108 research outputs found
Gas-Rich Dwarf Galaxies from the PSS-II --- II. Optical Properties
We describe the optical properties of a sample of 101 gas-rich field dwarf
galaxies found on PSS-II (Second Palomar Sky Survey) plates, most newly
discovered as part of a survey to investigate the clustering properties of
dwarf galaxies relative to giants. These galaxies have low surface brightnesses
and are relatively distant, with recession velocities ranging up to 10,000
km/s. They have bluer V-I colors (median value of 0.75) than either actively
star-forming giant galaxies or low metallicity globular clusters, implying that
these dwarfs have both low metallicities and little past star formation. These
galaxies are also extremely gas rich, with a median HI mass to V luminosity
ratio of approximately 2 in solar units. We divide the sample into two groups:
true dwarfs with diameters (at 25 I mag arcsec^-2) less than 7.5 kpc and
Magellanic dwarfs with diameters greater than that value. The true dwarfs have
greater HI mass to V luminosity ratios and slightly bluer V-I colors than the
Magellanic dwarfs. Overall, the optical properties of our sample of dwarf
galaxies point towards their being quiescent objects that have undergone little
star formation over the age of the universe. They are not faded objects, but
instead may be going through one of their first periods of weak star formation.Comment: 27 pages, to appear in 20 May 1997 ApJ, paper also available at
http://www.astro.nwu.edu/astro/pildis/dwarfphot.html and
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~js/dwarf.htm
Nearby Gas-Rich Low Surface Brightness Galaxies
We examine the Fisher-Tully cz<1000 km/s galaxy sample to determine whether
it is a complete and representative sample of all galaxy types, including low
surface brightness populations, as has been recently claimed. We find that the
sample is progressively more incomplete for galaxies with (1) smaller physical
diameters at a fixed isophote and (2) lower HI masses. This is likely to lead
to a significant undercounting of nearby gas-rich low surface brightness
galaxies. However, through comparisons to other samples we can understand how
the nearby galaxy counts need to be corrected, and we see some indications of
environmental effects that probably result from the local high density of
galaxies.Comment: 12 page, 2 figures, to appear in Ap
On the Structural Differences between Disk and Dwarf Galaxies
Gas-rich dwarf and disk galaxies overlap in numerous physical quantities that
make their classification subjective. We report the discovery of a separation
between dwarfs and disks into two unique sequences in the mass (luminosity)
versus scale length plane. This provides an objective classification scheme for
late-type galaxies that only requires optical or near-IR surface photometry of
a galaxy. Since the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation for these samples produces a
continuous relation between baryonic mass and rotational velocity, we conclude
that the difference between dwarfs and disks must be because of their
distribution of stellar light such that dwarfs are more diffuse than disk
galaxies. This structural separation may be due to a primordial difference
between low and high mass galaxies or produced by hierarchical mergers where
disks are built up from dwarfs. Structural differences between dwarf and disk
galaxies may also be driven by the underlying kinematics where the strong
rotation in disks produces an axial symmetric object that undergoes highly
efficient star formation in contrast to the lower rotation, more disordered
motion of dwarfs that produces a diffuse, triaxial object with a history of
inefficient star formation.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, AJ in press, AASTeX5.
The dynamical status of Stephan's Quintet
Multiwavelength data for Stephan's Quintet (SQ) are consistent with the
following model for this compact galaxy group. (1) Discordant redshift NGC 7320
is an unrelated foreground galaxy. (2) In the past SQ was an accordant redshift
quartet involving NGC 7317, 18A, 19 and 20C. NGC 7320C collided (probably not
for the first time) with the group a few times 10 years ago and stripped
the interstellar matter from NGC 7319. (3) In the present SQ is again an
accordant quartet involving NGC 7317, 18A,B, and 19. NGC 7318B is now entering
the group at high velocity for the first time, giving rise to a shock zone. If
most compact groups are like SQ, then they are frequently visited by infalling
n eighbors that perturb the group and themselves. SQ represents strong evidence
for secondary infall in a small group environment. Tidal stripping reduces the
mass of the infalling galaxies, thereby increasing the timescale for their
orbital decay. There is little evidence that these high velocity ``intruders''
are rapidly captured and/or merge with the system. Instead they are the
mechanism that sustains compact groups against collapse. Efficient gas
stripping may account for the low star formation rate observed in compact
groups and infall of residual gas into galactic nuclei may also foster the
onset of AGN activity.Comment: 5 pages, 2x3 figures, to be published in ApJ Letter
The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation
We explore the Tully-Fisher relation over five decades in stellar mass in
galaxies with circular velocities ranging over 30 < Vc < 300 km/s. We find a
clear break in the optical Tully-Fisher relation: field galaxies with Vc < 90
km/s fall below the relation defined by brighter galaxies. These faint galaxies
are however very gas rich; adding in the gas mass and plotting baryonic disk
mass Md = M* + Mg in place of luminosity restores a single linear relation. The
Tully-Fisher relation thus appears fundamentally to be a relation between
rotation velocity and total baryonic mass of the form Md = A Vc^4.Comment: 10 pages including 1 color figure. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Letter
The Effects of Starburst Activity on Low Surface Brightness Disk Galaxies
Although numerous simulations have been done to understand the effects of
intense bursts of star formation on high surface brightness galaxies, few
attempts have been made to understand how localized starbursts would affect
both the color and surface brightness of low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies.
To remedy this, we have run 53 simulations involving bursts of star formation
activity on LSB galaxies, varying both the underlying galaxy properties and the
parameters describing the starbursts. We discovered that although changing the
total color of a galaxy was fairly straightforward, it was virtually impossible
to alter a galaxy's central surface brightness and thereby remove it from the
LSB galaxy classification without placing a high (and fairly artificial)
threshold for the underlying gas density. The primary effect of large amounts
of induced star formation was to produce a centralized core (bulge) component
which is generally not observed in LSB galaxies. The noisy morphological
appearance of LSB galaxies as well as their noisy surface brightness profiles
can be reproduced by considering small bursts of star formation that are
localized within the disk. The trigger mechanism for such bursts is likely
distant/weak tidal encounters. The stability of disk central surface brightness
to these periods of star formation argues that the large space density of LSB
galaxies at z = 0 should hold to substantially higher redshifts.Comment: 38 pages, 5 figures, 4 tables, tarred and compressed Also available
on http://guernsey.uoregon.edu/~kare
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