Circumnuclear Regions and their Barred Host Galaxies

In this paper we present first results from an observational study of the connection between the global parameters of barred galaxies and the appearance of structures, such as dust lanes and star-forming rings in their circumnuclear regions. We combine near-infrared imaging of the central small-scale core structure with optical imaging of the large-scale discs of these barred galaxies. We present more detailed studies of two of our sample galaxies, NGC1530 and NGC 3504, for which we relate the presence and morphology of dust lanes (with different curvature radii) to the strength of the bar. A relation where strong bars lead to straight dust lanes and ovals or weak bars to curved dust lanes is expected theoretically and is borne out by our preliminary imaging results. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

The stellar populations of spiral galaxies

We have used a large sample of low-inclination spiral galaxies with radially resolved optical and near-infrared photometry to investigate trends in star formation history with radius as a function of galaxy structural parameters. A maximum-likelihood method was used to match all the available photometry of our sample to the colours predicted by stellar population synthesis models. The use of simplistic star formation histories, uncertainties in the stellar population models and considering the importance of dust all compromise the absolute ages and metallicities derived in this work; however, our conclusions are robust in a relative sense. We find that most spiral galaxies have stellar population gradients, in the sense that their inner regions are older and more metal rich than their outer regions. Our main conclusion is that the surface density of a galaxy drives its star formation history, perhaps through a local density dependence in the star formation law. The mass of a galaxy is a less important parameter; the age of a galaxy is relatively unaffected by its mass; however, the metallicity of galaxies depends on both surface density and mass. This suggests that galaxy‐mass-dependent feedback is an important process in the chemical evolution of galaxies. In addition, there is significant cosmic scatter suggesting that mass and density may not be the only parameters affecting the star formation history of a galaxy.     

Two-dimensional spectroscopy of double-barred galaxies

We describe the results of our spectroscopy for a sample of barred galaxies whose inner regions exhibit an isophotal twist commonly interpreted as a secondary bar. The line-of-sight velocity fields of the ionized gas and stars and the light-of-sight velocity dispersion fields of the stars were constructed from two-dimensional spectroscopy with the 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope. We detected various types of noncircular motions of ionized gas: radial flows within large-scale bars, counterrotation of the gas and stars at the center of NGC 3945, a polar gaseous disk in NGC 5850, etc. Our analysis of the optical and near-infrared galaxy images (both ground-based and those from the Hubble Space Telescope) revealed circumnuclear minispirals in five objects. The presence of an inner (secondary) bar in the galaxy images is shown to have no effect on the circumnuclear kinematics of the gas and stars. Thus, contrary to popular belief, the secondary bar is not a dynamically decoupled galactic structure. We conclude that the so-called double-barred galaxies are not a separate type of galaxy but are a combination of objects with distinctly different morphologies of their circumnuclear regions.     

Young Populations in the Nuclei of Barred Galaxies

We have conducted UBVRI and H_α CCD photometry of five barred galaxies (NGC 2523, NGC 2950, NGC 3412, NGC 3945 and NGC 5383),along with SPH simulations, in order to understand the origin of young stellar populations in the nuclei of barred galaxies. The H_α emission, which is thought to be emitted by young stellar populations, is either absent or strongly concentrated in the nuclei of early-type galaxies (NGC 2950, NGC 3412 and NGC 3945),while they are observed in the nuclei and circumnuclear regions of intermediate-type galaxies with strong bars (NGC 2523 and NGC 5383).SPH simulations of realistic mass models for these galaxies show that some disc material can be driven into the nuclear region by a strong bar potential. This implies that the young stellar populations in the circumnuclear regions of barred galaxies can be formed out of such gas. The existence of nuclear dust lanes is an indication of an ongoing gas inflow and extremely young stellar populations in these galaxies, because nuclear dust lanes such as those in NGC 5383 are not long-lasting features according to our simulations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Broad-band and Hα surface photometry of the central regions of nearby active galaxies – I. Observations

Broad-band V , R and I and narrow-band H α CCD surface photometry of a sample of 24 active and three normal nearby galaxies is presented, in order to study their morphological and structural properties. This first paper presents the observations, data reduction and processing techniques used; the main characteristics of the central regions of the sample galaxies are derived from broad-band and H α images; broad-band surface brightness and colour profiles are presented; based on the inspection of individual images and the examination of the radial variation of ellipticity and polar angle, the morphological class of the sample objects is revised: several objects previously classified as non-barred or unclassified are found to be barred galaxies. A high fraction (∼71 per cent) of the objects that present any kind of nuclear activity are barred. This proportion is even higher (∼87 per cent) if only Seyfert galaxies are considered. This result can reinforce the clues about the connection between bars and nuclear activity as a fuelling mechanism that can trigger and sustain nuclear activity.     

Nuclear star formation in the hotspot galaxy NGC 2903

We present high-resolution near-infrared imaging obtained using adaptive optics and HST /NICMOS, and ground-based spectroscopy of the hotspot galaxy NGC 2903. Our near-infrared resolution imaging enables us to resolve the infrared hotspots into individual young stellar clusters or groups of these. The spatial distribution of the stellar clusters is not coincident with that of the bright H  ii regions, as revealed by the HST /NICMOS Pa α image. Overall, the circumnuclear star formation in NGC 2903 shows a ring-like morphology with an approximate diameter of 625 pc.
The star formation properties of the stellar clusters and H  ii regions have been studied using the photometric and spectroscopic information in conjunction with evolutionary synthesis models. The population of bright stellar clusters shows a very narrow range of ages, 4–7×10⁶ yr after the peak of star formation, or absolute ages 6.5–9.5×10⁶ yr (for the assumed short-duration Gaussian bursts), and luminosities similar to the clusters found in the Antennae interacting galaxy. This population of young stellar clusters accounts for some 7–12 per cent of the total stellar mass in the central 625 pc of NGC 2903. The H  ii regions in the ring of star formation have luminosities close to that of the supergiant H  ii region 30 Doradus, they are younger than the stellar clusters, and they will probably evolve into bright infrared stellar clusters similar to those observed today. We find that the star formation efficiency in the central regions of NGC 2903 is higher than in normal galaxies, approaching the lower end of infrared luminous galaxies.     

A near-infrared polarized bipolar cone in the Circinus galaxy

We present near-infrared broad-band polarization images of the nuclear regions of the Circinus galaxy in the J , H and K bands. For the first time the south-eastern reflection cone is detected in polarized light, which is obscured at optical wavelengths behind the galactic disc. This biconical structure is clearly observed in J - and H -band polarized flux, whilst in the K band a more compact structure is detected. Total flux J − K and H − K colour maps reveal a complex colour gradient toward the south-east direction (where the Circinus galactic disc is nearer to us). We find enhanced extinction in an arc-shaped structure, at about 200 pc from the nucleus, probably part of the star formation ring.
We model the polarized flux images with the scattering and torus model of Young et al., with the same basic input parameters as used by Alexander et al. in the spectropolarimetry modelling of Circinus. The best fit to the polarized flux is achieved with a torus radius of ∼16 pc, and a visual extinction A _V , through the torus, to the near-infrared emission regions of >66 mag.     

The SAURON project – VII. Integral-field absorption and emission-line kinematics of 24 spiral galaxy bulges

We present observations of the stellar and gas kinematics for a representative sample of 24 Sa galaxies obtained with our custom-built integral-field spectrograph SAURON operating on the William Herschel Telescope. The data have been homogeneously reduced and analysed by means of a dedicated pipeline. All resulting data cubes were spatially binned to a minimum mean signal-to-noise ratio of 60 per spatial and spectral resolution element. Our maps typically cover the bulge-dominated region. We find a significant fraction of kinematically decoupled components (12/24), many of them displaying central velocity dispersion minima. They are mostly aligned and co-rotating with the main body of the galaxies, and are usually associated with dust discs and rings detected in unsharp-masked images. Almost all the galaxies in the sample (22/24) contain significant amounts of ionized gas which, in general, is accompanied by the presence of dust. The kinematics of the ionized gas are consistent with circular rotation in a disc co-rotating with respect to the stars. The distribution of mean misalignments between the stellar and gaseous angular momenta in the sample suggests that the gas has an internal origin. The [O  iii ]/Hβ ratio is usually very low, indicative of current star formation, and shows various morphologies (ring-like structures, alignments with dust lanes or amorphous shapes). The star formation rates (SFRs) in the sample are comparable with that of normal disc galaxies. Low gas velocity dispersion values appear to be linked to regions of intense star formation activity. We interpret this result as stars being formed from dynamically cold gas in those regions. In the case of NGC 5953, the data suggest that we are witnessing the formation of a kinematically decoupled component from cold gas being acquired during the ongoing interaction with NGC 5954.     

The optical–infrared colour distribution of a statistically complete sample of faint field spheroidal galaxies

In hierarchical models, where spheroidal galaxies are primarily produced via a continuous merging of disc galaxies, the number of intrinsically red systems at faint limits will be substantially lower than in 'traditional' models where the bulk of star formation was completed at high redshifts. In this paper we analyse the optical–near-infrared colour distribution of a large flux-limited sample of field spheroidal galaxies identified morphologically from archival Hubble Space Telescope data. The I ₈₁₄− HK ' colour distribution for a sample jointly limited at I ₈₁₄<23 mag and HK '<19.5 mag is used to constrain their star formation history. We compare visual and automated methods for selecting spheroidals from our deep HST images and, in both cases, detect a significant deficit of intrinsically red spheroidals relative to the predictions of high-redshift monolithic-collapse models. However, the overall space density of spheroidals (irrespective of colour) is not substantially different from that seen locally. Spectral synthesis modelling of our results suggests that high-redshift spheroidals are dominated by evolved stellar populations polluted by some amount of subsidiary star formation. Despite its effect on the optical–infrared colour, this star formation probably makes only a modest contribution to the overall stellar mass. We briefly discuss the implications of our results in the context of earlier predictions based on models where spheroidals assemble hierarchically.     

Enhanced Star Formation in Seyfert 2 Galaxies

In this paper, we report our preliminary results on enhanced star formation activity in Seyfert 2 galaxies. By re-analysing the Tully-Fisher relation for Whittle's (1992) sample and for a Seyfert 2s' sample selecting from Veron-Cetty and Veron (1996), we find that (1) almost all Seyfert 2 galaxies with circumnuclear star formation have a ratio of far infrared (FIR) to blue luminosities (L_FIR/L_B) to be larger than 1/3; (2) for Seyfert 2 galaxies with L_FIR/L_B > 1/3, the Tuly-Fisher relation is similar to that of the normal spiral galaxies; while for those with L_FIR/L_B ≥ 1/3, they are significantly different from the normal ones, which confirms Whittle's suggestion of enhanced star formation activities in the circumnuclear regions of these Seyfert 2 galaxies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The role of E+A and post-starburst galaxies – II. Spectral energy distributions and comparison with observations

In a previous paper, we have shown that the classical definition of E+A galaxies excludes a significant number of post-starburst galaxies. We suggested that analysing broad-band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) is a more comprehensive method to select and distinguish post-starburst galaxies than the classical definition of measuring equivalent widths of (Hδ) and [O  ii ] lines.
In this paper, we will carefully investigate this new method and evaluate it by comparing our model grid of post-starburst galaxies to observed E+A galaxies from the MORPHS catalogue.
In the first part, we investigate the UV-optical-NIR (near-infrared) SEDs of a large variety in terms of progenitor galaxies, burst strengths and time-scales of post-starburst models and compare them to undisturbed spiral, S0 and E galaxies as well as to galaxies in their starburst phase. In the second part, we compare our post-starburst models with the observed E+A galaxies in terms of Lick indices, luminosities and colours. We then use the new method of comparing the model SEDs with SEDs of the observed E+A galaxies.
We find that the post-starburst models can be distinguished from undisturbed spiral, S0 and E galaxies and galaxies in their starburst phase on the basis of their SEDs. It is even possible to distinguish most of the different post-starbursts by their SEDs. From the comparison with observations, we find that all observed E+A galaxies from the MORPHS catalogue can be matched by our models. However, only models with short decline time-scales for the star formation rate are possible scenarios for the observed E+A galaxies in agreement with our results from the first paper.     

Investigating the central engine of ultraluminous infrared galaxies: near-infrared imaging

We present 0.5-arcsec-resolution near-infrared images of six ultraluminous infrared galaxies with known redshifts. Six of the eight bright nuclei are resolved on kiloparsec scales, suggesting that there is significant circumnuclear star formation or close progenitor nuclei. At this spatial resolution, the nuclei have very red colours that cannot in general be reproduced by reddening stellar light, but require an additional component of hot dust emission. In five of the six primary nuclei more than 20 per cent of the K -band continuum originates in hot dust, but the temperature cannot be determined by JHK broad-band colours alone. Comparison with the spectral shapes, however, does allow the temperature to be constrained, and we find in every case that it is at the upper end of the permissible range, ≳1000 K. This does not necessarily imply that there is an active galactic nucleus present, since there is evidence that stellar processes can also generate dust this hot via stochastic heating of small grains. The quantities of hot dust we have found here can make up to 0.5-mag difference to the K -band magnitude even at     , with implications for observations and population synthesis models of higher-redshift objects. Observations in the L or M bands, where hot dust is most important at     , could help to discriminate between models of dusty starbursts and ellipticals.     

Adaptive optics near-infrared imaging of NGC 2992 – unveiling core structures related to radio figure-of-8 loops

We present near-infrared adaptive optics, Very Large Array (VLA) radio and Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) optical imaging of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. Spiral structure and an extension to the west are traced down to the core region at the limiting resolution of our near-infrared images. A faint, diffuse loop of near-infrared and radio emission is also observed to the north, embedded within the prominent 2-arcsec radio loop previously observed to the north-west. Near-infrared colour maps and CO narrow-band imaging are then used to identify which regions may not be purely reddened stellar populations. Our new data provide evidence that the VLA radio-loop morphology in the shape of a figure of 8 represents two components superimposed: (1) outflow bubbles out of the plane of the disc, coincident with the extended emission-line region (EELR); (2) star formation along the spiral arm within the galaxy disc and through the dust lane. The near-infrared continuum emission associated with the outflowing radio bubbles suggests that the radio loops are driven by the active nucleus.     

The starburst-AGN connection: the role of stellar clusters in AGNs

Nuclear stellar clusters are a common phenomenon in spirals and in starburst galaxies, and they may be a natural consequence of the star formation processes in the central regions of galaxies. HST UV imaging of a few Seyfert 2 galaxies have resolved nuclear starbursts in Seyfert 2 revealing stellar clusters as the main components of the extended emission. However, we do not know whether stellar clusters are always associated with all types of nuclear activity. We present HST NUV and optical images to study the role that stellar clusters play in different types of AGNs. Also with these images, we study the circumnuclear dust morphology as a probe of the circumnuclear environment of AGNs.     

HST/WFPC2 imaging of the QDOT ultraluminous infrared galaxy sample

We present HST WFPC2 V -band imaging for 23 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) taken from the QDOT redshift survey. The fraction of sources observed to be interacting is 87 per cent. Most of the merging systems show a number of compact 'knots', whose colour and brightness differ substantially from their immediate surroundings. Colour maps for nine of the objects show a non-uniform colour structure. Features include blue regions located towards the centres of merging systems which are likely to be areas of enhanced star formation, and compact red regions which are likely to be dust shrouded starbursts or active galactic nuclei. The host galaxies of the quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) in the sample were found to be either interacting systems or ellipticals. Our data show no evidence that ULIRGs are a simple transition stage between galaxy mergers and QSOs. We propose an alternative model for ULIRGs based on the morphologies in our sample and previous N -body simulations. Under this model ULIRGs as a class are much more diverse than a simple transition between galaxy merger and QSO. The evolution of IR power source and merger morphology in ULIRGs is driven solely by the local environment and the morphologies of the merger progenitors.     

Star formation properties of Universidad Complutense de Madrid survey galaxies

We present new near-infrared J and K imaging data for 67 galaxies from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) survey used in the determination of the SFR density of the local Universe by Gallego et al. This is a sample of local star-forming galaxies with redshift lower than 0.045, and they constitute a representative subsample of the galaxies in the complete UCM survey. From the new data, complemented with our own Gunn- r images and long-slit optical spectroscopy, we have measured integrated K -band luminosities, r − J and J − K colours, and H α luminosities and equivalent widths. Using a maximum likelihood estimator and a complete set of evolutionary synthesis models, these observations allow us to estimate the strength of the current (or most recent) burst of star formation, its age, the star formation rate and the total stellar mass of the galaxies. An average galaxy in the sample has a stellar mass of 5×10¹⁰ M_⊙ and is undergoing (or has recently completed) a burst of star formation involving about 2 per cent of its total stellar mass. We identify two separate classes of star-forming galaxies in the UCM sample: low-luminosity, high-excitation galaxies (H  ii like ) and relatively luminous spiral galaxies (starburst disc- like ). The former show higher specific star formation rates (SFRs per unit mass) and burst strengths, and lower stellar masses than the latter. With regard to their specific star formation rates, the UCM galaxies are intermediate objects between normal quiescent spirals and the most extreme H  ii galaxies.     

Neutral hydrogen gas distribution and kinematics in NGC 7479

We have investigated the effects of a bar and an asymmetric spiral structure on the neutral hydrogen distribution and kinematics in the strongly barred spiral galaxy NGC 7479. The strongest 21-cm line emission at 1-kpc resolution comes from the western spiral arm which appears to be slightly inclined to the plane of the main disc. In contrast, the area within the radius of the bar is devoid of 21-cm line emission. The radio continuum emission at 21 cm follows the bar dust lanes, but beyond 3 kpc from the nucleus the radio continuum emission has a peculiar morphology, unlike that of optical and near-infrared images. We did not detect any low surface brightness gas-rich companions in the near neighbourhood of NGC 7479. This leads us to propose that the strong western spiral arm was created in a recent minor merger.     

The star formation histories of low surface brightness galaxies

We have performed deep imaging of a diverse sample of 26 low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) in the optical and the near-infrared. Using stellar population synthesis models, we find that it is possible to place constraints on the ratio of young to old stars (which we parametrize in terms of the average age of the galaxy), as well as the metallicity of the galaxy, using optical and near-infrared colours. LSBGs have a wide range of morphologies and stellar populations, ranging from older, high-metallicity earlier types to much younger and lower-metallicity late-type galaxies. Despite this wide range of star formation histories, we find that colour gradients are common in LSBGs. These are most naturally interpreted as gradients in mean stellar age, with the outer regions of LSBGs having lower ages than their inner regions. In an attempt to understand what drives the differences in LSBG stellar populations, we compare LSBG average ages and metallicities with their physical parameters. Strong correlations are seen between an LSBG's star formation history and its K -band surface brightness, K -band absolute magnitude and gas fraction. These correlations are consistent with a scenario in which the star formation history of an LSBG primarily correlates with its surface density and its metallicity correlates with both its mass and its surface density.