Further Evidence for Intrinsic Redshifts in Normal Spiral Galaxies

Evidence from galaxy absolute magnitudes, linear diameters, and HyperLeda images is presented which strongly supports the interpretation that some normal spiral galaxies can contain large non-cosmological (intrinsic) redshifts in excess of 5000 km s⁻¹.     

The Imperial IRAS-FSC Redshift Catalogue

We present a new catalogue, the Imperial IRAS -FSC Redshift Catalogue (IIFSCz), of 60 303 galaxies selected at 60 μm from the IRAS Faint Source Catalogue (FSC). The IIFSCz consists of accurate position, optical, near-infrared and/or radio identifications, spectroscopic redshift (if available) or photometric redshift (if possible), predicted far-infrared (FIR) and submillimetre (submm) fluxes ranging from 12 to 1380 μm based upon the best-fitting infrared template. About 55 per cent of the galaxies in the IIFSCz have spectroscopic redshifts, and a further 20 per cent have photometric redshifts obtained through either the training set or the template-fitting method. For S(60) > 0.36 Jy, the 90 per cent completeness limit of the FSC, 90 per cent of the sources have either spectroscopic or photometric redshifts. Scientific applications of the IIFSCz include validation of current and forthcoming infrared and submm/mm surveys such as AKARI , Planck and Herschel , follow-up studies of rare source populations, large-scale structure and galaxy bias, local multiwavelength luminosity functions and source counts. The catalogue is publicly available at http://astro.imperial.ac.uk/~mrr/fss/ .     

Recovering the real-space correlation function from photometric redshift surveys

Measurements of clustering in large-scale imaging surveys that make use of photometric redshifts depend on the uncertainties in the redshift determination. We have used light-cone simulations to show how the deprojection method successfully recovers the real-space correlation function when applied to mock photometric redshift surveys. We study how the errors in the redshift determination affect the quality of the recovered two-point correlation function. Considering the expected errors associated with the planned photometric redshift surveys, we conclude that this method provides information on the clustering of matter useful for the estimation of cosmological parameters that depend on the large-scale distribution of galaxies.     

Dust temperature and the submillimetre–radio flux density ratio as a redshift indicator for distant galaxies

It is difficult to identify the distant galaxies selected in existing submillimetre-wave surveys, because their positions are known at best to only several arcsec. Centimetre-wave VLA observations are required in order to determine positions to subarcsec accuracy, and so to allow reliable optical identifications to be made. Carilli & Yun pointed out that the ratio of the radio to submillimetre-wave flux densities provides a redshift indicator for dusty star-forming galaxies, when compared with the tight correlation between the far-infrared and radio flux densities observed in low-redshift galaxies. This method does provide a useful, albeit imprecise, indication of the distance to a submillimetre-selected galaxy. Unfortunately, it does not provide an unequivocal redshift estimate, as the degeneracy between the effects of increasing the redshift of a galaxy and decreasing its dust temperature is not broken.     

Periodicity in quasar redshifts or selection effects?

Peaks at high redshifts in individual samples of quasars can be explained as due to selection effects. It is concluded that peaks in quasar redshift distribution do not obey any generalformula that can constitute a periodicity, even though individual samples may favour some redshifts of smaller values, viz. z < 1.     

Red companions to a z=2.15 radio-loud quasar

We have conducted observations of the environment around the z =2.15 radio-loud quasar 1550–269 in search of distant galaxies associated either with it or the z =2.09 C  iv absorber along its line of sight. Such objects will be distinguished by their red colours, R − K >4.5. We find five such objects in a 1.5 arcmin² field around the quasar, with typical K ' magnitudes of ∼20.4 and no detected R -band emission. We also find a sixth object with K =19.6±0.3, and undetected at R , just two arcsec from the quasar. The nature of all these objects is currently unclear, and will remain so until we have determined their redshifts. We suggest that it is likely that they are associated with either the quasar or the C  iv absorber, in which case their properties might be similar to those of the z =2.38 red Ly α emitting galaxies discovered by Francis et al. The small separation between the quasar and the brightest of our objects suggests that it may be the galaxy responsible for the C  iv metal line absorption system. The closeness to the quasar and the red colour might have precluded similar objects from being uncovered in previous searches for emission from C  iv and damped absorbers.