We present the SAMI Pilot Survey, consisting of integral field spectroscopy of 106 galaxies across three galaxy clusters, Abell 85, Abell 168 and Abell 2399. The galaxies were selected by absolute magnitude to have Mr<-20.25mag. The survey, using the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI), comprises observations of galaxies of all morphological types with 75 per cent of the sample being early-type galaxies (ETGs) and 25 per cent being late-type galaxies (LTGs). Stellar velocity and velocity dispersion maps are derived for all 106 galaxies in the sample. The {lambda}_R_ parameter, a proxy for the specific stellar angular momentum, is calculated for each galaxy in the sample. We find a trend between {lambda}_R_ and galaxy concentration such that LTGs are less concentrated higher angular momentum systems, with the fast-rotating ETGs (FRs) more concentrated and lower in angular momentum. This suggests that some dynamical processes are involved in transforming LTGs to FRs, though a significant overlap between the {lambda}_R_ distributions of these classes of galaxies implies that this is just one piece of a more complicated picture. We measure the kinematic misalignment angle, {Psi}, for the ETGs in the sample, to probe the intrinsic shapes of the galaxies. We find the majority of FRs (83 per cent) to be aligned, consistent with them being oblate spheroids (i.e. discs). The slow rotating ETGs (SRs), on the other hand, are significantly more likely to show kinematic misalignment (only 38 per cent are aligned). This confirms previous results that SRs are likely to be mildly triaxial systems.
We construct a sample of 75863 star-forming galaxies with robust metallicity and star formation rate (SFR) measurements from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, from which we select a clean sample of compact group (CG) galaxies. The CGs are defined to be close configurations of at least four galaxies that are otherwise apparently isolated. Our selection results in a sample of 112 spectroscopically identified CG galaxies, which can be further divided into groups that are either embedded within a larger structure, such as a cluster or large group, or truly isolated systems. The CGs then serve as a probe into the influence of large-scale environment on a galaxy's evolution, while keeping the local density fixed at high values. W
We study the influence of environment on the structure of disc galaxies, using IMFIT to measure the g- and r-band structural parameters of the surface-brightness profiles for ~700 low-redshift (z<0.063) cluster and field disc galaxies with intermediate stellar mass (0.8x10^10^M_{sun}_<M*<4x10^10^M_{sun}_) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, DR7. Based on this measurement, we assign each galaxy to a surface-brightness profile type (Type I = single-exponential, Type II = truncated, Type III = antitruncated). In addition, we measure (g-r) rest frame colour for disc regions separated by the break radius. Cluster disc galaxies (at the same stellar mass) have redder (g-r) colour by ~0.2 mag than field galaxies. This reddening is slightly more pronounced outside the break radius. Cluster disc galaxies also show larger global Sersic-indices and are more compact than field discs, both by ~15 per cent. This change is connected to a flattening of the (outer) surface-brightness profile of Type I and - more significantly - of Type III galaxies by ~8 per cent and ~16 per cent, respectively, in the cluster environment compared to the field. We find fractions of Type I, Type II and Type III of (6+/-2) per cent, (66+/-4) per cent and (29+/-4) per cent in the field and (15_-4_^+7^) per cent, (56+/-7) per cent and (29+/-7) per cent in the cluster environment, respectively. We suggest that the larger abundance of Type I galaxies in clusters (matched by a corresponding decrease in the Type II fraction) could be the signature of a transition between Type II and Type I galaxies produced/enhanced by environment-driven mechanisms.
Disc scalelength (h) for 30000 galaxies from the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7, in the r-band. Also included is the Asymmetry parameter for each galaxy. Virtual Observatory methods and tools were used to define, retrieve and analyze the images for this unprecedentedly large sample classified as spiral galaxies in the LEDA catalogue. These parameters are also available for all other SDSS bands (u,g,i,z), and they can be retrieved from the Author. An extensive discussion about the errors involved in the derived parameters can be found in Fathi et al. (2010MNRAS.406.1595F) and Fathi (2010ApJ...722L.120F)
We present an automated morphological classification in 4 types (E, S0, Sab, Scd) of ~700 000 galaxies from the SDSS DR7 spectroscopic sample based on support vector machines. The main new property of the classification is that we associate a probability to each galaxy of being in the four morphological classes instead of assigning a single class. The classification is therefore better adapted to nature where we expect a continuous transition between different morphological types. The algorithm is trained with a visual classification and then compared to several independent visual classifications including the Galaxy Zoo first-release catalog. We find a very good correlation between the automated classification and classical visual ones.
We present a catalog of bulge, disk, and total stellar mass estimates for ~660000 galaxies in the Legacy area of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data (SDSS) Release 7. These masses are based on a homogeneous catalog of g- and r-band photometry described by Simard et al. (2011, Cat. J/ApJS/196/11), which we extend here with bulge+disk and Sersic profile photometric decompositions in the SDSS u, i, and z bands. We discuss the methodology used to derive stellar masses from these data via fitting to broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs), and show that the typical statistical uncertainty on total, bulge, and disk stellar mass is ~0.15 dex. Despite relatively small formal uncertainties, we argue that SED modeling assumptions, including the choice of synthesis model, extinction law, initial mass function, and details of stellar evolution likely contribute an additional 60% systematic uncertainty in any mass estimate based on broadband SED fitting. We discuss several approaches for identifying genuine bulge+disk systems based on both their statistical likelihood and an analysis of their one-dimensional surface-brightness profiles, and include these metrics in the catalogs. Estimates of the total, bulge and disk stellar masses for both normal and dust-free models and their uncertainties are made publicly available here.
We present a re-evaluation of the optical morphology for 549 galaxies from the Catalog of Isolated Galaxies in the Northern Hemisphere (CIG) that are available in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; DR6). Both the high resolution and high dynamic range of the SDSS images and our semiautomatic image processing scheme allow for a major quality and uniform morphological analysis. The processing scheme includes (1) sky-subtracted, cleaned, and logarithmic scaled g-band images, (2) filtered-enhanced versions of the images in (1), and (3) the corresponding red-green-blue (RGB) composed images available in the SDSS database. We propose an empirical method to distinguishing between E, S0, and Sa candidates through an additional analysis of (4) the surface brightness, position angle, ellipticity and A_4_B_4_ coefficients of the Fourier series expansion profiles. An atlas of mosaics containing (1), (2), and (3) images for Sab-Sm/Irr types and (1), (2), (3), (4) images for E/S0/Sa types was produced and is available on the Web site, http://132.248.1.210.
We have applied computer analysis to classify the broad morphological types of ~3x10^6^ Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies. For each galaxy, the catalog provides the DR8 object ID, the R.A., the decl., and the certainty for the automatic classification as either spiral or elliptical. The certainty of the classification allows us to control the accuracy of a subset of galaxies by sacrificing some of the least certain classifications. The accuracy of the catalog was tested using galaxies that were classified by the manually annotated Galaxy Zoo catalog. The results show that the catalog contains ~900000 spiral galaxies and ~600000 elliptical galaxies with classification certainty that has a statistical agreement rate of ~98% with the Galaxy Zoo debiased "superclean" data set. The catalog also shows that objects assigned by the SDSS pipeline with a relatively high redshift (z>0.4) can have clear visual spiral morphology.
We have developed a multiscale structure identification algorithm for the detection of overdensities in galaxy data that identifies structures having radii within a user-defined range. Our "multiscale probability mapping" technique combines density estimation with a shape statistic to identify local peaks in the density field. This technique takes advantage of a user-defined range of scale sizes, which are used in constructing a coarse-grained map of the underlying fine-grained galaxy distribution, from which overdense structures are then identified. In this study we have compiled a catalogue of groups and clusters at 0.025<z<0.24 based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), Data Release 7, quantifying their significance and comparing with other catalogues. Most measured velocity dispersions for these structures lie between 50 and 400km/s. A clear trend of increasing velocity dispersion with radius from 0.2 to 1Mpc/h is detected, confirming the lack of a sharp division between groups and clusters. A method for quantifying elongation is also developed to measure the elongation of group and cluster environments. By using our group and cluster catalogue as a coarse-grained representation of the galaxy distribution for structure sizes of <~1Mpc/h, we identify 53 filaments (from an algorithmically derived set of 100 candidates) as elongated unions of groups and clusters at 0.025<z<0.13. These filaments have morphologies that are consistent with previous samples studied.
Isolated galaxies in low-density regions are significant in the sense that they are least affected by the hierarchical pattern of galaxy growth and interactions with perturbers, at least for the last few gigayears. To form a comprehensive picture of the star-formation history of isolated galaxies, we constructed a catalog of isolated galaxies and their comparison sample in relatively denser environments. The galaxies are drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 in the redshift range of 0.025<z<0.044. We performed a visual inspection and classified their morphology following the Hubble classification scheme. For the spectroscopic study, we make use of the catalog provided by Oh et al. (2011ApJS..195...13O). We confirm most of the earlier understanding on isolated galaxies. The most remarkable additional results are as follows. Isolated galaxies are dominantly late type with the morphology distribution (E:S0:S:Irr)=(9.9:11.3:77.6:1.2)%. The frequency of elliptical galaxies among isolated galaxies is only a third of that of the comparison sample. Most of the photometric and spectroscopic properties are surprisingly similar between the isolated and comparison samples. However, early-type isolated galaxies are less massive by 50% and younger (by H{beta}) by 20% than their counterparts in the comparison sample. This can be explained as a result of different merger and star-formation histories for differing environments in the hierarchical merger paradigm.
