Physical Conditions in OH Megamaser Galaxies

The expected x-ray luminosity of megamaser OH galaxies lies between 22.5 and 24.5 erg s^-1 Hz^-1, with an average of 23.6 erg s^-1 Hz^-1. This range of luminosities is typical of galaxies with active nuclei and galaxies with active star formation. X-ray heating ( _X 10^-22-10^-18 erg s^-1) and collisional pumping may be responsible for the maser emission in megamaser galaxies.     

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.     

The environmental dependence of u-, g-, r-, i-, and z-band luminosities for galaxies above and below the value of Mr*

Using two volume-limited Main galaxy samples of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 (SDSS DR6), we have explored the difference of the environmental dependence of u-, g-, r-, i-, and z-band luminosities between galaxies above and below the value of M _r^*. It turns out that in the luminous volume-limited sample, all the five band luminosities strongly correlate with local environments. Because the u-band luminosity of galaxies still strongly depends on local environments in the faint volumelimited sample, we conclude that M _r^* is not an important characteristic parameter for the environmental dependence of the u-band luminosity. It is worth noting that for the u-band, the subsample at low density has a higher proportion of luminous galaxies and a lower proportion of faint galaxies than the one at high density, which is opposite to widely accepted conclusion: luminous galaxies exist preferentially in the densest regions of the universe, but faint galaxies are located preferentially in low density regions. Our results show that the environmental dependence of luminosity is not a single trend in different luminosity regions and for different bands.     

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.     

Astron observations of the Rapid Burster MXB 1730-335 and constraints on burster parameters from spectra of trailing bursts

We report on eight X-ray bursts detected by ASTRON from the Rapid Burster (RB) on 13 and 28 April and 16 August, 1983. Six of them (trailing bursts), with durations of 1.5–2 min, rise times of 5–10 s and intervals of 1–1.5 hours, exhibit spectral softening during the burst decay and may be related to the type I bursts. Two of the bursts (triangle bursts) observed on 28 April at interval of 28 min with much longer rise times (30–50 s) and longer durations (3 min), do not show distinct spectral softening. Persistent flux from RB on 16 August was estimated asF _p(2.0–2.4)×10^–9 erg cm^–2 s^–1. Spectral evolution of two trailing bursts was investigated by fitting their spectra in consecutive time intervals with the blackbody (BB), isothermal scattering photosphere (SP) and thermal bremsstrahlung (TB) models. Around the burst maxima the SP model fits the data best whereas in the burst tails the TB model is generally better. The BB model is worse than at least one of the two others. Interpretation of the burst spectra in terms of the BB radiation leads to improbably small neutron star mass and radius (M<0.86M ,R _NS<5 km) if the peak luminosity does not exceed the Eddington limit. Interpretation of the spectra around the burst maxima (3–15 s from the burst onset) in terms of an isothermal SP yields reasonable constraints onM,R _NS, and distanceD. For instance, for the hydrogen photosphere we obtainedM=(1.0–2.1)M R _NS=(7.1–16.4) km ifD=11 kpc. If one postulatesM=1.4M , thenD=(8.5–13) kpc for hydrogen photosphere; if, besides,D=11 kpc, thenR _NS=(8.1–13.3) km. It follows also from the SP-interpretation that the photosphere radius may increase up to 20–30 km in maxima of the trailing bursts when the luminosity becomes close to the Eddington luminosity.     

Critical parameters for supermassive objects in general relativity

Evolutionary tracks up to the point of dynamical instability are obtained for isentropic objects with rest masses ranging from 10² M to 10⁷ M . Accurate values for the red shift, specific entropy, luminosity and effective temperature at the onset of collapse are given.     

Local Field of Galaxy Velocities

A sample of 145 galaxies having radial velocities relative to the centroid of the Local Group V _LG < 500 km/sec and estimated photometric distances D < 8 Mpc is considered. The field of peculiar velocities of these galaxies is estimated using the tensor of the local value of the Hubble constant H _ij , with principal values of 81:62:48 in km/sec·Mpc, which have a standard error of 4 km/sec·Mpc. The minor axis of the Hubble ellipsoid is oriented almost along the polar axis of the Local Supercluster, while the major axis forms an angle = (29 ± 5)° with the direction toward the center of the Virgo Cluster. Such a configuration of the peculiar-velocity field shows unsatisfactory agreement with the model of a spherically symmetric flow of galaxies toward the Virgo Cluster. Rotation of the Local Supercluster may be one reason for this difference. The peculiar velocities of galaxies within a volume with D < 8 Mpc are characterized by a dispersion _V = 74 km/sec, a considerable part of which is due to the virial motions of galaxies in groups and to distance errors. For field galaxies, located in a layer of 1 < D < 3 Mpc around the Local Group, the radial-velocity dispersion does not exceed 25 km/sec. The velocity—distance relation, constructed from the 20 closest galaxies around the Local Group with D < 3 Mpc and with errors (D) < 0.2 Mpc, exhibits the expected effect of gravitational deceleration. Using the estimate of R ₀ = (0.96 ± 0.05) Mpc for the observed radius of the zero-velocity sphere, we determined the total mass of the Local Group to be (1.2 ± 0.2)·10¹² M , which agrees well with the sum of the virial masses of the subgroups of galaxies around the Local Group and M31. The ratio of the Local Group's total mass (within R ₀) to its luminosity is M/L = (23 ± 4) M /L , which does not require the existence of supermassive dark halos around our Galaxy and M31.     

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.     

Exosat observations of X-rays from classical novae during outburst stage

The initial discovery of soft X-rays from Nova Muscae 1983 was followed by eight additional observations of the three brightest novae whose outburst stage coincided with the lifetime ofEXOSAT satellite; namely three more observations of Nova Muscae 1983, three observations of Nova Vulpeculae 1984#1 (PW Vul), and two observations of Nova Vulpeculae 1984#2. Through these observations we sampled the soft X-ray light curve of classical novae from optical maximum to 900 days after. The observations seem best explained by the constant bolometric luminosity model of a hot white dwarf remnant. Although the measurements suffer from limited statistics, very broad energy bandpass, and incomplete sampling of any single nova, their constraints on the theories of nova outburst are significant. One constraint is that the lifetime of the white dwarf remnant in Nova Muscae 1983 is 2 to 3 years, which leads to the conclusion that the burned envelope massM _burn should be of the order of . The second constraint is that the maximum temperature, of the white dwarf remnant should approximately be within 200 000 K to 400 000 K. We estimate that a white dwarf remnant evolving like the central star of a planetary nebula, with core mass of 0.8 to 0.9M , core luminosity of 2×10⁴ L , and envelope mass of 10^–6 M , can explain the general characteristics of the X-ray measurements for Nova Muscae 1983. In order to have 1.1M core mass, estimated from the early observations of bolometric luminosity in the UV to infrared range, a wind withM5×10^–7 M yr^–1 appears to be necessary. The few observations of Nova Vulpeculae 1984 #1 and Nova Vulpeculae 1984#2, during the first year after outburst, give a risetime and intensity that is consistent with a constant bolometric luminosity model.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F. R. G., 16–19 June, 1986.     

Correlation properties of galaxies from the Main Galaxy Sample of the SDSS survey

The apparatus of correlation gamma function (Γ^*(r)) is used to analyze volume-limited samples from the DR4 Main Galaxy Sample of the SDSS survey with the aim of determining the characteristic scales of galaxy clustering. Up to 20h ^?1 Mpc (H ₀ = 65 km s^?1 Mpc^?1), the distribution of galaxies is described by a power-law density—distance dependence, Γ^*(r) ∝ r ^?γ , with an index γ ≈ 1.0. A change in the state of clustering (a significant deviation from the power law) was found on a scale of (20–25) h ^?1 Mpc. The distribution of SDSS galaxies becomes homogeneous (γ ～ 0) from a scale of ～60h ^?1 Mpc. The dependence of γ on the luminosity of galaxies in volume-limited samples was obtained. The power-law index γ increases with decreasing absolute magnitude of sample galaxies M _abs. At M _abs ～ ?21.4, which corresponds to the characteristic value M _r ^* of the SDSS luminosity function, this dependence exhibits a break followed by a more rapid increase in γ.     

The spatial distribution and birth-rate of pulsars

The distribution of pulsars in the wide range of observed luminosities has been obtained. It is shown that the function of luminosity (FL) within 3×10²⁶L2×10³⁰ erg s^–1 conforms to the power law dN/dL–c ₁ L ^–, where =1.76±0.06. ForL3×10²⁶ erg s^–1, FL changes its inclination and may be approximated as , where ₁ = 0.7±0.2. On the basis of statistical selection, including all pulsars withL>3×10²⁸ erg s^–1, the distribution of pulsars has been investigated as a function of the distance to the centreR and galactic planeZ.The obtained laws of the radial andZ-distribution of pulsars and galactic supernova remnants and also the radial distribution of types I and II supernovae in the models Sb and Sc support the hypothesis of their origin from the objects of the flat subsystem of Population I. Since there are some arguments in favour of a possible connection between supernovae I and the objects of the intermediate component of the Galaxy, one cannot exclude the possibility of supernovae explosions at the end of the evolution of stars with masses of 1.5–2M . It is also shown that pulsars and supernovae are evidently objects that are connected genetically, and, within the limits of statistical error, they have a similar birth-rate.The empirical law of the evolution of a pulsar's luminosity as a function of its true age has been obtained, according to whichL=c ₂ t ^–, wherec ₂=(3.69±3.4)×10³⁵, =1.32±0.11.     

Redshift cutoff and evolution of QSOs

In this paper I present a new evolution model of QSOs luminosity. The model is based on edges distribution of apparent magnitude-redshift of QSOs. After the quasars were formed, the luminosities were increasing until they attained their maximum value atz=2+a, where –0.1a0.6, then the luminosities were decreasing. If the QSOs originate from superconducting cosmic string of same initial massM _i 10¹² M , the formation epochs are different, most of the quasars start atz _cutoff5.6. The most luminous QSOs start at later epochz _cutoff5.15. The present sky survey echniques may give us the possibility to see the formation of QSOs at apparent magnitudem _V 22.5 by chance of 0.3%.     

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.     

Stellar populations as a function of radius in giant elliptical galaxies

Accurate surface photometry has been obtained inJ andK for 12 giant elliptical galaxies. Ellipses have been fitted, to obtain luminosity, ellipticity, and major axis position angle profiles. The results have been combined with visual profiles from CCD observations. We find that elliptical galaxies become bluer inV - K on the average by 0.3 (mag/sq xr _e) going outward from the nucleus. Radial colour gradients inV - K correlate strongly with those inU - V andB - V. By modelling, using theoretical isochrones, it is found that the observed colour gradients can be explained by a gradient in metallicity, if in addition the proportion of hot stars rises very rapidly with decreasing metallicity.     

Flat Galaxies of the RFGC Catalog Detected in the HIPASS Survey

Data from the H I Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) of the southern sky in the neutral hydrogen line are used to determine the radial velocities and widths of the H I line for flat spiral galaxies of the Revised Flat-Galaxy Catalog (RFGC) seen edge-on. The sample of 103 flat galaxies detected in HIPASS is characterized by a median radial velocity of +2037 km/sec and a median width of the H I line at the level of 50% of maximum of 242 km/sec. For RFGC galaxies the 50% detection level in HIPASS corresponds to an apparent magnitude B _t = 14 ^m .5 or an angular diameter a = 2.9. The relative number of detected galaxies increases from 2% for the morphological types Sbc and Sc to 41% for the type Sm. The median value of the ratio of hydrogen mass to total mass for RFGC galaxies is 0.079. With allowance for the average internal extinction for edge-on galaxies, <B _t< = 0 ^m .75, the median ratio of hydrogen mass to luminosity, M _{H I}/L _B = 0.74 M /L , is typical for late-type spirals. Because of its small depth, HIPASS reveals only a few RFGC galaxies with previously unknown velocities and line widths.     

Far infrared emission from galaxies

Until recently far infrared (FIR) observations of galaxies were limited to about a dozen bright and/or active galaxies. New photometric data has become available from Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) on 33 galaxies (most of them faint) from IRAS Circular Nos. 1, 2, and 3 The FIR spectra of these galaxies are similar. The far infrared fluxF _FIR in the wavelength interval 9–118 m of the brighter galaxies is seen to be correlated with the integrated optical magnitudeB _T ⁰ . The 12 and 25 m fluxes of these galaxies exhibit the same dependence onB _T ⁰ as the 10 and 21 m fluxes from Seyferts and other emission-line galaxies. This suggests that the galaxies detected by IRAS are some type of active galaxies in accord with the high percentage of these galaxies predicted by Lock and Rowan-Robinson (1983).     

Luminosity and colour distribution in the interacting system NGC 7770-71

Detailed surface photometry for the SB(s)a galaxy NGC 7771 has been carried out in the blue spectral band. Isophotes, luminosity profiles, and photometric parameters are obtained from photographs collected with the 74 inch telescope of Kottamia Observatory, Egypt. The total apparent magnitudem _T =13.08 with maximum dimensions 3.6±0.5×2.7±0.5 (at threshold µ _m = 27.38 mag s^–2). The absolute magnitude isM _T =–21.70 if the distance is =90.2 Mpc. The major axis is in position angle =69°.5±1° and the mean axis ratio of the outer regionsq=b/a=0.45 corresponds to an inclinationi=66°. The equivalent effective radiusr _e ^* =0.29 and the effective surface brightness µ _e = 22.30 mag s^–2.The equivalent luminosity distribution has been decomposed into two main components, anr ^1/4 spheroid and an exponential disk. The total apparent magnitudes of the spheroidal and disk components are 14.36 and 13.48, which correspond to contributions of 31 and 69% to the total blue luminosity, respectively.     

Evolution of galaxy groups

We study the variations of the properties of groups of galaxies with dynamical masses of 10¹³ M _⊙<M ₂₀₀<10¹⁴ M _⊙, represented by two samples: one has redshifts of z < 0.027 and is located in the vicinity of the Coma cluster, the other has z > 0.027, and is located in the regions of the following superclusters of galaxies: Hercules, Leo, Bootes, Ursa Major, and Corona Borealis. Using the archived data of the SDSS and 2MASX catalogs, we determined the concentration of galaxies in the systems by measuring it as the inner density of the group within the distance of the fifth closest galaxy from the center brighter than M _K = ?23_. ^m 3. We also measured the magnitude gap between the first and the fourth brightest galaxies ΔM ₁₄ located within one half of the selected radius R ₂₀₀, the fraction of early-type galaxies, and the ratio of bright dwarf galaxies (Mr = [?18_. ^m 5,?16_. ^m 5]) to giant galaxies (M _r < ?18_. ^m 5) (DGR) within the radius R ₂₀₀. The main aim of the investigation is to find among these characteristics the ones that reflect the evolution of groups of galaxies.We determined that the ratio of bright dwarf galaxies to early-type giant galaxies on the red sequence depends only on the x-ray luminosity: the DGR increases with luminosity. The fraction of early-type galaxies in the considered systems is equal, on average, to 0.65 ± 0.01, and varies significantly for galaxies with σ₂₀₀ < 300 kms^?1. Based on the luminosity of the brightest galaxy, the magnitude gap between the first and the fourth brightest galaxies in the groups, and on model computations of these parameters, we selected four fossil group candidates: AWM4, NGC0533, NGC0741, and NGC6098 (where the brightest galaxy is a double).We observe no increase in the number of faint galaxies (the α parameter of the Schechter function is less than 1) in our composite luminosity function (LF) for galaxy systems with z < 0.027 in the M _K = [?26m,?21_. ^m 5] range, whereas earlier we obtained α > 1 for the LF of the Hercules and Leo superclusters of galaxies.     

Possible mass limits for quantum double galaxies

When cosmic quantum mechanics is applied to a double galaxy, the result is mass limits in order for the two galaxies to form a quantum binary system. For a non-relativistic theory (based on the Schrödinger wave equation), the mass limits are: (m _g)_max 10¹² M and (m _g)_min 10¹⁰ M . One possible consequence appears to be a Newtonian gravitational constant that varies with cosmic time, with its value larger in the cosmic past.     

A hypothesis to explain the virial discrepancy in clusters of galaxies

On the basis of numerical experiments onn-body binding energies we tentatively consider the following hypothesis: If the distance between two galaxies forming a binary system isa _g, and a cluster of galaxies that is substructured in a hierarchical fashion onall scales froma _g upwards has a total massM, then the total gravitational binding energy of the cluster is _TH = –GM ²/2a _g . As an explanation for missing masses up to order 100 we test this hypothesis in three different ways, finding remarkable agreement with observation, with no need for physical missing mass.