X-ray luminous IRAS galaxies

A sample of 14708 extragalactic IRAS sources selected from the Point Source Catalog via statistical classification has been cross-correlated with the ROSAT All Sky Survey (Bolleret al., 1992). 244 galaxies emerge as being detected both by ROSAT and IRAS.The most interesting point is the discovery of a dozen of normal spirals whose X-ray luminosities reach nearly 10⁴³ erg s^–1 (0.1–2.4 keV), higher than previous detection limits of a few 10⁴¹ erg s^–1 (Stockeet al. 1991; Green, Anderson and Ward, 1992). We obtained optical spectra for nine of them, showing Seyfert spectra for three of the objects (thus previous mis-classifications), spectra close to LINERs for two further objects and normal IRAS galaxy spectra for the last four.In the case of normal galaxies, the source of energy is not clear yet and could be related to the high rate of star formation likely to occur in the central regions or also to a low level active nucleus. The study of these objects is of interest to the nature of LINERs and, more generally, to possible relations between AGN and starbursts (Sanderset al., 1988).     

The surface brightness of IRAS galaxies

Using IRAS measurements, we find positive correlations between both the infrared to optical flux ratio (L _FIR/L _B) and infrared colour temperature (L ₆₀/L ₁₀₀) with optical surface brightness. These correlations can be understood by high surface brightness galaxies having (i) a high star formation rate, or (ii) a high-space density of stars and dust.In an attempt to interpret (ii) above, we have produced radiative transfer models for the dust absorption in a galactic disc. These models indicate that the highest surface brightness galaxies may be the most dust obscured (i.e., optically thick) and that the total luminosity (and, hence, mass) of these galaxies may be considerably underestimated.     

Multiwavelength study of X-ray selected star-forming galaxies within the Chandra Deep Field-South

We have combined multiwavelength observations of a selected sample of star-forming galaxies with galaxy evolution models in order to compare the results obtained for different star formation rate (SFR) tracers and to study the effect that the evolution of the star-forming regions has on them. We also aimed at obtaining a better understanding of the corrections due to extinction and nuclear activity on the derivation of the SFR. We selected the sample from Chandra data for the well studied region Chandra Deep Field -South (CDFS) and chose the objects that also have ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer ( GALEX ) and Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) Spitzer , respectively.
Our main finding is that there is good agreement between the extinction corrected SFR(UV) and the SFR(X), and we confirm the use of X-ray luminosities as a trustful tracer of recent star formation activity. Nevertheless, at SFR(UV) larger than about  5 M_⊙ yr⁻¹  there are several galaxies with an excess of SFR(X) suggesting the presence of an obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) not detected in the optical spectra. We conclude that the IR luminosity is driven by recent star formation even in those galaxies where the SFR(X) is an order of magnitude higher than the SFR(UV) and therefore may harbour an AGN. One object shows SFR(X) much lower than expected based on the SFR(UV); this SFR(X) 'deficit' may be due to an early transient phase before most of the massive X-ray binaries were formed. An X-ray deficit could be used to select extremely young bursts in an early phase just after the explosion of the first supernovae associated with massive stars and before the onset of massive X-ray binaries.     

Radio observations of nearby moderately luminous IRAS galaxies

Six nearby moderately luminous IRAS galaxies have been observed at two wavelengths with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. Radio emission was detected in two of them, IRAS 20272-4738 and IRAS 23156-4238, and their parameters including flux, peak position, size and spectral index, obtained. These sources were confirmed with infrared, radio and optical data. Combining with previous results we discuss their emission characteristics.     

Limits on the X-ray emission from several hyperluminous IRAS galaxies

We report long, pointed ROSAT HRI observations of the hyperluminous galaxies IRAS F00235+1024, F12514+1027, F14481+4454 and F14537+1950. Two of them are optically classified as Seyfert-like. No X-ray sources are detected at the positions of any of the objects, with a mean upper limit L _X/ L _Bol ≃ 2.3 × 10⁻⁴. This indicates that any active nuclei are either atypically weak at X-ray wavelengths or obscured by column densities N _H > 10²³ cm⁻². They differ markedly from 'ordinary' Seyfert 2 galaxies, bearing a closer resemblance in the soft X-ray band to composite Seyfert 2 galaxies or to some types of starburst.     

Multiwavelength study of the nuclei of a volume-limited sample of galaxies – I. X-ray observations

We discuss ROSAT HRI X-ray observations of 33 very nearby galaxies, sensitive to X-ray sources down to a luminosity of approximately 10³⁸ erg s⁻¹. The galaxies are selected from a complete, volume-limited sample of 46 galaxies with     for which we have extensive multiwavelength data. For an almost complete subsample with     (29/31 objects) we have HRI images. Contour maps and source lists are presented within the central region of each galaxy, together with nuclear upper limits where no nuclear source was detected. Nuclear X-ray sources are found to be very common, occurring in ∼35 per cent of the sample. Nuclear X-ray luminosity is statistically connected to host galaxy luminosity – there is not a tight correlation, but the probability of a nuclear source being detected increases strongly with galaxy luminosity, and the distribution of nuclear luminosities seems to show an upper envelope that is roughly proportional to galaxy luminosity. While these sources do seem to be a genuinely nuclear phenomenon rather than nuclear examples of the general X-ray source population, it is far from obvious that they are miniature Seyfert nuclei. The more luminous nuclei are very often spatially extended, and H  ii region nuclei are detected just as often as LINERs. Finally, we also note the presence of fairly common superluminous X-ray sources in the off-nuclear population – out of 29 galaxies we find nine sources with a luminosity greater than 10³⁹ erg s⁻¹. These show no particular preference for more luminous galaxies. One is already known to be a multiple SNR system, but most have no obvious optical counterpart and their nature remains a mystery.     

The clustering of hot and cold IRAS galaxies: the redshift-space correlation function

We measure the autocorrelation function, ξ , of galaxies in the IRAS Point Source Catalogue galaxy redshift (PSC z ) survey and investigate its dependence on the far-infrared colour and absolute luminosity of the galaxies. We find that the PSC z survey correlation function can be modelled out to a scale of 10  h ⁻¹ Mpc as a power law of slope 1.30±0.04 and correlation length 4.77±0.20 . At a scale of 75  h ⁻¹ Mpc we find the value of J ₃ to be 1500±400 .
We also find that galaxies with higher 100 μm/60 μm flux ratio, corresponding to cooler dust temperatures, are more strongly clustered than warmer galaxies. Splitting the survey into three colour subsamples, we find that, between 1 and 10  h ⁻¹ Mpc, the ratio of ξ is a factor of 1.5 higher for the cooler galaxies compared with the hotter galaxies. This is consistent with the suggestion that hotter galaxies have higher star formation rates, and correspond to later-type galaxies which are less clustered than earlier types.
Using volume-limited subsamples, we find a weak variation of ξ as a function of absolute luminosity, in the sense that more luminous galaxies are less clustered than fainter galaxies. The trend is consistent with the colour dependence of ξ and the observed colour–luminosity correlation, but the large uncertainties mean that it has a low statistical significance.     

Multiwavelength study of the nuclei of a volume-limited sample of galaxies – II. Optical, infrared and radio observations

We present optical and infrared broad-band images, radio maps, and optical spectroscopy for the nuclear region of a sample of nearby galaxies. The galaxies have been drawn from a complete volume-limited sample for which we have already presented X-ray imaging. We modelled the stellar component of the spectroscopic observations to determine the star formation history of our targets. Diagnostic diagrams were used to classify the emission-line spectra and determine the ionizing mechanism driving the nuclear regions. All those sources classified as active galactic nuclei present small Eddington ratios  (∼10⁻³–10⁻⁶)  , implying a very slow growth rate of their black holes. We finally investigate the relative numbers of active and normal nuclei as a function of host galaxy luminosity and find that the fraction of active galaxies slowly rises as a function of host absolute magnitude in the   M _B ∼−12  to −22 range.     

Multiwavelength study of low-luminosity 6.7-GHz methanol masers

We present results of 13CO(1-0),C18O(1-0),and HCO+(1-0) map observations and N2H+(1-0) single point observations directed towards a sample of nine low-luminosity 6.7-GHz masers.N2H + line emission has been detected from six out of nine sources,C18O line emission has been detected from eight out of nine sources,and HCO + and 13CO emission has been detected in all sources.In particular,a blue profile of the HCO + spectrum,a signature of inflow,is found towards one source.From integrated intensity emission map...     

A dimensional study of disc galaxies

We present a highly simplified model of the dynamical structure of a disc galaxy where only two parameters fully determine the solution, mass and angular momentum. We show through simple physical scalings that once the mass has been fixed, the angular momentum parameter λ is expected to regulate such critical galactic disc properties as colour, thickness of the disc and bulge-to-disc ratio. It is, hence, expected to be the determinant physical ingredient resulting in a given Hubble type. A simple analytic estimate of λ for an observed system is provided. An explicit comparison of the distribution of several galactic parameters against both Hubble type and λ is performed using observed galaxies. Both such distributions exhibit highly similar characteristics for all galactic properties studied, suggesting λ as a physically motivated classification parameter for disc galaxies.     

Millimetric properties of IRAS galaxies – III. Luminosity functions, sub-mm counts and contributions to the sky background

We exploit observations at 1.25 mm with the ESO–SEST telescope of a southern galaxy sample, selected from the IRAS PSC and complete to S ₆₀=2 Jy, to derive the FIR and mm luminosity functions and the conditional probability distributions of FIR and mm luminosity of galaxies. The reliability of these estimates is ensured by the good observed correlation of the far-infrared and mm emissions. This detailed knowledge of the millimetric properties of galaxies is used to simulate the extragalactic sub-mm sky (background intensity, small-scale anisotropy signals and discrete source statistics), which is the target of a variety of ground-based and space observatories. We find, in particular, that a recent tentative detection of a sub-mm background would require, if confirmed, strong evolution with cosmic time of the galaxy long-wavelength emissivity. We finally discuss ways to test such evolution with present and forthcoming facilities: while emphasizing the difficulty of achieving this with large mm telescopes on the ground (because of the poor atmospheric conditions of current sub-mm sites), we mention an interesting opportunity with the long-wavelength camera on ISO . Preliminary results of deep surveys, both from space and from the ground, seem indeed to require excess emission in the past by dusty galaxies with respect to no-evolution predictions.     

星系的IRAS颜色

本文以369个在四个波段上都被探测到了的IRAS亮星系为依据,讨论了星系的IRAS颜色。根据IRAS颜色对它们做了分类,用简单的双黑体模型,可以很好拟合绝大多数IRAS亮星系的辐射。     

Using nicmos arrays to study galaxies

The 256×256 HgCdTe arrays developed for the NICMOS (Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer) project have proven to be very capable devices for extragalactic imaging. This paper describes a sampling of extragalactic results from NICMOS arrays. A brief summary of the history of the development of these arrays, and their outstanding performance characteristics is also given.     

Infrared photometric study of dust obscured galaxies

We have collected almost all published dust obscured galaxies (DOGs) with the certain coordinate in the literature (817 DOGs in total) to investigate their infrared properties by using 2MASS (and other observations in the JHK bands), WISE, IRAS and Herschel data in this paper. Our study shows that objects with different types have different presentations for the relations between the redshift and infrared colors. It is also found that in the near infrared two-color diagram, DOGs are distributed across the blackbody line and the power law line indicative of the thermal emission from the stellar component and the star formation for some objects, and the AGN dominated for other objects in the near infrared. However, in the two-color diagrams with longer wavelengths the majority of DOGs are distributed around the power law line indicative of the central AGN dominated in the mid-infrared, far infrared, and submillimeter regions. We also compared the infrared color propertes between DOGs and ULIRGs. It is found that, statistically, ULIRGs have redder colors than that for DOGs in the near and mid- infrared region while compared with DOGs, ULIRGs are more near the blackbody line indicative of the star formation dominated in far infrared.