Emission-line galaxies from SDSS DR4: Statistical studies of the current star formation

For a sample of 8156 emission-line galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 (SDSS DR4), we have determined the current star formation rates (SFR) from three parameters: the H_α luminosity of H II regions corrected for the aperture and interstellar extinction (N = 7006 galaxies), the far-infrared luminosity (IRAS data, N = 350), and the monochromatic luminosity in the radio continuum at ν = 1.4 GHz (NVSS data, N = 475). A Salpeter initial mass function with the range of stellar masses 0.1–100 M _⊙ was assumed in the SFR _FIR calculations. In calculating SFR_1.4, we assumed that the fraction of the thermal emission in the total radio continuum emission of the galaxy at 1.4 GHz was 10%. An upper limit for the starburst age has been determined for galaxies with known abundances of heavy elements. We compare our results with those of similar studies for isolated and Markarian H II 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.     

Radio continuum and far-infrared emission from the galaxies in the Eridanus group

The Eridanus galaxies follow the well-known radio—FIR correlation. The majority (70%) of these galaxies have their star formation rates below that of the Milky Way. The galaxies that have a significant excess of radio emission are identified as low luminosity AGNs based on their radio morphologies obtained from the GMRT observations. There are no powerful AGNs (L _20cm > 10²³ W Hz⁻¹) in the group. The two most far-infrared and radio luminous galaxies in the group have optical and HI morphologies suggestive of recent tidal interactions. The Eridanus group also has two far-infrared luminous but radio-deficient galaxies. It is believed that these galaxies are observed within a few Myr of the onset of an intense star formation episode after being quiescent for at least a 100 Myr. The upper end of the radio luminosity distribution of the Eridanus galaxies (L _20cm ∼ 10²² W Hz⁻¹) is consistent with that of the field galaxies, other groups, and late-type galaxies in nearby clusters.     

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.     

Some peculiarities of four host galaxies,containing Seyfert nuclei

Star-like objects are found in Seyfert galaxies Markarian 290, Markarian 298, NGC 1275, and NGC 7469, being connected with the structure peculiarities of the galaxies. The absolute magnitudes of these objects are –16 ^m M–19 ^m . It has been supposed that these star formations must stimulate the instability in the disk of the galaxy followed by the matter fall toward the centre of the galaxy. The gas inflow toward the centre will allow the recent star formations and Seyfert nuclei generation.Paper presented at the 11th European Regional Astronomical Meetings of the IAU on New Windows to the Universe, held 3–8 July, 1989, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.     

Primeval galaxies: Predicted luminosities

Absorption by gas and dust in circumstellar Hii regions within primeval galaxies could seriously depress the far-ultraviolet continuum radiation emitted by primeval galaxies. This effect might account for the failure of Partridge (1974) and Davis and Wilkinson (1974) to detect the redshifted radiation from primeval galaxies at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. A primeval galaxy becomes very bright only during the final stages of contraction. Provided that dust can form by the time the primeval galaxy reaches peak luminosity, a significant fraction of the stellar far-ultraviolet radiation is converted into far-infrared. Thus an appropriate spectral region to search for the redshifted integrated background from primeval galaxies lies between 350 , where the 2.7 K microwave background radiation becomes important, and 150 , where other extragalactic discrete sources, such as nearby galactic nuclei, may contribute. The expected IR flux is calculated with Kaufman's (1975) model for the star formation rate in the contracting galaxy. Letz _p be the redshift andT _g the grain temperature when the primeval galaxy becomes very bright. Unlessz _p10 orT _g is fairly high, the intensity of the far-infrared radiation from primeval galaxies would be dominated by the high frequency tail of the 2.7 K microwave background. On the other hand, if dust is unimportant, we determine the spectral energy distribution of a primeval galaxy emitted in the range 912 Å to 2050 Å; we find that the luminosities are not very sensitive to the dependence of effective temperatures on metal abundance.     

Correlations between environment and other properties of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey at fixed color

From the volume-limited Main galaxy sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 (SDSS DR6), we construct three samples with g–r color bins , labeled S1–S3, to investigate how other properties of galaxies depend on environment at fixed color. For each sample, we measure the local three-dimensional galaxy density in a comoving sphere with radius equal to the distance to the 5th nearest galaxy for each galaxy, select about 5% galaxies and construct the two subsamples at both extremes of density. Our study suggests that the environmental dependence of luminosity is mainly due to the environmental dependence of galaxy color and the correlation between color and luminosity. In addition, we preferentially conclude that concentration index and morphologies are not strongly correlated with local density at fixed color, and that galaxy color is a galaxy property very predictive of the local environment. Because SDSS spectroscopy is incomplete for bright galaxies at very low redshifts, we also use a volume-limited Main galaxy sample with a lower redshift limit z = 0.05, which contains 94,954 galaxies at 0.05 < z < 0.089 with −22.40 < M_r < −20.16, and reach the same conclusions.Due to the bimodality of the u–r color distribution, we classify galaxies as ‘red’ and ‘blue’, respectively, and further subdivide the samples into star-forming galaxies and passive ones using Hα equivalent width, W₀(Hα). Results show that color and star formation activity of galaxies are galaxy properties very predictive of the local environment.     

Star formation rate in starburst galaxies

The statistical investigation of integrated characteristics of the blue compact galaxies from the Second Byurakan survey has been carried out. The tight correlation between the luminosities in the far-infrared range and radio range (radio-continuum at 21 cm) has been revealed. It implies the common origin of this radiation in star forming regions. The current star formation rates have been derived both from the luminosity in the far-infrared range (SFR_FIR) and from the luminosity in the radio range (SFR_{21 cm}). The Salpeter shape of the initial mass function (IMF) and low-mass cut-off of 0.1 M_⊙ in IMF has been assumed for the SFR_FIR calculation. We derive the SFR_{21 cm} assuming that radio free–free emission at λ=21 cm is thermal emission of gas ionised by massive stars. The SFR_{21 cm} is shown to be about 3.5 times as large as SFR_FIR for our sample of galaxies. These star formation rates are proposed to be considered as lower and upper limits of true galaxy star formation rates.     

The Morphologies of Dwarf Markarian Galaxies

The morphologies of the 96 dwarf (M(B) -17^m) galaxies in the Markarian catalog are determined from the digitized Schmidt plates obtained for the construction of the Hubble Space Telescope Guide Star Catalog. The fraction of double nucleus galaxies within the dwarf Markarian galaxies is determined to be twice that found for all galaxies in the Markarian catalog. In addition to the 12 previously known cases, four definite and two probable galaxies with double nuclei are identified. The fraction of dwarf Markarian galaxies with bright star forming regions is found to be twice that of Virgo cluster dwarf galaxies. No Elliptical galaxies are found in the sample. Galaxies with blue compact dwarf and S0 morphologies are more often found to contain unresolved regions of UV excess emission. Dwarf Markarian galaxies with different morphological structures and spectral classes are found to have similar FIR properties.     

A Comparison of Star Formation Rate Indicators for Galaxies

With the multi-wavelength data from UV to sub-millimeter in the region of H-ATLAS (Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey) Science Demonstration Phase (SDP), in combination with the population synthesis model and dust model, the total infrared luminosities of the galaxies were calculated. On this basis, for respectively the strong and weak star-forming galaxies, we studied the differences in the star formation rates calculated by the UV luminosity, infrared luminosity and H_α line, as well as the intrinsic physical origin of such differences. It was found that for the galaxies of strong star-formation activity, the 3 kinds of star formation rate indicators give the basically consistent results with a small dispersion. But at the end of high star formation rate, the star formation rate calculated by the UV luminosity is slightly smaller than that calculated by the H_α-line flux; at the end of low star formation rate, the UV indicator tends to be greater than the H_α indicator; and at both ends, the infrared indicator and H_α indicator have no significant difference. For the weak star-forming galaxies, significant differences exist among the 3 kinds of indicators, and there is a rather large dispersion. The dispersions and systematic difference of the star formation rates calculated by the UV luminosity and H_α line increase with the galactic age and mass. The main cause for the increased systematic difference is that when the extinction of an weak star-forming galaxy is calibrated by its UV continuum spectral slope β, the UV extinction of the galaxy is overestimated, it makes the UV luminosity tends to be large after the extinction correction. In addition, the star formation rates (Hα) of weak starforming galaxies in the MPA/JHU (Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics/Johns Hopkins University) database are generally less than the real values.     

UBV photometry of 262 southern galaxies

Multi-aperture photometry of 262 bright southern galaxies in the JohnsonUBV system is given. Most of these are south of =–30°, although some northward to =–10° are included. A total of 169 objects have published radial velocity determinations. These provide distances, and enable construction of colour-magnitude diagrams for this subset of bbjects through a physical diameter of 2.0 kpc (withH _o=100). The two-colour diagrams for the inner regions of the galaxies differ from those of integrated galaxies due to the colour changes towards their centres. Comparison with theoretical models of Larson and Tinsley (1978) suggest that the colours of the inner portions of most ellipticals and lenticulars are consistent with their having all stars formed at nearly one epoch with little subsequent star formation, while for spirals larger amounts of star formation, either in bursts or continuously, are suggested. This simple picture is complicated by the presence of certain objects having peculiar colours indicative of large amounts of recent star formation.     

ISO Far-IR spectroscopy of IR-bright galaxies and ULIRGs

Based on far-infrared spectroscopy of a small sample of nearbyinfrared-bright and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with theISO Long Wavelength Spectrometer we find adramatic progression in ionic/atomic fine-structure emission line andmolecular/atomic absorption line characteristics in these galaxiesextending from strong [O III]52,88 m and [N III]57 m lineemission to detection of only faint [C II]158 m line emissionfrom gas in photodissociation regions in the ULIRGs. The molecularabsorption spectra show varying excitation as well, extending fromgalaxies in which the molecular population mainly occupies the groundstate to galaxies in which there is significant population in higherlevels. In the case of the prototypical ULIRG, the merger galaxy Arp220, the spectrum is dominated by absorption lines of OH, H₂O, CH,and [O I]. Low [O III]88 m line flux relative to the integratedfar-infrared flux correlates with low excitation and does not appear tobe due to far-infrared extinction or to density effects. A progressiontoward soft radiation fields or very dusty H II regions may explainthese effects.     

Centers of activity in dust clouds

Recent submm observations of dust emission from star forming regions are presented and combined with NIR and IRAS data. The spectra cover the range 0.3 to 1300 m and origin from ZAMS stars, compact Hii regions, low-luminosity objects in dark clouds and external galaxies. The dust emission spectra are interpreted in terms of density and temperature distributions around central heating sources. In addition, general properties like IR luminosity, optical depth, wavelength dependence of dust opacity and, in the case of galaxies, star formation efficiency are discussed.Paper presented at a Workshop on The Role of Dust in Dense Regions of Interstellar Matter, held at Georgenthal, G.D.R., in March 1986.     

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.     

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.     

Confirmation of radio absorption by the intergalactic medium

The conventional interpretation of the cosmic background radiation (CBR) as a relic of the Big Bang assumes that the intergalactic medium is highly transparent to radio frequency radiation. Previous work (Lerner, 1990) used the well-known correlation of IR and radio luminosities of spiral galaxies to test this assumption. That analysis, using 237 Shapley-Ames galaxies showed that radio luminosity (L _R ) for a given IR-luminosity, declines with distance, implying that the IGM strongly absorbs radio frequency radiation. That absorption has now been confirmed using a sample of 301 IR-bright galaxies. Using two independent methods of determining the correlation of IR and radio luminosities of spiral and interacting galaxies, the sample shows that for a givenL _IR ,L _R D ^{–0.32±0.04} over a range of distances from 0.7-300 Mpc. (H ₀ = 75 km s^–1 Mpc^–1). The correlation is significant at the 8 or 10^–14 level. Absorption by the IGM is the only reasonable explanation for this correlation. The existence of such absorption implies that neither the isotropy nor the spectrum of the CBR are primordial and that neither is evidence for a Big Bang.     

Spectral and Photoelectric Studies of the Herbig Ae/Be Star HD 259431

Spectral and photoelectric (ubvy, H, H) observations of the Herbig Ae/Be star HD 259431 are reported. It is found that as its brightness fades, this star becomes bluer in the Paschen continuum and the intensity and equivalent width of the hydrogen emission lines increase. The spectral observations reveal significant variations in the intensity of the Mg II 4481 Å photospheric absorption line. A rise and fall in the luminosity by 0^m.04 within a period of 5-7 minutes was recorded. Radical variations in the H lineshape ("double" "P Cyg") and flare activity are not only observed in this star, but also in a number of HAEBE stars. It is suggested that flare activity may initiate a change in the velocity gradient at the base of the wind and, thereby, induce "double P Cyg" or "P Cyg single" transitions. The nonradial pulsations of this star are also 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.     

Normal galaxies in the all-sky survey by the eROSITA X-ray telescope of the Spectrum-X-Gamma observatory

We analyze the statistical properties of normal galaxies to be detected in the all-sky survey by the eROSITA X-ray telescope of the Spectrum-X-Gamma observatory. With the current configuration and parameters of the eROSITA telescope, the sensitivity of a 4-year-long all-sky survey will be ≈10^?14 erg s^?1 in the 0.5–2 keV band. This will allow ～(1.5–2) × 10⁴ normal galaxies with approximately the same contribution of star-forming and elliptical galaxies to be detected. All galaxies of the X-ray survey are expected to enter into the existing far-infrared (IRAS) or near-infrared (2MASS) catalogs; the sample of star-forming galaxies will be approximately equivalent in sensitivity to the sample of star-forming galaxies in the IRAS catalog of infrared sources. Thus, a large homogeneous sample of normal galaxies with measured X-ray, near-infrared, and far-infrared fluxes will be formed. About 90% of the galaxies in the survey are located within ～200–400 Mpc. A typical (most probable) galaxy will have a luminosity log L _X ～ 40.5–41.0, will be located at a distance of ～70–90 Mpc, and will be either a star-forming galaxy with a star formation rate of ～20M _⊙ yr^?1 whose X-ray emission is produced by ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) or an elliptical galaxy with amass log M _* ～ 11.3 emitting through to a hot interstellar gas. The galaxies within 35 Mpc will collectively contain ～10² ULXs with luminosities log L _X > 40, ～80% of whichwill be the only luminous source in the galaxy. Thus, although the angular resolution of the eROSITA telescope is too low for the luminosity function of compact sources in galaxies to be studied in detail, the survey data will allow one to investigate its bright end and, possibly, to impose constraints on the maximum luminosity of ULXs.     

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.