Quasars Associated with NGC 613, NGC 936 and NGC 941

The association of low redshift, active galaxies with high redshift quasars is here tested in two regions uniformly surveyed for quasars to faint limits. Three active galaxies in these regions all show significant association with nearby quasars. Radio, optical and X-ray data available for these galaxies give new information on the processes which accompany the proposed ejection of the quasars. It is concluded that the quasars are originally relatively compact compared to the galactic medium through which they exit but can be slowed. It is argued that effects of ejection can be seen on the galaxies and may be connected with spiral structure. Evidence for periodicity of the redshifts is discussed.     

Gas-phase models for the evolved planetary nebulae NGC 6781, M4-9 and NGC 7293

We have studied the chemistry of the molecular gas in evolved planetary nebulae. Three pseudo-time-dependent gas-phase models have been constructed for dense (10⁴–10⁵ cm⁻³) and cool ( T ∼15 K) clumpy envelopes of the evolved nebulae NGC 6781, M4-9 and NGC 7293. The three nebulae are modelled as carbon-rich stars evolved from the asymptotic giant branch to the late planetary nebula phase. The clumpy neutral envelopes are subjected to ultraviolet radiation from the central star and X-rays that enhance the rate of ionization in the clumps. With the ionization rate enhanced by four orders of magnitude over that of the ISM, we find that resultant abundances of the species HCN, HNC, HC₃N and SiC₂ are in good agreement with observations, while those of CN, HCO⁺, CS and SiO are in rough agreement. The results indicate that molecular species such as CH, CH₂, CH₂⁺ , HCl, OH and H₂O are anticipated to be highly abundant in these objects.     

BVI CCD photometry of the distant open star clusters Berkeley 81, Berkeley 99, NGC 6603 and NGC 7044

We present CCD observations for the distant northern open star clusters Berkeley 81, Berkeley 99, NGC 6603 and NGC 7044 in B V I photometric passbands. A total of 9 900 stars have been observed in fields of about 6 × 6 arcmin² of the sky around the clusters. Colour–magnitude diagrams in V , ( B  −  V ) and V , ( V  −  I ) have been generated down to V  = 22 mag and, for the first time, such diagrams have been produced for the clusters Berkeley 81 and Berkeley 99. The data serve as a base for the study of mass functions and for comparison with theoretical models. Analysis of the radial distribution of stellar surface density indicates that the radius values for Berkeley 81, Berkeley 99, NGC 6603 and NGC 7044 are 2.7, 2.8, 2.8 and 2.2 arcmin respectively. By fitting the latest convective core overshooting isochrones to the colour–magnitude diagram and using its morphological features, reddenings, distances and ages of the star clusters have been determined. Broad but well-defined main sequences with stellar evolutionary effects in the brighter stars are clearly visible in colour–magnitude diagrams of all the clusters under study. Some blue stragglers along with well-developed giant branches and red giant clumps are also clearly seen in all of them. The clusters studied here are located at a distance of ∼ 3 kpc, except for Berkeley 99 which is located at a distance of 4.9 kpc. Their linear sizes lie between 3.8 and 8.0 pc; E ( B  −  V ) values range from 0.3 to 1.0 mag, while their ages are between 0.5 and 3.2 Gyr. Thus the star clusters studied here are of intermediate and high age but are compact and distant objects.     

Dark matter in early-type galaxies: dynamical modelling of IC 1459, IC 3370, NGC 3379 and NGC 4105

We analyse long-slit spectra of four early-type galaxies which extend from ∼1 to 3 effective radii: IC 1459; IC 3370; NGC 3379 and NGC 4105. We have extracted the full line-of-sight velocity distribution (in the case of NGC 3379 we also used data from the literature), which we model using the two-integral approach. Using two-integral modelling, we find no strong evidence for dark haloes, but the fits suggest that three-integral modelling is necessary. We also find that the inferred constant mass-to-light ratio in all the four cases is typical for early-type galaxies. Finally, we also discuss the constraints on the mass-to-light ratio, which can be obtained using X-ray haloes in the case of IC 1459, NGC 3379 and NGC 4105, and compare the estimated values with the predictions from the dynamical modelling.     

NGC 1365

Summary. The aim of the present review is to give a global picture of the supergiant barred galaxy NGC 1365. This galaxy with its strong bar and prominent spiral structure displays a variety of nuclear activity and ongoing star formation. The kinematics of the galaxy has been mapped in detail by optical long slit and Fabry–Perot observations as well as radio observations of Hi and CO interstellar lines. From these observations a combined velocity field has been derived, describing the circulation of interstellar gas in the symmetry plane of the galaxy. With a gravitational potential based on near infrared photometry of the bar and the shape of the apparent rotation curve, computer simulations of the dynamics of the interstellar gas have been made with the aim to reproduce both the morphology of the interstellar matter as well as the observed velocity field. The simulations demonstrate the role of the bar and the importance of resonances between the bar rotation and the rotation of the galaxy for the formation of the spiral structure. Polarization of radio radiation reveals magnetic fields concentrated to the dust lanes along and across the bar, where they are aligned with the flow pattern of the gas, and along the spiral arms. The kinematics of the outer region of the galaxy with a fairly unique decline of the rotation curve leads to the conclusion that NGC 1365 lacks a very massive dark matter halo, which may permit the formation of a very strong bar. The galaxy contains an active nucleus with both broad and narrow components of the permitted spectral emission lines. The nucleus is surrounded by a molecular torus, numerous star forming regions and continuum radio sources. The star forming regions are, as seen with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), resolved into a large number of super star clusters suggested to be young globular clusters. A very compact radio source, seen at high spatial resolution with the Very Large Array (VLA), has been claimed to coincide with one of the super star clusters. This compact source has a radio brightness of the order of 100 times that of the bright galactic supernova remnant Cas A and is suggested to be a so called ‘radio supernova’. Two other such compact radio sources, positioned in the prominent dark dust lane penetrating the nuclear region, are identified as strong infrared sources by observations with the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The cause of this infrared radiation may be dust heated by the objects that drive the radio sources. The X-ray radiation from the nucleus is interpreted to consist of hard continuum radiation from the active nucleus itself, Fe-K line emission from a rotating disk, and thermal emission from the surrounding star burst activity. A secondary, highly variable source has been discovered close to the nuclear region. It seems to be one of the most luminous and most highly variable off-nuclear X-ray sources known. The higher excitation optical emission lines in the nuclear region, primarily from [Oiii], reveal a velocity field quite different from that described by the galactic rotation. The deviating [Oiii] morphology and velocity field in the nuclear region is interpreted in terms of a high excitation outflow double-cone with its apex at the nucleus and symmetry axis perpendicular to the symmetry plane of the galaxy. One of the circumnuclear radio sources seems to be a one-sided jet emerging from the nucleus aligned with the cone axis. According to the model, the outward flow within the cone is accelerated and the flow velocity highest at the cone axis. Received 15 January 1999     

Submillimetre imaging of NGC 3079

Submillimetre mapping observations of the active edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 3079 are presented. These maps at 850 and 450 μm were made with the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT).
The source structure at these wavelengths consists of a central unresolved source embedded in diffuse disc emission, similar to that displayed at 1.2 mm. The disc emission is fitted with two optically thin, isothermal dust models which give temperatures of 12 and 31 K, similar to those derived previously by Braine et al. The core component is well described by a single-temperature fit (∼32 K). The combined dust mass from these observations, using the same mass absorption coefficient as Devereux & Young (1990) is 3.5×10⁸ M_⊙, of which ∼90 per cent resides in the cold component of the galactic disc. The effect of the cold dust component detected by SCUBA is thus to reduce the global gas-to-dust mass ratio from ∼1400 found in the above study to 85, very similar to the Galactic level. Calculations using the models of Draine & Lee and/or alternative molecular gas mass estimates yield gas-to-dust mass ratios in the range 60–190.
The data presented here, together with previously published 1.2-mm mapping observations and IRAS data, are inconsistent with detections made with the Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ). In particular, the latter give an excess of flux at 200 and 180 μm relative to that predicted by our simple model fits (approximately a factor of 2–3).     

SCUBA observations of NGC 1275

Deep SCUBA observations of NGC 1275 at 450 and 850 μm along with the application of deconvolution algorithms have permitted us to separate the strong core emission in this galaxy from the fainter extended emission around it. The core has a steep spectral index and is likely caused primarily by the active galactic nucleus. The faint emission has a positive spectral index and is clearly caused by extended dust in a patchy distribution out to a radius of ∼20 kpc from the nucleus. These observations have now revealed that a large quantity of dust, ∼     (two orders of magnitude larger than that inferred from previous optical absorption measurements), exists in this galaxy. We estimate the temperature of this dust to be ∼20 K (using an emissivity index of     and the gas/dust ratio to be 360. These values are typical of spiral galaxies. The dust emission correlates spatially with the hot X-ray emitting gas, which may be a result of collisional heating of broadly distributed dust by electrons. As the destruction time-scale is short, the dust cannot be replenished by stellar mass loss and must be externally supplied, via either the infalling galaxy or the cooling flow itself.     

Chandra Observations of the Flat Spectrum Seyfert-2 Galaxies NGC 2110 and NGC 7582

Chandra observations of the Seyfert-2 galaxies NGC 2110 and NGC 7582 are presented. With the superb spatial resolution of Chandra we found that in NGC 7582 the soft (≤2 keV) and hard (2-10 keV) X-rays are emitted in different regions, consistent with the report by Xue et al. By comparing the present X-ray data with the previous infrared data, we determined that the soft X-ray region is the site of starburst activities. We found no significant temporal variations during our observations. We confirm the previous finding that NGC 2110 and NGC 7582 are flat-spectrum sources. We argue that the flat spectra may result from a cold absorbing material such as envisaged in the “dual absorbed” model. Strong Fe Kα emission feature is detected in 6-7keV. Its equivalent width is so large that it cannot be reproduced by using the Galactic column density of - 10^22 cm^-2.     

Molecular gas in the Perseus cooling flow galaxy, NGC 1275

The central arcminute of the Perseus cooling flow galaxy, NGC 1275, has been mapped with the JCMT in ¹²CO(2–1) at 21-arcsec resolution, with detections out to at least 36 arcsec (12 kpc). Within the limits of the resolution and coverage, the distribution of gas appears to be roughly east–west, consistent with previous observations of CO, X-ray, Hα and dust emission. The total detected molecular hydrogen mass is ∼ 1.6 × 10¹⁰ M_⊙, using a Galactic conversion factor. The inner central rotating disc is apparent in the data, but the overall distribution is not one of rotation. Rather, the line profiles are bluewards-asymmetric, consistent with previous observations in H  i and [O  iii ]. We suggest that the blueshift may be due to an acquired mean velocity of ∼ 150 km s⁻¹ imparted by the radio jet in the advancing direction. Within the uncertainties of the analysis, the available radio energy appears to be sufficient, and the interpretation is consistent with that of Bo¨hringer et al. for displaced X-ray emission. We have also made the first observations of ¹³CO(2–1) and ¹²CO(3–2) emission from the central 21-arcsec region of NGC 1275 and combined these data with IRAM data supplied by Reuter et al. to form line ratios over equivalent, well-sampled regions. An LVG radiative transfer analysis indicates that the line ratios are not well reproduced by single values of kinetic temperature, molecular hydrogen density and abundance per unit velocity gradient. At least two temperatures are suggested by a simple two-component LVG model, possibly reflecting a temperature gradient in this region.     

Disc heating in NGC 2985

Various processes have been proposed to explain how galaxy discs acquire their thickness. A simple diagnostic for ascertaining this 'heating' mechanism is provided by the ratio of the vertical to radial velocity dispersion components. In a previous paper we have developed a technique for measuring this ratio, and demonstrated its viability on the Sb system NGC 488. Here we present follow-up observations of the morphologically similar Sab galaxy NGC 2985, still only the second galaxy for which this ratio has been determined outside the solar neighbourhood. The result is consistent with simple disc-heating models that predict ratios of σ _z σ _R less than one.     

A minor-merger model for NGC 7479

The overall morphology of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7479 is modelled in numerical simulations of a minor merger. Special attention is paid to the morphology and velocity field of the asymmetric spiral structure and the strong stellar bar. The mass of the satellite galaxy is 1/10 of the mass of the primary disc, or 1/30 of the total mass of the primary. The satellite is placed initially in a circular prograde orbit at six disc scalelengths from the centre of the primary. We follow the evolution of the merger until the secondary galaxy reaches the nuclear region of the primary. A comparison between the modelled and observed morphologies of the stellar and the ionized and neutral gas distributions and velocity fields supports the hypothesis that the transient look of NGC 7479 is a result of a minor merger. We vary several of the initial parameters of the merger and discuss their effects on the resulting morphology. The merging satellite galaxy is likely to lie within the bar of NGC 7479. We identify a possible candidate in the observational data. We discuss briefly the most probable future evolution of NGC 7479 in the light of our minor-merger simulations, and conclude that NGC 7479 is likely to evolve toward an earlier Hubble type.