SDSS surface photometry of M 31 with absorption corrections

The objective of this work is to obtain an extinction-corrected distribution of optical surface brightness and colour indices of the large nearby galaxy M 31 using homogeneous observational data and a model for intrinsic extinction. We process the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) images in ugriz passbands and construct corresponding mosaic images, taking special care of subtracting the varying sky background. We apply the galactic model developed in Tempel et al. (2010) and far-infrared imaging to correct the photometry for intrinsic dust effects. We obtain observed and dust-corrected distributions of the surface brightness of M 31 and a map of line-of-sight extinctions inside the galaxy. Our extinction model suggests that either M 31 is intrinsically non-symmetric along the minor axis or the dust properties differ from those of the Milky Way. Assuming the latter case, we present the surface brightness distributions and integral photometry for the Sloan filters as well as the standard UBVRI system. We find the following intrinsic integral colour indices for M 31: (U-B)_0=0.35; (B-V)_0=0.86; (V-R)_0=0.63; (R-I)_0=0.53; the total intrinsic absorption-corrected luminosities of M 31 in the B and the V filters are 4.10 and 3.24 mag, respectively.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. The high-resolution zoomable colour image of M 31 can be seen at http://www.aai.ee/~elmo/m31

Mission: Impossible (Escape from the Lyman Limit)

We investigate the intrinsic opacity of high-redshift galaxies to outgoing ionising photons using high-quality photometry of a sample of 27 spectroscopically-identified galaxies of redshift 1.9<z<3.5 in the Hubble Deep Field. Our measurement is based on maximum-likelihood fitting of model galaxy spectral energy distributions-including the effects of intrinsic Lyman-limit absorption and random realizations of intervening Lyman-series and Lyman-limit absorption-to photometry of galaxies from space- and ground-based broad-band images. Our method provides several important advantages over the methods used by previous groups, including most importantly that two-dimensional sky subtraction of faint-galaxy images is more robust than one-dimensional sky subtraction of faint-galaxy spectra. We find at the 3sigma statistical confidence level that on average no more than 4% of the ionising photons escape galaxies of redshift 1.9<z<3.5. This result is consistent with observations of low- and moderate-redshift galaxies but is in direct contradiction to a recent result based on medium-resolution spectroscopy of high-redshift (z~3) galaxies. Dividing our sample in subsamples according to luminosity, intrinsic ultraviolet colour, and redshift, we find no evidence for selection effects that could explain such discrepancy. Even when all systematic effects are included, the data could not realistically accomodate any escape fraction value larger than ~15%.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 8 pages, 4 b/w figures, MNRAS styl

Accurate photometry of extended spherically symmetric sources

We present a new method to derive reliable photometry of extended spherically symmetric sources from {\it HST} images (WFPC2, ACS/WFC and NICMOS/NIC2 cameras), extending existing studies of point sources and marginally resolved sources. We develop a new approach to accurately determine intrinsic sizes of extended spherically symmetric sources, such as star clusters in galaxies beyond the Local Group (at distances <~ 20 Mpc), and provide a detailed cookbook to perform aperture photometry on such sources, by determining size-dependent aperture corrections (ACs) and taking sky oversubtraction as a function of source size into account. In an extensive Appendix, we provide the parameters of polynomial relations between the FWHM of various input profiles and those obtained by fitting a Gaussian profile (which we have used for reasons of computational robustness, although the exact model profile used is irrelevant), and between the intrinsic and measured FWHM of the cluster and the derived AC. Both relations are given for a number of physically relevant cluster light profiles, intrinsic and observational parameters. AC relations are provided for a wide range of apertures. Depending on the size of the source and the annuli used for the photometry, the absolute magnitude of such extended objects can be underestimated by up to 3 mag, corresponding to an error in mass of a factor of 15. We carefully compare our results to those from the more widely used DeltaMag method, and find an improvement of a factor of 3--40 in both the size determination and the AC.Comment: The paper is accepted for publication in A&A, Section 13 (Observational Techniques, published electronically). The published version contains one example table per appendix. A version of the paper containing all tables as well as all data in electronical form are available http://www.astro.physik.uni-goettingen.de/~galev/panders/Sizes_AC

The Correlations between the Intrinsic Colors and Spectroscopic Metallicities of M31 Globular Clusters

We present the correlations between the spectroscopic metallicities and ninety-three different intrinsic colors of M31 globular clusters, including seventy-eight BATC colors and fifteen SDSS and near infrared ugrizK colors. The BATC colors were derived from the archival images of thirteen filters (from c to p), which were taken by Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut (BATC) Multicolor Sky Survey with a 60/90 cm f/3 Schmidt telescope. The spectroscopic metallicities adopted in our work were from literature. We fitted the correlations of seventy-eight different BATC colors and the metallicities for 123 old confirmed globular clusters, and the result implies that correlation coefficients of twenty-three colors r>0.7. Especially, for the colors $(f-k)_0$, $(f-o)_0$, and $(h-k)_0$, the correlation coefficients are r>0.8. Meanwhile, we also note that the correlation coefficients (r) approach zero for $(g-h)_0$, $(k-m)_0$, $(k-n)_0$, and $(m-n)_0$, which are likely to be independent of metallicity. Similarity, we fitted the correlations of metallicity and ugrizK colors for 127 old confirmed GCs. The result indicates that all these colors are metal-sensitive (r>0.7), of which $(u-K)_0$ is the most metal-sensitive color. Our work provides an easy way to simply estimate the metallicity from colors.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in PASP

Microlensing induced spectral variability in Q2237+0305

We present both photometry and spectra of the individual images of the quadruple gravitational lens system Q2237+0305. Comparison of spectra obtained at two epochs, separated by $\sim~3\,$years, shows evidence for significant changes in the emission line to continuum ratio of the strong ultraviolet CIV~$\lambda$1549, CIII]~$\lambda$1909 and MgII~$\lambda$2798 lines. The short, $\sim~1\,$day, light--travel time differences between the sight lines to the four individual quasar images rule out any explanation based on intrinsic variability of the source. The spectroscopic differences thus represent direct detection of microlensing--induced spectroscopic differences in a quasar. The observations allow constraints to be placed on the relative spatial scales in the nucleus of the quasar, with the ultra--violet continuum arising in a region of \la~0.05~{\rm pc} in extent, while the broad emission line material is distributed on scales much greater than this.Comment: Accepted for Publication in MNRAS. Paper with 11 figure

Galaxy surface photometry

We describe galaxy surface photometry based on fitting ellipses to the isophotes of the galaxies. Example galaxies with different isophotal shapes are used to illustrate the process, including how the deviations from elliptical isophotes are quantified using Fourier expansions. We show how the definitions of the Fourier coefficients employed by different authors are linked. As examples of applications of surface photometry we discuss the determination of the relative disk luminosities and the inclinations for E and S0 galaxies. We also describe the color-magnitude and color-color relations. When using both near-infrared and optical photometry, the age-metallicity degeneracy may be broken. Finally we discuss the Fundamental Plane where surface photometry is combined with spectroscopy. It is shown how the FP can be used as a sensitive tool to study galaxy evolution.Comment: 40 pages. Lectures given at the Nordic-Baltic Research Course in Applied Astrophysical Photometry, held September 1999 at the Moletai Observatory, Lithuania. Baltic Astronomy, 8, 535 (1999), in press. Note the year. The paper with Fig. 2, 14 and 15 in original (high) resolution is available at http://www.astro.ku.dk/~milvang/papers/BA_MJ_J.ps.gz or http://www.gemini.edu/documentation/preprints/pre58.htm

How the extinction of extragalactic background light affects surface photometry of galaxies, groups and clusters

The faint regions of galaxies, groups and clusters hold important clues about how these objects formed, and surface photometry at optical and near-infrared wavelengths represents a powerful tool for studying such structures. Here, we identify a hitherto unrecognized problem with this technique, related to how the night sky flux is typically measured and subtracted from astronomical images. While most of the sky flux comes from regions between the observer and the target object, a small fraction - the extragalactic background light (EBL) - comes from behind. We argue that since this part of the sky flux can be subject to extinction by dust present in the galaxy/group/cluster studied, standard reduction procedures may lead to a systematic oversubtraction of the EBL. Even very small amounts of extinction can lead to spurious features in radial surface surface brightness profiles and colour maps of extended objects. We assess the likely impact of this effect on a number of topics in extragalactic astronomy where very deep surface photometry is currently attempted, including studies of stellar halos, starburst host galaxies, disc truncations and diffuse intragroup/intracluster light. We argue that EBL extinction may provide at least a partial explanation for the anomalously red colours reported for the halos of disc galaxies and the hosts of local starburst galaxies. EBL extinction effects also mimic truncations in discs with unusually high dust opacities, but are unlikely to be the cause of such features in general. Failure to account for EBL extinction can also give rise to a non-negligible underestimate of intragroup and intracluster light at the faintest surface brightness levels currently probed. (Abridged)Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The two states of Sgr A* in the near-infrared: bright episodic flares on top of low-level continuous variability

In this paper we examine properties of the variable source Sgr A* in the near-infrared (NIR) using a very extensive Ks-band data set from NACO/VLT observations taken 2004 to 2009. We investigate the variability of Sgr A* with two different photometric methods and analyze its flux distribution. We find Sgr A* is continuously emitting and continuously variable in the near-infrared, with some variability occurring on timescales as long as weeks. The flux distribution can be described by a lognormal distribution at low intrinsic fluxes (<~5 mJy, dereddened with A_{Ks}=2.5). The lognormal distribution has a median flux of approximately 1.1 mJy, but above 5 mJy the flux distribution is significantly flatter (high flux events are more common) than expected for the extrapolation of the lognormal distribution to high fluxes. We make a general identification of the low level emission above 5 mJy as flaring emission and of the low level emission as the quiescent state. We also report here the brightest Ks-band flare ever observed (from August 5th, 2008) which reached an intrinsic Ks-band flux of 27.5 mJy (m_{Ks}=13.5). This flare was a factor 27 increase over the median flux of Sgr A*, close to double the brightness of the star S2, and 40% brighter than the next brightest flare ever observed from Sgr~A*.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap