TY - JOUR
T1 - The AMIGA sample of isolated galaxies
T2 - XII. Revision of the isolation degree for AMIGA galaxies using the SDSS
AU - Argudo-Fernández, M.
AU - Verley, S.
AU - Bergond, G.
AU - Sulentic, J.
AU - Sabater, J.
AU - Fernández Lorenzo, M.
AU - Leon, S.
AU - Espada, D.
AU - Verdes-Montenegro, L.
AU - Santander-Vela, J. D.
AU - Ruiz, J. E.
AU - Sánchez-Expósito, S.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the referee for his/her very detailed and useful report, which helped to clarify and improve the quality of this work. This work has been supported by Grant AYA2011-30491-C02-01, co-financed by MICINN and FEDER funds, and the Junta de Andalucía (Spain) grants P08-FQM-4205 and TIC-114, as well as under the EU 7th Framework Programme in the area of Digital Libraries and Digital Preservation. (ICT-2009.4.1) Project reference: 270192. This work was partially supported by a Junta de Andalucía Grant FQM108 and a Spanish MEC Grant AYA-2007-67625-C02-02. Funding for SDSS-III has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Energy Office of Science. The SDSS-III web site is http://www.sdss3.org/ . SDSS-III is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the Participating Institutions of the SDSS-III Collaboration including the University of Arizona, the Brazilian Participation Group, Brookhaven National Laboratory, University of Cambridge, University of Florida, the French Participation Group, the German Participation Group, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, the Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group, Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, New Mexico State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Portsmouth, Princeton University, the Spanish Participation Group, University of Tokyo, University of Utah, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, University of Washington, and Yale University. This research has made use of data obtained using, or software provided by, the UK’s AstroGrid Virtual Observatory Project, which is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council and through the EU’s Framework 6 programme. We also acknowledge the use of STILTS and TOPCAT tools (Taylor 2005). This research made use of Python ( http://www.python.org ), of Matplotlib (Hunter 2007), a suite of open-source Python modules that provides a framework for creating scientific plots. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We acknowledge the usage of the HyperLeda database ( http://leda.univ-lyon1.fr ) (Paturel et al. 2003).
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Context. To understand the evolution of galaxies, it is necessary to have a reference sample where the effect of the environment is minimized and quantified. In the framework of the AMIGA project (Analysis of the interstellar Medium of Isolated GAlaxies), we present a revision of the environment for galaxies in the Catalogue of Isolated Galaxies (CIG, Karachentseva 1973, Astrof. Issledovaniia Byu. Spec. Ast. Obs., 8, 3) using the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR9). Aims. The aims of this study are to refine the photometric-based AMIGA sample of isolated galaxies and to provide an improvement of the quantification of the isolation degree with respect to previous works, using both photometry and spectroscopy. Methods. We developed an automatic method to search for neighbours within a projected area of 1 Mpc radius centred on each primary galaxy to revise the CIG isolation criteria introduced by Karachentseva (1973). The local number density at the fifth nearest neighbour and the tidal strength affecting the CIG galaxy were estimated to quantify the isolation degree. Results. Of the 636 CIG galaxies considered in the photometric study, 426 galaxies fulfil the CIG isolation criteria within 1 Mpc, taking into account projected neighbours. Of the 411 CIG galaxies considered in the spectroscopic study, 347 galaxies fulfil the CIG isolation criteria when a criterion about redshift difference is added. The available redshifts allow us to reject background neighbours and thus improve the photometric assessment. On average, galaxies in the AMIGA sample show lower values in the local number density and the tidal strength parameters than galaxies in denser environments such as pairs, triplets, compact groups, and clusters. Conclusions. For the first time, the environment and the isolation degree of AMIGA galaxies are quantified using digital data. The use of the SDSS database permits one to identify fainter and smaller-size satellites than in previous AMIGA works. The AMIGA sample is improved by this study, because we reduced the sample of isolated galaxies used in previous AMIGA works by about 20%. The availability of the spectroscopic data allows us to check the validity of the CIG isolation criteria, which is not fully efficient. About 50% of the neighbours considered as potential companions in the photometric study are in fact background objects. We also find that about 92% of the neighbour galaxies that show recession velocities similar to the corresponding CIG galaxy are not considered by the CIG isolation criteria as potential companions, which may have a considerable influence on the evolution of the central CIG galaxy.
AB - Context. To understand the evolution of galaxies, it is necessary to have a reference sample where the effect of the environment is minimized and quantified. In the framework of the AMIGA project (Analysis of the interstellar Medium of Isolated GAlaxies), we present a revision of the environment for galaxies in the Catalogue of Isolated Galaxies (CIG, Karachentseva 1973, Astrof. Issledovaniia Byu. Spec. Ast. Obs., 8, 3) using the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR9). Aims. The aims of this study are to refine the photometric-based AMIGA sample of isolated galaxies and to provide an improvement of the quantification of the isolation degree with respect to previous works, using both photometry and spectroscopy. Methods. We developed an automatic method to search for neighbours within a projected area of 1 Mpc radius centred on each primary galaxy to revise the CIG isolation criteria introduced by Karachentseva (1973). The local number density at the fifth nearest neighbour and the tidal strength affecting the CIG galaxy were estimated to quantify the isolation degree. Results. Of the 636 CIG galaxies considered in the photometric study, 426 galaxies fulfil the CIG isolation criteria within 1 Mpc, taking into account projected neighbours. Of the 411 CIG galaxies considered in the spectroscopic study, 347 galaxies fulfil the CIG isolation criteria when a criterion about redshift difference is added. The available redshifts allow us to reject background neighbours and thus improve the photometric assessment. On average, galaxies in the AMIGA sample show lower values in the local number density and the tidal strength parameters than galaxies in denser environments such as pairs, triplets, compact groups, and clusters. Conclusions. For the first time, the environment and the isolation degree of AMIGA galaxies are quantified using digital data. The use of the SDSS database permits one to identify fainter and smaller-size satellites than in previous AMIGA works. The AMIGA sample is improved by this study, because we reduced the sample of isolated galaxies used in previous AMIGA works by about 20%. The availability of the spectroscopic data allows us to check the validity of the CIG isolation criteria, which is not fully efficient. About 50% of the neighbours considered as potential companions in the photometric study are in fact background objects. We also find that about 92% of the neighbour galaxies that show recession velocities similar to the corresponding CIG galaxy are not considered by the CIG isolation criteria as potential companions, which may have a considerable influence on the evolution of the central CIG galaxy.
KW - Galaxies: evolution
KW - Galaxies: formation
KW - Galaxies: fundamental parameters
KW - Galaxies: general
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84888597285&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1051/0004-6361/201321326
DO - 10.1051/0004-6361/201321326
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84888597285
SN - 0004-6361
VL - 560
JO - Astronomy and Astrophysics
JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics
M1 - A9
ER -