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The Structural Properties of Isolated Galaxies, Spiral-Spiral Pairs, and Mergers: The Robustness of Galaxy Morphology during Secular Evolution
We present a structural analysis of nearby galaxies in spiral-spiralpairs in optical BVRI bands and compare them with the structures ofisolated spiral galaxies and galaxies in ongoing mergers. We use thesecomparisons to determine how galaxy structure changes during galaxyinteractions and mergers. We analyze light concentration (C), asymmetry(A), and clumpiness (S) parameters, and use the projections of CASparameter space to compare these samples. We find that the CASparameters of paired galaxies are correlated with the projectedseparations of the pair. For the widest and closest pairs, the CASparameters tend to be similar to those of isolated and ongoing majormergers (e.g., ultraluminous infrared galaxies), respectively. Ourresults imply that galaxy morphology is a robust property that onlychanges significantly during a strong interaction or major merger. Thetypical timescale for this change in our paired sample, based ondynamical friction arguments, is short, τ~0.1-0.5 Gyr. We findaverage enhancement factors for the spiral-pair asymmetries andclumpiness values of ~2.2 and 1.5. The S parameter, which is related tostar formation (SF) activity, has a moderate level of enhancement,suggesting that this activity in modern spirals depends more on internalprocesses than on external conditions. We further test the statisticalcriterion for picking up interacting galaxies in an automated way byusing the A-S projection plane. The diversity of our spiral-pair samplein the CAS space suggests that structural/SF/morphological properties ofinteracting galaxies change abruptly only when the interaction becomesvery strong and the criteria given previously by Conselice for findinggalaxies involved in major mergers are effective.
| The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. III. HI observations of early-type disk galaxies
We present Hi observations of 68 early-type disk galaxies from the WHISPsurvey. They have morphological types between S0 and Sab and absoluteB-band magnitudes between -14 and -22. These galaxies form the massive,high surface-brightness extreme of the disk galaxy population, few ofwhich have been imaged in Hi before. The Hi properties of the galaxiesin our sample span a large range; the average values of MHI/LB and DH I/D25 are comparableto the ones found in later-type spirals, but the dispersions around themean are larger. No significant differences are found between the S0/S0aand the Sa/Sab galaxies. Our early-type disk galaxies follow the same Himass-diameter relation as later-type spiral galaxies, but theireffective Hi surface densities are slightly lower than those found inlater-type systems. In some galaxies, distinct rings of Hi emissioncoincide with regions of enhanced star formation, even though theaverage gas densities are far below the threshold of star formationderived by Kennicutt (1989, ApJ, 344, 685). Apparently, additionalmechanisms, as yet unknown, regulate star formation at low surfacedensities. Many of the galaxies in our sample have lopsided gasmorphologies; in most cases this can be linked to recent or ongoinginteractions or merger events. Asymmetries are rare in quiescentgalaxies. Kinematic lopsidedness is rare, both in interacting andisolated systems. In the appendix, we present an atlas of the Hiobservations: for all galaxies we show Hi surface density maps, globalprofiles, velocity fields and radial surface density profiles.
| On the alignment between binary spiral galaxies
We show some significance against the null hypothesis of randominteractions of binary spiral galaxies, and in favour of the alternativethat more interactions than expected occur for axes either nearlyparallel (spins being parallel or anti-parallel) or nearly orthogonal.We discuss this in the context of similar prior studies, using adifferent statistical focus in such a way that we are able toincorporate additional data.
| Galaxy Interaction and the Starburst-Seyfert Connection
Galaxy interactions are studied in terms of the starburst-Seyfertconnection. The starburst requires a high rate of gas supply. Since theefficiency for supplying the gas is high in a galaxy interaction,although the companion is not necessarily discernible, Seyfert galaxieswith circumnuclear starbursts are expected to be interacting. Since thelarge amounts of circumnuclear gas and dust obscure the broad-lineregion, they are expected to be observed as Seyfert 2 galaxies. Theactive galactic nucleus itself does not require a high rate of gassupply. Seyfert galaxies without circumnuclear starbursts are notnecessarily expected to be interacting even at the highest luminosities.They are not necessarily expected to evolve from Seyfert galaxies withcircumnuclear starbursts. We derive these and other theoreticalexpectations and confirm them with statistics on observational data ofmagnitude-limited samples of Seyfert galaxies.
| Properties of isolated disk galaxies
We present a new sample of northern isolated galaxies, which are definedby the physical criterion that they were not affected by other galaxiesin their evolution during the last few Gyr. To find them we used thelogarithmic ratio, f, between inner and tidal forces acting upon thecandidate galaxy by a possible perturber. The analysis of thedistribution of the f-values for the galaxies in the Coma cluster leadus to adopt the criterion f ≤ -4.5 for isolated galaxies. Thecandidates were chosen from the CfA catalog of galaxies within thevolume defined by cz ≤5000 km s-1, galactic latitudehigher than 40o and declination ≥-2.5o. Theselection of the sample, based on redshift values (when available),magnitudes and sizes of the candidate galaxies and possible perturberspresent in the same field is discussed. The final list of selectedisolated galaxies includes 203 objects from the initial 1706. The listcontains only truly isolated galaxies in the sense defined, but it is byno means complete, since all the galaxies with possible companions underthe f-criterion but with unknown redshift were discarded. We alsoselected a sample of perturbed galaxies comprised of all the diskgalaxies from the initial list with companions (with known redshift)satisfying f ≥ -2 and \Delta(cz) ≤500 km s-1; a totalof 130 objects. The statistical comparison of both samples showssignificant differences in morphology, sizes, masses, luminosities andcolor indices. Confirming previous results, we found that late spiral,Sc-type galaxies are, in particular, more frequent among isolatedgalaxies, whereas Lenticular galaxies are more abundant among perturbedgalaxies. Isolated systems appear to be smaller, less luminous and bluerthan interacting objects. We also found that bars are twice as frequentamong perturbed galaxies compared to isolated galaxies, in particularfor early Spirals and Lenticulars. The perturbed galaxies have higherLFIR/LB and Mmol/LB ratios,but the atomic gas content is similar for the two samples. The analysisof the luminosity-size and mass-luminosity relations shows similartrends for both families, the main difference being the almost totalabsence of big, bright and massive galaxies among the family of isolatedsystems, together with the almost total absence of small, faint and lowmass galaxies among the perturbed systems. All these aspects indicatethat the evolution induced by interactions with neighbors would proceedfrom late, small, faint and low mass Spirals to earlier, bigger, moreluminous and more massive spiral and lenticular galaxies, producing atthe same time a larger fraction of barred galaxies but preserving thesame relations between global parameters. The properties we found forour sample of isolated galaxies appear similar to those of high redshiftgalaxies, suggesting that the present-day isolated galaxies could bequietly evolved, unused building blocks surviving in low densityenvironments.Tables \ref{t1} and \ref{t2} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Tidally Triggered Star Formation in Close Pairs of Galaxies. II. Constraints on Burst Strengths and Ages
Galaxy-galaxy interactions rearrange the baryons in galaxies and triggersubstantial star formation; the aggregate effects of these interactionson the evolutionary histories of galaxies in the universe are poorlyunderstood. We combine B- and R-band photometry and optical spectroscopyto estimate the strengths and timescales of bursts of triggered starformation in the centers of 190 galaxies in pairs and compact groups.Based on an analysis of the measured colors and EW(Hα), wecharacterize the preexisting and triggered populations separately. Thebest-fitting burst scenarios assume stronger reddening corrections forline emission than for the continuum and continuous star formationlasting for >~100 Myr. The most realistic scenarios require aninitial mass function that is deficient in the highest mass stars. Thecolor of the preexisting stellar population is the most significantsource of uncertainty. Triggered star formation contributessubstantially (probably >~50%) to the R-band flux in the centralregions of several galaxies; tidal tails do not necessarily accompanythis star formation. Many of the galaxies in our sample have bluercenters than outskirts, suggesting that pre- or nonmerger interactionsmay lead to evolution along the Hubble sequence. These objects wouldappear blue and compact at higher redshifts; the older, redder outskirtsof the disks would be difficult to detect. Our data indicate thatgalaxies with larger separations on the sky contain weaker, and probablyolder, bursts of star formation on average. However, confirmation ofthese trends requires further constraints on the colors of the olderstellar populations and on the reddening for individual galaxies.
| BVRI surface photometry of (S+S) binary galaxies I. The data
We present multicolour broad band (BVRI) photometry for a sample of 33spiral-spiral (S+S) binary galaxies drawn from the KarachentsevCatalogue of Isolated Pairs of Galaxies (KPG). The data is part of ajoint observational programme devoted to systematic photometric study ofone of the most complete and homogeneous pair samples available in theliterature. We present azimuthally averaged colour and surfacebrightness profiles, colour index (B-I) maps, B band and sharp/filteredB band images as well as integrated magnitudes, magnitudes at differentcircular apertures and integrated colours for each pair. Internal andexternal data comparisons show consistency within the estimated errors.Two thirds of the sample have total aperture parameters homogeneouslyderived for the first time. After reevaluating morphology for all thepairs, we find a change in Hubble type for 24 galaxies compared to theoriginal POSS classifications. More than half of our pairs showmorphological concordance which could explain, in part, the strongcorrelation in the (B-V) colour indices (Holmberg Effect) between paircomponents. We find a tendency for barred galaxies to show grand designmorphologies and flat colour profiles. The measurements will be used ina series of forthcoming papers where we try to identify and isolate themain structural and photometric properties of disk galaxies at differentstages of interaction. Table A.1 is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/379/54 and Tables 2-4 arealso available in electronic form at the CDS. Full Fig. 5 is onlyavailable in electronic form at the http://www.edpsciences.org Based ondata obtained at the 2.1 m telescope of the Observatorio Guillermo Haroat Cananea, Sonora, México, operated by the Instituto Nacional deAstrofísica, Optica y Electrónica.
| HI observations of loose galaxy groups. I. Data and global properties
At Nançay, 21-cm H I line observations were made of 15spiral-dominated loose groups of galaxies, divided into two samples: an``interacting'' sample containing at least one pair of interactinggalaxies, and a ``control'' sample having no optical evidence ofinteractions or morphological disturbances among the group members. Theinteracting sample consists of 62 galaxies representing 9 differentgroups, and the control sample contains 40 galaxies representing 6groups. Of the 91 galaxy and galaxy pairs observed, 74 were detected,while upper limits were placed on the remaining 17 objects. Thesehomogeneous H I data, which will be used in future analyses, providecomparative information on the H I content of groups and serve as aprobe of the vicinity of the target spirals for H I clouds or very lowsurface brightness gas-rich galaxies.
| Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of Groups
In this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation ``friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales.
| Box- and peanut-shaped bulges. I. Statistics
We present a classification for bulges of a complete sample of ~ 1350edge-on disk galaxies derived from the RC3 (Third Reference Catalogue ofBright Galaxies, de Vaucouleurs et al. \cite{rc3}). A visualclassification of the bulges using the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) inthree types of b/p bulges or as an elliptical type is presented andsupported by CCD images. NIR observations reveal that dust extinctiondoes almost not influence the shape of bulges. There is no substantialdifference between the shape of bulges in the optical and in the NIR.Our analysis reveals that 45% of all bulges are box- and peanut-shaped(b/p). The frequency of b/p bulges for all morphological types from S0to Sd is > 40%. In particular, this is for the first time that such alarge frequency of b/p bulges is reported for galaxies as late as Sd.The fraction of the observed b/p bulges is large enough to explain theb/p bulges by bars. Partly based on observations collected at ESO/LaSilla (Chile), DSAZ/Calar Alto (Spain), and Lowell Observatory/Flagstaff(AZ/U.S.A.). Tables 6 and 7 are only available in electronic form at CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Supernova 1999bu in NGC 3786
IAUC 7145 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams.
| 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.
| Galaxy coordinates. II. Accurate equatorial coordinates for 17298 galaxies
Using images of the Digitized Sky Survey we measured coodinates for17298 galaxies having poorly defined coordinates. As a control, wemeasured with the same method 1522 galaxies having accurate coordinates.The comparison with our own measurements shows that the accuracy of themethod is about 6 arcsec on each axis (RA and DEC).
| A CCD Study of the Environment of Seyfert Galaxies. I. The Survey
Large-format, R-band CCD data are presented for a spectroscopicallycomplete sample of 34 Seyfert galaxies and a control sample of 45nonactive galaxies that are well matched to the Seyfert sample inredshift, luminosity, and morphological type. Gray-scale images of thelocal environment are included for all of the host galaxies, as well asfigures showing the surface brightness, ellipticity, and position angleof the major axis as a function of radius. These data will be used tostudy the environments of these galaxies and hence to test the"interaction hypothesis" that, over the past two decades, has beenimplicated as the triggering mechanism for nuclear activity. While thereare no dramatic differences in most parameters between the active andnonactive samples, the distributions of ellipticities and major-axisposition-angle excursions of the Seyfert host galaxies and the controlgalaxies are marginally different. A higher proportion of Seyfertgalaxies appear to be involved in late-stage mergers. A similar fractionof the control sample, however, displays significant light asymmetriesthat could be evidence for recent interactions. Moreover, a small butsubstantial number of the Seyfert galaxies show no evidence for recentinteractions as judged by the absence of light asymmetries.
| Groups of galaxies. III. Some empirical characteristics.
Not Available
| Catalogue of HI maps of galaxies. I.
A catalogue is presented of galaxies having large-scale observations inthe HI line. This catalogue collects from the literature the informationthat characterizes the observations in the 21-cm line and the way thatthese data were presented by means of maps, graphics and tables, forshowing the distribution and kinematics of the gas. It containsfurthermore a measure of the HI extension that is detected at the levelof the maximum sensitivity reached in the observations. This catalogueis intended as a guide for references on the HI maps published in theliterature from 1953 to 1995 and is the basis for the analysis of thedata presented in Paper II. The catalogue is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 orhttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| 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.
| A catalogue of spatially resolved kinematics of galaxies: Bibliography
We present a catalogue of galaxies for which spatially resolved data ontheir internal kinematics have been published; there is no a priorirestriction regarding their morphological type. The catalogue lists thereferences to the articles where the data are published, as well as acoded description of these data: observed emission or absorption lines,velocity or velocity dispersion, radial profile or 2D field, positionangle. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are proposed in electronic form only, and areavailable from the CDS, via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (to130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Soft X-ray properties of the Seyfert 1.8 galaxy NGC 3786.
An analysis of survey and pointed ROSAT PSPC observations of the Seyfert1.8 galaxy NGC 3786 has revealed interesting spectral and temporalbehaviour. The spectrum is found to show clear signs of excessabsorption, and there is evidence that part (or all) of it is caused bythe presence of a warm absorber. The soft X-ray spectral properties arediscussed in the context of the Sy 1.8 classification of NGC 3786, andare combined with published optical data in an effort to discriminatebetween several possible absorption models. The one involving a warmabsorber with internal dust, located between BLR and NLR, is favouredand shown to account successfully for the high observed broad linereddening as well as for the strong X-ray variability (a factor ~10) wedetect between the 1990 and 1992 observation.
| A Correlated Optical-Infrared Outburst of Markarian 744: The Strongest Evidence Yet for Thermal Dust Reverberation
Simultaneous optical and infrared observations of an outburst of theactive galaxy Mrk 744 are presented. Cross-correlation analysis revealsthat the infrared light curve is delayed and extended relative to theoptical with a lag time of 32 +/- 7 days. Dust at a radius of 32light-days would have an equilibrium temperature of 1130 K, based on theintegrated UV luminosity of ~1042 ergs s-1. A simple model thatreprocesses the observed optical pulse into IR wavelengths falls farshort of reproducing the observed outburst, unless both the UVluminosity and amplitude of variability are increased. These twoparameters, along with the maximum grain temperature, become wellconstrained in a simple model that can fully explain the observed IRvariability behavior of this object as arising from thermal dustreverberation.
| On the question of radio emission of spiral galaxies in groups of galaxies
It has been shown that the radio emission properties of spiral galaxies,if the other conditions are the same, are determined rather by thepresence of the close neighbours than by space density of galaxiesaround them. The rate of occurence of radio sources and their radioluminosities among the spiral members of groups of galaxies depend onthe projected seperation between them and their nearest neighbour. Theshorter this seperation the higher the probability of radio emission.
| Neutral Hydrogen Around Early-Type Galaxies
When early-type (E,S0) galaxies have neutral hydrogen gas associatedwith them, it is often located over a very extended region. Thissuggests several possible origins for the gas, either intrinsic to thegalaxy or from an external source. We present 21 cm H I maps aroundearly-type galaxies to study the distribution of gas in the galaxiesvicinity and address these possibilities. We examine two sets ofobjects: (I) early- type galaxies with conflicting HI measurements thatmight indicate unusual gas distributions, and (2) galaxy groups that aredominated by early-type galaxies. We have identified several galaxieswith extended H I disks, and a number of H I companions that may beinteracting with the early-type galaxies and may be confusing H Iobservations. Many of the companions can be optically associated withuncataloged dwarf galaxies, but a few are quite peculiar or have noclear optical association. We discuss the implications of these resultsfor the origin of H I in early-type galaxies.
| Seyfert Galaxies With Companions: Orbital and Kinematic Clues to AGN Triggering
This paper presents imaging and optical spectroscopy of paired Seyfertgalaxies and their companions. The aim is to seek common properties ofSeyfert galaxies in interacting systems, which might provide evidence ofAGN triggering in a way independent of the usual two-sample statisticswhich have proven ambiguous on this issue. Three kinds of comparisonhave been made-the kinds of interactions involving Seyfert galaxies, therelative luminosities of the Seyferts and their companions, and thelevel of kinematic disturbance as measured from rotation curves. (1)Dynamics and tidal features have been used to determine (or at leastlimit) the sense of orbital motion (direct/retrograde/polar with respectto the Seyfert galaxy's disk) for many of these pairs. There is noobviously preferred kind of interaction-direct, polar, and retrogradeencounters are all well represented, despite the gross differences indynamical response of a disk to these various kinds of encounter. To theextent that triggering of Seyfert nuclei occurs due to tidal encounters,the existence of a perturbation seems more important than its exactduration or detailed effects on the disk. However, the ratio of mergingto paired Seyferts is higher than for disk galaxies in general,consistent with more effective triggering of AGN in this specific phase;the implied time scale for enhanced occurrence during mergers is thesame as the timescape for merger remnants to appear as such, a fewdisk-edge crossing times (typically several times 10^8^ yr). (2) Seyfertnuclei occur preferentially in the brighter members of galaxy pairs, bya median of 0.93 mag after making the maximal correction forcontaminating nonstellar light in the nuclei. Only about 1/3 of thiseffect can be accounted for by the known tendency of Seyfert nuclei tooccur in more luminous galaxies. Enhancement of AGN by interactions isevidently more effective for more luminous galaxies (though this willalso be the case if both star formation and AGN occurrence are enhancedin the same galaxies). (3) The rotation curves of the paired Seyfertsshow systematically small regions of rising or solid-body rotationcompared to the disk radius, as a group comparable to Sa but verydifferent from Sb or Sc galaxies (even for Seyfert galaxies with Hubbletype later than Sa). There is weak evidence that this difference is alsopresent with respect to more isolated Seyfert galaxies. Despite theobvious utility of a dynamically disturbed disk for transport of angularmomentum and "feeding the monster," Seyfert galaxies in pairs actuallyhave smaller kinematic disturbances (measured by the maximum departurefrom a symmetric rotation curve, normalized to the full rotationamplitude) than found in a complete sample of non-Seyfert spirals inpairs.
| 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.
| Arm structure in normal spiral galaxies, 1: Multivariate data for 492 galaxies
Multivariate data have been collected as part of an effort to develop anew classification system for spiral galaxies, one which is notnecessarily based on subjective morphological properties. A sample of492 moderately bright northern Sa and Sc spirals was chosen for futurestatistical analysis. New observations were made at 20 and 21 cm; thelatter data are described in detail here. Infrared Astronomy Satellite(IRAS) fluxes were obtained from archival data. Finally, new estimatesof arm pattern radomness and of local environmental harshness werecompiled for most sample objects.
| An interaction model for the formation of dwarf galaxies and 10 exp 8 solar mass clouds in spiral disks
Ten H I clouds with masses larger than 10 exp 8 solar masses in theinteracting galaxies IC 2163/NGC 2207 are identified. Twenty-eight otherinteracting pairs of galaxies with large knots or star formationstructures in their optical images are also tabulated. It is suggestedthat interactions can lead to the formation of greater than 10 solarmass clouds and young stellar regions in the outer parts of galacticdisks, and that some of these regions may become gravitationally bounddwarf galaxies if they are ejected in tidal arms. It is proposed thatthe key to the origin of clouds of greater than 10 exp 8 solar mass ininteracting systems lies in the high velocity dispersion of theinterstellar gas. Numerical N-body simulations of the interactinggalaxies suggest that the complete detachment of an unbound dwarf galaxyrequires a companion mass comparable to or larger than the galaxy mass.
| General study of group membership. II - Determination of nearby groups
We present a whole sky catalog of nearby groups of galaxies taken fromthe Lyon-Meudon Extragalactic Database. From the 78,000 objects in thedatabase, we extracted a sample of 6392 galaxies, complete up to thelimiting apparent magnitude B0 = 14.0. Moreover, in order to considersolely the galaxies of the local universe, all the selected galaxieshave a known recession velocity smaller than 5500 km/s. Two methods wereused in group construction: a Huchra-Geller (1982) derived percolationmethod and a Tully (1980) derived hierarchical method. Each method gaveus one catalog. These were then compared and synthesized to obtain asingle catalog containing the most reliable groups. There are 485 groupsof a least three members in the final catalog.
| H I observations of binary spiral galaxies
A sample of binary spiral galaxies has been observed with the Areciboand Westerbork radio telescopes in the H I 21 cm line, and these data,in conjunction with optical information, are used to ascertain thespin-vector spatial orientation of the galaxies, as well as to estimatetheir systemic and rotation velocities. A tabulation is given of theresults thus obtained for 23 galaxies.
| Angular Momentum in Binary Spiral Galaxies
In order to investigate the relative orientations of spiral galaxies inpairs, the distribution of the angle between the spin-vectors for a newsample of 40 binary spiral galaxies is determined. From thisdistribution it is found, contrary to an earlier result obtained byHelou (1984), that there is no indication of a correlation between theorientations of spiral galaxies in pairs. Also the distributions of therelative position angles for a sample of pairs are determined. The datadisagree with a simple model for isolated pairs based on tidal torques.A division of the sample into isolated and less-isolated pairs suggeststhat this disagreement is due to insufficient dynamical isolation duringgalaxy formation. The magnitude of the orbital angular momentum iscompared with that of the internal angular momentum of the galaxies forour sample as a whole. We find that the orbital angular momentum istypically 4 times larger than the internal angular momentum. This isinterpreted as an indication that the pairs in this sample were notdynamically isolated at the time they formed and that this is the reasonwhy no correlation between the spin-vectors is observed. We suggest thatpairs for which the spin- vectors were correlated had low orbitalangular momentum and have merged. Consequently, studying the relativeorientation of the spin-vectors in present day binary spiral galaxieswill not give strong constraints on the models for the origin ofgalactic angular momentum.
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