Spectro-Morphology of Galaxies

We present a quantitative method to classify galaxies, based on multi-wavelength data and elaborated from the properties of nearby galaxies. Our objective is to define an evolutionary method that can be used for low and high redshift objects. We estimate the concentration of light (C) at the galaxy center and the 180 degree-rotational asymmetry (A), computed at several wavelengths, from ultraviolet (UV) to I-band. The variation of the indices of concentration and asymmetry with the wavelength reflects the proportion and the distribution of young and old stellar populations in galaxies. In general C is found to decrease from optical to UV, and A is found to increase from optical to UV: the patchy appearance of galaxies in UV with no bulge is often very different from their counterpart at optical wavelengths, with prominent bulges and more regular disks. The variation of C and A with the wavelength is quantified. By this way, we are able to distinguish five types of galaxies that we call spectro-morphological types: compact, ringed, spiral, irregular and central-starburst galaxies, which can be differentiated by the repartition of their stellar populations. We discuss in detail the morphology of galaxies of the sample, and describe the morphological characteristics of each spectro-morphological type. We apply spectro-morphology to three objects at a redshift z=1 in the Hubble Deep Field North, that gives encouraging results for applications to large samples of high-redshift galaxies. This method of morphological classification could be used to study the evolution of the morphology with the redshift and is expected to bring observational constraints on scenarios of galaxy evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Discovery of a Boxy Peanut Shaped Bulge in the Near Infrared

We report on the discovery of a boxy/peanut shaped bulge in the highly inclined barred Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC~7582. The peanut shape is clearly evident in near infrared $JHK$ images but obscured by extinction from dust in visible $BVR$ images. This suggests that near infrared imaging surveys will discover a larger number of boxy/peanut morphologies than visible surveys, particularly in galaxies with heavy extinction such as NGC~7582. The bulge in NGC~7582 exhibits strong boxiness compared to other boxy/peanut shaped bulges. If the starburst was mediated by the bar, then it is likely that the bar formed in less than a few bar rotation periods or a few $\times 10^8$ years ago. If the bar also caused the peanut, then the peanut would have formed quickly; on a timescale of a few bar rotation periods.Comment: AAS Latex and Postcript Figures, accepted for publication in Ap

V, J, H and K Imaging of the Metal Rich Globular Cluster NGC 6528

New near-infrared observations of NGC6528 are presented. The JHK observations complement a previous HST/NICMOS data set by Ortolani et al. (2001), in that they sample a larger area, contain a more numerous sample of red giant stars, and include the K band. Also, archival HST data sets (separated by 6.093 years) were used to proper-motion decontaminate the near-infrared sample and extract a clean VJHK catalogue. Using the present wide colour baseline, we compared the cleaned colour-magnitude diagrams of NGC6528 with those of NGC 6553 and NGC104 and derived new estimates of reddening and distance, E(B-V)=0.55 and (m-M)o=14.44 (7.7 kpc). Moreover, the morphology and location of the cleaned red giant branch were used to derive a photometric estimate of the cluster metallicity. The average of 10 metallicity indicators yields a mean value of [M/H] ~ 0.0, and [Fe/H] ~-0.20 and +0.08 on the Zinn & West (1984) and Carretta & Gratton (1997) revised metallicity scale, respectively. The best isochrone fit to the cleaned K,V-K diagram is obtained for a 12.6 Gyr and Z=0.02 isochrone, i.e. the derived metallicity of NGC6528 turns out to be very close to the mean of stars in the Baade's Window. Five AGB variable star candidates, whose membership has to be confirmed spectroscopically, are bolometrically as bright as the known long period variable stars in NGC6553. As discussed in Guarnieri et al. (1997) for NGC6553, this may indicate that an `intermediate age' population is not needed to account for the brightest stars in external galaxies such as M32.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, A&A accepte

The Frequency of Barred Spiral Galaxies in the Near-IR

We have determined the fraction of barred galaxies in the H-band for a statistically well-defined sample of 186 spirals drawn from the Ohio State University Bright Spiral Galaxy survey. We find 56% of our sample to be strongly barred at H, while another 16% is weakly barred. Only 27% of our sample is unbarred in the near-infrared. The RC3 and the Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies both classify only about 30% of our sample as strongly barred. Thus strong bars are nearly twice as prevalent in the near-infrared as in the optical. The frequency of genuine optically hidden bars is significant, but lower than many claims in the literature: 40% of the galaxies in our sample that are classified as unbarred in the RC3 show evidence for a bar in the H-band, while for the Carnegie Atlas this fraction is 66%. Our data reveal no significant trend in bar fraction as a function of morphology in either the optical or H-band. Optical surveys of high redshift galaxies may be strongly biased against finding bars, as bars are increasingly difficult to detect at bluer rest wavelengths.Comment: LaTeX with AASTeX style file, 23 pages with 6 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (Feb. 2000

Quantitative Morphology of Galaxies Observed in the Ultraviolet

We present a quantitative study of the far-ultraviolet (FUV) and optical morphology in 32 nearby galaxies and estimate the ``morphological k-correction'' expected if these objects were observed unevolved at high redshift. Using the common indices of central concentration (C) and rotational asymmetry (A) to quantify morphology, we consider independently two phenomena that give rise to this k-correction. Bandshifting, the decrease in rest-frame wavelength of light observed through optical filters, is explored by measuring these indices in several passbands for each galaxy, and it is found to be the primary driver of changes in C and A. In general, the optical trend found for decreasing C and increasing A when going to shorter wavelengths extends to the FUV. However, the patchy nature of recent star-formation in late-type galaxies, which is accentuated in the FUV, results in poor quantitative correspondence between morphologies determined in the optical and FUV. We then artificially redshift our FUV images into the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) filters to simulate various cosmological distance effects such as surface brightness dimming and loss of spatial resolution. Hubble types of many galaxies in our sample are not readily identifiable at redshifts beyond z ~ 1, and the galaxies themselves are difficult to detect beyond z ~ 3. Only features of the highest surface brightness remain visible at cosmological distances. Our simulations suggest that k-corrections alone are indeed capable of producing the peculiar morphologies observed at high redshift.Comment: accepted to the Astrophysical Journa

Comparing Galaxy Morphology at Ultraviolet and Optical Wavelengths

We have undertaken an imaging survey of 34 nearby galaxies in far-ultraviolet (FUV, ~1500A) and optical (UBVRI) passbands to characterize galaxy morphology as a function of wavelength. This sample, which includes a range of classical Hubble types from elliptical to irregular with emphasis on spirals at low inclination angle, provides a valuable database for comparison with images of high-z galaxies whose FUV light is redshifted into the optical and near- infrared bands. Ultraviolet data are from the UIT Astro-2 mission. We present images and surface brightness profiles for each galaxy, and we discuss the wavelength-dependence of morphology for different Hubble types in the context of understanding high-z objects. In general, the dominance of young stars in the FUV produces the patchy appearance of a morphological type later than that inferred from optical images. Prominent rings and circumnuclear star formation regions are clearly evident in FUV images of spirals, while bulges, bars, and old, red stellar disks are faint to invisible at these short wavelengths. However, the magnitude of the change in apparent morphology ranges from dramatic in early--type spirals with prominent optical bulges to slight in late-type spirals and irregulars, in which young stars dominate both the UV and optical emission. Starburst galaxies with centrally concentrated, symmetric bursts display an apparent ``E/S0'' structure in the FUV, while starbursts associated with rings or mergers produce a peculiar morphology. We briefly discuss the inadequacy of the optically-defined Hubble sequence to describe FUV galaxy images and estimate morphological k-corrections, and we suggest some directions for future research with this dataset.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJS. 15 pages, 17 JPEG figures, 10 GIF figures. Paper and full resolution figures available at http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Kuchinski/frames.htm

High resolution infrared spectra of NGC 6440 and NGC 6441: two massive Bulge Globular Clusters

Using the NIRSPEC spectrograph at Keck II, we have obtained infrared echelle spectra covering the 1.5-1.8 micron range for giant stars in the massive bulge globular clusters NGC6440 and NGC6441. We report the first high dispersion abundance for NGC6440, [Fe/H]=-0.56+/-0.02 and we find [Fe/H]=-0.50+/-0.02 for the blue HB cluster NGC6441. We measure an average $\alpha$-enhancement of ~+0.3 dex in both clusters, consistent with previous measurements of other metal rich bulge clusters, and favoring the scenario of a rapid bulge formation and chemical enrichment. We also measure very low 12C/13C isotopic ratios (~5+/- 1), suggesting that extra-mixing mechanisms are at work during evolution along the Red Giant Branch also in the high metallicity regime. We also measure Al abundances, finding average [Al/Fe]=0.45+/-0.02 and [Al/Fe]=0.52+/-0.02 in NGC6440 and NGC6441, respectively, and some Mg-Al anti-correlation in NGC6441. We also measure radial velocities vr=-76+/-3 km/s and vr=+14+/-3 km/s and velocity dispersions sigma=9+/-2 km/s and sigma=10+/-2 km/s, in NGC6440 and NGC6441, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Two Interacting Electrons in a Quasiperiodic Chain

We study numerically the effect of on-site Hubbard interaction U between two electrons in the quasiperiodic Harper's equation. In the periodic chain limit by mapping the problem to that of one electron in two dimensions with a diagonal line of impurities of strength U we demonstrate a band of resonance two particle pairing states starting from E=U. In the ballistic (metallic) regime we show explicitly interaction-assisted extended pairing states and multifractal pairing states in the diffusive (critical) regime. We also obtain localized pairing states in the gaps and the created subband due to U, whose number increases when going to the localized regime, which are responsible for reducing the velocity and the diffusion coefficient in the qualitatively similar to the non-interacting case ballistic and diffusive dynamics. In the localized regime we find propagation enhancement for small U and stronger localization for larger U, as in disordered systems.Comment: 14 pages Revtex file, 8 figures (split into 19 jpg figures). (postscript versions of the jpg figures are also available upon request) submitted to PR

A New Non-Parametric Approach to Galaxy Morphological Classification

We present two new non-parametric methods for quantifying galaxy morphology: the relative distribution of the galaxy pixel flux values (the Gini coefficient or G) and the second-order moment of the brightest 20% of the galaxy's flux (M20). We test the robustness of G and M20 to decreasing signal-to-noise and spatial resolution, and find that both measures are reliable to within 10% at average signal-to-noise per pixel greater than 3 and resolutions better than 1000 pc and 500 pc, respectively. We have measured G and M20, as well as concentration (C), asymmetry (A), and clumpiness (S) in the rest-frame near-ultraviolet/optical wavelengths for 150 bright local "normal" Hubble type galaxies (E-Sd) galaxies and 104 0.05 < z < 0.25 ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs).We find that most local galaxies follow a tight sequence in G-M20-C, where early-types have high G and C and low M20 and late-type spirals have lower G and C and higher M20. The majority of ULIRGs lie above the normal galaxy G-M20 sequence, due to their high G and M20 values. Their high Gini coefficients arise from very bright nuclei, while the high second-order moments are produced by multiple nuclei and bright tidal tails. All of these features are signatures of recent and on-going mergers and interactions. We also find that in combination with A and S, G is more effective than C at distinguishing ULIRGs from the "normal" Hubble-types. Finally, we measure the morphologies of 45 1.7 < z < 3.8 galaxies from HST NICMOS observations of the Hubble Deep Field North. We find that many of the z $\sim$ 2 galaxies possess G and A higher than expected from degraded images of local elliptical and spiral galaxies, and have morphologies more like low-redshift single nucleus ULIRGs.Comment: 48 pages, 9 tables and 17 figures, accepted to the Astronomical Journal with minor revision

The Galaxy Structure-Redshift Relationship

There exists a gradual, but persistent, evolutionary effect in the galaxy population such that galaxy structure and morphology change with redshift. This galaxy structure-redshift relationship is such that an increasingly large fraction of all bright and massive galaxies at redshifts 2 < z < 3 are morphologically peculiar at wavelengths from rest-frame ultraviolet to rest-frame optical. There are however examples of morphologically selected spirals and ellipticals at all redshifts up to z ~ 3. At lower redshift, the bright galaxy population smoothly transforms into normal ellipticals and spirals. The rate of this transformation strongly depends on redshift, with the swiftest evolution occurring between 1 < z < 2. This review characterizes the galaxy structure-redshift relationship, discusses its various physical causes, and how these are revealing the mechanisms responsible for galaxy formation.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures. Invited Review to appear in "Penetrating Bars Through Masks of Cosmic Dust: The Hubble Tuning Fork Strikes A New Note", ed. D. Block et a