any type ofenvironment, and the bulges of S0 galaxies in sparse environments areyounger than those in dense environments. The effect can be partlyattributed to the well-known age correlation with the stellar velocitydispersion in early-type galaxies (in our sample the galaxies in sparseenvironments are on average less massive than those in denseenvironments), but for the most massive S0 galaxies, withσ*=170-220 km s-1, the age dependence on theenvironment is still significant at the confidence level of 1.5 σ.Based on observations collected with the 6 m telescope (BTA) at theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) of the Russian Academy ofSciences (RAS).

Mid-Infrared Selection of Active Galaxies
Mid-infrared photometry provides a robust technique for identifyingactive galaxies. While the ultraviolet to mid-infrared (λ<~5μm) continuum of stellar populations is dominated by the compositeblackbody curve and peaks at approximately 1.6 μm, the ultraviolet tomid-infrared continuum of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is dominated bya power law. Consequently, with a sufficient wavelength baseline, onecan easily distinguish AGNs from stellar populations. Mirroring thetendency of AGNs to be bluer than galaxies in the ultraviolet, wheregalaxies (and stars) sample the blue, rising portion of stellar spectra,AGNs tend to be redder than galaxies in the mid-infrared, where galaxiessample the red, falling portion of the stellar spectra. We report onSpitzer Space Telescope mid-infrared colors, derived from the IRACShallow Survey, of nearly 10,000 spectroscopically identified sourcesfrom the AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey. On the basis of thisspectroscopic sample, we find that simple mid-infrared color criteriaprovide remarkably robust separation of active galaxies from normalgalaxies and Galactic stars, with over 80% completeness and less than20% contamination. Considering only broad-lined AGNs, these mid-infraredcolor criteria identify over 90% of spectroscopically identified quasarsand Seyfert 1 galaxies. Applying these color criteria to the fullimaging data set, we discuss the implied surface density of AGNs andfind evidence for a large population of optically obscured activegalaxies.

Why Optically Faint AGNs Are Optically Faint: The Spitzer Perspective
Optically faint X-ray sources (those withfX/fR>10) constitute about 20% of X-ray sourcesin deep surveys and are potentially highly obscured and/or at highredshift. Their faint optical fluxes are generally beyond the reach ofspectroscopy. For a sample of 20 optically faint sources in CDFS, wecompile 0.4-24 μm photometry, relying heavily on the Spitzer SpaceTelescope. We estimate photometric redshifts for 17 of these 20 sources.We find that these AGNs are optically faint, both because they lie atsignificantly higher redshifts (median z~1.6) than most X-ray-selectedAGNs, and because their spectra are much redder than standard AGNs. Theyhave 2-8 keV X-ray luminosities in the Seyfert range, unlike the QSOluminosities of optically faint AGNs found in shallow wide-fieldsurveys. Their contribution to the X-ray Seyfert luminosity function iscomparable to that of z>1 optically bright AGNs.

The Stellar Populations of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Observations
We present a study of the stellar populations of low-luminosity activegalactic nuclei (LLAGNs). Our goal is to search for spectroscopicsignatures of young and intermediate-age stars and to investigate theirrelationship with the ionization mechanism in LLAGNs. The method used isbased on the stellar population synthesis of the optical continuum ofthe innermost (20-100 pc) regions in these galaxies. For this purpose,we have collected high spatial resolution optical (2900-5700 Å)STIS spectra of 28 nearby LLAGNs that are available in the Hubble SpaceTelescope archive. The analysis of these data is compared with a similaranalysis also presented here for 51 ground-based spectra of LLAGNs. Ourmain findings are as follows: (1) No features due to Wolf-Rayet starswere convincingly detected in the STIS spectra. (2) Young starscontribute very little to the optical continuum in the ground-basedaperture. However, the fraction of light provided by these stars ishigher than 10% in most of the weak-[O I] ([OI]/Hα<=0.25) LLAGNSTIS spectra. (3) Intermediate-age stars contribute significantly to theoptical continuum of these nuclei. This population is more frequent inobjects with weak than with strong [O I]. Weak-[O I] LLAGNs that haveyoung stars stand out for their intermediate-age population. (4) Most ofthe strong-[O I] LLAGNs have predominantly old stellar population. A fewof these objects also show a featureless continuum that contributessignificantly to the optical continuum. These results suggest that youngand intermediate-age stars do not play a significant role in theionization of LLAGNs with strong [O I]. However, the ionization inweak-[O I] LLAGNs with young and/or intermediate-age populations couldbe due to stellar processes. A comparison of the properties of theseobjects with Seyfert 2 galaxies that harbor a nuclear starburst suggeststhat weak-[O I] LLAGNs are the lower luminosity counterparts of theSeyfert 2 composite nuclei.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555. Based on observations made with the Nordic OpticalTelescope (NOT), operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica deCanarias.

A New Nonparametric Approach to Galaxy Morphological Classification
We present two new nonparametric methods for quantifying galaxymorphology: the relative distribution of the galaxy pixel flux values(the Gini coefficient or G) and the second-order moment of the brightest20% of the galaxy's flux (M20). We test the robustness of Gand M20 to decreasing signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and spatialresolution and find that both measures are reliable to within 10% forimages with average S/N per pixel greater than 2 and resolutions betterthan 1000 and 500 pc, respectively. We have measured G andM20, as well as concentration (C), asymmetry (A), andclumpiness (S) in the rest-frame near-ultraviolet/optical wavelengthsfor 148 bright local ``normal'' Hubble-type galaxies (E-Sd) galaxies, 22dwarf irregulars, and 73 0.05

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

Spectrophotometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II. The data
Drift-scan mode (3600-6800 Å) spectra with 500

Dust emission in the far-infrared as a star formation tracer at z= 0: systematic trends with luminosity
We investigate whether dust emission in the far-infrared (far-IR)continuum provides a robust estimate of the star formation rate (SFR)for a nearby, normal late-type galaxy. We focus on the ratio of the40-1000 μm luminosity (Ldust) to the far-ultraviolet(far-UV) (0.165 μm) luminosity, which is connected to recent episodesof star formation. Available total photometry at 0.165, 60, 100 and 170μm limits the statistics to 30 galaxies, which, however, span a largerange in observed (and, thus, attenuated by dust) K-band (2.2 μm)luminosity, morphology and inclination (i). This sample shows that theratio of Ldust to the observed far-UV luminosity depends notonly on i, as expected, but also on morphology and, in a tighter way, onobserved K-band luminosity. We find thatLdust/LFUV~ e-τK (α+0.62)LK0.62, where LFUV andLK are the unattenuated stellar luminosities in far-UV and K,respectively, and α is the ratio of the attenuation optical depthsat 0.165 μm (τFUV) and 2.2 μm (τK).This relation is to zeroth order independent of i and morphology. It maybe further expressed asLdust/LFUV~LδK, whereδ= 0.61 - 0.02α, under the observationally motivatedassumption that, for an average inclination,e-τK~L-0.02K. We adoptcalculations of two different models of attenuation of stellar light byinternal dust to derive solid-angle-averaged values of α. We findthat δ is positive and decreases towards 0 from the more luminousto the less luminous galaxies. This means that there is no universalratio of far-IR luminosity to unattenuated far-UV luminosity for nearby,normal late-type galaxies. The far-IR luminosity systematicallyoverestimates SFR in more luminous, earlier-type spirals, owing to theincreased fractional contribution to dust heating of optical/near-IRphotons in these objects. Conversely, it systematically underestimatesSFR in fainter, later-type galaxies, the τFUV of which isreduced. The limited statistics and the uncertainty affecting theprevious scaling relations do not allow us to establish quantitativeconclusions, but an analogous analysis making use of larger data sets,available in the near future (e.g. from GALEX, ASTRO-F and SIRTF), andof more advanced models will allow a quantitative test of ourconclusions.

The Chemically Distinct Nucleus and Structure of the S0 Galaxy NGC 80
The giant lenticular galaxy NGC 80, which is the brightest member of arich group, possesses a central evolutionarily-distinct region: thestars in the nucleus and in a circumnuclear ring of radius 5″t7″ have a mean age of only 7 Gyr, whereas the stellar populationof the bulge is older than 10 Gyr. The nucleus of NGC 80 is alsochemically distinct: it is a factor of 2 2.5 richer in metals than itsimmediate neighborhood and is characterized by a high magnesium-to-ironabundance ratio [Mg/Fe]≈+0.3. The global stellar disk of NGC 80 has atwo-tiered structure: its outer part has an exponential scale length of11 kpc and normal surface density, while the inner disk, which is alsoexponential and axisymmetric, is more compact and brighter. Although thetwo-tiered structure and the chemically distinct nucleus obviously havea common origin and owe their existence to some catastrophicrestructuring of the protogalactic gaseous disk, the origin of thisremains unclear, since the galaxy lacks any manifestations of perturbedmorphology or triaxiality.

The Relationship between Stellar Light Distributions of Galaxies and Their Formation Histories
A major problem in extragalactic astronomy is the inability todistinguish in a robust, physical, and model-independent way how galaxypopulations are physically related to each other and to their formationhistories. A similar, but distinct, and also long-standing question iswhether the structural appearances of galaxies, as seen through theirstellar light distributions, contain enough physical information tooffer this classification. We argue through the use of 240 images ofnearby galaxies that three model-independent parameters measured on asingle galaxy image reveal its major ongoing and past formation modesand can be used as a robust classification system. These parametersquantitatively measure: the concentration (C), asymmetry (A), andclumpiness (S) of a galaxy's stellar light distribution. When combinedinto a three-dimensional ``CAS'' volume all major classes of galaxies invarious phases of evolution are cleanly distinguished. We argue thatthese three parameters correlate with important modes of galaxyevolution: star formation and major merging activity. This is arguedthrough the strong correlation of Hα equivalent width andbroadband colors with the clumpiness parameter S, the uniquely largeasymmetries of 66 galaxies undergoing mergers, and the correlation ofbulge to total light ratios, and stellar masses, with the concentrationindex. As an obvious goal is to use this system at high redshifts totrace evolution, we demonstrate that these parameters can be measured,within a reasonable and quantifiable uncertainty with available data outto z~3 using the Hubble Space Telescope GOODS ACS and Hubble Deep Fieldimages.

The Leo I Cloud: Secular Nuclear Evolution of NGC 3379, NGC 3384, and NGC 3368?
The central regions of the three brightest members of the Leo I galaxygroup-NGC 3368, NGC 3379, and NGC 3384-are investigated by means oftwo-dimensional spectroscopy. In all three galaxies we have foundseparate circumnuclear stellar and gaseous subsystems-more probably,disks-whose spatial orientations and spins are connected to the spatialorientation of the supergiant intergalactic H I ring reported previouslyby Schneider et al. and Schneider. In NGC 3368 the global gaseous diskseems also to be inclined to the symmetry plane of the stellar body,being probably of external origin. Although the rather young meanstellar age and spatial orientations of the circumnuclear disks in NGC3379, NGC 3384, and NGC 3368 could imply their recent formation frommaterial of the intergalactic H I cloud, the timescale of thesesecondary formation events, on the order of 3 Gyr, does not support thecollision scenario of Rood & Williams but is rather in line with theideas of Schneider regarding tidal interactions of the galaxies with theH I cloud on timescales of the intergroup orbital motions.

Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Circular-Aperture Photometry
We present R-band CCD photometry for 1332 early-type galaxies, observedas part of the ENEAR survey of peculiar motions using early-typegalaxies in the nearby universe. Circular apertures are used to tracethe surface brightness profiles, which are then fitted by atwo-component bulge-disk model. From the fits, we obtain the structuralparameters required to estimate galaxy distances using theDn-σ and fundamental plane relations. We find thatabout 12% of the galaxies are well represented by a pure r1/4law, while 87% are best fitted by a two-component model. There are 356repeated observations of 257 galaxies obtained during different runsthat are used to derive statistical corrections and bring the data to acommon system. We also use these repeated observations to estimate ourinternal errors. The accuracy of our measurements are tested by thecomparison of 354 galaxies in common with other authors. Typical errorsin our measurements are 0.011 dex for logDn, 0.064 dex forlogre, 0.086 mag arcsec-2 for<μe>, and 0.09 for mRC,comparable to those estimated by other authors. The photometric datareported here represent one of the largest high-quality and uniformall-sky samples currently available for early-type galaxies in thenearby universe, especially suitable for peculiar motion studies.Based on observations at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF);European Southern Observatory (ESO); Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory(FLWO); and the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak.

The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas
We present the largest galaxies as seen in the near-infrared (1-2μm), imaged with the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), ranging inangular size from 1' to 1.5d. We highlight the 100 largest in thesample. The galaxies span all Hubble morphological types, includingelliptical galaxies, normal and barred spirals, and dwarf and peculiarclasses. The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas provides the necessary sensitivityand angular resolution to examine in detail morphologies in thenear-infrared, which may be radically different from those in theoptical. Internal structures such as spirals, bulges, warps, rings,bars, and star formation regions are resolved by 2MASS. In addition tolarge mosaic images, the atlas includes astrometric, photometric, andshape global measurements for each galaxy. A comparison of fundamentalmeasures (e.g., surface brightness, Hubble type) is carried out for thesample and compared with the Third Reference Catalogue. We furthershowcase NGC 253 and M51 (NGC 5194/5195) to demonstrate the quality anddepth of the data. The atlas represents the first uniform, all-sky,dust-penetrated view of galaxies of every type, as seen in thenear-infrared wavelength window that is most sensitive to the dominantmass component of galaxies. The images and catalogs are availablethrough the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and Infrared ScienceArchive and are part of the 2MASS Extended Source Catalog.

HYPERLEDA. II. The homogenized HI data
After a compilation of HI data from 611 references and new observationsmade in Nançay, we produce a catalog of homogenized HI data for16781 galaxies. The homogenization is made using the EPIDEMIC methodfrom which all data are progressively converted into the adoptedstandard. The result is a catalog giving: 1) the logarithm of twice themaximum rotation velocity, log 2V_Msin i, converted to thesystem of Mathewson et al. (\cite{Mathewson1996}). This quantity isgiven without correction for inclination; 2) the HI magnitude,m21, (area of the 21-cm line width expressed in magnitude)converted to the flux system of Theureau et al. (\cite{Theureau1998});3) the HI velocity, V_HI, expressed with the optical definition (i.e.,using wavelengths instead frequencies). The typical uncertainties are:0.04 for log 2V_Msin i, 0.25 mag for m21 and 9 kms-1 for V_HI.Full Tables \ref{epidemicw}, \ref{epidemicw2}, \ref{epidemicf},\ref{epidemicf2} and Fig. \ref{profiles} are available in electronicform at http://www.edpsciences.org. Full Tables \ref{references},\ref{cataf}, \ref{newdata} and \ref{notes} are available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/412/57

A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxies
We have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of ``normality''. Thedefinition of a ``normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for ``normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5

UV to radio centimetric spectral energy distributions of optically-selected late-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster
We present a multifrequency dataset for an optically-selected,volume-limited, complete sample of 118 late-type galaxies (>=S0a) inthe Virgo cluster. The database includes UV, visible, near-IR, mid-IR,far-IR, radio continuum photometric data as well as spectroscopic dataof Hα , CO and HI lines, homogeneously reduced, obtained from ourown observations or compiled from the literature. Assuming the energybalance between the absorbed stellar light and that radiated in the IRby dust, we calibarte an empirical attenuation law suitable forcorrecting photometric and spectroscopic data of normal galaxies. Thedata, corrected for internal extinction, are used to construct thespectral energy distribution (SED) of each individual galaxy, andcombined to trace the median SED of galaxies in various classes ofmorphological type and luminosity. Low-luminosity, dwarf galaxies haveon average bluer stellar continua and higher far-IR luminosities perunit galaxy mass than giant, early-type spirals. If compared to nearbystarburst galaxies such as M 82 and Arp 220, normal spirals haverelatively similar observed stellar spectra but 10-100 times lower IRluminosities. The temperature of the cold dust component increases withthe far-IR luminosity, from giant spirals to dwarf irregulars. The SEDare used to separate the stellar emission from the dust emission in themid-IR regime. We show that the contribution of the stellar emission at6.75 mu m to the total emission of galaxies is generally important, from~ 80% in Sa to ~ 20% in Sc.Tables 2-5, 7, 8, and Fig. 2 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.orgTables 10-12 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/402/37

[C II] emission and star formation in late-type galaxies. II. A model
We study the relationship between gas cooling via the [C II] (lambda =158 μm) line emission and dust cooling via the far-IR continuumemission on the global scale of a galaxy in normal (i.e. non-AGNdominated and non-starburst) late-type systems. It is known that theluminosity ratio of total gas and dust cooling, LC II/LFIR, shows a non-linear behaviour with the equivalent widthof the H alpha (lambda = 6563 Å) line emission, the ratiodecreasing in galaxies of lower massive star-formation activity. Thisresult holds despite the fact that known individual Galactic andextragalactic sources of the [C II] line emission show different [C II]line-to-far-IR continuum emission ratios. This non-linear behaviour isreproduced by a simple quantitative theoretical model of gas and dustheating from different stellar populations, assuming that thephotoelectric effect on dust, induced by far-UV photons, is the dominantmechanism of gas heating in the general diffuse interstellar medium ofthe galaxies under investigation. According to the model, the globalLC II/LFIR provides a direct measure of thefractional amount of non-ionizing UV light in the interstellar radiationfield and not of the efficiency of the photoelectric heating. The theoryalso defines a method to constrain the stellar initial mass functionfrom measurements of LC II and LFIR. A sample of20 Virgo cluster galaxies observed in the [C II] line with the LongWavelength Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory is usedto illustrate the model. The limited statistics and the necessaryassumptions behind the determination of the global [C II] luminositiesfrom the spatially limited data do not allow us to establish definitiveconclusions but data-sets available in the future will allow tests ofboth the reliability of the assumptions behind our model and thestatistical significance of our results.Based on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), an ESAproject with instruments funded by ESA member states (especially the PIcountries: France, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK) and with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA.

A New Empirical Method for Estimating the Far-Infrared Flux of Galaxies
We propose a new empirical method to estimate the total far-infraredflux of galaxies from the spectral energy distribution (SED) atwavelengths of λ <= 100 μm. It is difficult to derive thetotal far-infrared luminosity from only the IRAS data, though it is oneof the most important properties of galaxies. Observations by InfraredTelescope in Space (IRTS) indicate that the SED of the diffuse emissionfrom the Galactic plane in this wavelength region can be derived fromthe 60 μm to 100 μm color. This empirical SED relation wasimproved in order to obtain a better fit to the Galactic plane data forIν(60 μm) / Iν(100 μm) > 0.6, andapplied to 96 IRAS galaxies for which ISOPHOT and KAO data are availableat λ > 100 μm. As a result, the empirical relation welldescribes the far-infrared (FIR) SED for a majority of galaxies.Additionally, the total FIR flux for λ >= 40 μm was derivedfrom the flux densities at 60 and 100 μm by using this model. For the96 IRAS galaxies, the uncertainty in the total far-infrared flux of thepresent method is 26%. The present method is more accurate than theprevious one widely used to derive the total infrared flux from the IRAS60 and 100 μm data.

Catalog of Multicolor Profiles of Galaxies
A catalog of multicolor photometric profiles derived from aperturephotometry for a selected sample of galaxies is given. The data sources,homogenization procedures and selection criteria used are described.

The Radio Properties of Composite LINER/H II Galaxies
Arcsecond-resolution VLA observations-newly obtained as well aspublished-of 40 nearby galaxies are discussed, completing a study of theradio properties of a magnitude-limited sample of nearby galaxies of thecomposite LINER/H II type. Our results reveal an overall detection rateof at least 25% active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates among thesecomposite sources. The general properties of these AGN candidates, ascompared to non-AGN composite sources and H II galaxies, are discussed.

Far-Infrared Photometry of a Statistical Sample of Late-Type Virgo Cluster Galaxies
We present deep diffraction-limited far-infrared (FIR) strip maps of asample of 63 galaxies later than S0 and brighter thanBT=16.8, selected from the Virgo Cluster Catalogue ofBinggeli, Sandage, & Tammann. The ISOPHOT instrument on board theInfrared Space Observatory was used to achieve sensitivities typicallyan order of magnitude deeper than IRAS in the 60 and 100 μm bands andto reach the confusion limit at 170 μm. The averaged 3 σ upperlimits for integrated flux densities of point sources at 60, 100, and170 μm are 43, 33, and 58 mJy, respectively. A total of 63.5% aredetected at all three wavelengths. The highest detection rate (85.7%) isin the 170 μm band. In many cases the galaxies are resolved, allowingthe scale length of the infrared disks to be derived from theoversampled brightness profiles in addition to the spatially integratedemission. The data presented should provide the basis for a variety ofstatistical investigations of the FIR spectral energy distributions ofgas-rich galaxies in the local universe spanning a broad range in starformation activity and morphological types, including dwarf systems andgalaxies with rather quiescent star formation activity. Based onobservations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), an ESA projectwith instruments funded by ESA member states (especially the PIcountries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) andwith the participation of ISAS and NASA.

The DEEP Groth Strip Survey. X. Number Density and Luminosity Function of Field E/S0 Galaxies at z < 1
We present the luminosity function and color-redshift relation of amagnitude-limited sample of 145 mostly red field E/S0 galaxies atz<~1 from the DEEP Groth Strip Survey (GSS). Using nearby galaxyimages as a training set, we develop a quantitative method to classifyE/S0 galaxies based on smoothness, symmetry, and bulge-to-total lightratio. Using this method, we identify 145 E/S0's at 16.5~1.5. We use the tightcorrelation between V-I and zspec for this red subset toestimate redshifts of the remaining E/S0's to an accuracy of ~10%, withthe exception of a small number (16%) of blue interlopers at lowredshift that are quantitatively classified as E/S0's but are notcontained within the red envelope. Constructing a luminosity function ofthe full sample of 145 E/S0's, we find that there is about 1.1-1.9 magbrightening in rest-frame B-band luminosity back to z~=0.8 from z=0,consistent with other studies. Together with the red colors, thisbrightening is consistent with models in which the bulk of stars in redfield E/S0's formed before zfor>~1.5 and have beenevolving rather quiescently, with few large starbursts since then.Evolution in the number density of field E/S0 galaxies is more difficultto measure, and uncertainties in the raw counts and their ratio to localsamples might amount to as much as a factor of 2. Within thatuncertainty, the number density of red E/S0's to z~=0.8 seems relativelystatic, being comparable to or perhaps moderately less than that oflocal E/S0's, depending on the assumed cosmology. A doubling of E/S0number density since z=1 can be ruled out with high confidence (97%) ifΩm=1. Taken together, our results are consistent withthe hypothesis that the majority of luminous field E/S0's were alreadyin place by z~1, that the bulk of their stars were already fairly old,and that their number density has not changed by large amounts sincethen.

Cold Dust in Late-Type Virgo Cluster Galaxies
We have statistically analyzed the spatially integrated far-infrared(FIR) emissions of the complete volume- and luminosity-limited sample oflate-type (later than S0) Virgo Cluster galaxies measured using theInfrared Space Observatory by Tuffs and coworkers in bands centered on60, 100, and 170 μm. Thirty of 38 galaxies detected at all threewavelengths contain a cold dust emission component, present within allmorphological types of late-type systems ranging from early giant spiralgalaxies to blue compact dwarfs (BCDs) and which could not have beenrecognized by IRAS. We fitted the data with a superposition of twomodified blackbody functions, physically identified with a localizedwarm dust emission component associated with H II regions (whosetemperature was constrained to be 47 K), and a diffuse emissioncomponent of cold dust. The cold dust temperatures were found to bebroadly distributed, with a median of 18 K, some 8-10 K lower than wouldhave been predicted from IRAS. The derived total dust mass iscorrespondingly increased by factors of typically 6-13. A good linearcorrelation is found between the ``warm FIR'' luminosities and theHα equivalent widths (EWs), supporting the assumptions of ourconstrained spectral energy distribution fit procedure. We also found agood nonlinear correlation between the ``cold FIR'' luminosities and theHα EWs, consistent with the prediction of Popescu and coworkersthat the FIR-submillimeter emission should mainly be due to diffusenonionizing UV photons. Both the ``warm'' and the ``cold'' FIRluminosity components are nonlinearly correlated with the (predominantlynonthermal) radio luminosities. There is a tendency for the temperaturesof the cold dust component to become colder and for the cold dustsurface densities (normalized to optical area) to increase for latermorphological types. A particularly significant result concerns the lowdust temperatures (ranging down to less than 10 K) and large dust massesassociated with the Im and BCD galaxies in our sample. We propose twoscenarios to account for the FIR characteristics of these systems.

Identification and classification of galaxies using a biologically-inspired neutral network
Recognition/Classification of galaxies is an important issue in thelarge-scale study of the Universe; it is not a simple task. According toestimates computed from the Hubble Deep Field (HDF), astronomers predictthat the universe may potentially contain over 100 billion galaxies.Several techniques have been reported for the classification ofgalaxies. Parallel developments in the field of neural networks havecome to a stage that they can participate well in the recognition ofobjects. Recently, the Pulse-Coupled Neural Network (PCNN) has beenshown to be useful for image pre-processing. In this paper, we present anovel way to identify optical galaxies by presenting the images of thegalaxies to a hierarchical neural network involving two PCNNs. The imageis presented to the network to generate binary barcodes (one periteration) of the galaxies; the barcodes are unique to the inputgalactic image. In the current study, we exploit this property toidentify optical galaxies by comparing the signatures (binary barcode)from a corresponding database.

Bar Galaxies and Their Environments
The prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment.

Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies. I. The ENEARc Cluster Sample
This paper presents data on the ENEARc subsample of the larger ENEARsurvey of nearby early-type galaxies. The ENEARc galaxies belong toclusters and were specifically chosen to be used for the construction ofa Dn-σ template. The ENEARc sample includes newmeasurements of spectroscopic and photometric parameters (redshift,velocity dispersion, line index Mg2, and the angular diameterdn), as well as data from the literature. New spectroscopicdata are given for 229 cluster early-type galaxies, and new photometryis presented for 348 objects. Repeat and overlap observations withexternal data sets are used to construct a final merged catalogconsisting of 640 early-type galaxies in 28 clusters. Objectivecriteria, based on catalogs of groups of galaxies derived from completeredshift surveys of the nearby universe, are used to assign galaxies toclusters. In a companion paper, these data are used to construct thetemplate Dn-σ distance relation for early-typegalaxies, which has been used to estimate galaxy distances and derivepeculiar velocities for the ENEAR all-sky sample. Based on observationsat Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, operated under agreement betweenthe Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de laRepública Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata,Córdoba, and San Juan; Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory,National Optical Astronomical Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation; the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO), partially under the ESO-ON agreement; theFred Lawrence Whipple Observatory; the Observatório do Pico dosDias, operated by the Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísicaand the MDM Observatory at Kitt Peak.

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.

The far-ultraviolet emission of early-type galaxies
We have assembled a UV-flux selected sample of 82 early-type galaxiesand collected additional information at other wavelengths. These dataconfirm a large spread of the UV-V color in the range 2 to 5. The spreadin UV-V is accompanied by a spread in B-V that is mainly attributed tothe range of morphological types and luminosities. A large fraction ofthe objects have red colors, UV-V = 4 +/- 0.4, corresponding to a weakUV-upturn as observed with IUE. If the current interpretation for the UVemission from early-type galaxies is applicable to our sample, the PAGB(Post-Asymptotic Giant Branch) tracks are the most common evolution pathfor the low-mass stars responsible for the UV emission. A small numberof very blue (UV-V < 1.4) objects have been found that can bereasonably interpreted as harbouring some low level of star formation.In contrast to a previous sample based on IUE observations, nocorrelation is found between the UV-V color and the Mg2spectral line index; possible explanations are reviewed. The potentialof a more extended UV survey like GALEX is briefly presented.

Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. II. Observations with the OHP and Calar Alto 1.2 m telescopes
We present Hα line imaging observations of 122 galaxies obtainedwith the 1.20 m telescopes of the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP)and of Calar Alto. The observed galaxies are mostly Virgo clustermembers (95), along with 10 objects in the Coma/A1367 supercluster, 6 inthe clusters A2197 and A2199, and 11 nearby galaxies taken as fillers.Hα +[NII] fluxes and equivalent widths, as well as images of allthe detected targets, are presented. Based on observations taken at theObservatoire de Haute Provence (OHP) (France), operated by the FrenchCNRS, and Calar Alto Observatory (Spain), operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy. Figure 1 is only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org

Submit a new article


Related links

  • - No Links Found -
Submit a new link


Member of following groups:


Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Vierge
Right ascension:12h27m26.60s
Declination:+11°06'27.0"
Aparent dimensions:5.754′ × 2.57′

Catalogs and designations:
Proper Names   (Edit)
NGC 2000.0NGC 4429
HYPERLEDA-IPGC 40850
J/AJ/90/1681VCC 1003

→ Request more catalogs and designations from VizieR