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 and the modified dynamics

I estimate Modified-Dynamics (MOND), median M/L values for recently published catalogues of galaxy groups. While the median, Newtonian M/L values quoted for these catalogues are 110-200 solar units, the corresponding values for MOND are less than 10 solar units.Comment: 5 pages, Latex, to appear in Astrophys. J. Let

The Dependence of the Galaxy Luminosity Function on Environment

We present luminosity functions for galaxies in loose groups in the Las Campanas Redshift Survey, differentiated by their environment (defined by the line-of-sight velocity dispersion sigma of the host groups) and also by their spectral type (emission or non-emission, defined by the equivalent width of the 3727-Angstrom [OII] line). We find systematic variations in the Schechter parameters alpha and M* for non-emission line galaxies over a range of 0 < sigma < 800 km/s. Alpha varies from 0.20 to -0.91, indicating an increase in the steepness of the faint end slope with increasing sigma. The accompanying variation in M* appears to be accounted for by the intrinsic correlation with alpha and does not indicate a significant physical variation in the bright end of the luminosity function. For emission line galaxies, we find no significant systematic variation of the luminosity function with the environment. Our results show that emission and non-emission galaxies generally occupy two distinct regions in the alpha-M* parameter space. From our luminosity functions, we derive the number ratios of emission to non-emission galaxies as a function of environment and absolute magnitude, showing that the relative abundance of non-emission line galaxies generally increases for all magnitudes -23 < M_R < -17.5 towards high-sigma environments, from ~80% to >90% at M_R = -22 and from ~10% to >50% at M_R = -18 (H_0 = 100 km s^{-1} Mpc^{-1} and q_0 = 0.5).Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in the Ap

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

Losing Weight: A KECK Spectroscopic Survey of the Massive Cluster of Galaxies RX J1347-1145

We present a sample of 47 spectroscopically confirmed members of RX J1347-1145, the most luminous X-ray cluster of galaxies discovered to date. With two exceptions, all the galaxies in this sample have red B-R colors and red spectral indices, with spectra similar to old local ellipticals. Using all 47 cluster members, we derive a mean redshift of 0.4509\pm 0.003, and a velocity dispersion of 910\pm130 km/sec, which corresponds to a virial mass of 4.4 x 10^{14} h^{-1} Solar masses with an harmonic radius of 380 h^{-1} kpc. The derived total dynamical mass is marginally consistent with that deduced from the cluster's X-ray emission based on the analysis of ROSAT/ASCA images (Schindler et al. 1997), but not consistent with the more recent X-ray analyses of Allen (2000), Ettori, Allen & Fabian (2001) and Allen, Schmidt & Fabian (2002). Furthermore, the dynamical mass is significantly smaller than that derived from weak lensing (Fischer & Tyson 1997) and from strong lensing (Sahu et al. 1998). We propose that these various discrepant mass estimates may be understood if RX J1347-1145 is the product of two clusters caught in the act of merging in a direction perpendicular to the line of sight, although there is no evidence from the galaxy redshift distribution supporting this hypothesis. Even with this hypothesis, a significant part of the extremely high X-ray luminosity must still arise from non-virialized, presumably shocked, gas. Finally, we report the serendipitous discovery of a lensed background galaxy at z=4.083 which will put strong constraints on the lensing mass determination once its counter-image is securely identified.Comment: Minor changes to conform to version accepted by Ap

Shock waves in tidally compressed stars by massive black holes

We interest in the case of a main-sequence star deeply penetrating within the tidal radius of a massive black hole. We focus on the compression phase leading to a so-called pancake configuration of the star at the instant of maximal compression. The aim is to study the tidal compression process paying particular attention to the development of shock waves;to deduce reliable estimates of the thermodynamical quantities involved in the pancake star; and to solve a controversy about whether or not thermonuclear reactions can be triggered in the core of a tidally compressed star. We have set up a one-dimensional hydrodynamical model well-adapted to the geometry of the problem. Based on the high-resolution shock-capturing Godunov-type approach, it allows to study the compression phase undergone by the star in the direction orthogonal to its orbital plane. We show the existence of two regimes depending on whether shock waves develop before or after the instant of maximal core compression. In both cases we confirm high compression and heating factors in the stellar core able to trigger a thermonuclear explosion. Moreover, we show that the shock waves carry outwards a brief but very high peak of temperature from the centre to the surface of the star. We tentatively conclude that the phenomenon could give rise to hard electromagnetic radiation, to be compared to some X-ray flares already observed in some galactic nuclei harbouring massive black holes. Finally, we estimate that the rate of pancake stars should be about $10^{-5}$ per galaxy per year. If generated in hard X- or $\gamma$-ray band, several events of this kind per year should be detectable within the full observable universe.Comment: 19 pages, 38 figures, 7 tables; v2 : corrected to match version accepted in Astron. Astrophys. Tables and references added, new simulations also performed for adiabatic index 4/

Groups of Galaxies in the Two Micron All-Sky Redshift Survey

We present the results of applying a percolation algorithm to the initial release of the Two Micron All-Sky Survey Extended Source Catalog, using subsequently measured redshifts for almost all of the galaxies with K < 11.25 mag. This group catalog is based on the first near-IR all-sky flux-limited survey that is complete to |b| = 5 deg. We explore the dependence of the clustering on the length and velocity scales involved. The paper describes a group catalog, complete to a limiting redshift of 10,000 km/s, created by maximizing the number of groups containing 3 or more members. A second catalog is also presented, created by requiring a minimum density contrast of 80 to identify groups. We identify known nearby clusters in the catalogs and contrast the groups identified in the two catalogs. We examine and compare the properties of the determined groups and verify that the results are consistent with the UZC-SSRS2 and northern CfA redshift survey group catalogs. The all-sky nature of the catalog will allow the development of a flow-field model based on the density field inferred from the estimated cluster masses.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (29 pages including 13 figures). A version with high-resolution figures is available at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~acrook/preprints