146 research outputs found
Environment status of blue compact galaxies and trigger of star formation
(abridged) The work studies active star formation (SF) and a possible trigger
of SF bursts due to gravitational interaction. Following the study by Taylor et
al. we extend the search for possible disturbing galaxies of various masses to
a much larger sample of 86 BCGs from the sky region of Second Byurakan survey.
The sample under study is separated by the criteria: EW([O III]5007 > 45 A and
V < 6,000 km/s and should be representative of all low-mass galaxies which
experience SF bursts. We argue that the moderate tidal disturbers should be
taken into account, and incorporate the respective range of distances in the
search for disturbing neighbours. The majority of the neighbours in the
vicinity of the studied BCGs are found through the study of their environment
among UZC galaxies, and the follow-up careful search of the fainter galaxies in
the NED database. For the remaining BCGs, the neighbouring galaxies are found
based on the results of the 6-m telescope spectroscopy. By studing the data on
the radial velocities of galaxies in the vicinity of BCGs we found: 1) 33 of
the studied BCGs (38.5 %) are associated with significantly brighter galaxies
(DB > 1.5 mag); 2) 23 BCGs (26.5%) have neighbours either of comparable or
significantly lower brightness; 3) 14 of the studied BCGs (16%) with no evident
associated galaxy are either certain, or probable, mergers. We conclude that in
\~80% (or more) BCGs from the studied sample, the SF bursts are triggered
either by tidal action of various strengths from other galaxies, or due to
mergers of low-mass galaxies. We briefly discuss the implications of our main
conclusion for evolutionary links of BCGs to other types of low-mass galaxies.
Among the ``isolated'' BCGs (without a bright neighbour) 43+-10% are probably
disturbed by dwarf galaxies and 26+-8% have a merger morphology.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, accepted to A&A on March 26, 200
The Hamburg/SAO Survey for Emission-Line Galaxies. III. The Third List of 81 Galaxies
We present the third list with results {Tables 2 to 6 are available only in
electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr
(130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html. Figures A1 to
A9 will be made available only in the electronic version of the journal.} of
the Hamburg/SAO Survey for Emission-Line Galaxies (HSS therein, SAO - Special
Astrophysical Observatory, Russia). This survey is based on the digitized
objective-prism photoplate database of the Hamburg Quasar Survey (HQS).
Here, we present new spectroscopic results of candidates which were obtained
in 1998 with the 2.1 m KPNO and the 2.2 m Calar Alto telescopes. All candidates
are selected in the declination band +35 to +40.
The follow-up spectroscopy with the 2 m class telescopes confirmed 85
emission-line objects out of 113 observed candidates and allowed their
quantitative spectral classification. For 80 of them, the redshifts are
determined for the first time. For 5 previously known ELGs, line ratios are
presented for the first time. We could classify 55 out of the 85 emission-line
objects as BCG/H{\sc ii} galaxies or probable BCGs, 4 - as QSOs, 6 - as Seyfert
galaxies, 1 - as super-association in a subluminous spiral galaxy, and 11 are
low-excitation objects - either starburst nuclear (SBN), or dwarf amorphous
nuclear starburst galaxies (DANS). We could not classify 8 ELGs. Further, for 8
more galaxies we did not detect any significant emission lines.Comment: A&A latex file with 8 tables and one figure. Astron. Astrophys.
Suppl. accepted 200
Prevalence of Tidal Interactions among Local Seyfert Galaxies: The Control Experiment
We test whether there is a relation between the observed tidal interactions
and Seyfert activity by imaging in HI twenty inactive galaxies at the same
spatial resolution and detection threshold as the Seyfert sample. This control
sample of inactive galaxies were closely matched in Hubble type, range in size
and inclination, and have roughly comparable galaxy optical luminosity to the
Seyfert galaxies. We find that only ~15% of the galaxies in our control sample
are disturbed in HI, whereas the remaining ~85% show no disturbances whatsoever
in HI. Even at a spatial resolution of ~10 kpc, none of the latter galaxies
show appreciable HI disturbances reminiscent of tidal features.
In a companion paper (Kuo et al. 2008), we report results from the first
systematic imaging survey of Seyfert galaxies in atomic hydrogen (HI) gas. We
find that only ~28% of the eighteen Seyfert galaxies in that sample are visibly
disturbed in optical starlight. By contrast, ~94% of the same Seyfert galaxies
are disturbed spatially and usually also kinematically in HI gas on galactic
scales of >~20 kpc. In at least ~67% and up to perhaps ~94% of cases, the
observed disturbances can be traced to tidal interactions with neighboring
galaxies detected also in HI. The dramatic contrast between the observed
prevalence of HI disturbances in the Seyfert and control samples implicates
tidal interactions in initiating events that lead to luminous Seyfert activity
in a large fraction of local disk galaxies.Comment: 38 pages, 27 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ. Changes from
previous version: The title of the previous version of this paper appeared in
Astroph was incorrect. It has been replaced with the correct on
- âŠ