A revised catalog of CfA galaxy groups in the Virgo/Great Attractor flow field

A new identification of groups and clusters in the CfAl Catalog of Huchra, et al. (1983) is presented, using a percolation algorithm to identify density enhancements. The procedure differs from that of the original Geller and Huchra (1983; GH) catalog in several important respects; galaxy distances are calculated from the Virgo-Great Attractor flow model of Faber and Burnstein (1988), the adopted distance linkage criteria is only approx. 1/4 as large as in the Geller and Huchra catalog, the sky link relation is taken from Nolthenius and White (1987), correction for interstellar extinction is included, and 'by-hand' adjustments to group memberships are made in the complex regions of Virgo/Coma I/Ursa Major and Coma/A1367 (to allow for varying group velocity dispersions and to trim unphysical 'spider arms'). Since flow model distances are poorly determined in these same regions, available distances from the IR Tully-Fisher planetary nebula luminosity function and surface brightness resolution methods are adopted if possible

Galaxy Groups in Cold + Hot and CDM Universes: Comparison with CfA

This letter presents results of new high resolution $\Omega=1$ Cold + Hot Dark Matter (CHDM) and Cold Dark Matter (CDM) simulations. Properties of groups in these simulations reflect the lower small-scale velocities and the greater tendency to form distinct filaments on both small and large scales in CHDM as compared to CDM. The fraction of galaxies in groups and the median group rms velocity are found to be powerful discriminators between models. We combine these two features into a very robust statistic, median group rms velocity $v_{\rm gr}(f_{\rm gr})$ as a function of the fraction $f_{\rm gr}$ of galaxies in groups. Using this statistic, we compare ``observed'' simulations to CfA data in redshift space in a careful and consistent way. We find that CHDM remains a promising model, with for example v_{\rmgr}(0.45) \approx 125 \pm 25 \kms in agreement with the CfA data, while CDM with bias b=1.0 (COBE-compatible) or b=1.5, both giving v_{\rm gr}(0.45) \approx 400 \pm 25 \kms, can be virtually ruled out. Using median $M/L$, the observed value of $\Omega$ is $0.10$ (CHDM) to $0.38$ (CDM).Comment: to appear in Ap J Letters, 12 pages including 3 figures, uuencoded compressed postscript, preprint SCIPP 93/4

Filament and Shape Statistics: A Quantitative Comparison of Cold + Hot and Cold Dark Matter Cosmologies vs. CfA1 Data

A new class of geometric statistics for analyzing galaxy catalogs is presented. Filament statistics quantify filamentarity and planarity in large scale structure in a manner consistent with catalog visualizations. These statistics are based on sequences of spatial links which follow local high-density structures. From these link sequences we compute the discrete curvature, planarity, and torsion. Filament statistics are applied to CDM and CHDM ($\Omega_\nu = 0.3$) simulations of Klypin \etal (1996), the CfA1-like mock redshift catalogs of Nolthenius, Klypin and Primack (1994, 1996), and the CfA1 catalog. We also apply the moment-based shape statistics developed by Babul \& Starkman (1992), Luo \& Vishniac (1995), and Robinson \& Albrecht (1996) to these same catalogs, and compare their robustness and discriminatory power versus filament statistics. For 100 Mpc periodic simulation boxes ($H_0 = 50$ km s$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$), we find discrimination of $\sim 4\sigma$ (where $\sigma$ represents resampling errors) between CHDM and CDM for selected filament statistics and shape statistics, including variations in the galaxy identification scheme. Comparing the CfA1 data versus the models does not yield a conclusively favored model; no model is excluded at more than a $\sim 2\sigma$ level for any statistic, not including cosmic variance which could further degrade the discriminatory power. We find that CfA1 discriminates between models poorly mainly due to its sparseness and small number of galaxies, not due to redshift distortion, magnitude limiting, or geometrical effects. We anticipate that the proliferation of large redshift surveys and simulations will enable the statistics presented here to provide robust discrimination between large-scale structure in various cosmological models.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, LaTex (uses mn.sty). Accepted by MNRA

An X-ray Atlas of Groups of Galaxies

A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshift galaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse, extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximately one-third of these detections have not been previously reported in the literature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of the virial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain an intragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that contain at least one early-type galaxy.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journal Sup

VIMOS-IFU survey of z~0.2 massive galaxy clusters. I. Observations of the strong lensing cluster Abell 2667

(abridged) We present extensive multi-color imaging and low resolution VIMOS Integral Field Unit spectroscopic observations of the X-ray luminous cluster Abell 2667 (z=0.233). An extremely bright giant gravitational arc (z=1.0334) is easily identified as part of a triple image system and other fainter multiple images are also revealed by the HST-WFPC2 images. The VIMOS-IFU observations cover a field of view of 54'' x 54'' and enable us to determine the redshift of all galaxies down to V=22.5. Furthermore, redshifts could be identified for some sources down to V=23.2. In particular we identify 21 cluster members in the cluster inner region, from which we derive a velocity dispersion of \sigma=960 km/s, corresponding to a total mass of 7.1 x 10^{13} solar masses within a 110 kpc radius. Using the multiple images constraints and priors on the mass distribution of cluster galaxy halos we construct a detailed lensing mass model leading to a total mass of 2.9 x 10^{13} solar masses within the Einstein radius (16 arcsec). The lensing mass and dynamical mass are in good agreement although the dynamical one is much less accurate. Comparing these measurements with published X-ray analysis, is however less conclusive. Although the X-ray temperature matches the dynamical and lensing estimates, the published NFW mass model derived from the X-ray measurement with its small concentration of c ~3 can not account for the large Einstein radius observed in this cluster. A larger concentration of ~6 would however match the strong lensing measurements. These results are likely reflecting the complex structure of the cluster mass distribution, underlying the importance of panchromatic studies from small to large scale in order to better understand cluster physics.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to A

Percolation Galaxy Groups and Clusters in the SDSS Redshift Survey: Identification, Catalogs, and the Multiplicity Function

We identify galaxy groups and clusters in volume-limited samples of the SDSS redshift survey, using a redshift-space friends-of-friends algorithm. We optimize the friends-of-friends linking lengths to recover galaxy systems that occupy the same dark matter halos, using a set of mock catalogs created by populating halos of N-body simulations with galaxies. Extensive tests with these mock catalogs show that no combination of perpendicular and line-of-sight linking lengths is able to yield groups and clusters that simultaneously recover the true halo multiplicity function, projected size distribution, and velocity dispersion. We adopt a linking length combination that yields, for galaxy groups with ten or more members: a group multiplicity function that is unbiased with respect to the true halo multiplicity function; an unbiased median relation between the multiplicities of groups and their associated halos; a spurious group fraction of less than ~1%; a halo completeness of more than ~97%; the correct projected size distribution as a function of multiplicity; and a velocity dispersion distribution that is ~20% too low at all multiplicities. These results hold over a range of mock catalogs that use different input recipes of populating halos with galaxies. We apply our group-finding algorithm to the SDSS data and obtain three group and cluster catalogs for three volume-limited samples that cover 3495.1 square degrees on the sky. We correct for incompleteness caused by fiber collisions and survey edges, and obtain measurements of the group multiplicity function, with errors calculated from realistic mock catalogs. These multiplicity function measurements provide a key constraint on the relation between galaxy populations and dark matter halos.Comment: 26 emulateapj pages including 19 figures. Replaced with final ApJ versio

HD 12545, a Study in Spottedness

We have solved two sets of light curves of HD 12545 at its epoch of extreme spottedness in 1990-91, one of which coincides with an independent set analyzed recently by Strassmeier and Olah. Even for the huge amplitudes observed, these light-curve solutions did not give reliable determinations of several important spot properties. Specifically, we find that we could obtain acceptable solutions for a wide range of inclination; that spot temperature depends on inclination assumed, falling in the range Delta-T = Tstar - Tspot = 650-1200 K for inclinations of 70-30 deg; that spot latitudes derived from the light curves are unreliable; and that our independent spot solutions disagree with Strassmeier and Olah\u27s. On a more positive note, changes in the light curve over the past five years seem to have been caused primarily by rearrangement of persisting spot groups, and we note that the high level of activity implied by its H-alpha emission, makes HD 12545 a prime candidate for a white-light flare star