晚型旋涡星系及其盘的颜色星等关系

从Sloan数字巡天(Sloan Digital Sky Survey)第二批释放的数据(Data ReleaseTwo,简称DR2)中,选择了395个在r波段亮于15等的晚型旋涡星系作为样本,研究了这些星系及其盘的颜色星等关系.结果表明晚型旋涡星系及其盘的三个颜色g-r,r-z和g-z均与r波段的绝对星等有紧密的相关关系,越亮的星系(或盘),颜色越红,而且星系的相关性比盘的更强.     

致密星系群SCGG223的ASCA观测

光学观测表明,致密星系群ＳＣＧＧ２２３中成员星系的速度弥散高达１１０６ｋｍ／ｓ,并且整个星系群处于平衡状态,星系群的数值模拟也显示,ＳＣＧＧ２２３是维里化的,这些光学波段上的研究结果暗示,ＳＣＧＧ２２３可能具有星系团量级的大引力质量,其星系际气体则很可能处在极高温的状态,为了证实这些推测,作在１９９９年２月利用ＡＳＣＡ卫星对ＳＣＧＧ２２３了Ｘ射线观测。通过光谱分析,获得了它的气体温度和０．５～     

致密星系群SCGG223的ASCA观测

光学观测表明,致密星系群ＳＣＧＧ ２２３中成员星系的速度弥散高达１１０６ｋｍ／ｓ,并且 整个星系群处于平衡状态．星系群的数值模拟也显示, ＳＣＧＧ ２２３是维里化的．这些光学 波段上的研究结果暗示, ＳＣＧＧ ２２３可能具有星系团量级的大引力质量,其星系际气体则 很可能处在极高温的状态．为了证实这些推测,作者在 １９９９年 ２月利用 ＡＳＣＡ卫星对 ＳＣＧＧ ２２３进行了 Ｘ射线观测．通过光谱分析,获得了它的气体温度和 ０．５～１０ ｋｅＶ波段 上的光度分别为ｋＴ＝１．４_（－０．４）~（＋．６）： ｋｅＶ和９．８５_（－２．０４）~（６．１１）× １０３６Ｊ Ｓ－１．与光学观测所作出的预计相 反,这些数值显示 ＳＣＧＧ ２２３是一个正常的低温星系群．由于 ＳＣＧＧ ２２３在 ０．５～１０ ｋｅＶ 波段上很暗,无法从ＡＳＣＡ获得的Ｘ射线表面亮度分布推算其总引力质量,因此,尚不 能直接判断它的质量是否真的像光学维里质量那样大．     

新闻速递

郭守敬望远镜助力致密星系群研究根据现代标准冷暗物质宇宙学,宇宙的结构是等级成团式的。星系是恒星的集合,相邻的星系在引力作用下慢慢聚集起来,又形成了星系团、星系群等,并逐渐形成更大尺度的结构。比如,我们的银河系就位于一个被称为本星系群的星系群中。而致密星系群中星系之间存在复杂的相互作用过程,它们是研究星系并合和演化的理想场所。     

盘状星系的颜色星等关系

在Sloan数字巡天计划第二批释放的数据中选择了15257个面向的盘状星系,统计研究它们的颜色星等关系．结果表明3个颜色g-r、r-i、r-z均与r波段的绝对星等有紧密的相关关系,即:越亮的星系,颜色越红,而且色指数弥散越小．并且简单讨论了观测到的颜色星等关系对盘状星系的恒星形成历史的约束．     

同等质量下盘状星系的颜色-尺度关系

挑选Sloan数字巡天第7次释放数据(SDSS DR7)的主星系样本中近邻的、面向的盘状星系作为星系样本,统计研究了在恒星总质量相等的情况下盘状星系的颜色和尺度之间的相关性,并对相关性的真实性进行了检验.发现对于同等质量的盘状星系,u-r颜色与尺度相关性很弱,而g-r、r-i、r-z颜色与尺度负相关,即星系的尺度越大,颜色越蓝.该结果意味着盘状星系的质量分布对其恒星形成历史影响很大,物质分布越延展的星系,其演化越慢.     

星系团Abell 85的光度函数

基于NASA/IPAC河外星系数据库(NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database,NED)和Sloan数字巡天(Sloan Digital Sky Survey,SDSS)第8次释放的数据(The Eighth Data Release,DR8),对星系团Abell 85(以下简称A85)的2倍动力学特征半径2r_(200)内的光度函数(Luminosity Function,LF)进行了研究.研究表明,A85的光度函数在Sloan巡天5个波段用Schechter函数均能拟合得很好.在u、g和z波段光度函数都显示出1个下凹.早型星系r波段的两个最佳拟合参数(r波段特征绝对星等和暗端的陡度)分别为M_r~*=-21.14_(-0.17)~(+0.17)mag,α=-0.83_(-0.14)~(+0.12),晚型星系为M_r~*=-21.98_(-0.98)~(+0.84)mag,α=-1.5_(-0.35)~(+0.24).早型星系的特征星等暗于晚型星系,而暗端比晚型星系要平坦得多.早型星系的光度函数在-20.5~-20.0 mag下凹.将1.5r_(200)范围内的星系按距离团中心的远近划分为3个环状区域,发现距离团中心越近,光度函数的暗端越陡,特征星等越亮.     

高红移星系特征与星系环境

本文在星系有偏袒形成的冷暗物质模型框架下,假定星系都在红移～5时形成,研究了星系群和星系团的形成对星系演化的影响。由示冷暗物质模型中各种不同尺度扰动的幅度相近,星系群和星系团的维里化与星系的维里化在时间上比较接近,在星系群或星系团的维里化过程中获得巨大维里速度的星系仍然富有气体,因此,当它们因为频繁的互相碰撞,或者因为进入星系团中心区的稠密星系际介质受到巨大冲压,或者是被附近射电星系的喷流所产生的高压茧状体所包容,都可能激发活动性,造成恒星的爆发性形成.高红移星系团中观测到的B-O效应和高红移射电星系的光学像与射电喷流同轴向现象都可以据此得到解释.     

星系形成环境与宇宙中的空洞

本文讨论了初始扰动谱中大尺度负密度扰动对星系尺度扰动峰值的局域密度的影响，以及空洞演化中边界壳层非线性发展的作用。结果表明它们并不能解释空洞的形成。但考虑星系相互作用在可见星系形成中的关键作用，把星系群与星系团的存在作为形成的必要条件时，可以用负密度扰动对星系团和星系群的局域密度的调制，解释３０─６０Ｍｐｃ的空洞形成。对于更大尺度空洞的形成，则必须考虑对标准冷暗物质模型谱作出修正。     

星系团Abell 85的动力学子结构

Abell 85是位于南半天区红移为0.055的cD星系团.基于前人的光谱观测数据和SDSS(Sloan Digital Sky Survey)数据,利用3σ方法筛选出该星系团的370个成员星系,并对其动力学情况进行了分析.从这些成员星系的空间分布和局域视向速度分布中,发现了该星系团含有4个明显的子结构,且正处于两两并合之中.这表明Abell 85处在动力学活跃的状态,远未达到动力学平衡.     

Comparisons of u ‐, g ‐, r ‐, i ‐, and z ‐band luminosity distributions between galaxy members of compact groups and isolated galaxies

To investigate the environmental dependence of u ‐, g ‐, r ‐, i ‐, and z ‐band luminosities, we perform comparative studies of luminosity distributions between galaxy members of compact groups (CGs) and isolated galaxies. It is found that for the r, i, and z bands isolated galaxies have a higher proportion of faint galaxies and a lower proportion of luminous galaxies than galaxy members of CGs, but for the u band an opposite trend is observed. The correlation between the g ‐band luminosity and the environment has different trends in different luminosity regions (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Galaxy groups at 0.3 ≤z≤ 0.55 – I. Group properties

The evolution of galaxies in groups may have important implications for the evolution of the star formation history of the Universe, since many processes which operate in groups may suppress star formation and the fraction of galaxies in bound groups grows rapidly between   z = 1  and the present day. In this paper, we present an investigation of the properties of galaxies in galaxy groups at intermediate redshift  ( z ∼ 0.4)  . The groups were selected from the Canadian Network for Observational Cosmology Redshift Survey (CNOC2) redshift survey as described by Carlberg et al., with further spectroscopic follow-up undertaken at the Magellan telescope in order to improve the completeness and depth of the sample. We present the data for the individual groups, and find no clear trend in the fraction of passive galaxies with group velocity dispersion and group concentration. We stack the galaxy groups in order to compare the properties of group galaxies with those of field galaxies at the same redshift. The groups contain a larger fraction of passive galaxies than the field, this trend being particularly clear for galaxies brighter than   M _{B J} < −20  in the higher velocity dispersion groups. In addition, we see evidence for an excess of bright passive galaxies in the groups relative to the field. In contrast, the luminosity functions of the star-forming galaxies in the groups and the field are consistent. These trends are qualitatively consistent with the differences between group and field galaxies seen in the local Universe.     

Evolution in the discs and bulges of group galaxies since z= 0.4

We present quantitative morphology measurements of a sample of optically selected group galaxies at  0.3 < z < 0.55  using the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the gim2d surface brightness fitting software package. The group sample is derived from the Canadian Network for Observational Cosmology Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (CNOC2) and follow-up Magellan spectroscopy. We compare these measurements to a similarly selected group sample from the Millennium Galaxy Catalogue (MGC) at  0.05 < z < 0.12  . We find that, at both epochs, the group and field fractional bulge luminosity (B/T) distributions differ significantly, with the dominant difference being a deficit of disc-dominated (B/T < 0.2) galaxies in the group samples. At fixed luminosity,   z = 0.4  groups have  ∼5.5 ± 2  per cent fewer disc-dominated galaxies than the field, while by   z = 0.1  this difference has increased to  ∼19 ± 6  per cent. Despite the morphological evolution we see no evidence that the group environment is actively perturbing or otherwise affecting the entire existing disc population. At both redshifts, the discs of group galaxies have similar scaling relations and show similar median asymmetries as the discs of field galaxies. We do find evidence that the fraction of highly asymmetric, bulge-dominated galaxies is  6 ± 3  per cent higher in groups than in the field, suggesting there may be enhanced merging in group environments. We replicate our group samples at   z = 0.4  and 0 using the semi-analytic galaxy catalogues of Bower et al. This model accurately reproduces the B/T distributions of the group and field at   z = 0.1  . However, the model does not reproduce our finding that the deficit of discs in groups has increased significantly since   z = 0.4  .     

Galaxy groups in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: effects of environment on star formation

We estimate the fraction of star-forming galaxies in a catalogue of groups, constructed from the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey by Merchán & Zandivarez. We use the η spectral type parameter of galaxies and subdivide the sample of galaxies in groups into four types depending on the values of the η parameter following Madgwick et al. We obtain a strong correlation between the relative fraction of galaxies with high star formation and the parent group virial mass. We find that even in the environment of groups with low virial mass   M ∼10¹³ M_⊙  the star formation of their member galaxies is significantly suppressed. The relation between the fraction of early-type galaxies and the group virial mass obeys a simple power law spanning over three orders of magnitude in virial mass. Our results show quantitatively the way that the presence of galaxies with high star formation rates is inhibited in massive galaxy systems.     

Satellite kinematics – II. The halo mass–luminosity relation of central galaxies in SDSS

The kinematics of satellite galaxies reflect the masses of the extended dark matter haloes in which they orbit, and thus shed light on the mass–luminosity relation (MLR) of their corresponding central galaxies. In this paper, we select a large sample of centrals and satellites from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and measure the kinematics (velocity dispersions) of the satellite galaxies as a function of the r -band luminosity of the central galaxies. Using the analytical framework presented in More, van den Bosch & Cacciato, we use these data to infer both the mean and the scatter of the MLR of central galaxies, carefully taking account of selection effects and biases introduced by the stacking procedure. As expected, brighter centrals on average reside in more massive haloes. In addition, we find that the scatter in halo masses for centrals of a given luminosity,  σ_{log  M}   , also increases with increasing luminosity. As we demonstrate, this is consistent with  σ_{log  L}   , which reflects the scatter in the conditional probability function   P ( L _c| M )  , being independent of halo mass. Our analysis of the satellite kinematics yields  σ_{log  L} = 0.16  ±  0.04  , in excellent agreement with constraints from clustering and group catalogues, and with predictions from a semi-analytical model of galaxy formation. We thus conclude that the amount of stochasticity in galaxy formation, which is characterized by  σ_{log  L}   , is well constrained, independent of halo mass and in a good agreement with current models of galaxy formation.     

Radio properties of FIRST radio sources at 1 mJy

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the radio properties for the sample of faint radio sources introduced by Magliocchetti et al. in 2000. The sample comprises mainly intrinsically low-power sources, the majority of which (≳70 per cent) are FR I radio galaxies. These objects show some degree (at 1 σ confidence level) of luminosity evolution, which is also needed to reproduce correctly the total number and shape of the counts distribution at 1.4 GHz. Analysis of the de-evolved local radio luminosity function shows a good agreement between data and model predictions for this class of sources. Particular care has been devoted to the issue of 'lined' galaxies (i.e. objects presenting in their spectra a continuum typical of early-type galaxies plus emission lines of different nature), which appear as an intermediate class of sources between AGN-dominated and starburst galaxies. Different evolutionary behaviour is seen in the two subpopulations of lined and non-lined low-power radio galaxies, the first class indicating a tendency for the radio luminosity to decrease with look-back time, the second one showing positive evolution. We note that different evolutionary properties also seem to characterize BL Lacs selected in different bands, so that one might envisage an association between lined FR I and the subclass of BL Lacs selected in the X-ray band. Lastly, we find evidence for a negligible contribution of starburst galaxies at these low flux levels.     

Optical and infrared diagnostics of SDSS galaxies in the SWIRE survey

We present the rest-frame optical and infrared colours of a complete sample of  1114 z < 0.3  galaxies from the Spitzer Wide-Area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) Legacy Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We discuss the optical and infrared colours of our sample and analyse in detail the contribution of dusty star-forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN) to optically selected red sequence galaxies.
We propose that the optical  ( g − r )  colour and infrared  log( L ₂₄/ L _3.6)  colour of galaxies in our sample are determined primarily by a bulge-to-disc ratio. The  ( g − r )  colour is found to be sensitive to the bulge-to-disc ratio for disc-dominated galaxies, whereas the  log( L ₂₄/ L _3.6)  colour is more sensitive for bulge-dominated systems.
We identify ∼18 per cent (195 sources) of our sample as having red optical colours and infrared excess. Typically, the infrared luminosities of these galaxies are found to be at the high end of star-forming galaxies with blue optical colours. Using emission-line diagnostic diagrams, 78 are found to have an AGN contribution and 117 are identified as star-forming systems. The red  ( g − r )  colour of the star-forming galaxies could be explained by extinction. However, their high optical luminosities cannot. We conclude that they have a significant bulge component.
The number densities of optically red star-forming galaxies are found to correspond to ∼13 per cent of the total number density of our sample. In addition, these systems contribute ∼13 per cent of the total optical luminosity density, and 28 per cent of the total infrared luminosity density of our SWIRE/SDSS sample. These objects may reduce the need for 'dry mergers'.     

A complete sample of radio sources in the North Ecliptic Cap, selected at 38 MHz – III. Further imaging observations and the photometric properties of the sample

Further imaging observations of a sample of radio sources in the North Ecliptic Cap are presented and a number of new identifications are made. Using redshifts from spectroscopic data presented in a companion paper by Lacy et al., the photometric properties of the galaxies in the sample are discussed. It is shown that: (1) out to at least z ≈0.6 radio galaxies are good standard candles irrespective of radio luminosity; (2) for 0.6≲ z ≲1 a large fraction of the sample has magnitudes and colours consistent with a non-evolving giant elliptical, and (3) at higher redshifts, where the R -band samples the rest-frame UV flux, most objects have less UV luminosity than expected if they form their stellar populations at a constant rate from a high redshift to z ∼1 in unobscured star-forming regions (assuming an Einstein–de Sitter cosmology). The consequences of these observations are briefly discussed.     

Morphology and surface brightness evolution of z∼1.1 radio galaxies

We use K '-band (2.1-μm) imaging to investigate the angular size and morphology of 10 6C radio galaxies, at redshifts 1≤ z ≤1.4. Two radio galaxies appear to be undergoing mergers, another contains, within a single envelope, two intensity peaks aligned with the radio jets, while the other seven appear consistent with being normal ellipticals in the K band.
Intrinsic half-light radii are estimated from the areas of each radio galaxy image above a series of thresholds. The 6C galaxy radii are found to be significantly smaller than those of the more radio-luminous 3CR galaxies at similar redshifts. This would indicate that the higher mean K -band luminosity of the 3CR galaxies reflects a difference in the size of the host galaxies, and not solely a difference in the power of the active nuclei.
The size–luminosity relation of the z ∼1.1 6C galaxies indicates a 1.0–1.6 mag enhancement of their rest frame R -band surface brightness relative to either local ellipticals of the same size or FRII radio galaxies at z <0.2. The 3CR galaxies at z ∼1.1 show a comparable enhancement in surface brightness. The mean radius of the 6C galaxies suggests that they evolve into ellipticals of L ∼ L * luminosity, and is consistent with their low-redshift counterparts being relatively small FRII galaxies ∼25 times lower in radio luminosity, or small FRI galaxies ∼1000 times lower in radio luminosity. Hence the 6C radio galaxies appear to undergo as much optical and radio evolution as the 3CR galaxies.