219 research outputs found
Characterizing Bars at z~0 in the optical and NIR: Implications for the Evolution of Barred Disks with Redshift
Critical insights on galaxy evolution stem from the study of bars. With the
advent of HST surveys that trace bars in the rest-frame optical out to z~1, it
is critical to provide a reference baseline for bars at z~0 in the optical
band. We present results on bars at z~0 in the optical and NIR bands based on
180 spirals from OSUBSGS. (1) The deprojected bar fraction at z~0 is ~60% +/-6%
in the NIR H-band and ~44% +/-6% in the optical B-band. (2) The results before
and after deprojection are similar, which is encouraging for high-redshift
studies that forego deprojection. (3) Studies of bars at z~0.2-1.0 (lookback
time of 3-8 Gyr) have reported an optical bar fraction of ~30% +/-6%, after
applying cutoffs in absolute magnitude (M_V = 1.5
kpc), and bar ellipticity (e_bar >= 0.4). Applying these exact cutoffs to the
OSUBSGS data yields a comparable optical B-band bar fraction at z~0 of ~
34%+/-6%. This rules out scenarios where the optical bar fraction in bright
disks declines strongly with redshift. (4) Most (~70%) bars have moderate to
high strentgh or ellipticity (0.50 <= e_bar <= 0.75). There is no bimodality in
the distribution of e_bar. The H-band bar fraction and e_bar show no
substantial variation across RC3 Hubble types Sa to Scd. (5) RC3 bar types
should be used with caution. Many galaxies with RC3 types "AB" turn out to be
unbarred and RC3 bar classes "B" and "AB" have a significant overlap in e_bar.
(6) Most bars have sizes below 5 kpc. Bar and disk sizes correlate, and most
bars have a_bar/R_25~0.1-0.5. This suggests that the growths of bars and disks
are intimately tied.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, 3 tables, ApJ accepted, abridged abstract
below. Minor changes and shortened paper for ApJ limits. For high resolution
figures see http://www.as.utexas.edu/~marinova/paper1-highres.pd
The rotation curves of dwarf galaxies: a problem for Cold Dark Matter?
We address the issue of accuracy in recovering density profiles from
observations of rotation curves of galaxies. We ``observe'' and analyze our
models in much the same way as observers do the real galaxies. We find that the
tilted ring model analysis produces an underestimate of the central rotational
velocity. In some cases the galaxy halo density profile seems to have a flat
core, while in reality it does not. We identify three effects, which explain
the systematic biases: (1) inclination (2), small bulge, and (3) bar. The
presence of even a small non-rotating bulge component reduces the rotation
velocity. In the case of a disk with a bar, the underestimate of the circular
velocity is larger due to a combination of non-circular motions and random
velocities. Signatures of bars can be difficult to detect in the surface
brightness profiles of the model galaxies. The variation of inclination angle
and isophote position angle with radius are more reliable indicators of bar
presence than the surface brightness profiles. The systematic biases in the
central ~ 1 kpc of galaxies are not large. Each effect separately gives
typically a few kms error, but the effects add up. In some cases the error in
circular velocity was a factor of two, but typically we get about 20 percent.
The result is the false inference that the density profile of the halo flattens
in the central parts. Our observations of real galaxies show that for a large
fraction of galaxies the velocity of gas rotation (as measured by emission
lines) is very close to the rotation of stellar component (as measured by
absorption lines). This implies that the systematic effects discussed in this
paper are also applicable both for the stars and emission-line gas.Comment: ApJ, in press, 30 pages, Latex, 21 .eps figure
Morphological Dependence of MIR Properties of SDSS Galaxies in the Spitzer SWIRE Survey
We explore the correlation between morphological types and mid-infrared (MIR)
properties of an optically flux-limited sample of 154 galaxies from the Forth
Data Release (DR4) of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), cross-correlated with
Spitzer SWIRE (Spitzer Wide-Area InfraRed Extragalactic Survey) fields of
ELAIS-N1, ELAIS-N2 and Lockman Hole. Aperture photometry is performed on the
SDSS and Spitzer images to obtain optical and MIR properties. The morphological
classifications are given based on both visual inspection and bulge-disk
decomposition on SDSS g- and r-band images. The average bulge-to-total ratio
(B/T) is a smooth function over different morphological types. Both the
8um(dust) and 24um(dust) luminosities and their relative luminosity ratios to
3.6um (MIR dust-to-star ratios) present obvious correlations with both the
Hubble T-type and B/T. The early-type galaxies notably differ from the
late-types in the MIR properties, especially in the MIR dust-to-star ratios. It
is suggested that the MIR dust-to-star ratio is an effective way to separate
the early-type galaxies from the late-type ones. Based on the tight correlation
between the stellar mass and the 3.6um luminosity, we have derived a formula to
calculate the stellar mass from the latter. We have also investigated the MIR
properties of both edge-on galaxies and barred galaxies in our sample. Since
they present similar MIR properties to the other sample galaxies, they do not
influence the MIR properties obtained for the entire sample.Comment: Accepted for publication by AJ. 18 pages, 14 figures, and 4 table
Alignments of the Dominant Galaxies in Poor Clusters
We have examined the orientations of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in
poor MKW and AWM clusters and find that, like their counterparts in richer
Abell clusters, poor cluster BCGs exhibit a strong propensity to be aligned
with the principal axes of their host clusters as well as the surrounding
distribution of nearby (< 20/h Mpc) Abell clusters. The processes responsible
for dominant galaxy alignments are therefore independent of cluster richness.
We argue that these alignments most likely arise from anisotropic infall of
material into clusters along large-scale filaments.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
A Near-Solar Metallicity, Nitrogen-Deficient Lyman Limit Absorber Associated with two S0 Galaxies
From UV spectra of the bright quasar PHL 1811 recorded by FUSE and the E140M
configuration on STIS, we have determined the abundances of various atomic
species in a Lyman limit system at z = 0.0809 with log N(H I) = 17.98.
Considerably more hydrogen may be in ionized form, since the abundances of C
II, Si II, S II and Fe II are very large compared to that of O I, when compared
to their respective solar abundance ratios. Our determination [O/H] = -0.19 in
the H I-bearing gas indicates that the chemical enrichment of the gas is
unusually high for an extragalactic QSO absorption system. However, this same
material has an unusually low abundance of nitrogen, [N/O] < -0.59, indicating
that there may not have been enough time during this enrichment for secondary
nitrogen to arise from low and intermediate mass stars. In an earlier
investigation we found two galaxies at nearly the same redshift as this
absorption system and displaced by 34 and 87 kpc from the line of sight. An
r-band image recorded by the ACS on HST indicates these are S0 galaxies. One or
both of these galaxies may be the source of the gas, which might have been
expelled in a fast wind, by tidal stripping, or by ram-pressure stripping.
Subtraction of the ACS point-spread function from the image of the QSO reveals
the presence of a face-on spiral galaxy under the glare of the quasar; although
it is possible that this galaxy may be responsible for the Lyman limit
absorption, the exact alignment of the QSO with the center of the galaxy
suggests that the spiral is the quasar host.Comment: 74 pages, 14 figures; to be published in the Astrophysical Journal
(Part 1) May 1, 2005 issue. A version of the paper with figures of better
quality may be found at http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~ebj/PHL1811_paper.ps
(postscript) or http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~ebj/PHL1811_paper.pdf (pdf
Evidence for a 3 x 10^8 solar mass black hole in NGC 7052 from HST observations of the nuclear gas disk
We present an HST study of the nuclear region of the E4 radio galaxy NGC
7052, which has a nuclear disk of dust and gas. The WFPC2 was used to obtain B,
V and I broad-band images and an H_alpha+[NII] narrow-band image. The FOS was
used to obtain H_alpha+[NII] spectra along the major axis, using a 0.26 arcsec
diameter circular aperture. The observed rotation velocity of the ionized gas
is V = 155 +/- 17 km/s at r = 0.2 arcsec from the nucleus. The Gaussian
dispersion of the emission lines increases from sigma = 70 km/s at r=1 arcsec,
to sigma = 400 km/s on the nucleus.
To interpret the gas kinematics we construct axisymmetric models in which the
gas and dust reside in a disk in the equatorial plane of the stellar body. It
is assumed that the gas moves on circular orbits, with an intrinsic velocity
dispersion due to turbulence. The circular velocity is calculated from the
combined gravitational potential of the stars and a possible nuclear black hole
(BH). Models without a BH predict a rotation curve that is shallower than
observed (V_pred = 92 km/s at r = 0.2 arcsec), and are ruled out at > 99%
confidence. Models with a BH of 3.3^{+2.3}_{-1.3} x 10^8 solar masses provide
an acceptable fit.
NGC 7052 can be added to the list of active galaxies for which HST spectra of
a nuclear gas disk provide evidence for the presence of a central BH. The BH
masses inferred for M87, M84, NGC 6251, NGC 4261 and NGC 7052 span a range of a
factor 10, with NGC 7052 falling on the low end. By contrast, the luminosities
of these galaxies are identical to within 25%. Any relation between BH mass and
luminosity, as suggested by independent arguments, must therefore have a
scatter of at least a factor 10.Comment: 39 pages, LaTeX, with 16 PostScript figures. Submitted to the
Astronomical Journal. Postscript version with higher resolution figures
available from http://sol.stsci.edu/~marel/abstracts/abs_R22.htm
A Merger Scenario for the Dynamics of Abell 665
We present new redshift measurements for 55 galaxies in the vicinity of the
rich galaxy cluster Abell 665. When combined with results from the literature,
we have good velocity measurements for a sample of 77 confirmed cluster members
from which we derive the cluster's redshift z=0.1829 +/- 0.0005 and
line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 1390 +/- 120 km/s. Our analysis of the
kinematical and spatial data for the subset of galaxies located within the
central 750 kpc reveals only subtle evidence for substructure and
non-Gaussianity in the velocity distribution. We find that the brightest
cluster member is not moving significantly relative to the other galaxies near
the center of the cluster. On the other hand, our deep ROSAT high resolution
image of A665 shows strong evidence for isophotal twisting and centroid
variation, thereby confirming previous suggestions of significant substructure
in the hot X-ray--emitting intracluster gas. In light of this evident
substructure, we have compared the optical velocity data with N-body
simulations of head-on cluster mergers. We find that a merger of two similar
mass subclusters (mass ratios of 1:1 or 1:2) seen close to the time of
core-crossing produces velocity distributions that are consistent with that
observed.Comment: 30 pages and 7 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Full
resoultion figures 1 and 3 available in postscript at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~percy/A665paper.htm
Old and young bulges in late-type disk galaxies
ABRIDGED: We use HSTACS and NICMOS imaging to study the structure and colors
of a sample of nine late-type spirals. We find: (1) A correlation between bulge
and disks scale-lengths, and a correlation between the colors of the bulges and
those of the inner disks. Our data show a trend for bulges to be more
metal-enriched than their surrounding disks, but otherwise no simple
age-metallicity connection between these systems; (2) A large range in bulge
stellar population properties, and, in particular, in stellar ages.
Specifically, in about a half of the late-type bulges in our sample the bulk of
the stellar mass was produced recently. Thus, in a substantial fraction of the
z=0 disk-dominated bulged galaxies, bulge formation occurs after the
formation/accretion of the disk; (3) In about a half of the late-type bulges in
our sample, however, the bulk of the stellar mass was produced at early epochs;
(4) Even these "old" late-type bulges host a significant fraction of stellar
mass in a young(er) c component; (5) A correlation for bulges between stellar
age and stellar mass, in the sense that more massive late-type bulges are older
than less massive late-type bulges. Since the overall galaxy luminosity (mass)
also correlates with the bulge luminosity (mass), it appears that the galaxy
mass regulates not only what fraction of itself ends up in the bulge component,
but also "when" bulge formation takes place. We show that dynamical friction of
massive clumps in gas-rich disks is a plausible disk-driven mode for the
formation of "old" late-type bulges. If disk evolutionary processes are
responsible for the formation of the entire family of late-type bulges, CDM
simulations need to produce a similar number of initially bulgeless disks in
addition to the disk galaxies that are observed to be bulgeless at z=0.Comment: ApJ in press; paper with high resolution figures available at
http://www.exp-astro.phys.ethz.ch/carollo/carollo1_2006.pdf; B, I, and H
surface brightness profiles published in electronic tabular for
WFPC2 Images of the Central Regions of Early-Type Galaxies - I. The Data
We present high resolution R-band images of the central regions of 67
early-type galaxies obtained with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2)
aboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Our sample strikingly confirms the
complex morphologies of the central regions of early-type galaxies. In
particular, we detect dust in 43 percent of all galaxies, and evidence for
embedded stellar disks in a remarkably large fraction of 51 percent. In 14 of
those galaxies the disk-like structures are misaligned with the main galaxy,
suggesting that they correspond to stellar bars in S0 galaxies. We analyze the
luminosity profiles of the galaxies in our sample, and classify galaxies
according to their central cusp slope. To a large extent we confirm the clear
dichotomy found in previous HST surveys: bright, boxy ellipticals with shallow
inner cusps (`core' galaxies) on one hand and faint, disky ellipticals with
steep central cusps (`power-law' galaxies) on the other hand. The advantages
and shortcomings of classification schemes utilizing the extrapolated central
cusp slope are discussed, and it is shown that this cusp slope might be an
inadequate representation for galaxies whose luminosity profile slope changes
smoothly with radius rather than resembling a broken power-law. In fact, we
find evidence for an `intermediate' class of galaxies, that cannot
unambiguously be classified as either core or power-law galaxies, and which
have central cusp slopes and absolute magnitudes intermediate between those of
core and power-law galaxies.Comment: 44 pages, 7 Postscript figures. Accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journal. The associated Appendix with figures of luminosity
profiles, contour plots and isophotal parameters for all galaxies is
available at http://www.astro.washington.edu/rest/centralpro
CO-bandhead spectroscopy of IC 342: mass and age of the nuclear star cluster
We have used the NASA Infra-Red Telescope Facility (IRTF) to observe the
nuclear stellar cluster in the nearby, face-on, giant Scd spiral IC 342. From
high resolution (R = 21500) spectra at the 12CO (2-0) bandhead at 2.3 micron we
derive a line-of-sight stellar velocity dispersion sigma = (33 +- 3) km/s.
To interpret this observation we construct dynamical models based on the
Jeans equation for a spherical system. The light distribution of the cluster is
modeled using an isophotal analysis of an HST V-band image from the HST Data
Archive, combined with new ground-based K-band imaging. Under the assumption of
an isotropic velocity distribution, the observed kinematics imply a K-band
mass-to-light ratio M/L_K = 0.05, and a cluster mass M ~ 6 times 10^6 Msun. We
model the mass-to-light ratio with the `starburst99' stellar population
synthesis models of Leitherer and collaborators, and infer a best-fitting
cluster age in the range 63-630 Myears. Although this result depends somewhat
on a number of uncertainties in the modeling (e.g., the assumed extinction
along the line-of-sight towards the nucleus, the IMF of the stellar population
model, and the velocity dispersion anisotropy of the cluster), none of these
can be plausibly modified to yield a significantly larger age. We discuss the
implications of this result on possible scenarios for the frequency of nuclear
starbursts and their impact on secular evolution of spiral galaxy nuclei.
As a byproduct of our analysis, we infer that IC 342 cannot have any central
black hole more massive than 0.5 million solar masses. This is ~ 6 times less
massive than the black hole inferred to exist in our Galaxy, consistent with
the accumulating evidence that galaxies with less massive bulges harbor less
massive black holes.Comment: 27 pages, incl. 9 figures, submitted to The Astronomical Journa
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