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The SAURON project - VI. Line strength maps of 48 elliptical and lenticular galaxies
We present absorption line strength maps of 48 representative ellipticaland lenticular galaxies obtained as part of a survey of nearby galaxiesusing our custom-built integral-field spectrograph, SAURON, operating onthe William Herschel Telescope. Using high-quality spectra, spatiallybinned to a constant signal-to-noise ratio, we measure four key age,metallicity and abundance ratio sensitive indices from the Lick/IDSsystem over a two-dimensional field extending up to approximately oneeffective radius. A discussion of calibrations and offsets is given,along with a description of error estimation and nebular emissioncorrection. We modify the classical Fe5270 index to define a new index,Fe5270S, which maximizes the useable spatial coverage ofSAURON. Maps of Hβ, Fe5015, Mgb and Fe5270S arepresented for each galaxy. We use the maps to compute average linestrengths integrated over circular apertures of one-eighth effectiveradius, and compare the resulting relations of index versus velocitydispersion with previous long-slit work. The metal line strength mapsshow generally negative gradients with increasing radius roughlyconsistent with the morphology of the light profiles. Remarkabledeviations from this general trend exist, particularly the Mgb isoindexcontours appear to be flatter than the isophotes of the surfacebrightness for about 40 per cent of our galaxies without significantdust features. Generally, these galaxies exhibit significant rotation.We infer from this that the fast-rotating component features a highermetallicity and/or an increased Mg/Fe ratio as compared to the galaxy asa whole. The Hβ maps are typically flat or show a mild positiveoutwards radial gradient, while a few galaxies show strong central peaksand/or elevated overall Hβ strength likely connected to recent starformation activity. For the most prominent post-starburst galaxies, eventhe metal line strength maps show a reversed gradient.
| The SAURON project - V. Integral-field emission-line kinematics of 48 elliptical and lenticular galaxies
We present the emission-line fluxes and kinematics of 48 representativeelliptical and lenticular galaxies obtained with our custom-builtintegral-field spectrograph, SAURON, operating on the William HerschelTelescope. Hβ, [OIII]λλ4959,5007 and[NI]λλ5198,5200 emission lines were measured using a newprocedure that simultaneously fits both the stellar spectrum and theemission lines. Using this technique we can detect emission lines downto an equivalent width of 0.1 Å set by the current limitations indescribing galaxy spectra with synthetic and real stellar templates,rather than by the quality of our spectra. Gas velocities and velocitydispersions are typically accurate to within 14 and 20 kms-1, respectively, and at worse to within 25 and 40 kms-1. The errors on the flux of the [OIII] and Hβ linesare on average 10 and 20 per cent, respectively, and never exceed 30 percent. Emission is clearly detected in 75 per cent of our samplegalaxies, and comes in a variety of resolved spatial distributions andkinematic behaviours. A mild dependence on the Hubble type and galacticenvironment is observed, with higher detection rates in lenticulargalaxies and field objects. More significant is the fact that only 55per cent of the galaxies in the Virgo cluster exhibit clearly detectedemission. The ionized-gas kinematics is rarely consistent with simplecoplanar circular motions. However, the gas almost never displayscompletely irregular kinematics, generally showing coherent motions withsmooth variations in angular momentum. In the majority of the cases, thegas kinematics is decoupled from the stellar kinematics, and in half ofthe objects this decoupling implies a recent acquisition of gaseousmaterial. Over the entire sample however, the distribution of the meanmisalignment values between stellar and gaseous angular momenta isinconsistent with a purely external origin. The distribution ofkinematic misalignment values is found to be strongly dependent on theapparent flattening and the level of rotational support of galaxies,with flatter, fast rotating objects hosting preferentially corotatinggaseous and stellar systems. In a third of the cases, the distributionand kinematics of the gas underscore the presence of non-axisymmetricperturbations of the gravitational potential. Consistent with previousstudies, the presence of dust features is always accompanied by gasemission while the converse is not always true. A considerable range ofvalues for the [OIII]/Hβ ratio is found both across the sample andwithin single galaxies. Despite the limitations of this ratio as anemission-line diagnostic, this finding suggests either that a variety ofmechanisms is responsible for the gas excitation in E and S0 galaxies orthat the metallicity of the interstellar material is quiteheterogeneous.
| Discovery of counter-rotating gas in the galaxies NGC 1596 and 3203 and the incidence of gas counter-rotation in S0 galaxies
We have identified two new galaxies with gas counter-rotation (NGC 1596and 3203) and have confirmed similar behaviour in another one (NGC 128),this using results from separate studies of the ionized-gas and stellarkinematics of a well-defined sample of 30 edge-on disc galaxies. Gascounter-rotators thus represent 10 +/- 5 per cent of our sample, but thefraction climbs to 21 +/- 11 per cent when only lenticular (S0) galaxiesare considered and to 27 +/- 13 per cent for S0 galaxies with detectedionized gas only. Those fractions are consistent with but slightlyhigher than previous studies. A compilation from well-defined studies ofS0 galaxies in the literature yields fractions of 15 +/- 4 and 23 +/- 5per cent, respectively. Although mainly based on circumstantialevidence, we argue that the counter-rotating gas originates primarilyfrom minor mergers and tidally induced transfer of material from nearbyobjects. Assuming isotropic accretion, twice those fractions of objectsmust have undergone similar processes, underlining the importance of(minor) accretion for galaxy evolution. Applications of gascounter-rotators to barred galaxy dynamics are also discussed.
| The SAURON project - III. Integral-field absorption-line kinematics of 48 elliptical and lenticular galaxies
We present the stellar kinematics of 48 representative elliptical andlenticular galaxies obtained with our custom-built integral-fieldspectrograph SAURON operating on the William Herschel Telescope. Thedata were homogeneously processed through a dedicated reduction andanalysis pipeline. All resulting SAURON data cubes were spatially binnedto a constant minimum signal-to-noise ratio. We have measured thestellar kinematics with an optimized (penalized pixel-fitting) routinewhich fits the spectra in pixel space, via the use of optimal templates,and prevents the presence of emission lines to affect the measurements.We have thus generated maps of the mean stellar velocity V, the velocitydispersion σ, and the Gauss-Hermite moments h3 andh4 of the line-of-sight velocity distributions. The mapsextend to approximately one effective radius. Many objects displaykinematic twists, kinematically decoupled components, central stellardiscs, and other peculiarities, the nature of which will be discussed infuture papers of this series.
| Minor-axis velocity gradients in disk galaxies
We present the ionized-gas kinematics and photometry of a sample of 4spiral galaxies which are characterized by a zero-velocity plateau alongthe major axis and a velocity gradient along the minor axis,respectively. By combining these new kinematical data with thoseavailable in the literature for the ionized-gas component of the S0s andspirals listed in the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog of Bright Galaxies werealized that about 50% of unbarred galaxies show a remarkable gasvelocity gradient along the optical minor axis. This fraction rises toabout 60% if we include unbarred galaxies with an irregular velocityprofile along the minor axis. This phenomenon is observed all along theHubble sequence of disk galaxies, and it is particularly frequent inearly-type spirals. Since minor-axis velocity gradients are unexpectedif the gas is moving onto circular orbits in a disk coplanar to thestellar one, we conclude that non-circular and off-plane gas motions arenot rare in the inner regions of disk galaxies.Based on observations carried out at the European Southern Observatoryin La Silla (Chile) (ESO 69.B-0706 and 70.B-0338), with the MultipleMirror Telescope which is a joint facility of the SmithsonianInstitution and the University of Arizona, and with the ItalianTelescopio Nazionale Galileo (AOT-5, 3-18) at the Observatorio del Roquede los Muchachos in La Palma (Spain).Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org. Table 5 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/416/507
| Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Spectroscopic Data
We present central velocity dispersions and Mg2 line indicesfor an all-sky sample of ~1178 elliptical and S0 galaxies, of which 984had no previous measures. This sample contains the largest set ofhomogeneous spectroscopic data for a uniform sample of ellipticalgalaxies in the nearby universe. These galaxies were observed as part ofthe ENEAR project, designed to study the peculiar motions and internalproperties of the local early-type galaxies. Using 523 repeatedobservations of 317 galaxies obtained during different runs, the dataare brought to a common zero point. These multiple observations, takenduring the many runs and different instrumental setups employed for thisproject, are used to derive statistical corrections to the data and arefound to be relatively small, typically <~5% of the velocitydispersion and 0.01 mag in the Mg2 line strength. Typicalerrors are about 8% in velocity dispersion and 0.01 mag inMg2, in good agreement with values published elsewhere.
| 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 SAURON project - II. Sample and early results
Early results are reported from the SAURON survey of the kinematics andstellar populations of a representative sample of nearby E, S0 and Sagalaxies. The survey is aimed at determining the intrinsic shape of thegalaxies, their orbital structure, the mass-to-light ratio as a functionof radius, the age and metallicity of the stellar populations, and thefrequency of kinematically decoupled cores and nuclear black holes. Theconstruction of the representative sample is described, and itsproperties are illustrated. A comparison with long-slit spectroscopicdata establishes that the SAURON measurements are comparable to, orbetter than, the highest-quality determinations. Comparisons arepresented for NGC 3384 and 4365, where stellar velocities and velocitydispersions are determined to a precision of 6kms-1, and theh3 and h4 parameters of the line-of-sight velocitydistribution to a precision of better than 0.02. Extraction of accurategas emission-line intensities, velocities and linewidths from the datacubes is illustrated for NGC 5813. Comparisons with published linestrengths for NGC 3384 and 5813 reveal uncertainties of <~0.1Åon the measurements of the Hβ, Mg b and Fe5270 indices.Integral-field mapping uniquely connects measurements of the kinematicsand stellar populations to the galaxy morphology. The maps presentedhere illustrate the rich stellar kinematics, gaseous kinematics, andline-strength distributions of early-type galaxies. The results includethe discovery of a thin, edge-on, disc in NGC 3623, confirm theaxisymmetric shape of the central region of M32, illustrate the LINERnucleus and surrounding counter-rotating star-forming ring in NGC 7742,and suggest a uniform stellar population in the decoupled core galaxyNGC 5813.
| 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.
| A synthesis of data from fundamental plane and surface brightness fluctuation surveys
We perform a series of comparisons between distance-independentphotometric and spectroscopic properties used in the surface brightnessfluctuation (SBF) and fundamental plane (FP) methods of early-typegalaxy distance estimation. The data are taken from two recent surveys:the SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances and the Streaming Motions of AbellClusters (SMAC) FP survey. We derive a relation between(V-I)0 colour and Mg2 index using nearly 200galaxies and discuss implications for Galactic extinction estimates andearly-type galaxy stellar populations. We find that the reddenings fromSchlegel et al. for galaxies with E(B-V)>~0.2mag appear to beoverestimated by 5-10 per cent, but we do not find significant evidencefor large-scale dipole errors in the extinction map. In comparison withstellar population models having solar elemental abundance ratios, thegalaxies in our sample are generally too blue at a given Mg2;we ascribe this to the well-known enhancement of the α-elements inluminous early-type galaxies. We confirm a tight relation betweenstellar velocity dispersion σ and the SBF `fluctuation count'parameter N, which is a luminosity-weighted measure of the total numberof stars in a galaxy. The correlation between N and σ is eventighter than that between Mg2 and σ. Finally, we deriveFP photometric parameters for 280 galaxies from the SBF survey data set.Comparisons with external sources allow us to estimate the errors onthese parameters and derive the correction necessary to bring them on tothe SMAC system. The data are used in a forthcoming paper, whichcompares the distances derived from the FP and SBF methods.
| The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances
We report data for I-band surface brightness fluctuation (SBF)magnitudes, (V-I) colors, and distance moduli for 300 galaxies. Thesurvey contains E, S0, and early-type spiral galaxies in the proportionsof 49:42:9 and is essentially complete for E galaxies to Hubblevelocities of 2000 km s-1, with a substantial sampling of Egalaxies out to 4000 km s-1. The median error in distancemodulus is 0.22 mag. We also present two new results from the survey.(1) We compare the mean peculiar flow velocity (bulk flow) implied byour distances with predictions of typical cold dark matter transferfunctions as a function of scale, and we find very good agreement withcold, dark matter cosmologies if the transfer function scale parameterΓ and the power spectrum normalization σ8 arerelated by σ8Γ-0.5~2+/-0.5. Deriveddirectly from velocities, this result is independent of the distributionof galaxies or models for biasing. This modest bulk flow contradictsreports of large-scale, large-amplitude flows in the ~200 Mpc diametervolume surrounding our survey volume. (2) We present adistance-independent measure of absolute galaxy luminosity, N and showhow it correlates with galaxy properties such as color and velocitydispersion, demonstrating its utility for measuring galaxy distancesthrough large and unknown extinction. Observations in part from theMichigan-Dartmouth-MIT (MDM) Observatory.
| The visible environment of galaxies with counterrotation
In this paper we present a statistical study of the environments of 49galaxies in which there is gas- or stellar-counterrotation. The numberof possible companions in the field (to apparent magnitude 22), theirsize and concentration were considered. All the statistical parameterswere analysed by means of Kolgomorov-Smirnov tests, using a controlsample of 43 galaxies without counterrotation. From our data, nosignificant differences between the counter-rotating and control samplesappear. This is different to Seyfert or radio-loud galaxies which lie inenvironments with a higher density of companions. On the contrary, if aweak tendency exists, for galaxies with gas counterrotation only, it isdiscovered in regions of space where the large scale density of galaxiesis smaller. Our results tend to disprove the hypothesis thatcounterrotation and polar rings derive from a recent interaction with asmall satellite or a galaxy of similar size. To a first approximation,they seem to follow the idea that all galaxies are born through a mergerprocess of smaller objects occurring very early in their life, or thatthey derive from a continuous, non-traumatic infall of gas that formedstars later. Whatever the special machinery is which producescounterrotation or polar rings instead of a co-planar, co-rotatingdistribution of gas and stars, it seems not to be connected to thepresent galaxy density of their environments.
| 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.
| Box- and peanut-shaped bulges. I. Statistics
We present a classification for bulges of a complete sample of ~ 1350edge-on disk galaxies derived from the RC3 (Third Reference Catalogue ofBright Galaxies, de Vaucouleurs et al. \cite{rc3}). A visualclassification of the bulges using the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) inthree types of b/p bulges or as an elliptical type is presented andsupported by CCD images. NIR observations reveal that dust extinctiondoes almost not influence the shape of bulges. There is no substantialdifference between the shape of bulges in the optical and in the NIR.Our analysis reveals that 45% of all bulges are box- and peanut-shaped(b/p). The frequency of b/p bulges for all morphological types from S0to Sd is > 40%. In particular, this is for the first time that such alarge frequency of b/p bulges is reported for galaxies as late as Sd.The fraction of the observed b/p bulges is large enough to explain theb/p bulges by bars. Partly based on observations collected at ESO/LaSilla (Chile), DSAZ/Calar Alto (Spain), and Lowell Observatory/Flagstaff(AZ/U.S.A.). Tables 6 and 7 are only available in electronic form at CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Bulge-Disk Decomposition of 659 Spiral and Lenticular Galaxy Brightness Profiles
We present one of the largest homogeneous sets of spiral and lenticulargalaxy brightness profile decompositions completed to date. The 659galaxies in our sample have been fitted with a de Vaucouleurs law forthe bulge component and an inner-truncated exponential for the diskcomponent. Of the 659 galaxies in the sample, 620 were successfullyfitted with the chosen fitting functions. The fits are generally welldefined, with more than 90% having rms deviations from the observedprofile of less than 0.35 mag. We find no correlations of fittingquality, as measured by these rms residuals, with either morphologicaltype or inclination. Similarly, the estimated errors of the fittedcoefficients show no significant trends with type or inclination. Thesedecompositions form a useful basis for the study of the lightdistributions of spiral and lenticular galaxies. The object base issufficiently large that well-defined samples of galaxies can be selectedfrom it.
| The Southern Sky Redshift Survey
We report redshifts, magnitudes, and morphological classifications for5369 galaxies with m_B <= 15.5 and for 57 galaxies fainter than thislimit, in two regions covering a total of 1.70 sr in the southerncelestial hemisphere. The galaxy catalog is drawn primarily from thelist of nonstellar objects identified in the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog (GSC). The galaxies have positions accurate to ~1"and magnitudes with an rms scatter of ~0.3 mag. We compute magnitudes(m_SSRS2) from the relation between instrumental GSC magnitudes and thephotometry by Lauberts & Valentijn. From a comparison with CCDphotometry, we find that our system is homogeneous across the sky andcorresponds to magnitudes measured at the isophotal level ~26 magarcsec^-2. The precision of the radial velocities is ~40 km s^-1, andthe redshift survey is more than 99% complete to the m_SSRS2 = 15.5 maglimit. This sample is in the direction opposite that of the CfA2; incombination the two surveys provide an important database for studies ofthe properties of galaxies and their large-scale distribution in thenearby universe. Based on observations obtained at Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatories,operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation;Complejo Astronomico El Leoncito, operated under agreement between theConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas de laRepública Argentina and the National Universities of La Plata,Córdoba, and San Juan; the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla, Chile, partially under the bilateral ESO-ObservatórioNacional agreement; Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory;Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica, Brazil; and the SouthAfrican Astronomical Observatory.
| Catalogue of HI maps of galaxies. I.
A catalogue is presented of galaxies having large-scale observations inthe HI line. This catalogue collects from the literature the informationthat characterizes the observations in the 21-cm line and the way thatthese data were presented by means of maps, graphics and tables, forshowing the distribution and kinematics of the gas. It containsfurthermore a measure of the HI extension that is detected at the levelof the maximum sensitivity reached in the observations. This catalogueis intended as a guide for references on the HI maps published in theliterature from 1953 to 1995 and is the basis for the analysis of thedata presented in Paper II. The catalogue is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 orhttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| 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.
| Extended ionized gas in elliptical galaxies. II. Velocity and monochromatic maps of 11 elliptical and lenticular galaxies
For the last ten years faint ionized gas detection has been carried outfor elliptical galaxies with success. The kinematics is essential tounderstand galaxy gas origin and fate. Here we present a sample of 11elliptical and lenticular galaxies observed with the ``Cigale" scanningPerot-Fabry instrument. For each galaxy monochromatic and velocity mapof ionized gas is presented. Geometrical properties such as viewingangles and axis ratios are also derived from observations. Doublegaseous components are found in 3 galaxies of our sample, implying anexternal origin for at least part of the observed gas. % Based onobservations collected with the S.A.O. 6 m telescope located in NizhnijArkhyz (Russia), the 3.6 m CFH telescope and the 3.6 m telescope at ESO.
| 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
| Cool dense gas in early-type galaxies
CO observations have shown that many lenticular and elliptical galaxiescontain significant amounts of cool dense gas. This review summarizesthe observational results related to the neutral gas phase and presentsa systematic comparison with other interstellar and stellar data. Thediscovery of very dense molecular gas in the nuclear regions ofearly-type galaxies, the possible existence of a dust component neitherseen optically nor in CO, internal inconsistencies of cooling flowscenarios, the origin of the cool gas, the presence of massive stars,aspects of galaxy evolution, and possibilities for future research arediscussed in the light of the new data.
| Molecular gas in polar-ring galaxies
We present CO J=1-->0 observations (lambda=2.6 mm) of 10 polar-ringgalaxies, chosen from the Polar Ring Catalogue; we infer masses of H_2ranging from 7x10^7 to 2x10^10 Msolar, with an average of about 1x10^9Msolar. These H_2 masses are greater than the average molecular mass ofan early-type galaxy; we previously found similar results for a sampleof minor-axis dust-lane ellipticals. In the cases where we can estimatethe gas mass in the polar ring, including the H i masses fromliterature, they are high enough to allow self-gravitation to stabilizethe rings. This means that the ages of the rings may be >=1 Gyr.Indeed, the gas masses are often greater than those of most dwarfgalaxies: this would make it unlikely that the polar rings result fromthe recent accretion of a single gas-rich dwarf. A survey of the fieldsaround our sample galaxies shows in all but one case the presence of atleast one companion with either a similar redshift or similar bluemagnitude; these companions are close enough to have encountered thepolar-ring galaxy in <1 Gyr. The companion galaxies may be the sourceof the detected gas, through tidal stripping.
| On the Effects of Including Conterrotating Angular Momentum in Simulations of Galactic Disk Systems
We describe the evolution of two-dimensional disk systems constructedwith significant portions of their angular momentum counterrotating. Weconfirm that counterrotating angular momentum stabilizes an otherwisebar unstable disk. Further, we show that is possible to realize novelbar/disk and bar/bar configurations by varying our initial conditions.We find that it is possible to construct models that evolve to thefollowing configurations: two counterrotating bars, a cospatial bar andbulgelike component, and a slow counterrotating bar. We examine thepossible implications of such systems and whether they might exist innature.
| NGC 4138: A Case Study in Counterrotating Disk Formation
The Sa(r) galaxy NGC 4138 has been recently found to contain anextensive counterrotating disk that appears to be still forming. Up toone-third of the stars in the disk system may be on retrograde orbits. Acounterrotating ring of H II regions, along with extendedcounterrotating H I gas, suggests that the retrograde material has beenrecently acquired in the gas phase and is still trickling in. Usingnumerical simulations, we have attempted to model the process by whichthe counterrotating mass has been accreted by this galaxy. Weinvestigate two possibilities: continuous retrograde infall of gas and aretrograde merger with a gas-rich dwarf galaxy. Both processes aresuccessful in producing a counterrotating disk of the observed mass anddimensions without heating up the primary disk significantly. Contraryto our experience with a fiducial cold, thin primary disk, the gas-richmerger works well for the massive, compact primary disk of NGC 4138 eventhough the mass of the dwarf galaxy is a significant fraction of themass of the primary disk. Although we have restricted ourselves mainlyto coplanar infall and mergers, we report on one inclined infallsimulation as well. We also explore the possibility that the H alpharing seen in the inner half of the disk is a consequence ofcounterrotating gas clouds colliding with corotating gas already presentin the disk and forming stars in the process.
| Near-IR photometry of disk galaxies: Search for nuclear isophotal twist and double bars
We present a near-IR, mainly $H$ band, photometry of 72 nearby (d <40 Mpc) disk galaxies. The main goal of the survey was to search forisophotal twist inside their nuclear regions. As the twist can be due insome cases to projection effects, rather than resulting from a dynamicalphenomenon, we deproject -- under the simplifying assumption of a 2Dgeometry -- all galaxies whose disk position angle and inclination areknown, the latter not exceeding 75 degrees. We show the ellipticity,position angle and surface brightness radial profiles, and discuss how aprojection of 2D and 3D bars can distort the isophotes, give an illusionof a non-existing double bar or mask a real one. We report 15 newdouble-barred galaxies and confirm 2 detected previously. We identify 14additional twists not known before and we also find nuclear triaxialstructures in three SA galaxies. The frequency of Seyferts amonggalaxies with nuclear bars or twists is high. Since these observationsare part of a larger survey, the interpretation of the results will begiven in a future paper, as soon as the number of objects grows enoughto permit meaningful statistics. As a secondary product, we publishstructural parameters (length and axis ratio) of large-scale bars inorder to extend still scarce data on bars in the near-IR.
| A survey of the stellar rotation in barred galaxies
We present stellar velocity- and velocity dispersion- data for 13 SB0galaxies and one SBa, based on 61 spectra collected during a long-termproject developed at ESO. Our primary goal is to provide a databasewidest as possible for the study of the stellar velocity and velocitydispersion fields and for future modeling. New data are presented forsix galaxies, while for the remaining SB0s particular kinematicalaspects were already discussed in previous papers. We found thefollowing results: a) emission lines were detected in our spectra onlyfor 4 out of 14 galaxies considered. When present, they reveal a verypeculiar kinematics, including counter-rotation, warps or radial flows.b) A new case of gas counter-rotation has been found: NGC 7079. c) Thevelocity dispersion along the bar has a smoother trend than in the restof the galaxy. However there is, in general, a similarity between thevelocity dispersion trend (decreasing or flat) measured along the barand that outside it. d) The existence of a waving pattern in the stellarrotation curves of bars is confirmed for the galaxies of our sample seeninclined between 30 and 50 degrees. In addition to this effect, thepercentage of non-circular stellar motions present in the barredgalaxies studied may reach the 20%. Based on observations collected atthe European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile. Table 5 is onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html} }
| "Rotation curves" in self-consistent models of barred galaxies.
We compare the "rotation curves" in self-consistent models of barredgalaxies with the ones of SB0's. The models are constructed withSchwarzschild's method. The models reproduce the wavy pattern in therotation curves observed in most SB0 galaxies. Depending on the localspatial mass fraction of retrograde orbits, the line-of-sight velocityis lowered or even negative. The local counter-rotation can be explainedby retrograde orbits, without needing to invoke particular projectioneffects. Another result is that the model minimizing the absolute valueof the total angular momentum is found to have a distribution functionsimilar to N-body bar one.
| Observations of Molecular Gas in the Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC 185
The J = 2-1 transition of CO has been detected from four positions inNGC 185; upper limits are placed on emission from an additional fourpositions, which include the peak of the atomic gas distribution. Usingwhat we believe to be an appropriate conversion factor from COintegrated intensity to H_2_ column density yields a minimum mass ratioM(H_2_)/M(H I) of 4 for NGC 185. Large velocity gradient (LVG) models,weakly constrained by the observed intensity ratio I_2-1_/I_1-0_ and theargument that T_k_ <= 10 K, yield number densities in excess ofseveral times 10^2^ for the molecular gas. Our measurements clearlyconfirm the large-scale offset between the atomic and molecular phasesin NGC 185. We suggest that this results from the stochastic nature ofthe gas recycling process in a dwarf spheroid. Molecular gas isassociated with the two optical dust clouds but is also found within theyoung star population in which dust has not been detected. From recentoptical photometry of the young stars, we calculate the mean intensityof interstellar UV radiation important for CO photodissociation, findingvalues only a few percent of that typical near the Sun. Under theseconditions, molecular self- shielding is likely to be much moreimportant than dust shielding for the survival of molecules in theinterstellar medium, making optical dust clouds unreliable tracers ofmolecular gas in this and similar galaxies. Presently availableobservations of the ISM and stellar populations in NGC 185 areconsistent with two scenarios for gas recycling over long timescales. Wediscuss these scenarios and their implications for the frequency of starformation activity in dwarf elliptical galaxies.
| Formation of Massive Counterrotating Disks in Spiral Galaxies
We present results of numerical simulations of the formation of amassive counterrotating gas disk in a spiral galaxy. Using ahierarchical tree gravity solver combined with a sticky particlegas-dissipation scheme for our simulations, we have investigated threemechanisms: episodic gas infall, continuous gas infall, and a mergerwith a gas-rich dwarf galaxy. We find that both episodic and continuousgas infall work reasonably well and are able to produce a substantialcounterrotating gas disk without upsetting the stability of the existingdisk drastically, but it is very important for the gas to be welldispersed in phase space and not form concentrated clumps prior to itsabsorption by the disk galaxy. The initial angular momentum of the gasalso plays a crucial role in determining the scale length of thecounter-rotating disk that is formed and the time it takes to form. Therate of infall, i.e., the mass of gas falling in per unit time, has tobe small enough to preclude excessive heating of the preexisting disk.It is much easier in general to produce a smaller counterrotating diskthan it is to produce an extensive disk with a scale length similar tothat of the original, prograde disk. A gas-rich dwarf merger does notappear to be a viable mechanism to produce a massive counter-rotatingdisk because only a very small dwarf galaxy can produce acounterrotating disk without increasing the thickness of the existingdisk by an order of magnitude, and the timescale for this process isprohibitively long because it makes it very unlikely that several suchmergers can accumulate a massive counterrotating disk over a Hubbletime.
| An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.
A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.
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