WIKISKY.ORG
 Home Getting Started To Survive in the Universe News@Sky Astro Photo The Collection Forum Blog New! FAQ Press Login

# PGC 40521

Contents

### Images

DSS Images   Other Images

### Related articles

 Infrared Properties of Star-forming Dwarf Galaxies. II. Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies in the Virgo ClusterA sample of 16 blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs) in the Virgo Clusterhas been imaged in the near-infrared (NIR) in J and Ks on the2.1 m telescope at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional in theSierra San Pedro Mártir in Mexico. Isophotes as faint asμJ=24 mag arcsec-2 andμKs=23 mag arcsec-2 have beenreached in most of the targets. Surface brightness profiles can befitted across the whole range of radii by the sum of two components: ahyperbolic secant (sech) function, which is known to fit the lightprofiles of dwarf irregular galaxies (dIs), and a Gaussian component,which quantifies the starburst near the center. Isophotal and totalfitted NIR magnitudes have been calculated, along with semimajor axes atμJ=23 mag arcsec-2 andμKs=22 mag arcsec-2. The diffuseunderlying component and the young starburst have been quantified usingthe profile fitting. Most color profiles show a constant color, betweenJ-Ks=0.7 and 0.9 mag. The diffuse component represents theoverwhelming majority of the NIR light for most BCDs, with the starburstenhancing the flux by less than about 0.3 mag. Linear correlations werefound between the sech scale length and the sech magnitude and betweenthe sech semimajor axis and the sech magnitude. Overall, galaxies withmore luminous diffuse components are larger and brighter in the center.The central burst correlates with the diffuse component, with brighterBCDs having stronger starbursts, suggesting that more massive objectsare forming stars more efficiently. BCDs lie on the fundamentalplane'' defined by dIs in Paper I, following the same relation betweensech absolute magnitude, sech central surface brightness, and thehydrogen line width W20, although the scatter is larger thanfor the dIs. On the other hand, correlations between the sech absolutemagnitude and the sech central surface brightness in Ks forBCDs and dIs are equally good, indicating that BCD line widths may beenhanced by turbulence or winds.These data were acquired at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacionalin the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Mexico. Completing H I observations of galaxies in the Virgo clusterHigh sensitivity (rms noise  0.5 mJy) 21-cm H I line observationswere made of 33 galaxies in the Virgo cluster, using the refurbishedArecibo telescope, which resulted in the detection of 12 objects. Thesedata, combined with the measurements available from the literature,provide the first set of H I data that is complete for all 355 late-type(Sa-Im-BCD) galaxies in the Virgo cluster with mp ≤ 18.0mag. The Virgo cluster H I mass function (HIMF) that was derived forthis optically selected galaxy sample is in agreement with the HIMFderived for the Virgo cluster from the blind HIJASS H I survey and isinconsistent with the Field HIMF. This indicates that both in this richcluster and in the general field, neutral hydrogen is primarilyassociated with late-type galaxies, with marginal contributions fromearly-type galaxies and isolated H I clouds. The inconsistency betweenthe cluster and the field HIMF derives primarily from the difference inthe optical luminosity function of late-type galaxies in the twoenvironments, combined with the HI deficiency that is known to occur ingalaxies in rich clusters.Tables \ref{t1, \ref{sample_dat} and Appendix A are only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org Spectroscopy of Dwarf Galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. I. Data, Chemical Abundances, and Ionization StructureLong-slit spectroscopy has been obtained for a sample of 22 blue dwarfgalaxies selected in the direction of the Virgo Cluster, as part of alarger sample of Virgo blue dwarf galaxies for which deep Hαimaging has been collected. Most of the galaxies in the present sampleare classified as BCDs or dwarf Irregulars in the Virgo Cluster Catalog.Line fluxes, Hβ equivalent widths, extinction coefficients, spatialemission profiles, ionization structure, and physical conditions arepresented for each galaxy. Chemical abundances have been derived eitherusing a direct determination of the electron temperature or afterdetailed examination of the predictions of different abundancecalibrations. The oxygen abundances derived for the sample of Virgodwarf galaxies span the range 7.6<=12+log(O/H)<=8.9, and thecorresponding nitrogen-to-oxygen abundance ratio ranges from valuestypical of low-metallicity field BCD galaxies to near solar. UV to radio centimetric spectral energy distributions of optically-selected late-type galaxies in the Virgo clusterWe present a multifrequency dataset for an optically-selected,volume-limited, complete sample of 118 late-type galaxies (>=S0a) inthe Virgo cluster. The database includes UV, visible, near-IR, mid-IR,far-IR, radio continuum photometric data as well as spectroscopic dataof Hα , CO and HI lines, homogeneously reduced, obtained from ourown observations or compiled from the literature. Assuming the energybalance between the absorbed stellar light and that radiated in the IRby dust, we calibarte an empirical attenuation law suitable forcorrecting photometric and spectroscopic data of normal galaxies. Thedata, corrected for internal extinction, are used to construct thespectral energy distribution (SED) of each individual galaxy, andcombined to trace the median SED of galaxies in various classes ofmorphological type and luminosity. Low-luminosity, dwarf galaxies haveon average bluer stellar continua and higher far-IR luminosities perunit galaxy mass than giant, early-type spirals. If compared to nearbystarburst galaxies such as M 82 and Arp 220, normal spirals haverelatively similar observed stellar spectra but 10-100 times lower IRluminosities. The temperature of the cold dust component increases withthe far-IR luminosity, from giant spirals to dwarf irregulars. The SEDare used to separate the stellar emission from the dust emission in themid-IR regime. We show that the contribution of the stellar emission at6.75 mu m to the total emission of galaxies is generally important, from~ 80% in Sa to ~ 20% in Sc.Tables 2-5, 7, 8, and Fig. 2 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.orgTables 10-12 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/402/37 The luminosity function of the Virgo Cluster from MB=-22 to -11We measure the galaxy luminosity function (LF) for the Virgo Clusterbetween blue magnitudes MB=-22 and -11 from wide-fieldcharge-coupled device (CCD) imaging data. The LF is only graduallyrising for -22 Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster. IV. The current star formation in nearby clusters of galaxiesHα +[NII] imaging observations of 369 late-type (spiral) galaxiesin the Virgo cluster and in the Coma/A1367 supercluster are analyzed,covering 3 rich nearby clusters (A1367, Coma and Virgo) and nearlyisolated galaxies in the Great-Wall. They constitute an opticallyselected sample (mp<16.0) observed with ~ 60 %completeness. These observations provide us with the current(T<107 yrs) star formation properties of galaxies that westudy as a function of the clustercentric projected distances (Theta ).The expected decrease of the star formation rate (SFR), as traced by theHα EW, with decreasing Theta is found only when galaxies brighterthan Mp ~ -19.5 are considered. Fainter objects show no orreverse trends. We also include in our analysis Near Infrared data,providing information on the old (T>109 yrs) stars. Puttogether, the young and the old stellar indicators give the ratio ofcurrently formed stars over the stars formed in the past, orbirthrate'' parameter b. For the considered galaxies we also determinethe global gas content'' combining HI with CO observations. We definethe gas deficiency'' parameter as the logarithmic difference betweenthe gas content of isolated galaxies of a given Hubble type and themeasured gas content. For the isolated objects we find that b decreaseswith increasing NIR luminosity. In other words less massive galaxies arecurrently forming stars at a higher rate than their giant counterpartswhich experienced most of their star formation activity at earliercosmological epochs. The gas-deficient objects, primarily members of theVirgo cluster, have a birthrate significantly lower than the isolatedobjects with normal gas content and of similar NIR luminosity. Thisindicates that the current star formation is regulated by the gaseouscontent of spirals. Whatever mechanism (most plausibly ram-pressurestripping) is responsible for the pattern of gas deficiency observed inspiral galaxies members of rich clusters, it also produces the observedquenching of the current star formation. A significant fraction of gashealthy'' (i.e. with a gas deficiency parameter less than 0.4) andcurrently star forming galaxies is unexpectedly found projected near thecenter of the Virgo cluster. Their average Tully-Fisher distance isfound approximately one magnitude further away (muo = 31.77)than the distance of their gas-deficient counterparts (muo =30.85), suggesting that the gas healthy objects belong to a cloudprojected onto the cluster center, but in fact lying a few Mpc behindVirgo, thus unaffected by the dense IGM of the cluster. Based onobservations taken at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional(Mexico), the OHP (France), Calar Alto and NOT (Spain) observatories.Table \ref{tab4} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org Hα surface photometry of galaxies in the Virgo cluster III. Observations with INT and NOT 2.5 m telescopesWe present Hα line imaging observations of 30 galaxies obtained atthe 2.5 m INT and NOT telescopes. The observed galaxies are mostly BCDVirgo cluster galaxies. Hα +[NII] fluxes and equivalent widths, aswell as images of all the detected targets are presented. With theseobservations, Hα data are available for =~ 50% of the BCD galaxieslisted in the VCC. Based on observations taken at the INT and NOTtelescopes, operated on the island of La Palma by the ING and NOT teamsin the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos of the Institutode AstrofÃ­sica de Canarias. Figure 1 is only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org Lopsidedness in dwarf irregular galaxiesWe quantify the amplitude of the lopsidedness, the azimuthal angularasymmetry index and the concentration of star-forming regions, asrepresented by the distribution of the Hα emission, in a sample of78 late-type irregular galaxies. We bin the observed galaxies into twogroups representing blue compact galaxies (BCDs) andlow-surface-brightness dwarf galaxies (LSBs). The light distribution isanalysed with a novel algorithm, which allows detection of details inthe light distribution pattern. We find that while the asymmetry of theunderlying continuum light, representing the older stellar generations,is relatively small, the Hα emission is very asymmetric and iscorrelated in position angle with the continuum light. We show that theconcentration of continuum light is correlated with the Hαconcentration; this implies that the young star formation has the samespatial properties as the older stellar populations, but that theseproperties are more strongly expressed by the young stars. We test amodel of random star formation over the extent of a galaxy by simulatingHii regions in artificial dwarf galaxies. A galaxy is traced by assumingred star clusters distributed on an underlying exponential disc ofradius twice the scalelength. The disc is allowed to change in apparentmagnitude, scaleradius, position angle and ellipticity. We compare theasymmetry-concentration distribution predicted by the simulations withthe real observed distribution; we find that only LSBs match thedistribution predicted by the model. The reason is that, independentlyof the number of Hii regions, LSBs show no particular location of Hiiregions, whereas BCDs show current star formation activity restrictedvery much to the central parts of the galaxies. A consideration of theproperties of the continuum light leads to the conclusion that most ofLSBs can be approximated by exponential discs of radius twice theirscalelength; BCDs call, however, for much more concentrated underlyingsystems, with smaller scalelengths than assumed in the simulations. Theimplication is that random star formation over the full extent of agalaxy may be generated in LSB dwarf irregular galaxies but not in BCDgalaxies. Extreme blue compact dwarf galaxies in the Virgo ClusterCCD images and surface photometry are presented for six extreme(especially compact) blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies in the VirgoCluster. The photometric parameters of the galaxies are used to studytheir possible fate once star formation has ended. It is found that theymay fade to form dwarf elliptical galaxies, as has previously beensuggested, but the dE galaxies formed from these BCDs would lie amongthe most compact in existing samples. Two of the BCDs studied have nosurrounding low-surface-brightness envelopes detected to a limit ofmu(v) = 27 mag/sq arcsec. IRAS observations of galaxies in the Virgo cluster areaIRAS data on 196 galaxies in the area of the Virgo Cluster arepresented. The data derive from combining all available surveyobservations for each object and therefore achieve greater sensitivitythan the IRAS Point Source Catalog (PSC). The enhanced sensitivityallows 78 galaxies to be detected at 12 microns, 82 at 25 microns, 139at 60 microns, and 135 at 100 microns, compared to 16, 23, 88, and 95detections listed in the PSC. From the blue compact dwarf galaxy sample,23 and 19 objects are detected at 60 and 100 microns, compared to threeand two detections listed in the PSC. The emission in three close pairsof galaxies which are reported as single sources in the PSC areseparated here. These statistics demonstrate the importance andpotential of a detailed examination of IRAS data, especially forpossibly resolved sources and, in particular, for galaxies out toredshifts of 0.008 or galaxies with D(25) of 3 arcmin or greater. Cometlike galaxies in the Virgo clusterEight cometlike blue emission dwarf galaxies were found in the Virgocluster. If the peculiar asymmetric shape of the objects is due to anintergalactic wind effect, the orientation of their 'tails' should be anindicator of the type of motion of the dwarf galaxies inside thecluster. Other possible causes of the asymmetric shape are alsodiscussed. H I detection survey of a complete magnitude-limited sample of dwarf irregular galaxies in the Virgo Cluster areaNew single-beam Arecibo H I observations of 298 late-type galaxies inthe Virgo Cluster drawn mostly from the new catalog of Binggeli,Sandage, and Tammann (1985) are presented. Two hundred seventeen ofthese constitute a magnitude-limited 'complete sample' of such galaxies,types Sdm through Im and BCD. Sixty-one percent of this 'completesample' was detected, greatly enhancing the store of redshifts and H Imasses for such galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. For detected galaxies,heliocentric velocities, 50 percent profile widths, and single-beamfluxes are presented. For those that escaped detection, upper limits arecomputed to the flux appropriate to the redshift range (-600 to +3000km/s). Studies of the Virgo Cluster. II - A catalog of 2096 galaxies in the Virgo Cluster area.The present catalog of 2096 galaxies within an area of about 140 sq degapproximately centered on the Virgo cluster should be an essentiallycomplete listing of all certain and possible cluster members,independent of morphological type. Cluster membership is essentiallydecided by galaxy morphology; for giants and the rare class of highsurface brightness dwarfs, membership rests on velocity data. While 1277of the catalog entries are considered members of the Virgo cluster, 574are possible members and 245 appear to be background Zwicky galaxies.Major-to-minor axis ratios are given for all galaxies brighter than B(T)= 18, as well as for many fainter ones. A catalog of dwarf galaxies in VirgoA catalog listing the location, apparent angular diameter, type,estimated central light concentration, and estimated brightness of 846dwarf galaxies in a 200-deg-sq region in Virgo is presented. Thegalaxies comprise 634 ellipticals, 137 IC-3475-type galaxies, 73 dwarfspirals and irregulars, and two objects which are jets of normalgalaxies, and were found on nine long-exposure IIIa-J-emulsion platesmade with the 1.2-m-Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory from 1971to 1976. Concordances to other catalogs, tables of additionalparameters, maps, graphs, and photographs are provided. The projecteddistributions of normal and dwarf galaxies and the dependence ofapparent luminosity on central light concentration are discussed. It isfound that dwarf ellipticals and IC-3475-type galaxies are probablemembers of the Virgo cluster, while dwarf spirals and possibly dwarfirregulars are not.
Submit a new article