The onset of warps in Spitzer observations of edge-on spiral galaxies

We analyse warps in the nearby edge-on spiral galaxies observed in the Spitzer /Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) 4.5-μm band. In our sample of 24 galaxies, we find evidence of warp in 14 galaxies. We estimate the observed onset radii for the warps in a subsample of 10 galaxies. The dark matter distribution in each of these galaxies are calculated using the mass distribution derived from the observed light distribution and the observed rotation curves. The theoretical predictions of the onset radii for the warps are then derived by applying a self-consistent linear response theory to the obtained mass models for six galaxies with rotation curves in the literature. By comparing the observed onset radii to the theoretical ones, we find that discs with constant thickness can not explain the observations; moderately flaring discs are needed. The required flaring is consistent with the observations. Our analysis shows that the onset of warp is not symmetric in our sample of galaxies. We define a new quantity called the onset-asymmetry index and study its dependence on galaxy properties. The onset asymmetries in warps tend to be larger in galaxies with smaller disc scalelengths. We also define and quantify the global asymmetry in the stellar light distribution, that we call the edge-on asymmetry in edge-on galaxies. It is shown that in most cases the onset asymmetry in warp is actually anticorrelated with the measured edge-on asymmetry in our sample of edge-on galaxies and this could plausibly indicate that the surrounding dark matter distribution is asymmetric.     

Optical warp in galaxies

Optical warp in elliptical galaxies has been confirmed. A system for detecting and defining a criteria of warp has been tried and applied to sample of eleven elliptical galaxies by means of relating the defined warped areas to the total area of the isophotae.     

Optical properties of low z radio galaxies

The optical morphological and photometric properties of 79 low redshift radio galaxies are discussed. It is found that most radio galaxies are luminous bulge dominated systems similar to normal non-radio giant ellipticals. The average absolute magnitude of the sample is 〈M_HOST(tot)〉=−23.98, with a clear trend for FR I sources to be ∼0.5 mag brighter than FR II galaxies. In about 40% of the objects we find an excess of light in the nucleus attributable to the presence of a nuclear point source. This contributes on average for ∼1–2% of the total flux from the host galaxy. Radio galaxies follow the same μ_e−R_e relationship of normal (non-active) elliptical galaxies. The distribution of ellipticity, the amount of twisting and shape of isophotes do not differ significantly from other ellipticals. These results support a scenario where radio emission is little related with the overall properties of the host galaxy.     

Tidal torques and galactic warps

%We study the evolution of galactic disks subject to tidal torques motivated by cosmological N-body simulations using analytic and numerical techniques. We find that self-gravitating disks subject to these torques resemble observed warped galaxies. The warps develop at a local surface density of 70 M _⊙ pc^-2 and move out through the disk at a rate that depends on the surface density of the disk. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Oxygen abundance in giant H II galaxies

A sample of 93 emission-line high luminosity galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has been investigated. Line intensities have been measured in 116 SDSS spectra. Oxygen abundance has been determined in the studied galaxies. Since the auroral line of twice ionized oxygen [O III] λ 436.3 nm cannot be detected in the spectra of the sample, the intensity ratio of nebular to auroral lines needed to determine the electron temperature is calculated using the ff-relation. The oxygen abundances obtained in SDSS high luminosity galaxies are 0.2–0.5 dex lower than the maximum attainable value. This is caused by the fact that the sample includes only the gas-rich galaxies in which intense bursts of star formation occur. The equivalent number of O7 V stars which are responsible for excitation of luminescent H II regions in the studied sample is two or three orders of magnitude more than the number of stars which cause the luminescence of the brightest H II regions in nearby galaxies, and it exceeds by one order of magnitude the number of stars which cause gas in SBS 0335-052 E to glow.     

Parametric relations of H II galaxies

The integrated H luminosities of giant H II regions and of H II galaxies can be predicted with accuracy comparable to the observational errors from the velocity widths of their emissionline profiles. In addition, giant H II regions also present a relation between linear size and their emission-line width. Based on the similarity of these relations with those expected for virialized systems, Terlevich and Melnick interpreted the observedsupersonic motions as due to the gravitational potential of a complex of gas and stars.We show that H II galaxies also present a relation between linear size and their emission-line width, which supports the gravitating model. We also show that the scatter in the luminosity-line width relation for H II galaxies seems to be correlated with linear size and compare the results with the fundamental plane for elliptical galaxies from Dressleret al. (1987).     

Optical observations of an infrared selected sample of galaxies

Extragalactic IRAS sources with previously unknown optical counterparts were selected from thePoint Source Catalog within two 300 deg² areas. Deep CCD images have been obtained for 99 objects and long-slit spectroscopy has been performed in 55 fields. The morphological, spectroscopic and photometric properties of these objects are summarized.     

Generation of warps by accretion flows

We present ample evidence for the presence of continuing gaseous infall to the Galactic plane, and then show how interaction of this gas with the disc gas yields a warp of the observed amplitude and direction. The mechanism works for galaxies in general, predicting a small proportion of U-shaped warps, as observed. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Barred galaxies. II. Comparative statistics on SB and SA galaxies in visible light

Various characteristics of galaxies with and without a bar are compared in two complete samples compiled by the authors. It is found that the two types of spiral galaxies hardly differ from each other in a number of parameters and properties, such as nuclear activity and degree of concentration in groups. Star formation evidently occurs more efficiently in barred galaxies, however. Bars are encountered more often in intermediate and late subtypes of disk galaxies. Barred galaxies in groups are redder, on the average, than those outside of groups. Luminosity functions are constructed both for galaxies with and without bars. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 4L No. 2, pp. 185–196, April-June, 1998     

Optical off-nuclear spectra of quasar hosts and radio galaxies

We present optical (∼3200 to ∼9000 Å) off-nuclear spectra of 26 powerful active galaxies in the redshift range 0.1≤ z ≤0.3, obtained with the Mayall and William Herschel 4-m class telescopes. The sample consists of radio-quiet quasars, radio-loud quasars (all with −23≥ M _V ≥−26) and radio galaxies of Fanaroff–Riley Type II (with extended radio luminosities and spectral indices comparable to those of the radio-loud quasars). The spectra were all taken approximately 5 arcsec off-nucleus, with offsets carefully selected so as to maximize the amount of galaxy light falling into the slit, whilst simultaneously minimizing the amount of scattered nuclear light. The majority of the resulting spectra appear to be dominated by the integrated stellar continuum of the underlying galaxies rather than by light from the non-stellar processes occurring in the active nuclei, and in many cases a 4000-Å break feature can be identified. The individual spectra are described in detail, and the importance of the various spectral components is discussed. Stellar population synthesis modelling of the spectra will follow in a subsequent paper.