Chiral Property of Spiral and Barred Spiral Galaxies in the Local Supercluster

We present an analysis of the chiral property of 667 spiral and barred spiral galaxies in the Local Supercluster (radial velocity <3 000 km s⁻¹). The arms of a galaxy (spiral or barred spiral) can be distinguished according to their orientation (leading or trailing) relative to the direction of the rotation. We use environment of each galaxy as a subsample in order to study the chiral property of galaxies. In addition, equatorial position angle distributions of leading and trailing arm galaxies are studied. We classify our database according as their morphology, diameters, radial velocities, axial ratios and magnitudes. The distribution of trailing and leading arm galaxies in the Local Supercluster is found homogeneous. A significant dominance of either trailing or leading structures is noticed within the Virgo cluster region, suggesting that the aggregation of these structures might have already started there. The rotation axes of the galaxies in the Virgo cluster is found to lie in the equatorial plane. Chirality of galaxies is found strong for the subsamples that showed a random alignment in the equatorial position angle distribution. Possible explanations of the results will be presented.     

The Effect of Bar on Star-forming Activities in Nuclear Regions of Nearby Spiral Galaxies

By using the SDSS spectra, we have studied the star formation properties of the nearby spiral galaxies selected from the Revised Bright Galaxy Sample, and tried to find the effect of bar structure on the star formation activity in the nuclear regions of nearby galaxies. The stellar population composition and the intensity of star formation activities of each sample galaxy are acquired by using the stellar population synthesis code—STARLIGHT, and the star formation properties of nuclear regions are compared with those of integral sample galaxies. We find that the star formation in barred spiral galaxies is more active than that of unbarred spirals, and that barred spirals have younger stellar populations.     

棒对星系核区恒星形成活动的影响

利用SDSS光谱,研究了IRAS卫星亮红外源星表中的盘状星系中的恒星形成性质,并着重探讨了棒对星系核区恒星形成活动的影响.利用星族合成的方法得到了每个样本星系核区的恒星组成性质、恒星形成活动的强度等信息,并比较了星系整体和核区恒星形成性质的差异.得到的结论:除去相互作用,样本中的棒星系显示出比非棒旋星系更强的核区恒星形成活动和更多的年轻星族成分.     

Spin vector orientation of galaxies in the region 15h 48m≤α(2000) ≤ 19h 28m, −68°≤δ(2000) ≤−62°

We present an analysis of the orientations of 1433 galaxies found in the region  15^h 48^m≤α(2000) ≤ 19^h 28^m, −68°≤δ(2000) ≤−62°  . In this region we investigated three Abell clusters (S0794, S0797, S0805) of richness Class 0 and the Triangulum Australis cluster. Our aim is to examine non-random effects in galaxy orientations in clusters. In addition, we classified the investigated galaxies into subsamples on the basis of their axial ratio, major diameter and morphology. The spin vector orientations of total galaxies in the investigated region is found to be random. No preferred orientation is found in the clusters. We could not note any morphological dependence of the galaxy orientations in our samples. No preferred orientations can be seen for the spiral galaxies. The morphologically unidentified galaxies, galaxies having major diameters of <47 arcsec, and the nearly edge-on galaxies  ( b / a < 0.5, 0.4 < b / a ≤ 0.5)  show anisotropy: spin vectors of galaxies tend to be oriented perpendicular to the Local Supercluster plane and spin vector projections tend to point radially with respect to the Virgo cluster centre.     

Investigation of barred galaxies. vi. a comparative statistics of sb and sa galaxies. the cold gas properties

The gas properties of barred and unbarred spiral galaxies are compared in two complete samples. It is found that two types of spiral galaxies do not differ from each other in atomic and molecular gas contents. On average there is 6 times more HI than H₂ in spiral galaxies and the ratio MH2/MHI decreases from early to late types. The barred and unbarred spirals in general show a similar behaviors of the gas-to-luminosity relationships, but also there are certain differences between them such as correlation of two gas phases (HI and H₂)for unbarred galaxies. It is suggested that different behaviors of two types galaxies are due to the higher star forming activity of barred with respect unbarred spirals. The expected values of HI and H₂ gas contents have been estimated using blue and far-infrared emission. Published in Astrofizika, Vol. 43, No. 3, pp. 405-410, July–September, 2000.     

Properties of star formation in the spiral arms of barred galaxies

It is assumed that the two-fold disc-wide symmetry of spirals is caused by density waves, but also the potential of a bar component may have a significant influence on structural properties. The strength of the bar component appears to be anti-correlated with the degree of symmetry of star-forming regions in the spiral arms (Rozas et al., 1998). We present new results of R and Hα surface photometry of a sample of bright barred spirals. A photometric decompositon of the galaxy components is carried out in order to make a more accurate measurement of the strength of the bar and its interrelation to gas and stars in the disc. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Spatial orientations of galaxies in seven Abell clusters of BM type II

As a concluding paper in this series, we present an analysis of the spatial orientations of galaxies in seven Abell clusters of BM type II and compare the results with previous works. Four BM type II clusters (A1767, A1809, A2554, A2721) show a similar preferred alignment: spin vectors of galaxies tend to lie in the local supercluster plane and the projections of the spin vector tend to be oriented perpendicular with respect to the Virgo cluster centre. A preferred alignment of galaxies in cluster A2554 is noticed in both the two- and three-dimensional analyses. In a comparison with previous work, we noticed a systematic change (with distance, radial velocity, morphology and magnitude) in the galaxy alignments from early-type (BM I) to late-type (BM III) clusters. Possible explanations of these systematic changes will be discussed.     

Star formation properties of spiral galaxies

The gas properties of barred and unbarredspiral galaxies are compared in two complete samples.It is found that two types of spiral galaxies do notdiffer to each other in atomic and molecular gascontents. On average there is 6 times more HI thanH₂ in spiral galaxies and the ratio MHI/MH2decreases from early to late types. The barred andunbarred spirals in general show a similar behaviorsof the gas-to-luminosity relationships, but also thereare certain differences between them such ascorrelation of two gas phases (HI and H₂) forunbarred galaxies. It is suggested that differentbehaviors of two types galaxies are due to the higherstar forming activity of barred with respect unbarredspirals. The expected values of HI and H₂ gascontents have been estimated using blue and far-infrared emission.     

Luminosity function of the field galaxies

The Schmidt method for constructing the luminosity function of galaxies is generalized to include the dependence of the density of galaxies on distance in the near universe. The logarithmic luminosity function (LLF) of the field galaxies as a function of morphological type is constructed. It is found that the LLF for all the galaxies, as well as separately for elliptical and lenticular galaxies, can be represented as a Schechter function within a narrow range of absolute magnitudes. The LLF for spiral galaxies is a Schechter function over a rather wide range of absolute magnitudes, −21.0 ≤ M ≤ −14 . The parameter M_* varies little over the spiral galaxies. The parameter α in the Schechter function decreases on going from early to later spirals. On going from elliptical to lenticular galaxies, from early spiral galaxies and onward to later spiral galaxies, a decrease in the average luminosity of the galaxies is observed in the bright end, −23 ≤ M ≤ −17.8 . The completeness and average density of the samples are estimated for galaxies of different morphological types. The average number density of all the galaxies within the range −23 ≤ M ≤ −13 is 0.126 Mpc^-3.     

The evolution of barred spiral galaxies in the Hubble Deep Fields North and South

The frequency of barred spiral galaxies as a function of redshift contains important information on the gravitational influence of stellar discs in their dark matter haloes and may also distinguish between contemporary theories for the origin of galactic bulges. In this paper we present a new quantitative method for determining the strength of barred spiral structure, and verify its robustness to redshift-dependent effects. By combining galaxy samples from the Hubble Deep Field North with newly available data from the Hubble Deep Field South, we are able to define a statistical sample of 46 low-inclination spiral systems with I _814 W<23.2 mag. Analysing the proportion of barred spiral galaxies seen as a function of redshift, we find a significant decline in the fraction of barred spirals with redshift. The redshift distribution of 22 barred and 24 non-barred spirals with suitable inclinations is inconsistent with their being drawn from the same distribution at the 99 per cent confidence level. The physical significance of this effect remains unclear, but several possibilities include dynamically hotter (or increasingly dark-matter-dominated) high-redshift discs, or an enhanced efficiency in bar destruction at high redshifts. By investigating the formation of the 'orthogonal' axis of Hubble's classification tuning fork, our result complements studies of evolution in the early–late sequence, and pushes to later epochs the redshift at which the Hubble classification sequence is observed to be in place.     

Isolated and mildly interacting spiral galaxies: Rotation curves and metallicities

We present the study of long slit spectra in the region ofHα emission line of a sample of 111 spiral galaxies with recognizable and well defined spiral morphology and with a well determined environmental status, ranging from isolation to non-disruptive interaction with satellites or companions. The form and properties of the rotation curves (RC) are considered as a function of the isolation degree, morphological type, t, and luminosity. The line ratios are used to estimate the metallicity of all the detected HII regions, thus producing a composite metallicity profile for different types of spirals. We have found that isolated galaxies (ISO) tend to be of later types and lower luminosity than the interacting galaxies (INT). The outer parts of the RC of ISO tend to be flatter than in INT, but they show similar relations between global parameters. The scatter of the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation defined by ISO is significantly lower than that of INT. The [NII]/Hα ratios, used as a metallicity indicator, show a clear trend between Z and t, with earlier spirals showing higher ratios; this trend is tighter when instead of t the gradient of the inner RC, G, is used; no trend is found with the change in interaction status. The Z-gradient of the disks depends on the type, being almost flat for early spirals, and increasing for later types. The [NII]/Hα ratios measured for disk HII regions of INT are higher than for normal/ISO objects, even if all the galaxy families present similar distributions of Hα Equivalent Width. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A new formula describing the scaffold structure of spiral galaxies

We describe a new formula capable of quantitatively characterizing the Hubble sequence of spiral galaxies including grand design and barred spirals. Special shapes such as ring galaxies with inward and outward arms are also described by the analytic continuation of the same formula. The formula is   r (φ) = A /log [ B tan   (φ/2 N )]  . This function intrinsically generates a bar in a continuous, fixed relationship relative to an arm of arbitrary winding sweep. A is simply a scale parameter while B , together with N , determines the spiral pitch. Roughly, greater N results in tighter winding. Greater B results in greater arm sweep and smaller bar/bulge, while smaller B fits larger bar/bulge with a sharper bar/arm junction. Thus B controls the 'bar/bulge-to-arm' size, while N controls the tightness much like the Hubble scheme. The formula can be recast in a form dependent only on a unique point of turnover angle of pitch – essentially a one-parameter fit, aside from a scalefactor. The recast formula is remarkable and unique in that a single parameter can define a spiral shape with either constant or variable pitch capable of tightly fitting Hubble types from grand design spirals to late-type large barred galaxies. We compare the correlation of our pitch parameter to Hubble type with that of the traditional logarithmic spiral for 21 well-shaped galaxies. The pitch parameter of our formula produces a very tight correlation with ideal Hubble type suggesting it is a good discriminator compared to logarithmic pitch, which shows poor correlation here similar to previous works. Representative examples of fitted galaxies are shown.     

The anisotropy of galaxy orientation in the Coma/A1367 supercluster

The spatial orientations of the galactic planes for galaxies in the Coma/A1367 supercluster have been determined. Owing to the ambiguity in the determination of the inclination angle, two possible orientations of the normal to the galaxy plane were found. Two angles, the polar angle δ _D and the azimuthal angle η , describe the orientation of normals. The distribution of both angles has been checked for isotropy. It is shown that the distribution is not isotropic. The same alignment is observed for samples containing elliptical and lenticular galaxies and for samples containing only spirals, as well as for samples containing galaxies located in different parts of the supercluster. In the case of spiral galaxies, the anisotropy shows that galaxy rotation axes strongly favour alignment with the main plane of the supercluster. The projection of the rotation axes on to the main plane of the supercluster has a preferential direction pointing towards the supercluster, but this effect is weak. A comparison with theory is also presented.     

The properties of the galaxies in the ENACS clusters, and the relation between spirals and S0 galaxies

We discuss the properties of the galaxies in about 60 rich, nearby clusters, using kinematic data from the ESO Nearby Abell Cluster Survey, combined with new imaging data. The images were used to classify the galaxies, and to recalibrate the galaxy types derived from the ENACS spectra; this yields galaxy-type estimates for about4800 galaxies. For about 1200 galaxies, a bulge/disk decomposition could be made, which yields sizes and luminosities of bulges and disks. From the projected radial distances and relative l.o.s.-velocities we derived the galaxy ensembles with significantly different phase-space distributions. We find that galaxies in and outside substructure must be distinguished. The morphological composition of the substructures appears to vary with projected radius. Outside substructures, 4 galaxy ensembles must be defined: viz. the brighest Es, the other early-type galaxies, the early spirals(Sa-Sb), and the late spirals (including the emission-line galaxies). We also study the morphology-density relation, and we find that the segregation of the late spirals is driven mostly by global factors, while the segregation of Es, S0s and early spirals is driven mostly by local density. The properties of early spirals and S0ssupport the picture in which early spirals transform into S0s, while the properties of the late spirals do not support such a relation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On-Going Galaxy Formation

We investigate the process of galaxy formation as can be observed in the only currently forming galaxies - the so-called Tidal Dwarf Galaxies, hereafter TDGs - through observations of the molecular gas detected via its CO (Carbon Monoxide) emission. These objects are formed of material torn off of the outer parts of a spiral disk due to tidal forces in a collision between two massive galaxies. Molecular gas is a key element in the galaxy formation process, providing the link between a cloud of gas and a bona fide galaxy. We have detected CO in 8 TDGs (Braine, Lisenfeld, Duc and Leon, 2000: Nature 403, 867; Braine, Duc, Lisenfeld, Charmandaris, Vallejo, Leon and Brinks: 2001, A&A 378, 51), with an overall detection rate of 80%, showing that molecular gas is abundant in TDGs, up to a few 10⁸ M _⊙. The CO emission coincides both spatially and kinematically with the HI emission, indicating that the molecular gas forms from the atomic hydrogen where the HI column density is high. A possible trend of more evolved TDGs having greater molecular gas masses is observed, in accord with the transformation of HI into H₂. Although TDGs share many of the properties of small irregulars, their CO luminosity is much greater (factor ∼ 100) than that of standard dwarf galaxies of comparable luminosity. This is most likely a consequence of the higher metallicity (≳sim 1/3 solar) of TDGs which makes CO a good tracer of molecular gas. This allows us to study star formation in environments ordinarily inaccessible due to the extreme difficulty of measuring the molecular gas mass. The star formation efficiency, measured by the CO luminosity per Hα flux, is the same in TDGs and full-sized spirals. CO is likely the best tracer of the dynamics of these objects because some fraction of the HI near the TDGs may be part of the tidal tail and not bound to the TDG. Although uncertainties are large for individual objects, as the geometry is unknown, our sample is now of eight detected objects and we find that the ‘dynamical’ masses of TDGs, estimated from the CO line widths, seem not to be greater than the ‘visible’ masses (HI + H₂ + a stellar component). Although higher spatial resolution CO (and HI) observations would help reduce the uncertainties, we find that TDGs require no dark matter, which would make them the only galaxy-sized systems where this is the case. Dark matter in spirals should then be in a halo and not a rotating disk. Most dwarf galaxies are dark matter-rich, implying that they are not of tidal origin. We provide strong evidence that TDGs are self-gravitating entities, implying that we are witnessing the ensemble of processes in galaxy formation: concentration of large amounts of gas in a bound object, condensation of the gas, which is atomic at this point, to form molecular gas and the subsequent star formation from the dense molecular component. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Barred galaxies. IV. Comparative statistics on SB and SA galaxies in the radio and x-ray ranges

The radio and xray properties of spiral galaxies with and without a bar are discussed on the basis of complete samples that we have compiled. The two types of spirals are shown not to differ from one another in emission power in the two indicated ranges. In the case of SB galaxies, the luminosities in the IR, radio, and xray ranges are closely related. The spectral indices of SB and SA galaxies in the 1.4–5 GHz range are the same, on the average. In the case of barred galaxies, however, a definite dependence is observed between the spectral index and both the IR and × ray luminosities, i.e., the spectral index increases as both luminosities increase. It is assumed that this is caused by the bar itself, which stimulates star formation in a barred galaxy. Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 41. No. 4, pp. 599–608, October–December, 1998.     

From spirals to low surface brightness galaxies

We show that simple models of the chemical and spectrophotometric evolution of galaxies can be used to explore the properties of present-day galaxies and especially the causes of the observed variety among disc galaxies. We focus on the link between `classical' spirals and Low Surface Brightness galaxies. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On the link between disc-galaxies and Damped Lyman-α systems

We model the chemical and spectrophotometric evolution of the Milky Way, spiral galaxies and Low Surface Brightness Galaxies in a consistent way. Some consequences with respect to the nature of Damped Lyman-α systems (DLAs) are investigated. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The mass distribution in the innermost regions of spiral galaxies

We use high-spatial resolution (100 pc) rotation curves of 83 spiral galaxies to investigate the mass distribution of their innermost kpc. We show that, in this region, the luminous matter completely accounts for the gravitational potential and no dark component is required. The derived I-band disk mass-to-light ratios agree well with those obtained from population synthesis models and correlate with color in a similar way. We find strict upper limits of 10⁷ M for the masses of compact bodies at the center of spirals, ruling out that these systems host the remnants of the quasar activity.     

Spatial orientations of galaxies in 10 Abell clusters of BM type II–III

We present an analysis of the spatial orientations of 1315 galaxies in 10 Abell clusters of BM type II–III (type II–III in the Bautz–Morgan system). It is found that the spin-vector orientations of the galaxies in six clusters (Abell 168, 426, 1035, 1227, 1367 and 1904) tend to lie parallel to the Local Supercluster (LSC) plane. The spin-vector projections of galaxies in six clusters (Abell 168, 1020, 1035, 1227, 1904 and 1920) are found to be oriented perpendicular with respect to the direction of the LSC centre. Three clusters (Abell 1920, 2255 and 2256) show a bimodal orientation: spin vectors tend to be oriented both parallel and perpendicular to the LSC plane. No dependence of radial velocity, distance and cluster magnitude on galaxy orientation is noticed. In a comparison with previous work, we noticed that the anisotropy might increase from early-type (BM type I) to late-type (BM types II–III and III) clusters. We notice a vanishing angular momentum for the less massive galaxy clusters (richness class 0). A significant alignment of the angular momenta of galaxies for massive clusters, e.g. the core of the Shapley Supercluster (richness class 4,   M > 10¹⁵ M_⊙  ), is found.