8,873 research outputs found
Intra-group diffuse light in compact groups of galaxies. HCG 79, HCG 88 and HCG 95
Deep and images of three Hickson Compact Groups, HCG 79, HCG 88 and
HCG 95, were analyzed using a new wavelet technic to measure possible
intra-group diffuse light present in these systems. The method used, OV\_WAV,
is a wavelet technic particularly suitable to detect low-surface brightness
extended structures, down to a per pixel, which corresponds to a
5--detection level in wavelet space. The three groups studied are in
different evolutionary stages, as can be judged by their very different
fractions of the total light contained in their intra-group halos: %
for HCG 79 and % for HCG 95, in the band, and HCG 88 had no
component detected down to a limiting surface brightness of . For HCG 95 the intra-group light is red, similar to the mean
colors of the group galaxies themselves, suggesting that it is formed by an old
population with no significant on-going star formation. For HCG 79, however,
the intra-group material has significantly bluer color than the mean color of
the group galaxies, suggesting that the diffuse light may, at least in part,
come from stripping of dwarf galaxies which dissolved into the group potential
well.Comment: Two suggested references added to the introductio
Active skeleton for bacteria modeling
The investigation of spatio-temporal dynamics of bacterial cells and their
molecular components requires automated image analysis tools to track cell
shape properties and molecular component locations inside the cells. In the
study of bacteria aging, the molecular components of interest are protein
aggregates accumulated near bacteria boundaries. This particular location makes
very ambiguous the correspondence between aggregates and cells, since computing
accurately bacteria boundaries in phase-contrast time-lapse imaging is a
challenging task. This paper proposes an active skeleton formulation for
bacteria modeling which provides several advantages: an easy computation of
shape properties (perimeter, length, thickness, orientation), an improved
boundary accuracy in noisy images, and a natural bacteria-centered coordinate
system that permits the intrinsic location of molecular components inside the
cell. Starting from an initial skeleton estimate, the medial axis of the
bacterium is obtained by minimizing an energy function which incorporates
bacteria shape constraints. Experimental results on biological images and
comparative evaluation of the performances validate the proposed approach for
modeling cigar-shaped bacteria like Escherichia coli. The Image-J plugin of the
proposed method can be found online at http://fluobactracker.inrialpes.fr.Comment: Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical
Engineering: Imaging and Visualizationto appear i
A Search for "Dwarf" Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies
We have completed an optical spectroscopic survey of the nuclear regions (r <
200 pc) of a large sample of nearby galaxies. Although the main objectives of
the survey are to search for low-luminosity active galactic nuclei and to
quantify their luminosity function, the database can be used for a variety of
other purposes. This paper presents measurements of the spectroscopic
parameters for the 418 emission-line nuclei, along with a compilation of the
global properties of all 486 galaxies in the survey. Stellar absorption
generally poses a serious obstacle to obtaining accurate measurement of
emission lines in nearby galactic nuclei. We describe a procedure for removing
the starlight from the observed spectra in an efficient and objective manner.
The main parameters of the emission lines (intensity ratios, fluxes, profile
widths, equivalent widths) are measured and tabulated, as are several stellar
absorption-line and continuum indices useful for studying the stellar
population. Using standard nebular diagnostics, we determine the probable
ionization mechanisms of the emission-line objects. The resulting spectral
classifications provide extensive information on the demographics of
emission-line nuclei in the local universe. This new catalog contains over 200
objects showing spectroscopic evidence for recent star formation and an equally
large number of active galactic nuclei, including 46 which show broad H-alpha
emission. These samples will serve as the basis of future studies of nuclear
activity in nearby galaxies.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements. LaTex, 31 pages,
plus an additional 23 figures and 5 tables. AASTex macro aaspp4.st
Multivariate Approaches to Classification in Extragalactic Astronomy
Clustering objects into synthetic groups is a natural activity of any
science. Astrophysics is not an exception and is now facing a deluge of data.
For galaxies, the one-century old Hubble classification and the Hubble tuning
fork are still largely in use, together with numerous mono-or bivariate
classifications most often made by eye. However, a classification must be
driven by the data, and sophisticated multivariate statistical tools are used
more and more often. In this paper we review these different approaches in
order to situate them in the general context of unsupervised and supervised
learning. We insist on the astrophysical outcomes of these studies to show that
multivariate analyses provide an obvious path toward a renewal of our
classification of galaxies and are invaluable tools to investigate the physics
and evolution of galaxies.Comment: Open Access paper.
http://www.frontiersin.org/milky\_way\_and\_galaxies/10.3389/fspas.2015.00003/abstract\>.
\<10.3389/fspas.2015.00003 \&g
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