1,277 research outputs found
The Universality of the Fundamental Plane of E and S0 Galaxies. Spectroscopic data
We present here central velocity dispersion measurements for 325 early-type
galaxies in eight clusters and groups of galaxies, including new observations
for 212 galaxies. The clusters and groups are the A262, A1367, Coma (A1656),
A2634, Cancer and Pegasus clusters, and the NGC 383 and NGC 507 groups. The new
measurements were derived from medium dispersion spectra, that cover 600 A
centered on the Mg Ib triplet at lambda ~ 5175. Velocity dispersions were
measured using the Tonry & Davis cross-correlation method, with a typical
accuracy of 6%. A detailed comparison with other data sources is made.Comment: 12 pages, 5 tables, 3 figures, to appear in AJ. Note that tables 2
and 3 are in separate files, as they should be printed in landscape forma
Redshift-distance Survey of Early-type Galaxies: The D_n-sigma Relation
In this paper R-band photometric and velocity dispersion measurements for a
sample of 452 elliptical and S0 galaxies in 28 clusters are used to construct a
template D_n-sigma relation. This template relation is constructed by combining
the data from the 28 clusters, under the assumption that galaxies in different
clusters have similar properties. The photometric and spectroscopic data used
consist of new as well as published measurements, converted to a common system,
as presented in a accompanying paper. The resulting direct relation, corrected
for incompleteness bias, is log{D_n} =1.203 log{sigma} + 1.406; the zero-point
has been defined by requiring distant clusters to be at rest relative to the
CMB. This zero-point is consistent with the value obtained by using the
distance to Virgo as determined by the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. This
new D_n-sigma relation leads to a peculiar velocity of -72 (\pm 189) km/s for
the Coma cluster. The scatter in the distance relation corresponds to a
distance error of about 20%, comparable to the values obtained for the
Fundamental Plane relation. Correlations between the scatter and residuals of
the D_n-sigma relation with other parameters that characterize the cluster
and/or the galaxy stellar population are also analyzed. The direct and inverse
relations presented here have been used in recent studies of the peculiar
velocity field mapped by the ENEAR all-sky sample.Comment: 46 pages, 20 figures, and 7 tables. To appear in AJ, vol. 123, no. 5,
May 200
The Near-Infrared Fundamental Plane of Elliptical Galaxies
We present results from a near-infrared -band imaging survey of 59
elliptical galaxies in five nearby clusters. We measure photometric parameters
for each galaxy using surface photometry and draw velocity dispersions from the
literature. Three observables define a near-infrared Fundamental Plane (FP) of
elliptical galaxies with . The scatter in the near-infrared relation is small at
\% in distance, which is equivalent to, or less than, the scatter of the
optical FP. We suggest that the small deviation of the near-infrared FP
relation from the optical FP is due to the reduction of metallicity effects in
the near-infrared bandpass. While the small scatter of the optical FP could be
consistent with compensating effects of age and metallicity, the similarly
small scatter of the near-infrared FP is nearly independent of metallicity and
hence places a strong constraint on possible age spreads among elliptical
galaxies at every point along the FP. We suggest that the departure of the
near-infrared FP from the pure virial form , and the corresponding observed relation , may be explained by slight systematic departures of
the structure and dynamics of elliptical galaxies from a homology.Comment: to appear in The Astrophysical Journal (Letters); 12 pages, including
2 Postscript figures and 1 table; uuencoded, compressed format; the paper is
also available in various formats from
http://astro.caltech.edu/~map/map.bibliography.refereed.htm
Multicolor photometry of the galaxies in the central region of Abell 2634
An optical photometric observation with the BATC multicolor system is carried
out for the central 56' x 56' region of the nearby cluster of galaxies, Abell
2634. We achieved the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 5572 sources
detected down to mag, including 178 previously known galaxies, with
fourteen filters covering a wavelength range from 3600 \AA\ to 10000 \AA. After
excluding the foreground and background galaxies, a sample of 124 known members
is formed for an investigation of the SED properties. Based on the knowledge of
SED properties of member galaxies, we performed the selection of faint galaxies
belonging to Abell 2634. The color-color diagrams are powerful in the
star/galaxy separation, and 359 faint galaxies are selected by their color
features. The technique of photometric redshift and color-magnitude correlation
for the early-type galaxies are applied for these faint galaxies, and a list of
74 faint member galaxies is achieved. Basis on the enlarged sample of member
galaxies, the spatial distribution and color-magnitude relation of the galaxies
in core region of Abell 2634 are discussed. We find a tendency that the color
index dispersion of the early-type members is larger for the outer region,
which might reflect some clues about the environmental effect on the evolution
of galaxies in a cluster.Comment: 35 pages, 21 Postscript figures and tables, LaTeX, using aasms4.st
Near-Infrared Imaging of Early-Type Galaxies IV. The Physical Origins of the Fundamental Plane Scaling Relations
The physical origins of the Fundamental Plane (FP) scaling relations are
investigated for early-type galaxies observed at optical and near-infrared
wavelengths. The slope for the FP is shown to increase systematically with
wavelength from the U-band through the K-band. A distance-independent
construction of the observables is described which provides an accurate
measurement of the change in the FP slope between any pair of bandpasses. The
variation of the FP slope with wavelength is strong evidence of systematic
variations in stellar content along the elliptical galaxy sequence. The
intercept of the diagnostic relationship between log(D_K/D_V) and log(sigma_0)
shows no significant dependence on environment within the uncertainties of the
Galactic extinction corrections, demonstrating the universality of the stellar
populations contributions at the level of Delta(V-K)=0.03 mag to the zero-point
of the global scaling relations.
Several other constraints on the properties of early-type galaxies --- the
slope of the Mg_2-sigma_0 relation, the effects of stellar populations
gradients, and deviations of early-type galaxies from a dynamically homologous
family --- are included to construct an empirical, self-consistent model which
provides a complete picture of the underlying physical properties which are
varying along the early-type galaxy sequence. This empirical approach
demonstrates that there are significant systematic variations in both age and
metallicity along the elliptical galaxy sequence, and that a small, but
systematic, breaking of dynamical homology (or a similar, wavelength
independent effect) is required. Predictions for the evolution of the slope of
the FP with redshift are described. [abriged]Comment: to appear in The Astronomical Journal; 40 pages, including 10
Postscript figures and 3 tables; uses AAS LaTeX style file
Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-type Galaxies. I. Sample Selection, Properties and Completeness
This is the first in a series of papers describing the recently completed
all-sky redshift-distance survey of nearby early-type galaxies (ENEAR) carried
out for peculiar velocity analysis. The sample is divided into two parts and
consists of 1607 elliptical and lenticular galaxies with cz < 7000 km/s and
with blue magnitudes brighter than m_B=14.5 (ENEARm), and of galaxies in
clusters (ENEARc). Galaxy distances based on the Dn-sigma and Fundamental Plane
(FP) relations are now available for 1359 and 1107 ENEARm galaxies,
respectively, with roughly 80% based on new data gathered by our group. The
Dn-sigma and FP template distance relations are derived by combining 569 and
431 galaxies in 28 clusters, respectively, of which about 60% are based on our
new measurements. The ENEARm redshift-distance survey extends the earlier work
of the 7S and the recent Tully-Fisher surveys sampling a comparable volume. In
subsequent papers of this series we intend to use the ENEAR sample by itself or
in combination with the SFI Tully-Fisher survey to analyze the properties of
the local peculiar velocity field and to test how sensitive the results are to
different sampling and to the distance indicators. We also anticipate that the
homogeneous database assembled will be used for a variety of other applications
and serve as a benchmark for similar studies at high-redshift.Comment: 43 pages, 15 figures, submitted to the Astronomical Journa
Preliminary results of spectral reflectance studies of tycho crater
The preliminary analysis and interpretation of near infrared spectra obtained for both the interior and exterior deposits associated with the Tycho crater is presented. Specific objectives were: (1) to determine the composition and stratigraphy of the highland crust in the Tycho target site; (2) to determine the likely composition of the primary ejecta which may be present in ray deposits; (3) to investigate the nature of spectral units defined in previous studies; (4) to further investigate the nature and origin of both the bright and dark haloes around the rim crest; and (5) to compare the compositions determined for the Tycho units with those of the Aristarchus crater as well as typical highland deposits. The spectra obtained for the interior areas exhibit similar spectral features. These include relatively strong 1 micron absorption bands whose minima are centered between 0.97 and 0.99 microns and shallow to intermediate continuum slopes. The spectra generally exhibit indications of a 1.3 micron feature consistent with the presence of Fe(2+) bearing plagioclase feldspar. The strong 1 micron absorption features indicate a dominant high Ca clinopyroxene component. Results obtained from the ejecta deposits show that the spectrum of the inner, bright halo is almost identical with those obtained for interior units. The spectrum of the dark halo exhibits a wide, relatively shallow absorption feature centered at 1.01 microns, a 1.3 micron absorption, and a steep continuum slope. This spectrum is interpreted as indicating the presence of pyroxene, Fe-bearing feldspar, and a significant component of Fe-bearing impact melt glass. Finally, the spectra of spots inside Tycho show similarity with certain spectra for Aristarchus. However, the suite of spectra obtained for Tycho exhibits a different trend in terms of band center versus width
Flood Mapping of Recent Major Hurricane Events with Synthetic Aperture Radar, Commercial Imaging, and Aerial Observations
Floodwater mapping is an important remote sensing process that is used for disaster response, recovery, and damage assessment practices. Developing a system to read in Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data and perform land cover classification will allow for the production of near real-time inundation mapping, enabling government and emergency response entities to get a preliminary idea of the situation. SAR is a unique remote sensing tool. Data in this project was obtained by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratorys Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle SAR (UAVSAR), an L-band radar mounted to a Gulfstream III jet. Data collected by UAVSAR is similar to what will be available from the NASA-Indian Space Research Organization (NISAR) mission starting in early 2022. Using Python and ArcGIS applications, a model was developed using training samples taken from NOAA post-event aerial photography and UAVSAR data gathered in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in September 2018
Are Recent Peculiar Velocity Surveys Consistent?
We compare the bulk flow of the SMAC sample to the predictions of popular cosmological models and to other recent large-scale peculiar velocity surveys. Both analyses account for aliasing of small-scale power due to the sparse and non-uniform sampling of the surveys. We conclude that the SMAC bulk flow is in marginal conflict with flat COBE-normalized Lambda-CDM models which fit the cluster abundance constraint. However, power spectra which are steeper shortward of the peak are consistent with all of the above constraints. When recent large-scale peculiar velocity surveys are compared, we conclude that all measured bulk flows (with the possible exception of that of Lauer & Postman) are consistent with each other given the errors, provided the latter allow for `cosmic covariance'. A rough estimate of the mean bulk flow of all surveys (except Lauer & Postman) is ~400 km/s towards l=270, b=0
Cluster Distances: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Galaxy clusters are important targets for peculiar velocity studies as a direct comparison of the various distance indicators can be made. The potential problem of an environmental effect biasing the distances to clusters of different richness is examined. The level of intrinsic cluster-to-cluster variations is also reviewed. We investigate the claim that the derived Fundamental Plane (FP) distances vary systematically with FP scatter. The cluster distances and peculiar velocities derived from Tully-Fisher, FP and Brightest Cluster Galaxies are compared and we find good agreement
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