Home     Getting Started     To Survive in the Universe    
Inhabited Sky
    News@Sky     Astro Photo     The Collection     Forum     Blog New!     FAQ     Press     Login  

NGC 4555


Contents

Images

Upload your image

DSS Images   Other Images


Related articles

A Chandra View of Dark Matter in Early-Type Galaxies
We present a Chandra study of mass profiles in seven ellipticalgalaxies, of which three have galaxy-scale and four have group-scalehalos, demarcated at 1013 Msolar. These representthe best available data for nearby objects with comparable X-rayluminosities. We measure approximately flat mass-to-light (M/L) profileswithin an optical half-light radius (Reff), rising by anorder of magnitude at ~10 Reff, which confirms the presenceof dark matter (DM). The data indicate hydrostatic equilibrium, which isalso supported by agreement with studies of stellar kinematics inelliptical galaxies. The data are well fitted by a model comprising anNFW DM profile and a baryonic component following the optical light. Thedistribution of DM halo concentration parameters (c) versusMvir agrees with ΛCDM predictions and our observationsof bright groups. Concentrations are slightly higher than expected,which is most likely a selection effect. Omitting the stellar massdrastically increases c, possibly explaining large concentrations foundby some past observers. The stellar M/LK agree withpopulation synthesis models, assuming a Kroupa IMF. Allowing adiabaticcompression (AC) of the DM halo by baryons made M/L more discrepant,casting some doubt on AC. Our best-fitting models imply total baryonfractions ~0.04-0.09, consistent with models of galaxy formationincorporating strong feedback. The groups exhibit positive temperaturegradients, consistent with the ``universal'' profiles found in othergroups and clusters, whereas the galaxies have negative gradients,suggesting a change in the evolutionary history of the systems aroundMvir~=1013 Msolar.

Scaling Mass Profiles around Elliptical Galaxies Observed with Chandra and XMM-Newton
We investigated the dynamical structure of 53 elliptical galaxies usingthe Chandra archival X-ray data. In X-ray-luminous galaxies, temperatureincreases with radius and gas density is systematically higher at theoptical outskirts, indicating the presence of a significant amount ofthe group-scale hot gas. In contrast, X-ray-dim galaxies show a flat ordeclining temperature profile against radius and the gas density isrelatively lower at the optical outskirts. Thus, it is found thatX-ray-bright and faint elliptical galaxies are clearly distinguished bythe temperature and gas density profile. The mass profile is well scaledby a virial radius r200 rather than an optical half-radiusre, is quite similar at (0.001-0.03)r200 betweenX-ray-luminous and dim galaxies, and smoothly connects to those profilesof clusters of galaxies. At the inner region of(0.001-0.01)r200 or (0.1-1)re, the mass profilewell traces a stellar mass with a constant mass-to-light ratio ofM/LB=3-10 Msolar/Lsolar. TheM/LB ratio of X-ray-bright galaxies rises up steeply beyond0.01r200 and thus requires a presence of massive dark matterhalo. From the deprojection analysis combined with the XMM-Newton data,we found that X-ray-dim galaxies NGC 3923, NGC 720, and IC 1459 alsohave a high M/LB ratio of 20-30 at 20 kpc, comparable to thatof X-ray-luminous galaxies. Therefore, dark matter is indicated to becommon in elliptical galaxies; their dark matter distribution, as wellas that of galaxy clusters, almost follows the NFW profile.

The Afterglows of Ultraluminous Quasars
Quasars represent a brief phase in the life cycle of most massivegalaxies, but the evolutionary connection between central black holesand their host galaxies remains unclear. While quasars are active andshining brighter than the Compton-limit luminosity, their radiationheats the surrounding medium to the Compton temperature, forming Comptonspheres extending to the Strömgren radius ofFe26+/He2+. After the quasars shut off, their``afterglow'' can be detected through three signatures: (1) an extendedX-ray envelope, with a characteristic temperature of~3×107 K, (2) Lyα and Lyβ lines and the Kedge of Fe26+, and (3) nebulosity from hydrogen and heliumrecombination emission lines. We discuss the possibility of detectingthese signatures using Chandra, the planned X-Ray Evolving UniverseSpectroscopy mission, and ground-based optical telescopes. Theluminosity and size of quasar afterglows can be used to constrain thelifetime of quasars.

Study of the Structure of the Coma Cluster Based on a Hierarchical Force Clustering Method
Six subclusters in the Coma cluster have been selected on the basis of ahierarchical clustering method that takes the gravitational interactionamong galaxies into account. Of these, 3 central subclusters around thegalaxies NGC 4889, NGC 4874, and NGC 4839 have been singled out. We haveused the objective statistical criterion applied by Vennik and Anosovain studies of close groups of galaxies to evaluate each member includedin a subcluster with a high probability. Galaxies with a significantdeficit of hydrogen HI, including objects from the Bravo-Alfaro list,have been identified with members of the subclusters, with the greatestnumber of them in the subclusters around NGC 4874 and NGC 4839. Aquantitative estimate of the hydrogen deficit using the HI index in theRCG3 catalog reveals a statistically significant excess value for thosegalaxies that are members of the subclusters compared to galaxies with ahydrogen deficit in the overall Coma cluster field. A substantial numberof the spiral galaxies with a hydrogen deficit in the subclusters turnedout to be radio galaxies as well.

The isolated elliptical NGC 4555 observed with Chandra
We present analysis of a Chandra observation of the elliptical galaxyNGC 4555. The galaxy lies in a very low density environment, eitherisolated from all galaxies of similar mass or on the outskirts of agroup. Despite this, NGC 4555 has a large gaseous halo, extending to~60kpc. We find the mean gas temperature to be ~0.95keV and the Feabundance to be ~0.5Zsolar. We model the surface brightness,temperature and abundance distribution of the halo and use these resultsto estimate parameters such as the entropy and cooling time of the gas,and the total gravitational mass of the galaxy. In contrast to recentresults showing that moderate luminosity ellipticals contain relativelysmall quantities of dark matter, our results show that NGC 4555 has amassive dark halo and large mass-to-light ratio(56.8+34.2-35.8Msolar/LBsolarat 50kpc, 42.7+14.6-21.2 at 5re,1σ errors). We discuss this disparity and consider possiblemechanisms by which galaxies might reduce their dark matter content.

The photometric properties of isolated early-type galaxies
Isolated galaxies are important because they probe the lowest densityregimes inhabited by galaxies. We define a sample of 36 nearby isolatedearly-type galaxies for further study. Our isolation criteria requirethem to have no comparable-mass neighbours within 2 B-band magnitudes,0.67 Mpc in the plane of the sky and 700 km s-1 in recessionvelocity. New wide-field optical imaging of 10 isolated galaxies withthe Anglo-Australian Telescope confirms their early-type morphology andrelative isolation. We also present imaging of four galaxy groups as acontrol sample. The isolated galaxies are shown to be moregravitationally isolated than the group galaxies. We find that theisolated early-type galaxies have a mean effective colour of(B-R)e= 1.54 +/- 0.14, similar to their high-densitycounterparts. They reveal a similar colour-magnitude relation slope andsmall intrinsic scatter to cluster ellipticals. They also follow theKormendy relation of surface brightness versus size for luminous clustergalaxies. Such properties suggest that the isolated galaxies formed at asimilar epoch to cluster galaxies, such that the bulk of their stars arevery old. However, our galaxy modelling reveals evidence for dust lanes,plumes, shells, boxy and disc isophotes in four out of nine galaxies.Thus at least some isolated galaxies have experienced a recentmerger/accretion event, which may have induced a small burst of starformation. We derive luminosity functions for the isolated galaxies andfind a faint slope of -1.2, which is similar to the `universal' slopefound in a wide variety of environments. We examine the number densitydistribution of galaxies in the field of the isolated galaxies. Only thevery faintest dwarf galaxies (MR>~-15.5) appear to beassociated with the isolated galaxies, whereas anyintermediate-luminosity galaxies appear to lie in the background.Finally, we discuss possible formation scenarios for isolated early-typegalaxies. Early epoch formation and a merger/accretion of galaxies arepossible explanations. The collapse of a large, virialized group is anunlikely explanation, but that of a poor group remains viable.

The GEMS project: X-ray analysis and statistical properties of the group sample
The Group Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS) involves amultiwavelength study of a sample of 60 galaxy groups, chosen to span awide range of group properties. Substantial ROSAT Position SensitiveProportional Counter (PSPC) observations, available for all of thesegroups, are used to characterize the state of the intergalactic mediumin each. We present the results of a uniform analysis of these ROSATdata and a statistical investigation of the relationship between X-rayand optical properties across the sample. Our analysis improves inseveral respects on previous work: (i) we distinguish between systems inwhich the hot gas is a group-scale medium and those in which it appearsto be just a hot halo associated with a central galaxy; (ii) weextrapolate X-ray luminosities to a fixed overdensity radius(r500) using fitted surface brightness models, in order toavoid biases arising from the fact that cooler systems are detectable tosmaller radii, and (iii) optical properties have been rederived in auniform manner from the NASA Extragalactic Database, rather than relyingon the data in the disparate collection of group catalogues from whichour systems are drawn.The steepening of the LX-TX relation in the groupregime reported previously is not seen in our sample, which fits well onto the cluster trend, albeit with large non-statistical scatter. Anumber of biases affect the fitting of regression lines under thesecircumstances, and until the impact of these has been thoroughlyinvestigated it seems best to regard the slope of the groupLX-TX relation as being poorly determined. Asignificant problem in comparing the properties of groups and clustersis the derivation of system radii, to allow different systems to becompared within regions having the same overdensity. We find evidencethat group velocity dispersion (σv) provides a veryunreliable measure of system mass (and hence radius), with a number ofgroups having remarkably low values of σv, given thatthey appear from their X-ray properties to be collapsed systems. Weconfirm that the surface brightness profiles of groups are significantlyflatter than those of clusters - the maximum value of theβfit parameter for our sample is 0.58, lower than thetypical value of 0.67 seen in clusters - however, we find no significanttendency within our sample for cooler groups to show flatter profiles.This result is inconsistent with simple universal pre-heating models.The morphology of the galaxies in the GEMS groups is correlated to theirX-ray properties in a number of ways: we confirm the very strongrelationship between X-ray emission and a dominant early-type centralgalaxy, which has been noted since the early X-ray studies of groups,and also find that spiral fraction is correlated with the temperature ofthe hot gas and hence the depth of the gravitational potential. A classof spiral-rich groups with little or no X-ray emission probablycorresponds to groups that have not yet fully collapsed.

Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Spectroscopic Data
We present central velocity dispersions and Mg2 line indicesfor an all-sky sample of ~1178 elliptical and S0 galaxies, of which 984had no previous measures. This sample contains the largest set ofhomogeneous spectroscopic data for a uniform sample of ellipticalgalaxies in the nearby universe. These galaxies were observed as part ofthe ENEAR project, designed to study the peculiar motions and internalproperties of the local early-type galaxies. Using 523 repeatedobservations of 317 galaxies obtained during different runs, the dataare brought to a common zero point. These multiple observations, takenduring the many runs and different instrumental setups employed for thisproject, are used to derive statistical corrections to the data and arefound to be relatively small, typically <~5% of the velocitydispersion and 0.01 mag in the Mg2 line strength. Typicalerrors are about 8% in velocity dispersion and 0.01 mag inMg2, in good agreement with values published elsewhere.

Redshift-Distance Survey of Early-Type Galaxies: Circular-Aperture Photometry
We present R-band CCD photometry for 1332 early-type galaxies, observedas part of the ENEAR survey of peculiar motions using early-typegalaxies in the nearby universe. Circular apertures are used to tracethe surface brightness profiles, which are then fitted by atwo-component bulge-disk model. From the fits, we obtain the structuralparameters required to estimate galaxy distances using theDn-σ and fundamental plane relations. We find thatabout 12% of the galaxies are well represented by a pure r1/4law, while 87% are best fitted by a two-component model. There are 356repeated observations of 257 galaxies obtained during different runsthat are used to derive statistical corrections and bring the data to acommon system. We also use these repeated observations to estimate ourinternal errors. The accuracy of our measurements are tested by thecomparison of 354 galaxies in common with other authors. Typical errorsin our measurements are 0.011 dex for logDn, 0.064 dex forlogre, 0.086 mag arcsec-2 for<μe>, and 0.09 for mRC,comparable to those estimated by other authors. The photometric datareported here represent one of the largest high-quality and uniformall-sky samples currently available for early-type galaxies in thenearby universe, especially suitable for peculiar motion studies.Based on observations at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., undercooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF);European Southern Observatory (ESO); Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory(FLWO); and the MDM Observatory on Kitt Peak.

A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxies
We have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of ``normality''. Thedefinition of a ``normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for ``normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5

1.65-μm (H -band) surface photometry of galaxies - VIII. The near-IR κ space at z =0
We present the distribution of a statistical sample of nearby galaxiesin the κ -space (κ 1 ~logM , κ 2~logI e 3 M /L , κ 3 ~logM /L ).Our study is based on near-IR (H -band: λ =1.65μm)observations, for the first time comprising early- and late-typesystems. Our data confirm that the mean effective dynamicalmass-to-light ratio M /L of the E+S0+S0a galaxies increases withincreasing effective dynamical mass M , as expected from the existenceof the Fundamental Plane relation. Conversely, spiral and Im/BCDgalaxies show a broad distribution in M /L with no detected trend of M/L with M , the former galaxies having M /L values about twice largerthan the latter, on average. For all the late-type galaxies, the M /Lincreases with decreasing effective surface intensity I e ,consistent with the existence of the Tully-Fisher relation. Theseresults are discussed on the basis of the assumptions behind theconstruction of the κ -space and their limitations. Our study iscomplementary to a previous investigation in the optical (B -band:λ =0.44μm) and allows us to study wavelength dependences ofthe galaxy distribution in the κ -space. As a first result, wefind that the galaxy distribution in the κ 1 -κ2 plane reproduces the transition from bulgeless tobulge-dominated systems in galaxies of increasing dynamical mass.Conversely, it appears that the M /L of late-types is higher (lower)than that of early-types with the same M in the near-IR (optical). Theorigins of this behaviour are discussed in terms of dust attenuation andstar formation history.

The UZC-SSRS2 Group Catalog
We apply a friends-of-friends algorithm to the combined Updated ZwickyCatalog and Southern Sky Redshift Survey to construct a catalog of 1168groups of galaxies; 411 of these groups have five or more members withinthe redshift survey. The group catalog covers 4.69 sr, and all groupsexceed the number density contrast threshold, δρ/ρ=80. Wedemonstrate that the groups catalog is homogeneous across the twounderlying redshift surveys; the catalog of groups and their membersthus provides a basis for other statistical studies of the large-scaledistribution of groups and their physical properties. The medianphysical properties of the groups are similar to those for groupsderived from independent surveys, including the ESO Key Programme andthe Las Campanas Redshift Survey. We include tables of groups and theirmembers.

A catalogue and analysis of X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxies
We present a catalogue of X-ray luminosities for 401 early-typegalaxies, of which 136 are based on newly analysed ROSAT PSPC pointedobservations. The remaining luminosities are taken from the literatureand converted to a common energy band, spectral model and distancescale. Using this sample we fit the LX:LB relationfor early-type galaxies and find a best-fit slope for the catalogue of~2.2. We demonstrate the influence of group-dominant galaxies on the fitand present evidence that the relation is not well modelled by a singlepower-law fit. We also derive estimates of the contribution to galaxyX-ray luminosities from discrete-sources and conclude that they provideLdscr/LB~=29.5ergs-1LBsolar-1. Wecompare this result with luminosities from our catalogue. Lastly, weexamine the influence of environment on galaxy X-ray luminosity and onthe form of the LX:LB relation. We conclude thatalthough environment undoubtedly affects the X-ray properties ofindividual galaxies, particularly those in the centres of groups andclusters, it does not change the nature of whole populations.

X-ray luminosities of galaxies in groups
We have derived the X-ray luminosities of a sample of galaxies ingroups, making careful allowance for contaminating intragroup emission.The LX:LB and LX:LFIRrelations of spiral galaxies in groups appear to be indistinguishablefrom those in other environments, however the elliptical galaxies fallinto two distinct classes. The first class is central-dominant groupgalaxies, which are very X-ray luminous and may be the focus of groupcooling flows. All other early-type galaxies in groups belong to thesecond class, which populates an almost constant band ofLX/LB over the range9.8

1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. III. observations of 558 galaxies with the TIRGO 1.5 m telescope
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm ) surface photometry of 558galaxies in the Coma Supercluster and in the Virgo cluster. This dataset, obtained with the Arcetri NICMOS3 camera ARNICA mounted on theGornergrat Infrared Telescope, is aimed at complementing, withobservations of mostly early-type objects, our NIR survey of spiralgalaxies in these regions, presented in previous papers of this series.Magnitudes at the optical radius, total magnitudes, isophotal radii andlight concentration indices are derived. We confirm the existence of apositive correlation between the near-infrared concentration index andthe galaxy H-band luminosity Based on observations taken at TIRGO(Gornergrat, Switzerland). TIRGO is operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy. Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

1.65 μm (H-band) surface photometry of galaxies. V. Profile decomposition of 1157 galaxies
We present near-infrared H-band (1.65 μm) surface brightness profiledecomposition for 1157 galaxies in five nearby clusters of galaxies:Coma, A1367, Virgo, A262 and Cancer, and in the bridge between Coma andA1367 in the ``Great Wall". The optically selected (mpg≤16.0) sample is representative of all Hubble types, from E to Irr+BCD,except dE and of significantly different environments, spanning fromisolated regions to rich clusters of galaxies. We model the surfacebrightness profiles with a de Vaucouleurs r1/4 law (dV), withan exponential disk law (E), or with a combination of the two (B+D).From the fitted quantities we derive the H band effective surfacebrightness (μe) and radius (re) of each component, theasymptotic magnitude HT and the light concentration indexC31. We find that: i) Less than 50% of the Ellipticalgalaxies have pure dV profiles. The majority of E to Sb galaxies is bestrepresented by a B+D profile. All Scd to BCD galaxies have pureexponential profiles. ii) The type of decomposition is a strong functionof the total H band luminosity (mass), independent of the Hubbleclassification: the fraction of pure exponential decompositionsdecreases with increasing luminosity, that of B+D increases withluminosity. Pure dV profiles are absent in the low luminosity rangeLH<1010 L\odot and become dominantabove 1011 L\odot . Based on observations taken atTIRGO, Gornergrat, Switzerland (operated by CAISMI-CNR, Arcetri,Firenze, Italy) and at the Calar Alto Observatory (operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie (Heidelberg) jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy). Table 2 and Figs. 2, 3, 4are available in their entirety only in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

Arcsecond Positions of UGC Galaxies
We present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only.

On the local radio luminosity function of galaxies. II. Environmental dependences among late-type galaxies
Using new extensive radio continuum surveys at 1.4 GHz (FIRST and NVSS),we derive the distribution of the radio/optical and radio/NIR luminosity(RLF) of late-type (Sa-Irr) galaxies (m_p<15.7) in 5 nearby clustersof galaxies: A262, Cancer, A1367, Coma and Virgo. With the aim ofdiscussing possible environmental dependences of the radio properties,we compare these results with those obtained for relatively isolatedobjects in the Coma supercluster. We find that the RLF of Cancer, A262and Virgo are consistent with that of isolated galaxies. Conversely weconfirm earlier claims that galaxies in A1367 and Coma have their radioemissivity enhanced by a factor ~ 5 with respect to isolated objects. Wediscuss this result in the framework of the dynamical pressure sufferedby galaxies in motion through the intra-cluster gas (ram-pressure). Wefind that the radio excess is statistically larger for galaxies in fasttransit motion. This is coherent with the idea that enhanced radiocontinuum activity is associated with magnetic field compression. TheX-ray luminosities and temperatures of Coma and A1367 imply that thesetwo clusters have significantly larger intracluster gas density than theremaining three studied ones, providing a clue for explaining the higherradio continuum luminosities of their galaxies. Multiple systems in theComa supercluster bridge (with projected separations smaller than 300kpc) have radio luminosities significantly larger than isolatedgalaxies. Table~1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html}

Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
Not Available

Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxies
We present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.

An image database. II. Catalogue between δ=-30deg and δ=70deg.
A preliminary list of 68.040 galaxies was built from extraction of35.841 digitized images of the Palomar Sky Survey (Paper I). For eachgalaxy, the basic parameters are obtained: coordinates, diameter, axisratio, total magnitude, position angle. On this preliminary list, weapply severe selection rules to get a catalog of 28.000 galaxies, wellidentified and well documented. For each parameter, a comparison is madewith standard measurements. The accuracy of the raw photometricparameters is quite good despite of the simplicity of the method.Without any local correction, the standard error on the total magnitudeis about 0.5 magnitude up to a total magnitude of B_T_=17. Significantsecondary effects are detected concerning the magnitudes: distance toplate center effect and air-mass effect.

Galaxy Properties at the North Galactic Pole. I. Photometric Properties on Large Spatial Scales
A two-color study of the galaxies detected on POSS-I in a 289 squaredegree region centered on the North Galactic Pole is presented. We use avariety of mapping techniques to characterize the large-scale spatialdistribution of galaxies. The depth and sample size of this new surveyallows, for the first time, the isolation of large photometricsubsamples of galaxies in high- and low-density environments on thescale of superclusters. Our principal finding is a statisticallysignificant difference between the mean photometric properties of thesesubsamples in the sense that galaxies in the high-density Coma andfilament environments have redder colors and larger concentrationindices than galaxies drawn from low-density interfilament regions.These results are in accord with the known morphology-density relation.Thus, appropriately chosen photometric and morphological parameters, inconcert with a galaxy surface density map, can be used to selectstructures from the projected galaxy distribution which correspond toregions of high density. An illustration of this point is our discoveryof a concentration of blue galaxies identified in our maps near the coreof the Coma cluster. This feature is comprised of early-type galaxieswhich exhibit signs of current or recent star formation. These resultsare predicated on relations between morphological type and photometricparameters derived from APS scans of POSS-I. We therefore discuss theimage calibration procedures used to compile our catalog of physicallysignificant photometric parameters. We demonstrate the morphologicaltype dependence among quantities such as mean color and imageconcentration index, and the lack of such a dependence for mean surfacebrightness.

A revised catalog of CfA1 galaxy groups in the Virgo/Great Attractor flow field
A new identification of groups and clusters in the CfA1 Catalog ofHuchra et al. is presented, using a percolation algorithm to identifydensity enhancements. It is shown that in the resulting catalog,contamination by interlopers is significantly reduced. The Schechterluminosity function is redetermined, including the Malmquist bias.

Associations between quasi-stellar objects and galaxies
A table is presented here listing all close pairs of QSOs and galaxiesthat were found in a computer-aided search of catalogs of QSOs andbright galaxies and an extensive search of the literature. There is alarge excess of pairs with separations of 2 arcmin lor less, or about 60kpc, over the numbers expected if the configurations were accidental.The angular separation for 392 pairs adds to the evidence for physicalassociation, and it is shown that selection effects are not important. Ageneral rule is stated that QSOs tend to lie in the vicinity of normalgalaxies much more often than is expected by chance whether or not thegalaxies and the QSOs have the same redshifts. It is emphasized thatthis rule cannot be explained in terms of gravitational microlensing,and it is concluded that some part of the redshift of all classes ofactive nuclei is not associated with the expansion of the universe.

Groups of galaxies in the Center for Astrophysics redshift survey
By applying the Huchra and Geller (1982) objective group identificationalgorithm to the Center for Astrophysics' redshift survey, a catalog of128 groups with three or more members is extracted, and 92 of these areused as a statistical sample. A comparison of the distribution of groupcenters with the distribution of all galaxies in the survey indicatesqualitatively that groups trace the large-scale structure of the region.The physical properties of groups may be related to the details oflarge-scale structure, and it is concluded that differences among groupcatalogs may be due to the properties of large-scale structures andtheir location relative to the survey limits.

On the relationship between radio emission and optical properties in early-type galaxies
To study the origin of radio activity in early-type galaxies, thepossible dependence of their radio emission on basic optical parameters,such as the absolute magnitude, the central velocity dispersion sigma,and the mean surface brightness mu is explored. A sample of 743 E and SOgalaxies is used which is based on three independent radio surveys ofoptically selected galaxies with virtually complete information onmagnitudes, morphological types, redshift distances, diameters, andradio fluxes. For both E and SO galaxies, only the absolute magnitudeappears to be directly related to the radio activity, while sigma and mudo not. Also, a significant dependence of the apparent flattening onradio power is confirmed for E galaxies. Some relevant implications ofthese results are discussed.

A search for features in early-type galaxies
Using data from the CCD surface-photometry survey of Djorgovski (1985),images of 159 galaxies were examined for the presence of dust lanes,incipient stellar disks, bars, shells, and other features that signifydeviations from elliptical symmetry. The sample contained 116 ellipticalgalaxies, 33 SO galaxies and 10 intermediate galaxies. It was found thatforty-two of the ellipticals either definitely or very likely containdust, either in patches or in well-defined lanes or rings. Five of theE/SO galaxies also show possible or definite dust, as do 15 of the SOs.Three of the elliptical galaxies definitely contain stellar disks, withseveral more possible candidates. The presence of these features inalmost half of the elliptical galaxies studied demonstrates thatelliptical galaxies are not the featureless objects they were oncethought to be. Moreover, the finding of weak stellar disks in some ofthem further blurs the distinction between ellipticals and SOs.

Radio sources in giant E and S0 galaxies
An optically selected sample of 67 giant E and S0 galaxies has beenobserved with radio telescopes of high sensitivity to low-brightnessemission. Correlations between radio emission and galaxy type andbetween radio emission and environment are confirmed, and the fractionof E galaxies with M(B) less than -21.75 that have radio powers Pgreater than 10 to the 23rd W/Hz at 2380 MHz is found to be 0.4 + or -0.1. For all of the 19 sources with P greater than 10 to the 23rd W/Hzthere is evidence on high-resolution maps of continuing centralactivity. Sensitive observations at 151 MHz are used to put limits onthe number of steep-spectrum radio sources, which may be relics of pastactivity in other sample galaxies, more effectively than has previouslybeen possible. Based on the expected lifetime at 151 MHz of radiativelydecaying sources, the time-scale over which typical radio galaxiesremain active is determined to be greater than a few billion yr. This isin conflict with the small linear sizes of many radio sources in thissample, and it is likely that other effects (such as expansion losses inunconfined sources) render the older parts of these objects invisible.

Taxonomical analysis of superclusters. II - The A1367/Coma supercluster
The nonhierarchical taxonomical method has been applied to a sample of185 galaxies, complete to m not greater than 15, in the A1367/Comaregion. Once the fore- and background galaxies have been identified, theanalysis of the A1367 cluster shows it composed by two gravitationallybound clumps at essentially the same redshift, 6396 km/s and 6562 km/s,respectively. Central Coma is traced by three different groups whosegravitational binding does not appear clearly. However, accepting theunique dynamical entity of Central Coma, some other neighboring groupswould be part of the cluster. In that case, the average radial velocityand dispersion of the Coma cluster would be 7013 and 423 km/s,respectively. The M/L ratios for the groups evidenced by the taxonomyrange from 13 to 170. The missing mass problem only appears when all thegalaxies in the sample are considered as members of a unique dynamicalstructure. The relationship found in other systems between the redshift,the morphological type and the radioemissivity is also present in thesample.

Radio continuum survey of the Coma/A1367 supercluster. II - 1.5 GHz observations of 396 CGCG galaxies
1.5 GHz VLA radio continuum observations of 396 relatively isolated CGCGgalaxies in the Coma/A1367 supercluster yielded the detection of 95objects. These observations, added to the ones presented in previouspapers, form a complete sample of optically selected objects with m(p)equal to or less than 15.3. Two wide-angle-tailed sources have beenfound in smaller groups within the supercluster.

Submit a new article


Related links

  • - No Links Found -
Submit a new link


Member of following groups:


Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Coma Berenices
Right ascension:12h35m41.20s
Declination:+26°31'26.0"
Aparent dimensions:1.413′ × 1.072′

Catalogs and designations:
Proper Names   (Edit)
NGC 2000.0NGC 4555
HYPERLEDA-IPGC 41975

→ Request more catalogs and designations from VizieR