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 The SAURON project - VII. Integral-field absorption and emission-line kinematics of 24 spiral galaxy bulgesWe present observations of the stellar and gas kinematics for arepresentative sample of 24 Sa galaxies obtained with our custom-builtintegral-field spectrograph SAURON operating on the William HerschelTelescope. The data have been homogeneously reduced and analysed bymeans of a dedicated pipeline. All resulting data cubes were spatiallybinned to a minimum mean signal-to-noise ratio of 60 per spatial andspectral resolution element. Our maps typically cover thebulge-dominated region. We find a significant fraction of kinematicallydecoupled components (12/24), many of them displaying central velocitydispersion minima. They are mostly aligned and co-rotating with the mainbody of the galaxies, and are usually associated with dust discs andrings detected in unsharp-masked images. Almost all the galaxies in thesample (22/24) contain significant amounts of ionized gas which, ingeneral, is accompanied by the presence of dust. The kinematics of theionized gas are consistent with circular rotation in a disc co-rotatingwith respect to the stars. The distribution of mean misalignmentsbetween the stellar and gaseous angular momenta in the sample suggeststhat the gas has an internal origin. The [OIII]/Hβ ratio is usuallyvery low, indicative of current star formation, and shows variousmorphologies (ring-like structures, alignments with dust lanes oramorphous shapes). The star formation rates (SFRs) in the sample arecomparable with that of normal disc galaxies. Low gas velocitydispersion values appear to be linked to regions of intense starformation activity. We interpret this result as stars being formed fromdynamically cold gas in those regions. In the case of NGC5953, the datasuggest that we are witnessing the formation of a kinematicallydecoupled component from cold gas being acquired during the ongoinginteraction with NGC5954. Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black HolesCentral black hole masses for 117 spiral galaxies representingmorphological stages S0/a through Sc and taken from the largespectroscopic survey of Ho et al. are derived using Ks-banddata from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Black hole masses are foundusing a calibrated black hole-Ks bulge luminosity relation,while bulge luminosities are measured by means of a two-dimensionalbulge-disk decomposition routine. The black hole masses are correlatedagainst a variety of parameters representing properties of the nucleusand host galaxy. Nuclear properties such as line width (FWHM [N II]), aswell as emission-line ratios (e.g., [O III]/Hβ, [O I]/Hα, [NII]/Hα, and [S II]/Hα), show a very high degree ofcorrelation with black hole mass. The excellent correlation with linewidth supports the view that the emission-line gas is in virialequilibrium with either the black hole or bulge potential. The very goodemission-line ratio correlations may indicate a change in ionizingcontinuum shape with black hole mass in the sense that more massiveblack holes generate harder spectra. Apart from theinclination-corrected rotational velocity, no excellent correlations arefound between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. Significantdifferences are found between the distributions of black hole masses inearly-, mid-, and late-type spiral galaxies (subsamples A, B, and C) inthe sense that early-type galaxies have preferentially larger centralblack holes, consistent with observations that Seyfert galaxies arefound preferentially in early-type systems. The line width distributionsshow a marked difference among subsamples A, B, and C in the sense thatearlier type galaxies have larger line widths. There are also cleardifferences in line ratios between subsamples A+B and C that likely arerelated to the level of ionization in the gas. Finally, aKs-band Simien & de Vaucouleurs diagram shows excellentagreement with the original B-band relation, although there is a largedispersion at a given morphological stage. Supernovae 2005kl-2005kuIAUC 8634 available at Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Hα Imaging of Early-Type Sa-Sab Spiral Galaxies. II. Global PropertiesNew results, based on one of the most comprehensive Hα imagingsurveys of nearby Sa-Sab spirals completed to date, reveals early-typespirals to be a diverse group of galaxies that span a wide range inmassive star formation rates. While the majority of Sa-Sab galaxies inour sample are forming stars at a modest rate, a significant fraction(~29%) exhibit star formation rates greater than 1 Msolaryr-1, rivaling the most prolifically star-forming late-typespirals. A similar diversity is apparent in the star formation historyof Sa-Sab spirals as measured by their Hα equivalent widths.Consistent with our preliminary results presented in the first paper inthis series, we find giant H II regions [L(Hα)>=1039ergs s-1] in the disks of ~37% of early-type spirals. Wesuspect that recent minor mergers or past interactions are responsiblefor the elevated levels of Hα emission and, perhaps, for thepresence of giant H II regions in these galaxies. Our results, however,are not in total agreement with the Hα study of Kennicutt &Kent, who did not find any early-type spirals with Hα equivalentwidths >14 Å. A close examination of the morphologicalclassification of galaxies, however, suggests that systematicdifferences between the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog and the SecondReference Catalogue may be responsible for the contrasting results.Based on observations obtained with the 3.5 m telescope at Apache PointObservatory (APO) and the 0.9 m telescope at Kitt Peak NationalObservatory (KPNO). The APO 3.5 m telescope is owned and operated by theAstrophysical Research Consortium. The Westerbork HI survey of spiral and irregular galaxies. III. HI observations of early-type disk galaxiesWe present Hi observations of 68 early-type disk galaxies from the WHISPsurvey. They have morphological types between S0 and Sab and absoluteB-band magnitudes between -14 and -22. These galaxies form the massive,high surface-brightness extreme of the disk galaxy population, few ofwhich have been imaged in Hi before. The Hi properties of the galaxiesin our sample span a large range; the average values of MHI/LB and DH I/D25 are comparableto the ones found in later-type spirals, but the dispersions around themean are larger. No significant differences are found between the S0/S0aand the Sa/Sab galaxies. Our early-type disk galaxies follow the same Himass-diameter relation as later-type spiral galaxies, but theireffective Hi surface densities are slightly lower than those found inlater-type systems. In some galaxies, distinct rings of Hi emissioncoincide with regions of enhanced star formation, even though theaverage gas densities are far below the threshold of star formationderived by Kennicutt (1989, ApJ, 344, 685). Apparently, additionalmechanisms, as yet unknown, regulate star formation at low surfacedensities. Many of the galaxies in our sample have lopsided gasmorphologies; in most cases this can be linked to recent or ongoinginteractions or merger events. Asymmetries are rare in quiescentgalaxies. Kinematic lopsidedness is rare, both in interacting andisolated systems. In the appendix, we present an atlas of the Hiobservations: for all galaxies we show Hi surface density maps, globalprofiles, velocity fields and radial surface density profiles. Starbursting nuclear CO disks of early-type spiral galaxiesWe have initiated the first CO interferometer survey of early-typespiral galaxies (S0-Sab). We observed five early-type spiral galaxieswith HII nuclei (indicating circumnuclear starburst activities). Theseobservations indicate gas masses for the central kiloparsec of 1{-}5%of the dynamical masses. Such low gas mass fractions suggest thatlarge-scale gravitational instability in the gas is unlikely to be thedriving cause for the starburst activities. We estimated Toomre Q valuesand found that these galaxies have Q>1 (mostly >3) within thecentral kiloparsec, indicating that the gas disks are globallygravitationally stable. From the brightness temperatures of the COemission we estimated the area filling factor of the gas disks withinthe central kiloparsec to be about 0.05. This small value indicates theexistence of lumpy structure, i.e. molecular clouds, in theglobally-gravitationally stable disks. The typical surface density ofthe molecular clouds is as high as 3000 {Mȯ} {pc}-2. In the light of these new observations, we reconsiderthe nature of the Toomre Q criterion, and conclude that the Toomre Qparameter from CO observations indicates neither star formation normolecular cloud formation. This argument should be valid not only forthe circumnuclear disks but also for any region in galactic disks. Wetentatively explore an alternative model as an initiating mechanism ofstar formation. Cloud-cloud collisions might account for the active starformation. Inner-truncated Disks in GalaxiesWe present an analysis of the disk brightness profiles of 218 spiral andlenticular galaxies. At least 28% of disk galaxies exhibit innertruncations in these profiles. There are no significant trends oftruncation incidence with Hubble type, but the incidence among barredsystems is 49%, more than 4 times that for nonbarred galaxies. However,not all barred systems have inner truncations, and not allinner-truncated systems are currently barred. Truncations represent areal dearth of disk stars in the inner regions and are not an artifactof our selection or fitting procedures nor the result of obscuration bydust. Disk surface brightness profiles in the outer regions are wellrepresented by simple exponentials for both truncated and nontruncateddisks. However, truncated and nontruncated systems have systematicallydifferent slopes and central surface brightness parameters for theirdisk brightness distributions. Truncation radii do not appear tocorrelate well with the sizes or brightnesses of the bulges. Thissuggests that the low angular momentum material apparently missing fromthe inner disk was not simply consumed in forming the bulge population.Disk parameters and the statistics of bar orientations in our sampleindicate that the missing stars of the inner disk have not simply beenredistributed azimuthally into bar structures. The sharpness of thebrightness truncations and their locations with respect to othergalactic structures suggest that resonances associated with diskkinematics, or tidal interactions with the mass of bulge stars, might beresponsible for this phenomenon. Properties of isolated disk galaxiesWe present a new sample of northern isolated galaxies, which are definedby the physical criterion that they were not affected by other galaxiesin their evolution during the last few Gyr. To find them we used thelogarithmic ratio, f, between inner and tidal forces acting upon thecandidate galaxy by a possible perturber. The analysis of thedistribution of the f-values for the galaxies in the Coma cluster leadus to adopt the criterion f ≤ -4.5 for isolated galaxies. Thecandidates were chosen from the CfA catalog of galaxies within thevolume defined by cz ≤5000 km s-1, galactic latitudehigher than 40o and declination ≥-2.5o. Theselection of the sample, based on redshift values (when available),magnitudes and sizes of the candidate galaxies and possible perturberspresent in the same field is discussed. The final list of selectedisolated galaxies includes 203 objects from the initial 1706. The listcontains only truly isolated galaxies in the sense defined, but it is byno means complete, since all the galaxies with possible companions underthe f-criterion but with unknown redshift were discarded. We alsoselected a sample of perturbed galaxies comprised of all the diskgalaxies from the initial list with companions (with known redshift)satisfying f ≥ -2 and \Delta(cz) ≤500 km s-1; a totalof 130 objects. The statistical comparison of both samples showssignificant differences in morphology, sizes, masses, luminosities andcolor indices. Confirming previous results, we found that late spiral,Sc-type galaxies are, in particular, more frequent among isolatedgalaxies, whereas Lenticular galaxies are more abundant among perturbedgalaxies. Isolated systems appear to be smaller, less luminous and bluerthan interacting objects. We also found that bars are twice as frequentamong perturbed galaxies compared to isolated galaxies, in particularfor early Spirals and Lenticulars. The perturbed galaxies have higherLFIR/LB and Mmol/LB ratios,but the atomic gas content is similar for the two samples. The analysisof the luminosity-size and mass-luminosity relations shows similartrends for both families, the main difference being the almost totalabsence of big, bright and massive galaxies among the family of isolatedsystems, together with the almost total absence of small, faint and lowmass galaxies among the perturbed systems. All these aspects indicatethat the evolution induced by interactions with neighbors would proceedfrom late, small, faint and low mass Spirals to earlier, bigger, moreluminous and more massive spiral and lenticular galaxies, producing atthe same time a larger fraction of barred galaxies but preserving thesame relations between global parameters. The properties we found forour sample of isolated galaxies appear similar to those of high redshiftgalaxies, suggesting that the present-day isolated galaxies could bequietly evolved, unused building blocks surviving in low densityenvironments.Tables \ref{t1} and \ref{t2} are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org The PDS versus Markarian starburst galaxies: comparing strong and weak IRAS emitter at 12 and 25 μm in the nearby UniverseThe characteristics of the starburst galaxies from the Pico dos Diassurvey (PDS) are compared with those of the nearby ultraviolet (UV)bright Markarian starburst galaxies, having the same limit in redshift(vh < 7500 km s-1) and absolute B magnitude(MB < -18). An important difference is found: theMarkarian galaxies are generally undetected at 12 and 25 μm in IRAS.This is consistent with the UV excess shown by these galaxies andsuggests that the youngest star-forming regions dominating thesegalaxies are relatively free of dust.The far-infrared selection criteria for the PDS are shown to introduce astrong bias towards massive (luminous) and large size late-type spiralgalaxies. This is contrary to the Markarian galaxies, which are found tobe remarkably rich in smaller size early-type galaxies. These resultssuggest that only late-type spirals with a large and massive disc arestrong emitters at 12 and 25 μm in IRAS in the nearby Universe.The Markarian and PDS starburst galaxies are shown to share the sameenvironment. This rules out an explanation of the differences observedin terms of external parameters. These differences may be explained byassuming two different levels of evolution, the Markarian being lessevolved than the PDS galaxies. This interpretation is fully consistentwith the disc formation hypothesis proposed by Coziol et al. to explainthe special properties of the Markarian SBNG. The IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy SampleIRAS flux densities, redshifts, and infrared luminosities are reportedfor all sources identified in the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample(RBGS), a complete flux-limited survey of all extragalactic objects withtotal 60 μm flux density greater than 5.24 Jy, covering the entiresky surveyed by IRAS at Galactic latitudes |b|>5°. The RBGS includes629 objects, with median and mean sample redshifts of 0.0082 and 0.0126,respectively, and a maximum redshift of 0.0876. The RBGS supersedes theprevious two-part IRAS Bright Galaxy Samples(BGS1+BGS2), which were compiled before the final(Pass 3) calibration of the IRAS Level 1 Archive in 1990 May. The RBGSalso makes use of more accurate and consistent automated methods tomeasure the flux of objects with extended emission. The RBGS contains 39objects that were not present in the BGS1+BGS2,and 28 objects from the BGS1+BGS2 have beendropped from RBGS because their revised 60 μm flux densities are notgreater than 5.24 Jy. Comparison of revised flux measurements forsources in both surveys shows that most flux differences are in therange ~5%-25%, although some faint sources at 12 and 25 μm differ byas much as a factor of 2. Basic properties of the RBGS sources aresummarized, including estimated total infrared luminosities, as well asupdates to cross identifications with sources from optical galaxycatalogs established using the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Inaddition, an atlas of images from the Digitized Sky Survey with overlaysof the IRAS position uncertainty ellipse and annotated scale bars isprovided for ease in visualizing the optical morphology in context withthe angular and metric size of each object. The revised bolometricinfrared luminosity function, φ(Lir), forinfrared-bright galaxies in the local universe remains best fit by adouble power law, φ(L)~Lα, withα=-0.6(+/-0.1) and α=-2.2(+/-0.1) below and above thecharacteristic'' infrared luminosityL*ir~1010.5Lsolar,respectively. A companion paper provides IRAS High Resolution (HIRES)processing of over 100 RBGS sources where improved spatial resolutionoften provides better IRAS source positions or allows for deconvolutionof close galaxy pairs. A new catalogue of ISM content of normal galaxiesWe have compiled a catalogue of the gas content for a sample of 1916galaxies, considered to be a fair representation of normality''. Thedefinition of a normal'' galaxy adopted in this work implies that wehave purposely excluded from the catalogue galaxies having distortedmorphology (such as interaction bridges, tails or lopsidedness) and/orany signature of peculiar kinematics (such as polar rings,counterrotating disks or other decoupled components). In contrast, wehave included systems hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) in thecatalogue. This catalogue revises previous compendia on the ISM contentof galaxies published by \citet{bregman} and \citet{casoli}, andcompiles data available in the literature from several small samples ofgalaxies. Masses for warm dust, atomic and molecular gas, as well asX-ray luminosities have been converted to a uniform distance scale takenfrom the Catalogue of Principal Galaxies (PGC). We have used twodifferent normalization factors to explore the variation of the gascontent along the Hubble sequence: the blue luminosity (LB)and the square of linear diameter (D225). Ourcatalogue significantly improves the statistics of previous referencecatalogues and can be used in future studies to define a template ISMcontent for normal'' galaxies along the Hubble sequence. The cataloguecan be accessed on-line and is also available at the Centre desDonnées Stellaires (CDS).The catalogue is available in electronic form athttp://dipastro.pd.astro.it/galletta/ismcat and at the CDS via anonymousftp to\ cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via\http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/405/5 The cold gas properties of Markarian galaxiesA sample of 61 Markarian galaxies detected in the CO line was compiled.Using available HI, element H2, optical and radio continuumdata, the analysis of the gas kinematics and the star formationproperties for this sample of galaxies was performed. The mainconclusion can be summarized as follows: (1) The HI and CO line widthsare well correlated. Interaction between galaxies has no influence onthe CO line broadening. A rapidly rotating nuclear disk in the galaxymight lead to the CO line broadening with less influence on the HI line.(2) The atomic and molecular gas surface densities are well correlatedwith the blue, FIR and radio continuum surface brightness; however, thecorrelation for molecular component is stronger.\ (3) In general, thegalaxies with UV-excess (Markarian galaxies) do not differ in their starformation properties from the non-UV galaxies. The SAURON project - II. Sample and early resultsEarly results are reported from the SAURON survey of the kinematics andstellar populations of a representative sample of nearby E, S0 and Sagalaxies. The survey is aimed at determining the intrinsic shape of thegalaxies, their orbital structure, the mass-to-light ratio as a functionof radius, the age and metallicity of the stellar populations, and thefrequency of kinematically decoupled cores and nuclear black holes. Theconstruction of the representative sample is described, and itsproperties are illustrated. A comparison with long-slit spectroscopicdata establishes that the SAURON measurements are comparable to, orbetter than, the highest-quality determinations. Comparisons arepresented for NGC 3384 and 4365, where stellar velocities and velocitydispersions are determined to a precision of 6kms-1, and theh3 and h4 parameters of the line-of-sight velocitydistribution to a precision of better than 0.02. Extraction of accurategas emission-line intensities, velocities and linewidths from the datacubes is illustrated for NGC 5813. Comparisons with published linestrengths for NGC 3384 and 5813 reveal uncertainties of <~0.1Åon the measurements of the Hβ, Mg b and Fe5270 indices.Integral-field mapping uniquely connects measurements of the kinematicsand stellar populations to the galaxy morphology. The maps presentedhere illustrate the rich stellar kinematics, gaseous kinematics, andline-strength distributions of early-type galaxies. The results includethe discovery of a thin, edge-on, disc in NGC 3623, confirm theaxisymmetric shape of the central region of M32, illustrate the LINERnucleus and surrounding counter-rotating star-forming ring in NGC 7742,and suggest a uniform stellar population in the decoupled core galaxyNGC 5813. Far-Infrared Census of Starburst-Seyfert ConnectionFar-infrared flux densities are newly extracted from the IRAS databasefor the Revised Shapley-Ames and CfA complete samples of Seyfertgalaxies. These data are used to classify the Seyfert galaxies intothose where the far-infrared continuum emission is dominated by theactive galactic nucleus (AGN), circumnuclear starburst, or host galaxy.While AGN-dominant objects consist of comparable numbers of Seyfert 1and 2 galaxies, starburst- and host-dominant objects consistpreferentially of Seyfert 2 galaxies. Thus, in addition to the dustytorus, the circumnuclear starburst region and host galaxy are importantin hiding the broad-line region. Morphologically, starburst-dominantSeyfert galaxies are of later types and more strongly interacting thanAGN-dominant Seyfert galaxies. In a later type galaxy, the AGN centralengine has a lower Eddington luminosity, and the gaseous content ishigher. The gas is efficiently supplied to the starburst via agalaxy-galaxy interaction. Morphologies of host-dominant Seyfertgalaxies are of various types. Since starbursts in Seyfert galaxies areolder than those in classical starburst galaxies, we propose anevolution from starburst to starburst-dominant Seyfert to host-dominantSeyfert for a late-type galaxy. An evolution from AGN-dominant Seyfertto host-dominant Seyfert is proposed for an early-type galaxy. Thesesequences have durations of a few times 108 yr and occurrepeatedly within a galaxy during its evolution from a late type to anearly type. Bar Galaxies and Their EnvironmentsThe prints of the Palomar Sky Survey, luminosity classifications, andradial velocities were used to assign all northern Shapley-Ames galaxiesto either (1) field, (2) group, or (3) cluster environments. Thisinformation for 930 galaxies shows no evidence for a dependence of barfrequency on galaxy environment. This suggests that the formation of abar in a disk galaxy is mainly determined by the properties of theparent galaxy, rather than by the characteristics of its environment. Spectroscopic Observations of the Star Formation Activities in the Central Regions of Early-Type Spiral GalaxiesWe study the characteristics of central star-forming regions ofearly-type spiral galaxies by optical spectroscopic observations. Thesample consists of 13 galaxies which have ratios of far-infrared (FIR)to optical B-band luminosity, log(LFIR/LB), largerthan the average of this type, -0.5. Strong line emissions are detectedaround the nucleus, and the line ratios of most regions are H IIregion-like, except for a few shocked regions. There is nolow-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER). The [N II] and [SII] lines are somewhat enhanced, compared to the disk H II regions, butthe enhancements cannot be attributed to hidden active galactic nuclei(AGNs) and the shock excitation. The median extinction derived from theHα/Hβ intensity ratio is 1.0 mag in AV, and themedian SFR of our sample galaxies, corrected for extinction, isestimated to be 2 Msolar yr-1. Both values arecomparable to those of late-type spiral galaxies. We find a correlationthat the radii of the central star-forming regions tend to become largerwith the turn-over radii of the rotation curves. Photometric studies of starburst galaxiesWe present the results of a detailed morphological analysis of a sampleof Markarian starburst galaxies. CCD surface photometry of thosegalaxies was carried out based on observations made in U BV RI and H?.The morphology of the sample objects was studied using isophotalcontours and colour images. The radial variations of the surfacebrightness, ellipticity, position angle and the colour profiles wereconstructed using ellipse fitting techniques. We find that the starformation activity is not confined to the central region alone, but italso occurs at various other locations like the ends of bars, alongcircum-nuclear rings or even globally in a few cases. The luminosityprofiles show an exponential nature in the outer region. Strongisophotal twisting is observed in almost all the S0 galaxies in oursample. In a few cases, this is accompanied by boxiness, indicating astrong interaction or merger. Blue light is more centrally concentratedas compared to red light in early type galaxies while the reverse holdsfor spirals. The scale lengths in B and R are comparable. Compositemodels were constructed and ages between 106 and 107 years and burststrength between 1% to 5% were able to explain the observed colours. The Nature of Composite LINER/H II Galaxies as Revealed from High-Resolution VLA ObservationsA sample of 37 nearby galaxies displaying composite LINER/H II and pureH II spectra was observed with the VLA in an investigation of the natureof their weak radio emission. The resulting radio contour maps overlaidon optical galaxy images are presented here, together with an extensiveliterature list and discussion of the individual galaxies. Radiomorphological data permit assessment of the classical active galacticnucleus (AGN)'' contribution to the global activity observed in thesetransition'' LINER galaxies. One in five of the latter objects displayclear AGN characteristics: these occur exclusively in bulge-dominatedhosts. Nearby Optical Galaxies: Selection of the Sample and Identification of GroupsIn this paper we describe the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, whichis a complete, distance-limited (cz<=6000 km s-1) andmagnitude-limited (B<=14) sample of ~7000 optical galaxies. Thesample covers 2/3 (8.27 sr) of the sky (|b|>20deg) andappears to have a good completeness in redshift (97%). We select thesample on the basis of homogenized corrected total blue magnitudes inorder to minimize systematic effects in galaxy sampling. We identify thegroups in this sample by means of both the hierarchical and thepercolation friends-of-friends'' methods. The resulting catalogs ofloose groups appear to be similar and are among the largest catalogs ofgroups currently available. Most of the NOG galaxies (~60%) are found tobe members of galaxy pairs (~580 pairs for a total of ~15% of objects)or groups with at least three members (~500 groups for a total of ~45%of objects). About 40% of galaxies are left ungrouped (field galaxies).We illustrate the main features of the NOG galaxy distribution. Comparedto previous optical and IRAS galaxy samples, the NOG provides a densersampling of the galaxy distribution in the nearby universe. Given itslarge sky coverage, the identification of groups, and its high-densitysampling, the NOG is suited to the analysis of the galaxy density fieldof the nearby universe, especially on small scales. A Subarcsecond Resolution Near-Infrared Study of Seyfert and Normal'' Galaxies. II. MorphologyWe present a detailed study of the bar fraction in the CfA sample ofSeyfert galaxies and in a carefully selected control sample of nonactivegalaxies to investigate the relation between the presence of bars and ofnuclear activity. To avoid the problems related to bar classification inthe Third Reference Catalogue (RC3), e.g., subjectivity, low resolution,and contamination by dust, we have developed an objective barclassification method, which we conservatively apply to our newsubarcsecond resolution near-infrared (NIR) imaging data set discussedin the first paper in this series. We are able to use stringent criteriabased on radial profiles of ellipticity and major axis position angle todetermine the presence of a bar and its axial ratio. Concentrating onnoninteracting galaxies in our sample for which morphologicalinformation can be obtained, we find that Seyfert hosts are barred moreoften (79%+/-7.5%) than the nonactive galaxies in our control sample(59%+/-9%), a result which is at the ~2.5 σ significance level.The fraction of nonaxisymmetric hosts becomes even larger wheninteracting galaxies are taken into account. We discuss the implicationsof this result for the fueling of central activity by large-scale bars.This paper improves on previous work by means of imaging at higherspatial resolution and by the use of a set of stringent criteria for barpresence and confirms that the use of NIR is superior to optical imagingfor detection of bars in disk galaxies. Star Formation Efficiency in the Central 1 Kiloparsec Region of Early-Type Spiral GalaxiesIt has been reported recently that there are some early-type spiral(Sa-Sab) galaxies with evident star-forming regions that concentrate intheir own central 1 kpc. In such central region, is the mechanism of thestar formation distinct from that in disks of spiral galaxies? Todiscover this, we estimate the star formation efficiency (SFE) in thiscentral 1 kpc star-forming region of some early-type spiral galaxies,taking account of the condition required for this 1 kpc region to beself-gravitating. Using two indicators of the present star formationrate (Hα and infrared luminosity), we estimate the SFE to a fewpercent. This is equivalent to the observational SFE in the disks oflate-type spiral (Sb-) galaxies. This coincidence may support theuniversality of the mean SFE of spiral galaxies reported in the recentstudies, that is, we find no evidence of a distinct mechanism of thestar formation in the central 1 kpc region of early-type galaxies. Also,we examine the structure of the central star-forming region and discussa method for estimating the mass of star-forming regions. Arcsecond Positions of UGC GalaxiesWe present accurate B1950 and J2000 positions for all confirmed galaxiesin the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC). The positions were measuredvisually from Digitized Sky Survey images with rms uncertaintiesσ<=[(1.2")2+(θ/100)2]1/2,where θ is the major-axis diameter. We compared each galaxymeasured with the original UGC description to ensure high reliability.The full position list is available in the electronic version only. A Subarcsecond-Resolution Near-Infrared Study of Seyfert and Normal'' Galaxies. I. Imaging DataWe present new high-resolution near-infrared observations in the J, H,and K bands, obtained to study the properties of Seyfert host galaxies.The data set consists of images in the three bands of practically theentire CfA sample of Seyfert galaxies, and K-band images of a controlsample of nonactive, normal,'' galaxies, matched to the Seyfert samplein the distribution of type and inclination. The spatial resolution andsampling of the new images is a factor of 2 better than previouslypublished K-band data. In this paper, we present the data in the form ofprofiles of surface brightness and color, ellipticity and major axisposition angle, as well as gray-scale maps of surface brightness in H orK and both J-H and H-K colors. We compare our surface brightness andcolor profiles with the literature and find good agreement. Our data arediscussed in detail in three subsequent publications, where we analyzethe morphologies of Seyfert and normal hosts, quantify the strength ofnonaxisymmetric features in disks and their relationship to nuclearactivity, address the question of bar fraction in Seyferts and normalgalaxies, and analyze the color information in the framework of emissionmechanisms in Seyfert 1's and 2's and in nonactive galaxies. An Infrared Search for Extinguished Supernovae in Starburst GalaxiesIR and radio-band observations of heavily extinguished regions instarburst galaxies suggest a high supernova (SN) rate associated withsuch regions. Optically measured SN rates may therefore underestimatethe total SN rate by factors of up to 10, as a result of the very highextinction (A_B~10-20 mag) to core-collapse SNe in starburst regions.The IR/radio SN rates come from a variety of indirect means, however,which suffer from model dependence and other problems. We describe adirect measurement of the SN rate from a regular patrol of starburstgalaxies done with K'-band imaging to minimize the effects ofextinction. A collection of K'-band measurements of core-collapse SNenear maximum light is presented. Such measurements (excluding 1987A) arenot well reported in the literature. Results of a preliminary K'-bandsearch, using the MIRC camera at the Wyoming Infrared Observatory and animproved search strategy using the new ORCA optics, are described. Amonthly patrol of a sample of IRAS bright (mostly starburst) galaxieswithin 25 Mpc should yield 1-6 SNe yr^-1, corresponding to the range ofestimated SN rates. Our initial MIRC search with low resolution (2.2"pixels) failed to find extinguished SNe in the IRAS galaxies, limitingthe SN rate outside the nucleus (at greater than 15" radius) to lessthan 3.8 far-IR SN rate units (SNe per century per 10^10 L_solarmeasured at 60 and 100 mum, or FIRSRU) at 90% confidence. The MIRCcamera had insufficient resolution to search nuclear starburst regions,where starburst and SN activity is concentrated; therefore, we wereunable to rigorously test the hypothesis of high SN rates in heavilyobscured star-forming regions. We conclude that high-resolution nuclearSN searches in starburst galaxies with small fields are more productivethan low-resolution, large-field searches, even for our sample of large(often several arcminutes) galaxies. With our ORCA high-resolutionoptics, we could limit the total SN rate to less than 1.3 FIRSRU at 90%confidence in 3 years of observations, lower than most estimates. Star formation along a misaligned bar in the peculiar starburst galaxy Mkn 439We report the detection of massive star formation along a bar in thepeculiar starburst galaxy Mkn 439. We present optical B, R and Hα+[NII] emission line images as well as H band images to show that thesignature of the bar becomes progressively weak at longer wavelengths.Moreover, this bar is misaligned with the main body of the galaxy. Thepeak Hα emission does not coincide with the bluest regions seen inthe colour maps. We infer that the starburst is young since the stars inthe burst have not started influencing the light in the near infrared.There are indications of dust in the inner regions of this galaxy. The Pico DOS Dias Survey Starburst GalaxiesWe discuss the nature of the galaxies found in the Pico dos Dias Survey(PDS) for young stellar objects. The PDS galaxies were selected from theIRAS Point Source catalog. They have flux density of moderate or highquality at 12, 25, and 60 μm and spectral indices in the ranges -3.00<= alpha(25, 12) <= + 0.35 and -2.50 <= alpha(60, 25) <=+0.85. These criteria allowed the detection of 382 galaxies, which are amixture of starburst and Seyfert galaxies. Most of the PDS Seyfertgalaxies are included in the catalog of warm IRAS sources by de Grijp etal. The remaining galaxies constitute a homogeneous sample of luminous[log F (L_B/L_ȯ) = 9.9 +/- 0.4] starburst galaxies, 67% of whichwere not recognized as such before. The starburst nature of the PDSgalaxies is established by comparing their L_IR/L_B ratios and IRAScolors with a sample of emission-line galaxies from the literaturealready classified as starburst galaxies. The starburst galaxies show anexcess of FIR luminosity, and their IRAS colors are significantlydifferent from those of Seyfert galaxies-99% of the starburst galaxiesin our sample have a spectral index alpha(60, 25) < -1.9. As opposedto Seyfert galaxies, very few PDS starbursts are detected in X-rays. Inthe infrared, the starburst galaxies form a continuous sequence withnormal galaxies. But they generally can be distinguished from normalgalaxies by their spectral index alpha(60, 25) > -2.5. This colorcutoff also marks a change in the dominant morphologies of the galaxies:the normal IRAS galaxies are preferentially late-type spirals (Sb andlater), while the starbursts are more numerous among early-type spirals(earlier than Sbc). This preference of starbursts for early-type spiralsis not new, but a trait of the massive starburst nucleus galaxies(Coziol et al.). As in other starburst nucleus galaxy samples, the PDSstarbursts show no preference for barred galaxies. No difference isfound between the starbursts detected in the FIR and those detected onthe basis of UV excess. The PDS starburst galaxies represent the FIRluminous branch of the UV-bright starburst nucleus galaxies, with meanFIR luminosity log (L_IR/L_ȯ) = 10.3 +/- 0.5 and redshifts smallerthan 0.1. They form a complete sample limited in flux in the FIR at 2 x10^-10 ergs cm^-2 s^-1. Photometric Observations of Star Formation Activity in Early-Type Spiral GalaxiesWe observationally study the current star formation activities ofearly-type spiral galaxies. We construct a complete sample of 15early-type spiral galaxies having ratios of far-infrared (FIR) tooptical B-band luminosity, log (L_FIR/L_B), larger than average for thistype and present CCD imaging of the R and Hα bands. The equivalentwidths of Hα emission increase with increasing L_FIR/L_B,indicating that log (L_FIR/L_B) can be an indicator of star formationfor such early-type spiral galaxies with star formation activitieshigher than average. For all of the observed early-type spiral galaxies,the extended H II regions exist at the central regions with someasymmetric features. Hα emission is more concentrated to thegalactic center than the R-band light, and the degree of theconcentration increases with the star formation activity. We alsoanalyze the relation between the star formation activities and theexistence of companion galaxies in the sample galaxies and other brightearly-type spiral galaxies. No correlation is found; this suggests thatthe interaction is not responsible for all of the star formationactivities of early-type spiral galaxies. Bulge-Disk Decomposition of 659 Spiral and Lenticular Galaxy Brightness ProfilesWe present one of the largest homogeneous sets of spiral and lenticulargalaxy brightness profile decompositions completed to date. The 659galaxies in our sample have been fitted with a de Vaucouleurs law forthe bulge component and an inner-truncated exponential for the diskcomponent. Of the 659 galaxies in the sample, 620 were successfullyfitted with the chosen fitting functions. The fits are generally welldefined, with more than 90% having rms deviations from the observedprofile of less than 0.35 mag. We find no correlations of fittingquality, as measured by these rms residuals, with either morphologicaltype or inclination. Similarly, the estimated errors of the fittedcoefficients show no significant trends with type or inclination. Thesedecompositions form a useful basis for the study of the lightdistributions of spiral and lenticular galaxies. The object base issufficiently large that well-defined samples of galaxies can be selectedfrom it. Lopsidedness in Early-Type Disk GalaxiesWe quantify the mean asymmetry of 54 face-on, early-type disk galaxies(S0 to Sab) using the amplitude of the m = 1 azimuthal Fourier componentof the R-band surface brightness. We find that the median lopsidedness,, of our sample is 0.11 and that the most lopsided 20% ofour galaxies have >= 0.19. Asymmetries in early-typedisks appear to be of similar frequency and strength as in late-typedisk galaxies. We have observed our early-type disks in a bandpass (Rband) in which the light is dominated by stars with ages greater than10^9 yr and therefore are seeing azimuthal asymmetries in the stellarmass distribution. The similar degree of lopsidedness seen in disks ofvery different star formation rates indicates that the lopsidedness inall galactic disks is primarily due to azimuthal mass asymmetries.Hence, 20% of all disk galaxies (regardless of Hubble type) haveazimuthal asymmetries, >= 0.19, in their stellar diskmass distribution, confirming lopsidedness as a dynamical phenomenon. Total magnitude, radius, colour indices, colour gradients and photometric type of galaxiesWe present a catalogue of aperture photometry of galaxies, in UBVRI,assembled from three different origins: (i) an update of the catalogueof Buta et al. (1995) (ii) published photometric profiles and (iii)aperture photometry performed on CCD images. We explored different setsof growth curves to fit these data: (i) The Sersic law, (ii) The net ofgrowth curves used for the preparation of the RC3 and (iii) A linearinterpolation between the de Vaucouleurs (r(1/4) ) and exponential laws.Finally we adopted the latter solution. Fitting these growth curves, wederive (1) the total magnitude, (2) the effective radius, (3) the colourindices and (4) gradients and (5) the photometric type of 5169 galaxies.The photometric type is defined to statistically match the revisedmorphologic type and parametrizes the shape of the growth curve. It iscoded from -9, for very concentrated galaxies, to +10, for diffusegalaxies. Based in part on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory.
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