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The X-ray emission properties and the dichotomy in the central stellar cusp shapes of early-type galaxies
The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a dichotomy in the centralsurface brightness profiles of early-type galaxies, which havesubsequently been grouped into two families: core, boxy, anisotropicsystems; and cuspy (`power-law'), discy, rotating ones. Here weinvestigate whether a dichotomy is also present in the X-ray propertiesof the two families. We consider both their total soft emission(LSX,tot), which is a measure of the galactic hot gascontent, and their nuclear hard emission (LHX,nuc), mostlycoming from Chandra observations, which is a measure of the nuclearactivity. At any optical luminosity, the highest LSX,totvalues are reached by core galaxies; this is explained by their beingthe central dominant galaxies of groups, subclusters or clusters, inmany of the logLSX,tot (ergs-1) >~ 41.5 cases.The highest LHX,nuc values, similar to those of classicalactive galactic nuclei (AGNs), in this sample are hosted only by core orintermediate galaxies; at low luminosity AGN levels, LHX,nucis independent of the central stellar profile shape. The presence ofoptical nuclei (also found by HST) is unrelated to the level ofLHX,nuc, even though the highest LHX,nuc are allassociated with optical nuclei. The implications of these findings forgalaxy evolution and accretion modalities at the present epoch arediscussed.
| AWM 4 - an isothermal cluster observed with XMM-Newton
We present an analysis of an XMM-Newton observation of the poor clusterAWM 4. The cluster is relaxed and its X-ray halo is regular with noapparent substructure. Azimuthally averaged radial spectral profilessuggest that the cluster is isothermal to a radius of at least 160 kpc,with no evidence of a central cooling region. Spectral mapping showssome significant temperature and abundance substructure, but no evidenceof strong cooling in the cluster core. Abundance increases in the core,but not to the extent expected, and we find some indication of gasmixing. Modelling the three-dimensional properties of the system, weshow that ongoing heating by an active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thedominant elliptical, NGC 6051, is likely to be responsible for the lackof cooling. We also compare AWM 4 to MKW 4, a cluster of similar massobserved recently with XMM-Newton. While the two systems have similargravitational mass profiles, MKW 4 has a cool core and a somewhatsteeper gas density profile, which leads to a lower core entropy. AWM 4has a considerably larger gas fraction at 0.1R200, and weshow that these differences result from the difference in mass betweenthe two dominant galaxies and the activity cycles of their AGN. Weestimate the energy required to raise the temperature profile of MKW 4to match that of AWM 4 to be 9 × 1058 erg or 3 ×1043 erg s-1 for 100 Myr, comparable to the likelypower output of the AGN in AWM 4.
| Soft X-Ray and Ultraviolet Emission Relations in Optically Selected AGN Samples
Using a sample of 228 optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs)in the 0.01-6.3 redshift range with a high fraction of X-ray detections(81%-86%), we study the relation between rest-frame UV and soft X-rayemission and its evolution with cosmic time. The majority of the AGNs inour sample (155 objects) have been selected from the Sloan Digital SkySurvey (SDSS) in an unbiased way, rendering the sample resultsrepresentative of all SDSS AGNs. The addition of two heterogeneoussamples of 36 high-redshift and 37 low-redshift AGNs further supportsand extends our conclusions. We confirm that the X-ray emission fromAGNs is correlated with their UV emission and that the ratio of themonochromatic luminosity emitted at 2 keV compared to 2500 Ådecreases with increasing luminosity(αox=-0.136lUV+2.616, where lUVis in log units) but does not change with cosmic time. These resultsapply to intrinsic AGN emission, as we correct or control for theeffects of the host galaxy, UV/X-ray absorption, and any X-ray emissionassociated with radio emission in AGNs. We investigate a variety ofsystematic errors and can thereby state with confidence that (1) theαox-lUV anticorrelation is real and not aresult of accumulated systematic errors and (2) any αoxdependence on redshift is negligible in comparison. We provide the bestquantification of the αox-lUV relation todate for normal radio-quiet AGNs; this should be of utility forresearchers pursuing a variety of studies.
| The Centers of Early-Type Galaxies with Hubble Space Telescope. V. New WFPC2 Photometry
We present observations of 77 early-type galaxies imaged with the PC1CCD of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFPC2. ``Nuker-law'' parametricfits to the surface brightness profiles are used to classify the centralstructure into ``core'' or ``power-law'' forms. Core galaxies aretypically rounder than power-law galaxies. Nearly all power-law galaxieswith central ellipticities ɛ>=0.3 have stellar disks,implying that disks are present in power-law galaxies withɛ<0.3 but are not visible because of unfavorable geometry. Afew low-luminosity flattened core galaxies also have disks; these may betransition forms from power-law galaxies to more luminous core galaxies,which lack disks. Several core galaxies have strong isophote twistsinterior to their break radii, although power-law galaxies have interiortwists of similar physical significance when the photometricperturbations implied by the twists are evaluated. Central colorgradients are typically consistent with the envelope gradients; coregalaxies have somewhat weaker color gradients than power-law galaxies.Nuclei are found in 29% of the core galaxies and 60% of the power-lawgalaxies. Nuclei are typically bluer than the surrounding galaxy. Whilesome nuclei are associated with active galactic nuclei (AGNs), just asmany are not; conversely, not all galaxies known to have a low-level AGNexhibit detectable nuclei in the broadband filters. NGC 4073 and 4382are found to have central minima in their intrinsic starlightdistributions; NGC 4382 resembles the double nucleus of M31. In general,the peak brightness location is coincident with the photocenter of thecore to a typical physical scale of <1 pc. Five galaxies, however,have centers significantly displaced from their surrounding cores; thesemay be unresolved asymmetric double nuclei. Finally, as noted byprevious authors, central dust is visible in about half of the galaxies.The presence and strength of dust correlates with nuclear emission;thus, dust may outline gas that is falling into the central black hole.The prevalence of dust and its morphology suggest that dust clouds form,settle to the center, and disappear repeatedly on ~108 yrtimescales. We discuss the hypothesis that cores are created by thedecay of a massive black hole binary formed in a merger. Apart fromtheir brightness profiles, there are no strong differences between coregalaxies and power-law galaxies that demand this scenario; however, therounder shapes of core, their lack of disks, and their reduced colorgradients may be consistent with it.Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc.,under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associated withGO and GTO proposals 5236, 5446, 5454, 5512, 5943, 5990, 5999, 6099,6386, 6554, 6587, 6633, 7468, 8683, and 9107.
| A dichotomy in the orientation of dust and radio jets in nearby low-power radio galaxies
We examine the properties of central dust in nearby quiescent and activeearly-type galaxies. The active galaxies are low-power radio galaxieswith Fanaroff & Riley type I or I/II radio jets. We focus on (a) thecomparison of the dust distributions in the active and quiescent galaxysamples; and (b) the relation between the radio jet and dustorientations. Our main observational conclusions are: (i) in line withprevious studies, the dust detection rate is higher in radio-jetgalaxies than in non radio-jet galaxies; (ii) radio galaxies contain ahigher fraction of regular dust “ellipses” compared toquiescent galaxies which contain more often irregular dustdistributions; (iii) the morphology, size and orientation of dustellipses and lanes in quiescent early-types and active early-types withkpc-scale radio jets is very similar; (iv) dust ellipses are alignedwith the major axis of the galaxy, dust lanes do not show a preferredalignment except for large (>kpc) dust lanes which are aligned withthe minor axis of the galaxy; and (v) as projected on the sky, jets donot show a preferred orientation relative to the galaxy major axis (andhence dust ellipses), but jets are preferentially perpendicular to dustlanes. We show that the dust ellipses are consistent with being nearlycircular thin disks viewed at random viewing angles. The lanes arelikely warped dust structures, which may be in the process of settlingdown to become regular disks or are being perturbed by anon-gravitational force. We use the observed dust-jet orientations toconstrain the three-dimensional angle θDJ between jetand dust. For dust-lane galaxies, the jet is approximately perpendicularto the dust structure, while for dust-ellipse galaxies there is a muchwider distribution of θDJ. We discuss two scenariosthat could explain the dust/jet/galaxy orientation dichotomy. If lanesare indeed settling, then the jet orientation apparently is roughlyaligned with the angular momentum of the dust before it settles. Iflanes are perturbed by a jet-related force, it appears that it causesthe dust to move out of its equilibrium plane in the galaxy into a planewhich is perpendicular to the jet.
| The GEMS project: X-ray analysis and statistical properties of the group sample
The Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS) involves amultiwavelength study of a sample of 60 galaxy groups, chosen to span awide range of group properties. Substantial ROSAT Position SensitiveProportional Counter (PSPC) observations, available for all of thesegroups, are used to characterize the state of the intergalactic mediumin each. We present the results of a uniform analysis of these ROSATdata and a statistical investigation of the relationship between X-rayand optical properties across the sample. Our analysis improves inseveral respects on previous work: (i) we distinguish between systems inwhich the hot gas is a group-scale medium and those in which it appearsto be just a hot halo associated with a central galaxy; (ii) weextrapolate X-ray luminosities to a fixed overdensity radius(r500) using fitted surface brightness models, in order toavoid biases arising from the fact that cooler systems are detectable tosmaller radii, and (iii) optical properties have been rederived in auniform manner from the NASA Extragalactic Database, rather than relyingon the data in the disparate collection of group catalogues from whichour systems are drawn.The steepening of the LX-TX relation in the groupregime reported previously is not seen in our sample, which fits well onto the cluster trend, albeit with large non-statistical scatter. Anumber of biases affect the fitting of regression lines under thesecircumstances, and until the impact of these has been thoroughlyinvestigated it seems best to regard the slope of the groupLX-TX relation as being poorly determined. Asignificant problem in comparing the properties of groups and clustersis the derivation of system radii, to allow different systems to becompared within regions having the same overdensity. We find evidencethat group velocity dispersion (σv) provides a veryunreliable measure of system mass (and hence radius), with a number ofgroups having remarkably low values of σv, given thatthey appear from their X-ray properties to be collapsed systems. Weconfirm that the surface brightness profiles of groups are significantlyflatter than those of clusters - the maximum value of theβfit parameter for our sample is 0.58, lower than thetypical value of 0.67 seen in clusters - however, we find no significanttendency within our sample for cooler groups to show flatter profiles.This result is inconsistent with simple universal pre-heating models.The morphology of the galaxies in the GEMS groups is correlated to theirX-ray properties in a number of ways: we confirm the very strongrelationship between X-ray emission and a dominant early-type centralgalaxy, which has been noted since the early X-ray studies of groups,and also find that spiral fraction is correlated with the temperature ofthe hot gas and hence the depth of the gravitational potential. A classof spiral-rich groups with little or no X-ray emission probablycorresponds to groups that have not yet fully collapsed.
| K-band Properties of Galaxy Clusters and Groups: Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Intracluster Light
We investigate the near-infrared K-band properties of the brightestcluster galaxies (BCGs) in a sample of 93 X-ray galaxy clusters andgroups, using data from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Our clustersample spans a factor of 70 in mass, making it sensitive to any clustermass-related trends. We derive the cumulative radial distribution forthe BCGs in the ensemble and find that 70% of the BCGs are centered inthe cluster to within 5% of the virial radius r200; thisquantifies earlier findings that BCG position coincides with the clustercenter as defined by the X-ray emission peak. We study the correlationsbetween the luminosity of the BCGs (Lb) and the mass and theluminosity of the host clusters, finding that BCGs in more massiveclusters are more luminous than their counterparts in less massivesystems and that the BCGs become less important in the overall clusterlight (L200) as cluster mass increases. By examining a largesample of optically selected groups, we find that these correlationshold for galactic systems less massive than our clusters(<3×1013 Msolar). From the differencesbetween luminosity functions in high- and low-mass clusters, we arguethat BCGs grow in luminosity mainly by merging with other luminousgalaxies as the host clusters grow hierarchically; the decreasing BCGluminosity fraction (Lb/L200) with cluster massindicates that the rate of luminosity growth in BCGs is slow compared tothe rate at which clusters acquire galaxy light from the field or othermerging clusters. Utilizing the observed correlation between the clusterluminosity and mass and a merger tree model for cluster formation, weestimate that the amount of intracluster light (ICL) increases withcluster mass; our calculations suggest that in 1015Msolar clusters more than 50% of total stellar mass is inICL, making the role of ICL very important in the evolution andthermodynamic history of clusters. The cluster baryon fractionaccounting for the ICL is in good agreement with the value derived fromcosmic microwave background observations. The inclusion of ICL reducesthe discrepancy between the observed cluster cold baryon fraction andthat found in hydrodynamical simulations. Based on the observed ironabundance in the intracluster medium, we find that the ICL predicted byour model, together with the observed galaxy light, match the ironmass-to-light ratio expected from simple stellar population models,provided that the Salpeter initial mass function is adopted. The ICLalso makes it easier to produce the ``iron excess'' found in the centralregions of cool-core clusters.
| Very High Iron Abundance of the Hot Gas around the cD Galaxy of the MKW 4 Cluster
We observed a nearby X-ray-bright poor cluster MKW 4 with Chandra. Theiron abundance is found to increase dramatically from 0.3 to 1.3 solarwithin 150" of the cD galaxy NGC 4073. Then MKW 4 is the second clusterto exhibit a significantly high metallicity of greater than 1 solar,after the Centaurus Cluster. Weakness of the central cool componenthelps us to obtain the metallicity free from the multitemperatureeffects. The scale of temperature decrease toward the center region isclearly different from that of abundance increment, indicating thatthese are not the same phenomena. Since the stellar-to-intracluster massratio around NGC 4073 is very high compared to other cD type clusters,it is no doubt that the abundance increment is due to metal ejectionfrom the cD galaxy. The iron-to-stellar mass ratio around NGC 4073 is6.2×10-3, and thus most of the ejected iron stillremains in the vicinity of NGC 4073. By comparing the stellardistribution with that of iron, the steady state outflow speed of ironis roughly estimated to be 2.4 km s-1, which is faster thanthe Coulomb diffusion.
| An XMM-Newton observation of the galaxy group MKW 4
We present an X-ray study of the galaxy group or poor cluster MKW 4.Working with XMM-Newton data we examine the distribution and propertiesof the hot gas which makes up the group halo. The inner halo shows somesigns of structure, with circular or elliptical beta models providing apoor fit to the surface brightness profile. This may be evidence oflarge-scale motion in the inner halo, but we do not find evidence ofsharp fronts or edges in the emission. The temperature of the halodeclines in the core, with deprojected spectral fits showing a centraltemperature of ~1.3 keV compared to ~3 keV at 100 kpc. In the central~30 kpc of the group, multitemperature spectral models are required tofit the data, but they indicate a lack of gas at low temperatures.Steady-state cooling flow models provide poor fits to the inner regionsof the group and the estimated cooling time of the gas is long exceptwithin the central dominant galaxy, NGC 4073. Abundance profiles show asharp increase in the core of the group, with mean abundance rising by afactor of 2 in the centre of NGC 4073. Fitting individual elements showsthe same trend, with high values of Fe, Si and S in the core. Weestimate that ~50 per cent of the Fe in the central 40 kpc was injectedby Type Ia supernovae, in agreement with previous ASCA studies. Usingour best-fitting surface brightness and temperature models, we calculatethe mass, gas fraction, entropy and mass-to-light ratio of the group. At100 kpc (~0.1 virial radius) the total mass and gas entropy of thesystem (~2 × 1013 Msolar and ~300 keVcm2) are quite comparable to those of other systems ofsimilar temperature, but the gas fraction is rather low (~1 per cent).We conclude that MKW 4 is a fairly relaxed group, which has developed astrong central temperature gradient but not a large-scale cooling flow.
| Near-infrared imaging of ellipticals: surface brightness profiles and photometry
We present near-infrared K-band imaging of a large sample of candidatemerger remnant galaxies and Hickson Compact Group ellipticals. We derivelight profile indices, effective radii and surface brightnesses, as wellas total K-band magnitudes. We find that the light distributions of themerger remnant candidates are consistent with those of `normal'ellipticals, and scatter around a mean profile index of (1/n) = 0.20.Many of our sample galaxies have surface brightness profiles that arenot well described by a de Vaucouleurs law (1/n= 0.25), and we discussthe implications of this on the derived total magnitudes. Comparing thetotal K magnitudes calculated by extrapolating a de Vaucouleurs profileand those derived using a generalized Sérsic form, we find that asignificant bias is introduced if the de Vaucouleurs law is not a gooddescription of the actual light profile.
| X-ray scaling properties of early-type galaxies
We present an analysis of 39 X-ray luminous early-type galaxies observedwith the ROSAT PSPC. Using multicomponent spectral and spatial fits tothese data, we have measured halo abundance, temperature, luminosity andsurface brightness profile. We compare these measurements to similarresults from galaxy groups and clusters, fitting a number of relationscommonly used in the study of these larger objects. In particular, wefind that the σ-TX relation for our sample is similarto that reported for clusters, consistent with βspec= 1,and that the LX-TX relation has a steep slope(gradient 4.8 +/- 0.7) comparable with that found for galaxy groups.Assuming isothermality, we construct three-dimensional models of ourgalaxies, allowing us to measure gas entropy. We find no correlationbetween gas entropy and system mass, but do find a trend forlow-temperature systems to have reduced gas fractions. We conclude thatthe galaxies in our sample are likely to have developed their haloesthrough galaxy winds, influenced by their surrounding environment.
| An X-Ray Atlas of Groups of Galaxies
A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshiftgalaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse,extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximatelyone-third of these detections have not been previously reported in theliterature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of thevirial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain anintragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that containat least one early-type galaxy.
| The Hamburg/RASS Catalogue of optical identifications. Northern high-galactic latitude ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue X-ray sources
We present the Hamburg/RASS Catalogue (HRC) of optical identificationsof X-ray sources at high-galactic latitude. The HRC includes all X-raysources from the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC) with galacticlatitude |b| >=30degr and declination delta >=0degr . In thispart of the sky covering ~ 10 000 deg2 the RASS-BSC contains5341 X-ray sources. For the optical identification we used blue Schmidtprism and direct plates taken for the northern hemisphere Hamburg QuasarSurvey (HQS) which are now available in digitized form. The limitingmagnitudes are 18.5 and 20, respectively. For 82% of the selectedRASS-BSC an identification could be given. For the rest either nocounterpart was visible in the error circle or a plausibleidentification was not possible. With ~ 42% AGN represent the largestgroup of X-ray emitters, ~ 31% have a stellar counterpart, whereasgalaxies and cluster of galaxies comprise only ~ 4% and ~ 5%,respectively. In ~ 3% of the RASS-BSC sources no object was visible onour blue direct plates within 40\arcsec around the X-ray sourceposition. The catalogue is used as a source for the selection of(nearly) complete samples of the various classes of X-ray emitters.
| A catalogue and analysis of local galaxy ages and metallicities
We have assembled a catalogue of relative ages, metallicities andabundance ratios for about 150 local galaxies in field, group andcluster environments. The galaxies span morphological types from cD andellipticals, to late-type spirals. Ages and metallicities were estimatedfrom high-quality published spectral line indices using Worthey &Ottaviani (1997) single stellar population evolutionary models. Theidentification of galaxy age as a fourth parameter in the fundamentalplane (Forbes, Ponman & Brown 1998) is confirmed by our largersample of ages. We investigate trends between age and metallicity, andwith other physical parameters of the galaxies, such as ellipticity,luminosity and kinematic anisotropy. We demonstrate the existence of agalaxy age-metallicity relation similar to that seen for local galacticdisc stars, whereby young galaxies have high metallicity, while oldgalaxies span a large range in metallicities. We also investigate theinfluence of environment and morphology on the galaxy age andmetallicity, especially the predictions made by semi-analytichierarchical clustering models (HCM). We confirm that non-clusterellipticals are indeed younger on average than cluster ellipticals aspredicted by the HCM models. However we also find a trend for the moreluminous galaxies to have a higher [Mg/Fe] ratio than the lowerluminosity galaxies, which is opposite to the expectation from HCMmodels.
| 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.
| Kinematics of AWM and MKW Poor Clusters
We have measured 1365 redshifts to a limiting magnitude of R~15.5 in 15AWM/MKW clusters and have collected another 203 from the literature inMKW 4s, MKW 2, and MKW 2s. In AWM 7 we have extended the redshift sampleto R~18 in the cluster center. We have identified 704 cluster members in17 clusters; 201 are newly identified. We summarize the kinematics anddistributions of the cluster galaxies and provide an initial discussionof substructure, mass and luminosity segregation, spectral segregation,velocity-dispersion profiles, and the relation of the central galaxy toglobal cluster properties. We compute optical mass estimates, which wecompare with X-ray mass determinations from the literature. The clustersare in a variety of dynamical states, reflected in the three classes ofbehavior of the velocity-dispersion profile in the core: rising,falling, or flat/ambiguous. The velocity dispersion of the emission-linegalaxy population significantly exceeds that of the absorption-linegalaxies in almost all of the clusters, and the presence ofemission-line galaxies at small projected radii suggests continuinginfall of galaxies onto the clusters. The presence of a cD galaxy doesnot constrain the global cluster properties; these clusters are similarto other poor clusters that contain no cD. We use the similarity of thevelocity-dispersion profiles at small radii and the cD-like galaxies'internal velocity dispersions to argue that cD formation is a localphenomenon. Our sample establishes an empirical observational baselineof poor clusters for comparison with simulations of similar systems.Observations reported in this paper were obtained at the Multiple MirrorTelescope Observatory, a facility operated jointly by the University ofArizona and the Smithsonian Institution; at the Whipple Observatory, afacility operated jointly by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatoryand Harvard University; and at the WIYN Observatory, a joint facility ofthe University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, YaleUniversity, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories.
| A catalogue and analysis of X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxies
We present a catalogue of X-ray luminosities for 401 early-typegalaxies, of which 136 are based on newly analysed ROSAT PSPC pointedobservations. The remaining luminosities are taken from the literatureand converted to a common energy band, spectral model and distancescale. Using this sample we fit the LX:LB relationfor early-type galaxies and find a best-fit slope for the catalogue of~2.2. We demonstrate the influence of group-dominant galaxies on the fitand present evidence that the relation is not well modelled by a singlepower-law fit. We also derive estimates of the contribution to galaxyX-ray luminosities from discrete-sources and conclude that they provideLdscr/LB~=29.5ergs-1LBsolar-1. Wecompare this result with luminosities from our catalogue. Lastly, weexamine the influence of environment on galaxy X-ray luminosity and onthe form of the LX:LB relation. We conclude thatalthough environment undoubtedly affects the X-ray properties ofindividual galaxies, particularly those in the centres of groups andclusters, it does not change the nature of whole populations.
| Structural evolution in elliptical galaxies: the age-shape relation
We test the hypothesis that the apparent axial ratio of an ellipticalgalaxy is correlated with the age of its stellar population. We findthat old ellipticals (with estimated ages t>7.5Gyr) are rounder onaverage than younger ellipticals. The statistical significance of thisshape difference is greatest at small radii; a Kolmogorov-Smirnov testcomparing the axial ratios of the two populations at R=Re/16yields a statistical significance greater than 99.96 per cent. Therelation between age and apparent shape is linked to the core/power-lawsurface brightness profile dichotomy. Core ellipticals have olderstellar populations, on average, than power-law ellipticals and arerounder in their inner regions. Our findings are consistent with ascenario in which power-law ellipticals are formed in gas-rich mergers,while core ellipticals form in dissipationless mergers, with coresformed and maintained by the influence of a binary black hole.
| X-ray luminosities of galaxies in groups
We have derived the X-ray luminosities of a sample of galaxies ingroups, making careful allowance for contaminating intragroup emission.The LX:LB and LX:LFIRrelations of spiral galaxies in groups appear to be indistinguishablefrom those in other environments, however the elliptical galaxies fallinto two distinct classes. The first class is central-dominant groupgalaxies, which are very X-ray luminous and may be the focus of groupcooling flows. All other early-type galaxies in groups belong to thesecond class, which populates an almost constant band ofLX/LB over the range9.8
| The LX-σ Relation for Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies
We demonstrate that individual elliptical galaxies and clusters ofgalaxies form a continuous X-ray luminosity-velocity dispersion(LX-σ) relation. Our samples of 280 clusters and 57galaxies have LX~σ4.4 andLX~σ10, respectively. This unifiedLX-σ relation spans 8 orders of magnitude inLX and is fully consistent with the observed and theoreticalluminosity-temperature scaling laws. Our results support the notion thatgalaxies and clusters of galaxies are the luminous tracers of similardark matter halos.
| The Infrared Surface Brightness Fluctuation Hubble Constant
We measured infrared surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distances toan isotropically distributed sample of 16 distant galaxies withredshifts reaching 10,000 km s-1 using the near-IR camera andmultiobject spectrometer (NICMOS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).The excellent spatial resolution, very low background, and brightness ofthe IR fluctuations yielded the most distant SBF measurements to date.Twelve nearby galaxies were also observed and used to calibrate theF160W (1.6 μm) SBF distance scale. Of these, three have Cepheidvariable star distances measured with HST and eleven have optical I-bandSBF distance measurements. A distance modulus of 18.5 mag to the LargeMagellanic Cloud was adopted for this calibration. We present the F160WSBF Hubble diagram and find a Hubble constant H0=76+/-1.3 (1σ statistical) +/-6 (systematic) km s-1Mpc-1. This result is insensitive to the velocity model usedto correct for local bulk motions. Restricting the fit to the six mostdistant galaxies yields the smallest value of H0=72+/-2.3 kms-1 Mpc-1 that is consistent with the data. This6% decrease in the Hubble constant is consistent with the hypothesisthat the Local Group inhabits an underdense region of the universe, butis also consistent with the best-fit value of H0=76 kms-1 Mpc-1 at the 1.5 σ level. Based onobservations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at theSpace Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by AURA, Inc.,under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| The gas content of peculiar galaxies: Counterrotators and polar rings
This paper studies the global ISM content in a sample of 104 accretinggalaxies, including counterrotators and polar rings, which spans theentire Hubble sequence. The molecular, atomic and hot gas content ofaccretors is compared to a newly compiled sample of normal galaxies. Wepresent results of a small survey of the J=1-0 line of 12COwith the 15 m SEST telescope on a sample of 11 accretors (10counterrotators and 1 polar ring). The SEST sample is enlarged withpublished data from 48 galaxies, for which observational evidence ofcounterrotation in the gas and/or the stars has been found. Furthermore,the available data on a sample of 46 polar ring galaxies has beencompiled. In order to explore the existence of an evolutionary pathlinking the two families of accretors, the gas content ofcounterrotators and polar rings is compared. It was found that thenormalized content of cold gas (Mgas/LB) in polarrings is ~ 1 order of magnitude higher than the reference value derivedfor normal galaxies. The inferred gas masses are sufficient to stabilizepolar rings through self-gravity. In contrast, it was found that thecold gas content of counterrotators is close to normal for all galaxytypes. Although counterrotators and polar rings probably share a commonorigin, the gas masses estimated here confirm that light gas ringsaccreted by future counterrotators may have evolved faster than theself-gravitating structures of polar rings. In this scenario, thetransformation of atomic into molecular gas could be enhanced near thetransition region between the prograde and the retrograde disks,especially in late-type accretors characterized by a high content ofprimordial gas. This is tentatively confirmed in this work: the measuredH2/HI ratio seems larger in counterrotators than in normal orpolar ring galaxies for types later than S0s. Based on observationscollected at SEST telescope, European Southern Observatory, La Silla,Chile. Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| 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.
| A Test for Large-Scale Systematic Errors in Maps of Galactic Reddening
Accurate maps of Galactic reddening are important for a number ofapplications, such as mapping the peculiar velocity field in the nearbyuniverse. Of particular concern are systematic errors which vary slowlyas a function of position on the sky, as these would induce spuriousbulk flow. We have compared the reddenings of Burstein & Heiles (BH)and those of Schlegel, Finkbeiner, & Davis (SFD) to independentestimates of the reddening, for Galactic latitudes |b|>10^deg. Ourprimary source of Galactic reddening estimates comes from comparing thedifference between the observed B-V colors of early-type galaxies, andthe predicted B-V color determined from the B-V-Mg_2 relation. We havefitted a dipole to the residuals in order to look for large-scalesystematic deviations. There is marginal evidence for a dipolar residualin the comparison between the SFD maps and the observed early-typegalaxy reddenings. If this is due to an error in the SFD maps, then itcan be corrected with a small (13%) multiplicative dipole term. Weargue, however, that this difference is more likely to be due to a small(0.01 mag) systematic error in the measured B-V colors of the early-typegalaxies. This interpretation is supported by a smaller, independentdata set (globular cluster and RR Lyrae stars), which yields a resultinconsistent with the early-type galaxy residual dipole. BH reddeningsare found to have no significant systematic residuals, apart from theknown problem in the region 230^deg
| X-ray luminosities for a magnitude-limited sample of early-type galaxies from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey
For a magnitude-limited optical sample (B_T <= 13.5 mag) ofearly-type galaxies, we have derived X-ray luminosities from the ROSATAll-Sky Survey. The results are 101 detections and 192 useful upperlimits in the range from 10^36 to 10^44 erg s^-1. For most of thegalaxies no X-ray data have been available until now. On the basis ofthis sample with its full sky coverage, we find no galaxy with anunusually low flux from discrete emitters. Below log (L_B) ~ 9.2L_⊗ the X-ray emission is compatible with being entirely due todiscrete sources. Above log (L_B) ~ 11.2 L_osolar no galaxy with onlydiscrete emission is found. We further confirm earlier findings that L_xis strongly correlated with L_B. Over the entire data range the slope isfound to be 2.23 (+/- 0.12). We also find a luminosity dependence ofthis correlation. Below log L_x = 40.5 erg s^-1 it is consistent with aslope of 1, as expected from discrete emission. Above this value theslope is close to 2, as expected from gaseous emission. Comparing thedistribution of X-ray luminosities with the models of Ciotti et al.leads to the conclusion that the vast majority of early-type galaxiesare in the wind or outflow phase. Some of the galaxies may have alreadyexperienced the transition to the inflow phase. They show X-rayluminosities in excess of the value predicted by cooling flow modelswith the largest plausible standard supernova rates. A possibleexplanation for these super X-ray-luminous galaxies is suggested by thesmooth transition in the L_x--L_B plane from galaxies to clusters ofgalaxies. Gas connected to the group environment might cause the X-rayoverluminosity.
| Arcsecond Positions of UGC Galaxies
We present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.
| Gradients of Absorption-Line Strengths in Elliptical Galaxies
We have restudied line-strength gradients of 80 elliptical galaxies.Typical metallicity gradients of elliptical galaxies areΔ[Fe/H]/Δlogr~=-0.3, which is flatter than the gradientspredicted by monolithic collapse simulations. The metallicity gradientsdo not correlate with any physical properties of galaxies, includingcentral and mean metallicities, central velocity dispersionsσ0, absolute B magnitudes MB, absoluteeffective radii Re, and dynamical masses of galaxies. Byusing the metallicity gradients, we have calculated mean stellarmetallicities for individual ellipticals. Typical mean stellarmetallicities are <[Fe/H]>~=-0.3 and range from<[Fe/H]>~=-0.8 to +0.3, which is contrary to what Gonzalez &Gorgas claimed; the mean metallicities of ellipticals are not universal.The mean metallicities correlate well with σ0 anddynamical masses, though relations for MB and Reinclude significant scatters. We find fundamental planes defined bysurface brightnesses SBe, <[Fe/H]>, and Re(or MB), the scatters of which are much smaller than those ofthe <[Fe/H]>-Re (or <[Fe/H]>-MB)relations. The <[Fe/H]>-logσ0 relation is nearlyparallel to the [Fe/H]0-logσ0 relation butsystematically lower by 0.3 dex; thus the mean metallicities are aboutone-half of the central values. The metallicity-mass relation or,equivalently, the color-magnitude relation of ellipticals holds not onlyfor the central parts of galaxies but also for entire galaxies. Assumingthat Mg2 and Fe1 give [Mg/H] and [Fe/H],respectively, we find <[Mg/Fe]>~=+0.2 in most of ellipticalgalaxies. <[Mg/Fe]> shows no correlation with galaxy mass tracerssuch as σ0, in contrast to what was claimed for thecentral [Mg/Fe]. This can be most naturally explained if the starformation had stopped in elliptical galaxies before the bulk of Type Iasupernovae began to occur. Elliptical galaxies can have significantlydifferent metallicity gradients and <[Fe/H]>, even if they havethe same galaxy mass. This may result from galaxy mergers, but noevidence is found from presently available data to support the sameorigin for metallicity gradients, the scatters around themetallicity-mass relation, and dynamical disturbances. This may suggestthat the scatters have their origin at the formation epoch of galaxies.
| Pre-enriched, not primordial ellipticals
We follow the chemical evolution of a galaxy through star formation andits feedback into the interstellar medium (ISM), starting fromprimordial gas and allowing for gas to inflow into the region beingmodelled. We attempt to reproduce observed spectral line strengths forearly-type galaxies in order to constrain their star formation histories(SFH). The efficiencies and times of star formation are varied, as arethe amount and duration of inflow. We evaluate the chemical enrichmentand the mass of stars made with time. Single stellar population (SSP)data are then used to predict line strengths for composite stellarpopulations. The results are compared with observed line strengths in 10ellipticals, including some features which help to break the problem ofage-metallicity degeneracy in old stellar populations. We find that theelliptical galaxies modelled require high metallicity SSPs (>3Zsolar) at later times. In addition, the strong lines observed cannot beproduced by an initial starburst in primordial gas, even if a largeamount of inflow is allowed for during the first few x10^8 yr. This isbecause some pre-enrichment is required for lines in the bulk of thestars to approach the observed line strengths in ellipticals. Thesestrong lines are better modelled by a system with a delayed burst ofstar formation, following an early SFH which can be a burst or moresteady star formation. Such a model is representative of star formationin normal ellipticals or spirals, respectively, followed by a starburstand gas inflow during a merger or strong interaction with a gas-richgalaxy. Alternatively, a single initial burst of normal stars with aSalpeter initial mass function could produce the observed strong linesif it followed some pre-enrichment process which did not form long-livedstars (e.g. population III stars).
| A Complete Redshift Survey to the Zwicky Catalog Limit in a 2^h X 15 deg Region around 3C 273
We 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.
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