Statistics of interacting galaxies at <Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis> ∼ 0.7

We present the results of our analysis of the frequencies of galaxies with tidal tails and M51-type galaxies in several deep fields of the Hubble Space Telescope (HDF-N, HDF-S, HUDF, GOODS, GEMS). In total, we have found about seven hundred interacting galaxies at redshifts z ≤ 1.5 in these fields. At z ≤ 0.7, the observed space densities of galaxies with tidal structures and M51-type galaxies have been found to increase as ∝(1 + z) ^m , where m ≈ 2.6. According to our estimates, over the last 6–7 Gyr, i.e., at z ≤ 0.7, about a third of the galaxies with M(B) ≤ −18 ^m must have undergone strong gravitational perturbations and mergers and ∼1/10−1/5 of the galaxies have swallowed relatively low-mass nearby satellites typical of M51-type galaxies. The possible decrease in the time scale on which a distant galaxy appears peculiar with growing z can increase considerably the estimated rate of mergers.     

Studying the first galaxies with ALMA

We discuss observations of the first galaxies, within cosmic reionization, at centimeter and millimeter wavelengths. We present a summary of current observations of the host galaxies of the most distant QSOs (z∼6). These observations reveal the gas, dust, and star formation in the host galaxies on kpc-scales. These data imply an enriched ISM in the QSO host galaxies within 1 Gyr of the big bang, and are consistent with models of coeval supermassive black hole and spheroidal galaxy formation in major mergers at high redshift. Current instruments are limited to studying truly pathologic objects at these redshifts, meaning hyper-luminous infrared galaxies (L _FIR ∼10¹³ L _⊙). ALMA will provide the one to two orders of magnitude improvement in millimeter astronomy required to study normal star forming galaxies (i.e. Ly-α emitters) at z∼6. ALMA will reveal, at sub-kpc spatial resolution, the thermal gas and dust—the fundamental fuel for star formation—in galaxies into cosmic reionization.     

The color-redshift relation for giant elliptical galaxies

The colors of giant elliptical (gE) galaxies in clusters out to redshiftz=0.2, observed by Oke and Sandage (1968), are studied for systematic color-redshift effects. To reveal any intrinsic changes, theK term is subtracted from each color, after correction for galactic reddening and the resulting (B-V) _c -K _B-V versus z relation analysed. If the Oke and SandageK terms (relevant to nuclear colors) are used, the best fitting linear relation shows negligible change withz. But if the Whitford (1970)K terms (relevant to integrated colors) are used, there is a trend to bluer colors, by 0.07 mag.atz=0.2 if higher weight is given the better observed clusters. An upper limit, of ±0.08 mag. atz=0.2, is set to possible systematic aperture effects, by the total change between nuclear and integrated B-V and U-B of nearbygE galaxies.The color-redshift trends, interpreted as evolutionary changes, are related to evolution in the magnitude-redshift relation by means of models of stellar evolution in agE galaxy. If one uses the linear fit to the color-redshift relation obtained with WhitfordK terms and neglect of any aperture effects (which is the appropriate case if Oke and Sandage used large enough apertures), and if one adopts plausible limits to the ratio between color and magnitude evolution, the effect of evolution in the magnitude-redshift relation results in a negative value ofq ₀. There are still substantial observational and theoretical uncertainties affecting this conclusion.     

Orbits of colliding galaxies

A simple, semi-analytic method is developed for obtaining the orbits of galaxies undergoing fast collisions in which the galaxies are represented by Plummer models. The results are found to agree fairly well with those of N-body simulations.A simple formula for obtaining the angle of deflection is deduced. The maximum angle of deflection is 180° forV _p/V _esc(p)=1.00, about 36° forV _p/V _esc(p)=1.50, and about 18° forV _p/V _esc(p)=2.00, whereV _p is the velocity at closest approachp, andV _esc(p) is the parabolic velocity of escape atp. The angle of deflection of a pair of colliding elliptical galaxies without halos is about twice that for a pair of galaxies with halos for the same relative velocity at infinite separation.     

Tidal dwarf galaxies at intermediate redshifts

We present the first attempt at measuring the production rate of tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) and estimating their contribution to the overall dwarf population. Using HST/ACS deep imaging data from GOODS and GEMS surveys in conjunction with photometric redshifts from COMBO-17 survey, we performed a morphological analysis for a sample of merging/interacting galaxies in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South and identified tidal dwarf candidates in the rest-frame optical bands. We estimated a production rate about 1.4×10⁻⁵ per Gyr per comoving volume for long-lived TDGs with stellar mass 3×10⁸⁻⁹ M_⊙ at 0.5<z<1.1. Together with galaxy merger rates and TDG survival rate from the literature, our results suggest that only a marginal fraction (less than 10%) of dwarf galaxies in the local universe could be tidally-originated. TDGs in our sample are on average bluer than their host galaxies in the optical. Stellar population modelling of optical to near-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for two TDGs favors a burst component with age 400/200 Myr and stellar mass 40%/26% of the total, indicating that a young stellar population newly formed in TDGs. This is consistent with the episodic star formation histories found for nearby TDGs.     

Stochastic simulation of fields of galaxies,III

Stochastic simulations of galaxy fields, using the cluster multiplicity function obtained for the Lick galaxy counts, reproduces satisfactorily the observed distribution of galaxies from COSMOS measures on a deep UKST and AAT plate limited atB22.0 andB23.2, respectively. The results imply that no strong evolutionary effect is present in the clustering of galaxies, at least out to redshiftsz ^*0.65.     

Simulation of compact groups of galaxies

Self-consistent simulations of seven groups of galaxies with halos have been performed to find a constraint upon the size of missing halos around spiral galaxies. An initial galaxy, which consists of 100 superstars, has half-mass radius 41 kpc and central velocity dispersion 235 km s^–1. The simulations start from the epoch of maximum expansion. The initial conditions involve a variety of spatial distributions of galaxies, and the velocity dispersion of galaxies as would be permitted for maximum expansion. Dense groups having collapse times shorter than (2/3)H ₀ ^–1 are shown to form multiple mergers in a Hubble timeH ₀ ^–1 . From a comparison of the frequencies of cD galaxies, or multiple mergers, in observed and simulated groups, it is concluded that the effective radius of missing halos is less than 41 kpc.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Galaxy Evolution from Deep Field Galaxy Counts

We present deep galaxy number counts and colours of K—band selected galaxy surveys. We argue that primeval galaxies are present within the survey data, but have remained unidentified. There are few objects with the colours of an L ^* elliptical galaxy at a redshift of z ≈ 1, in contradiction to standard luminosity evolution models. We present K—band photometry of the objects in a spectroscopic redshift survey selected at 21 < B < 22.5. The absolute K magnitudes of the galaxies are consistent with the no-evolution or pure luminosity evolution models. The excess faint blue galaxies seen in the B—band number counts at intermediate magnitudes are a result of a low normalization, and do not dominate the population until B ≈ 25. Extreme merging or excess dwarf models are not needed at z < 1. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dependence of the U-B and B-V colors of quasars and Seyfert galaxies on their redshifts

We show that the strong emission lines(Mg II, C III, C IV, and Ly and the absorption lineO VI (1035 A) of quasars, when passed through the maximum transmission ofU, B, V, andR light filters, leads to a continuous, and sometimes periodic variation in the dependence ofU-B onB-V. The correlation between the(U-B) and(B-V) colors in quasars with z<1.5 is expressed by the relation(U-B)=–0.92+1.15(B-V). We also give the dependence ofU-B onB-V for Seyfert galaxies of typeS1. We determine the mean variation of the(U-B, B-V) colors due to the strongest emission lines (Mg II, C IV, Ly). It amounts to magnitude0 _. ^m 15.Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 38, No. 2, 1995.     

Investigation of galaxy and quasar luminosity evolution in the model of standard cosmology

It is shown that the Hubble curvem(z) for galaxies and quasars averaged over a large volume of data forms in the first approximation a single continuous curve in the interval of red shifts 10^–2.5z4.5, which is satisfactorily described by the dependence .A large deviation of the observed mean dependence from the theoretical one predicted by the standard cosmology is explained by the evolution of the galaxy and especially quasar luminosity. The corresponding mid-statistical function of the absolute luminosity variation for the last 4/5 times of existence in the Universe is equal toM(z)–M(z ₀)=logz/z ₀+2z–0.4z ².The luminosity of the most far distant from the observed quasars on the average by 5–6 stellar magnitudes high than the luminosity of near galaxies and quasars. It is obtained that even the most far distant quasars atz5 are in the maximum of luminosity, or their extinction has just began, thus the quasar formation should be expected forz>(5–6). The relative rate of the luminosity decrease of galaxies and near quasars is rather accurately amounts in the recent epoch 7% per 10⁹ years. The obtained average Hubble curve of galaxies and quasars is evidently the main cause of their evolution in the Universe.     

On the relation between radius,luminosity, surface brightness,and surface density in elliptical galaxies

We have analyzed luminosity profiles of E galaxies studied by Strom and Strom in six clusters of galaxies. We have found a relationship between radius, luminosity, and surface brightness for galaxies in each of the clusters. A dependence of the zero point of the relation with the local projected density of galaxies is likewise found:r _{e proj} ^–0.14 L ^0.445 I _e ^–0.413 . This relationship implies (i) that there is not a universal luminosity profile for elliptical galaxies, (ii) the environmental variation of radius is larger than that produced by mergers of galaxies, (iii) distance to a galaxy can be estimated from apparent magnitude, surface brightness, angular size, and apparent local projected density of galaxies.     

Morphologies of AGN host galaxies using HST/ACS in the CDFS-GOODS field

Using HST/ACS images in four bands F435W, F606W, F775W and F850LP, we identify optical counterparts to the X-ray sources in the Chandra Deep Field South in the GOODS South field. A detailed study has been made of these sources to study their morphological types. We use methods like decomposition of galaxy luminosity profiles, color maps and visual inspection of 192 galaxies which are identified as possible optical counterparts of Chandra X-ray sources in the CDFS-GOODS field. We find that most moderate luminosity AGN hosts are bulge dominated in the redshift range (z≈0.4–1.3), but not merging/interacting galaxies. This implies probable fueling of the moderate luminosity AGN by mechanisms other than those merger driven.     

Major dry mergers in early-type brightest cluster galaxies

We search for ongoing major dry mergers in a well-selected sample of local brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) from the C4 cluster catalogue. 18 out of 515 early-type BCGs with redshift between 0.03 and 0.12 are found to be in major dry mergers, which are selected as pairs (or triples) with r -band magnitude difference  δ m _r < 1.5  and projected separation   r _p < 30 kpc  , and showing signatures of interaction in the form of significant asymmetry in residual images. We find that the fraction of BCGs in major dry mergers increases with the richness of the clusters, consistent with the fact that richer clusters usually have more massive (or luminous) BCGs. We estimate that present-day early-type BCGs may have experienced on average  ∼0.6 ( t _merge/0.3 Gyr)⁻¹  major dry mergers and through this process increases their luminosity (mass) by 15 per cent  ( t _merge/0.3 Gyr)⁻¹ ( f _mass/0.5)  on average since   z = 0.7  , where t _merge is the merging time-scale and f _mass is the mean mass fraction of companion galaxies added to the central ones. We also find that major dry mergers do not seem to elevate radio activities in BCGs. Our study shows that major dry mergers involving BCGs in clusters of galaxies are not rare in the local Universe, and they are an important channel for the formation and evolution of BCGs.     

The redshift dependence of spectral index in powerful radio galaxies

We present and discuss in this paper the rest frame radio spectra (1–25 GHz) of a sample of fourteen radio galaxies atz >2 from the newly defined MRC/1Jy complete sample of 558 radio sources. These galaxies are among the most powerful radio sources known and range in luminosity from 1028-1028·8 watt Hz-1 at 1 GHz. We find that the median rest frame spectral index of this sample of galaxies atz >2 is significantly steeper than that of a matched luminosity sample of 3CRR galaxies which are at a much lower redshift (0.85 <z < 1.7). This indicates that spectral index correlates primarily with redshift, at least in the luminosity range considered here. The difference between the distributions of rest frame spectral curvatures for the two samples does not appear to be statistically significant. We suggest a new explanation for the steeper spectra of radio galaxies at high redshift involving steeper electron energy spectra at injection. Electron energy spectra are expected to steepen in a first-order Fermi acceleration process, at both non-relativistic and relativistic shock fronts, as the upstream fluid velocity decreases. This may well be the case at high redshifts: the hotter and denser circum-galactic medium at high redshifts could result in slower speeds for the hotspot and the jet material behind it. The smaller sizes of radio sources at higher redshifts provide support to this scenario. Since deceased.     

Comparisons of u ‐, g ‐, r ‐, i ‐, and z ‐band luminosity distributions between galaxy members of compact groups and isolated galaxies

To investigate the environmental dependence of u ‐, g ‐, r ‐, i ‐, and z ‐band luminosities, we perform comparative studies of luminosity distributions between galaxy members of compact groups (CGs) and isolated galaxies. It is found that for the r, i, and z bands isolated galaxies have a higher proportion of faint galaxies and a lower proportion of luminous galaxies than galaxy members of CGs, but for the u band an opposite trend is observed. The correlation between the g ‐band luminosity and the environment has different trends in different luminosity regions (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A search for protocliisters atz = 3.3

We have used the Very Large Array to image a single field in a set of adjacent frequency bands around 333.0 MHz in an attempt to detect 21 cm emission from large scale H I inhomogeneities at a redshift of z = 3.3. Following the subtraction of continuum radio sources, the absence of any spectral signals apart from that expected due to the system thermal noise has been used to derive constraints on the evolutionary scenario leading to the formation of the present day clusters of galaxies. The observations rule out the existence of H I protoclusters atz = 3.3 with masses ≃3.5 × 10¹⁴ M _⊙ in H I gas and space density exceeding (74 Mpc)⁻³. This indicates that the present day rich clusters of galaxies either formed as gaseous protocluster condensates prior toz = 3.3 or else they formed through the clustering of their constituent galaxies.     

Global properties of star formation in spiral galaxies

Samples of spiral galaxies from two catalogues of 21 cm line observations and a catalogue of near-infrared observations of nearby galaxies have been used in conjunction with Infrared Astronomical Satellite data to study correlations involving M_G, the dynamic mass of the galaxies, the luminosities in theH band (1.6Μm), the blue band and the far infrared bands and the mass of atomic hydrogen, it is found that both the blue and the far-IR luminosities which are indicators of star formation averaged over ∼3 × l0⁹ and ∼10⁷ years respectively, have a linear dependence onM _G On the other hand, theH luminosity which is a measure of star formation averaged over the lifetime of galaxies, has a steeper power law dependence onM _G. The correlations observed do not have significant dependence on the morophological type of the galaxies There is a poor correlation between the far-infrared luminosity and the mass of atomic hydrogen. The mass of atomic hydrogen has a dependence of the formM _G. Because of the decrease in the mean mass for later morphological types and due to differences in power law dependences of luminosities in different bands onM _G, the mean value of luminosity-to-mass ratio is a constant for blue and far-IR bands, decreases for theH band and the gas-to-mass ratio increases as morphological type increases.     

The Influence of Merging Events on the Disk Component of Spiral Galaxies

We report on first results of a comprehensive study of interacting andmerging processes between spiral galaxies and small satellites to investigatethe effects of such events on the disk component of spirals. Analysis ofour newly obtained photometric data of about 125 edge-on galaxiesin optical and in NIR shows that there are considerable differencesbetween interacting and non-interacting galaxies concerning their absolutedisk scale parameters as well as their ratios (h/z ₀).In comparison with normal spirals, the average heating factor perpendicular tothe disk plane of mergers is about 1.5. The most striking feature of thedistributions of (h/z ₀) for both normal galaxies and mergers, is thetotal lack of typical flat disk axis ratios (i.e. that of late type ones)of (h/z ₀) > 6 for mergers. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Faint field galaxies: an explanation of the faint blue excessusing number evolution models

Pure luminosity evolution models for galaxies provide an unacceptable fit to the redshifts and colors of faint galaxies. In this paper we demonstrate, using HST morphological number counts derived both from the I ₈₁₄-band of WFPC2 in the Medium Deep Survey (MDS) and the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) and from the H _1.6-band of NICMOS, and ground-based spectroscopic data of the Hawaii Deep Field and the Canada-France Redshift Survey, that number evolution is necessary for galaxies, regardless of whether the cosmic geometry is flat, open, or Λ-dominated. Furthermore, we show that the number evolution is small at redshifts of z<1, but large at z>1, and that this conclusion is valid for all the three cosmological models under consideration. If the universe is open or Λ-dominated, the models, which are subject to the constraint of the conservation of the comoving mass density of galaxies, naturally predict a population of star-forming galaxies with the redshift distribution peaking at z=2∼ 3, which seems to be consistent with the recent findings from Lyman-break photometric selection techniques. If the cosmological model is flat, however, the conservation of the comoving mass density is invalid. Hence, in order to account for the steep slope of B-band number counts at faint magnitudes in the flat universe, such a star-forming galaxy population has to be introduced ad hoc into the modelling alongside the merger assumption. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Morphological classification of new galaxies with a UV excess

The results of a morphological classification of 580 galaxies with a UV excess, included in the lists in [M. A. Kazarian, Astrofizika,15, 5 (1979); ibid.,15, 193 (1979); M. A. Kazarian and É. S. Kazarian, ibid.,16, 17 (1980); ibid.,18, 512 (1982); ibid.,19, 213 (1983)], are presented. For this we have developed a set of symbols, using the types E, S, and Ir introduced by Hubble, as well as symbols introduced by other authors and us. This set enabled us to make the morphological classification. Direct photographs obtained on the 2.6-m and 6-m telescopes were used to classify 141 of the galaxies (over 24%), while Palomar Atlas charts were used for the remaining 439 galaxies. These galaxies were divided into two groups based on classification conditions, and data on each group are given in Tables 1 and 2, respectively. The results for each group, given in Table 3, show that with the transition from early types, such as C and E, to later types, such as S and Ir, the relative number of galaxies going into one group (Table 1), in which the classification was based on direct photographs, increases in comparison with the number going into the other group (Table 2).Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 431–439, July–September, 1996.