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 Properties of isolated disk galaxiesWe present a new sample of northern isolated galaxies, which are definedby the physical criterion that they were not affected by other galaxiesin their evolution during the last few Gyr. To find them we used thelogarithmic ratio, f, between inner and tidal forces acting upon thecandidate galaxy by a possible perturber. The analysis of thedistribution of the f-values for the galaxies in the Coma cluster leadus to adopt the criterion f ≤ -4.5 for isolated galaxies. Thecandidates were chosen from the CfA catalog of galaxies within thevolume defined by cz ≤5000 km s-1, galactic latitudehigher than 40o and declination ≥-2.5o. Theselection of the sample, based on redshift values (when available),magnitudes and sizes of the candidate galaxies and possible perturberspresent in the same field is discussed. The final list of selectedisolated galaxies includes 203 objects from the initial 1706. The listcontains only truly isolated galaxies in the sense defined, but it is byno means complete, since all the galaxies with possible companions underthe f-criterion but with unknown redshift were discarded. We alsoselected a sample of perturbed galaxies comprised of all the diskgalaxies from the initial list with companions (with known redshift)satisfying f ≥ -2 and \Delta(cz) ≤500 km s-1; a totalof 130 objects. The statistical comparison of both samples showssignificant differences in morphology, sizes, masses, luminosities andcolor indices. Confirming previous results, we found that late spiral,Sc-type galaxies are, in particular, more frequent among isolatedgalaxies, whereas Lenticular galaxies are more abundant among perturbedgalaxies. Isolated systems appear to be smaller, less luminous and bluerthan interacting objects. We also found that bars are twice as frequentamong perturbed galaxies compared to isolated galaxies, in particularfor early Spirals and Lenticulars. The perturbed galaxies have higherLFIR/LB and Mmol/LB ratios,but the atomic gas content is similar for the two samples. The analysisof the luminosity-size and mass-luminosity relations shows similartrends for both families, the main difference being the almost totalabsence of big, bright and massive galaxies among the family of isolatedsystems, together with the almost total absence of small, faint and lowmass galaxies among the perturbed systems. All these aspects indicatethat the evolution induced by interactions with neighbors would proceedfrom late, small, faint and low mass Spirals to earlier, bigger, moreluminous and more massive spiral and lenticular galaxies, producing atthe same time a larger fraction of barred galaxies but preserving thesame relations between global parameters. The properties we found forour sample of isolated galaxies appear similar to those of high redshiftgalaxies, suggesting that the present-day isolated galaxies could bequietly evolved, unused building blocks surviving in low densityenvironments.Tables \ref{t1} and \ref{t2} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org Star Formation Histories of Early-Type Galaxies. I. Higher Order Balmer Lines as Age IndicatorsWe have obtained blue integrated spectra of 175 nearby early-typegalaxies, covering a wide range in galaxy velocity dispersion andemphasizing those with σ<100 km s-1. Galaxies havebeen observed both in the Virgo Cluster and in lower densityenvironments. The main goals are the evaluation of higher order Balmerlines as age indicators and differences in stellar populations as afunction of mass, environment, and morphology. In this first paper, ouremphasis is on presenting the methods used to characterize the behaviorof the Balmer lines through evolutionary population synthesis models.Lower σ galaxies exhibit a substantially greater intrinsicscatter, in a variety of line-strength indicators, than do higherσ galaxies, with the large intrinsic scatter setting in below aσ of 100 km s-1. Moreover, a greater contrast inscatter is present in the Balmer lines than in the lines of metalfeatures. Evolutionary synthesis modeling of the observed spectralindexes indicates that the strong Balmer lines found primarily among thelow-σ galaxies are caused by young age, rather than by lowmetallicity. Thus we find a trend between the population age and thecentral velocity dispersion, such that low-σ galaxies have youngerluminosity-weighted mean ages. We have repeated this analysis usingseveral different Balmer lines and find consistent results from onespectral indicator to another. Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Circular-Aperture PhotometryWe 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. A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxiesWe 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 The pattern speed of the OH/IR stars in the Milky WayWe show how the continuity equation can be used to determine patternspeeds in the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG). This method, first discussed byTremaine & Weinberg in the context of external galaxies, requiresprojected positions, (l,b), and line-of-sight velocities for a spatiallycomplete sample of relaxed tracers. If the local standard of rest (LSR)has a zero velocity in the radial direction (uLSR), then thequantity that is measured isΔV≡ΩpR0-VLSR, whereΩp is the pattern speed of the non-axisymmetricfeature, R0 is the distance of the Sun from the Galacticcentre and VLSR is the tangential motion of the LSR,including the circular velocity. We use simple models to assess thereliability of the method for measuring a single, constant pattern speedof either a bar or spiral in the inner MWG. We then apply the method tothe OH/IR stars in the ATCA/VLA OH 1612-MHz survey of Sevenster et al.,finding ΔV=252+/-41kms-1, if uLSR=0.Assuming further that R0=8kpc andVLSR=220kms-1, this givesΩp=59+/-5kms-1kpc-1 with apossible systematic error of perhaps 10kms-1kpc-1. The non-axisymmetric feature for which we measure thispattern speed must be in the disc of the MWG. BVRI imaging of M51-type interacting galaxy pairs - III. Analysis of the photometric parametersPhotometric bulge and disc properties of a sample of 21 M51-type pairsobserved in BVRI bands are analysed, and the derived parameters obtainedby the R1/4-law and exponential bulge models are comparedwith the sample of normal galaxies reported by de Jong & van derKruit in 1994. Some characteristic properties of the intensity profilesare then interpreted by 3D N-body simulations, in which both componentsof the pair are described by an exponential star+gas disc embedded in alive bulge and halo. The disc central surface brightnessμ0 was found to be similar for the M51-type and for normalgalaxies, being 21.5+/-0.8Bmagarcsec-2, when the exponentialbulge model was used. The main galaxies had generally almost normalphotometric properties, whereas for the companions secular evolutionmust have played an important role. Even though the mean scalelengthsfor the M51-type galaxies were smaller than for the comparison galaxies,their bulges were larger: especially the companions had extremely largebulge sizes relative to their disc scalelengths having (B)=0.37+/-0.10 in comparison with0.15+/-0.09 for normal galaxies. Consequently, the bulge-to-discluminosity ratios for the companions were also generally larger thanknown for any of the Hubble types of normal galaxy. N-body simulationsindicated that the inner disc can be steepened during the interaction,and that this steepened disc can be erroneously interpreted as belongingto the bulge. Simultaneously material in the outer disc isredistributed, producing shallow outer profiles similar to thoseobserved for typical M51-type galaxies. These processes weredemonstrated by applying photometric bulge-to-disc decompositions forsome of the simulated intensity profiles. The decompositions also showedthat one must be cautious when applying the R1/4-law bulgemodel, especially for interacting galaxies. A nearly parabolicexperiment showed that the redistribution of matter in the disc duringthe close passage can be long-lived, suggesting that galaxy interactionseven with small companions may play an important role in secularevolution for galaxies in clusters. Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of GroupsIn 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. Luminosity versus Phase-Space-Density Relation of Galaxies RevisitedWe reexamined the correlation between the BTmagnitude and the phase-space-density parameterw=(D225vc)-1 of galaxies forthe Virgo, the Coma, the Fornax, and the Perseus clusters in an effortto better understand the physical underpinning of the fundamental plane.A tight correlation (BT=alog w+b) common to differentmorphological types of galaxies (E, S0, S) was found for the Virgo andthe Coma clusters, with a=1.87+/-0.10 and 1.33+/-0.11, respectively. Aninvestigation using only E galaxies was made for the four clusters. Theresults indicated that the empirical linear relation might be commonamong the Coma, the Fornax, and the Perseus clusters, with the VirgoCluster showing deviation. This relation, which is another way toproject the fundamental plane, has an expression insensitive to themorphology and may be suitable for treating galaxies of differentmorphological types collectively. BVRI imaging of M 51-type pairs. II. Bulge and disk parametersWe present decompositions of azimuthally averaged surface brightnessprofiles in optical B, V, R and I-bands for a sample of 40 M 51-typeinteracting galaxies. The profiles were modelled by an exponential diskand a spherical bulge described either by the R1/4 law or byan exponential function. Half of the galaxies were well fitted by bothbulge models, whereas for 35 % the exponential function was a betterchoice. Special care was taken on eliminating superpositions of thecompanion galaxies. The mean B-band central surface brightness mu_0 wasfound to be 21.5 mag arcsec-2, which is near to the valueoriginally found by Freeman (\cite{freeman70}), but the scatter wasfairly large. Galaxy interactions have strongly modified the disks inmany of the galaxies in the sample. For example, six of them hadextremely flat brightness profiles outside the exponential part of thedisk, and many showed significant isophotal twists. Tables 1 to 4 andFigs. 2 to 4 are only available in the electronic version athttp://www.edpsciences.org} Arcsecond Positions of UGC GalaxiesWe present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only. A Complete Redshift Survey to the Zwicky Catalog Limit in a 2^h X 15 deg Region around 3C 273We compile 1113 redshifts (648 new measurements, 465 from theliterature) for Zwicky catalog galaxies in the region (-3.5d <= delta<= 8.5d, 11h5 <= alpha <= 13h5). We include redshifts for 114component objects in 78 Zwicky catalog multiplets. The redshift surveyin this region is 99.5% complete to the Zwicky catalog limit, m_Zw =15.7. It is 99.9% complete to m_Zw = 15.5, the CfA Redshift Survey(CfA2) magnitude limit. The survey region is adjacent to the northernportion of CfA2, overlaps the northernmost slice of the Las CampanasRedshift Survey, includes the southern extent of the Virgo Cluster, andis roughly centered on the QSO 3C 273. As in other portions of theZwicky catalog, bright and faint galaxies trace the same large-scalestructure. BVRI imaging of M51-type interacting galaxy pairs. I. Data reductionsDeep broad-band BVRI photometry of a sample of 22 closely interactingisolated galaxy pairs is presented. The sample consists of pairs with alarge variety of orbital geometries, but most of them are M51-typepairs: a small companion in the vicinity of a prominent two-armedspiral. This subsample will be later modelled in detail with N-bodysimulations. Nine of the thirteen M51-type pairs show enhanced starformation in the central regions of the companions, detected in B-V orR-I color maps, and only one pair in the nucleus of the main galaxy.This is expected if there is mass transfer from the main galaxy to thecompanion. Some pairs with larger separation, and with more massivecompanions show global instabilities manifesting as strong colorgradients at least in one of the members. Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxiesWe 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. The fundamental plane of early-type galaxies: stellar populations and mass-to-light ratio.We analyse the residuals to the fundamental plane (FP) of ellipticalgalaxies as a function of stellar-population indicators; these are basedon the line-strength parameter Mg_2_ and on UBVRI broad-band colors, andare partly derived from new observations. The effect of the stellarpopulations accounts for approximately half the observed variation ofthe mass-to-light ratio responsible for the FP tilt. The residual tiltcan be explained by the contribution of two additional effects: thedependence of the rotational support, and possibly that of the spatialstructure, on the luminosity. We conclude to a constancy of thedynamical-to-stellar mass ratio. This probably extends to globularclusters as well, but the dominant factor would be here the luminositydependence of the structure rather than that of the stellar population.This result also implies a constancy of the fraction of dark matter overall the scalelength covered by stellar systems. Our compilation ofinternal stellar kinematics of galaxies is appended. A Catalog of Stellar Velocity Dispersions. II. 1994 UpdateA catalog of central velocity dispersion measurements is presented,current through 1993 September. The catalog includes 2474 measurementsof 1563 galaxies. A standard set of 86 galaxies is defined, consistingof galaxies with at least three reliable, concordant measurements. It issuggested that future studies observe some of these standard galaxies sothat different studies can be normalized to a consistent system. Allmeasurements are reduced to a normalized system using these standards. Interstellar matter in early-type galaxies. I - The catalogA catalog is given of the currently available measurements ofinterstellar matter in the 467 early-type galaxies listed in the secondedition of the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog of Bright Galaxies. Themorphological type range is E, SO, and Sa. The ISM tracers are emissionin the following bands: IRAS 100 micron, X-ray, radio, neutral hydrogen,and carbon monoxide. Nearly two-thirds of the Es and SOs have beendetected in one or more of these tracers. Additional observed quantitiesthat are tabulated include: magnitude, colors, radial velocity, centralvelocity dispersion, maximum of the rotation curve, angular size, 60micron flux, and supernovae. Qualitative statements as to the presenceof dust or emission lines, when available in the literature, are given.Quantities derivative from the observed values are also listed andinclude masses of H I, CO, X-ray gas, and dust as well as an estimate ofthe total mass and mass-to-luminosity ratio of the individual galaxies. On the relationship between radio emission and optical properties in early-type galaxiesTo study the origin of radio activity in early-type galaxies, thepossible dependence of their radio emission on basic optical parameters,such as the absolute magnitude, the central velocity dispersion sigma,and the mean surface brightness mu is explored. A sample of 743 E and SOgalaxies is used which is based on three independent radio surveys ofoptically selected galaxies with virtually complete information onmagnitudes, morphological types, redshift distances, diameters, andradio fluxes. For both E and SO galaxies, only the absolute magnitudeappears to be directly related to the radio activity, while sigma and mudo not. Also, a significant dependence of the apparent flattening onradio power is confirmed for E galaxies. Some relevant implications ofthese results are discussed. Near-infrared spectral properties of star clusters and galactic nucleiA powerful method for the correction of CCD fringes in the near-IR ispresented, together with 6300-9700 A CCD spectra of 30 star clusterscovering the 1 million to 16.5 billion age range and observations of 62galactic nuclei in galaxies of E to Sc morphological type. An analysisof the star cluster sample indicates that, in the near-IR spectralrange, metallicity is the dominant parameter. Attention is given to thesecond-order effects produced by age. Grid predictions as a function ofmetallicity and age are given for five metallic features and for thecontinuum distribution. HI-observations of galaxies in the Virgo cluster of galaxies. I - The dataNew H I-data for a large number of bright galaxies inside the 10 degradius area of the Virgo cluster of galaxies have been obtained with the100 m radiotelescope at Effelsberg. A total of 234 galaxies was observedfor the first time. Among them, 53 have been detected providing newaccurate radial velocities. Data from the literature have been compiled.Together with the new data, they form a (nearly homogeneous) set of H Iobservations for more than 450 galaxies. A catalog of stellar velocity dispersions. I - Compilation and standard galaxiesA catalog of central stellar velocity dispersion measurements ispresented, current through June 1984. The catalog includes 1096measurements of 725 galaxies. A set of 51 standard galaxies is definedwhich consists of galaxies with at least three reliable, concordantmeasurements. It is suggested that future studies observed some of thesestandard galaxies in the course of their observations so that differentstudies can be normalized to the same system. Previous studies arecompared with the derived standards to determine relative accuracies andto compute scale factors where necessary. Studies of the Virgo Cluster. II - A catalog of 2096 galaxies in the Virgo Cluster area.The present catalog of 2096 galaxies within an area of about 140 sq degapproximately centered on the Virgo cluster should be an essentiallycomplete listing of all certain and possible cluster members,independent of morphological type. Cluster membership is essentiallydecided by galaxy morphology; for giants and the rare class of highsurface brightness dwarfs, membership rests on velocity data. While 1277of the catalog entries are considered members of the Virgo cluster, 574are possible members and 245 appear to be background Zwicky galaxies.Major-to-minor axis ratios are given for all galaxies brighter than B(T)= 18, as well as for many fainter ones. Catalogue of central velocity dispersions of galaxiesA total of 880 measurements of velocity dispersions for 546 galaxieshave been compiled. These data have been used to look for biasesintroduced by the observational techniques and reduction procedures. Twomain effects have been corrected for, due to the reference and the slitwidth. A catalog of homogeneous data has been compiled, where the rawdata are corrected for these effects. The rapid stellar rotation of radio galaxiesIt is shown from the kinematical data available that radio-emittingelliptical galaxies tend to rotate more quickly than their radio-quietpeers. Processes occurring on nuclear scales (a parsec or less) are thuslinked to the large-scale properties of the galaxies. A 21 centimeter line survey of a complete sample of interacting and isolated galaxiesThe paper presents 21 cm line observations of a complete sample ofinteracting and isolated galaxies made with the National Radio AstronomyObservatory 91 and 43 m telescopes and the Arecibo 3035 m telescope. The21 cm line data are combined with a homogeneous set of optical data onangular diameters, axial ratios, magnitudes, and colors, and integralproperties are calculated for the galaxies in both samples. In thispaper, the sample selection procedures, the method of observation, thedata reduction, and the observational errors are described. Thedetection percentages are presented for both samples. A survey of galaxy redshifts. IV - The dataThe complete list of the best available radial velocities for the 2401galaxies in the merged Zwicky-Nilson catalog brighter than 14.5mz and with b (II) above +40 deg or below -30 deg ispresented. Almost 60 percent of the redshifts are from the CfA surveyand are accurate to typically 35 km/s. Double galaxy investigations. I - ObservationsRedshift information from 240 A/mm spectrograms is presented for 370double arcsec galaxy systems from the Karachentsev (1972) catalog,including all pairs in that catalog with separation less than 80 arcsec.An extensive error discussion utilizing internal and external (21 cm)comparisons provides calibration of systematic error and determines theuncertainty for a typical high weight optical redshift to be plus orminus 65 km/sec. Internal differential redshifts within single spectrausing common lines achieve accuracies of 18-30 km/sec, depending uponseparation, and are available for about 200 pairs. Extensive informationon emission and other properties is also provided.
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