We present the first study of bars in the local Universe, based on the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey (SDSS). The large sample of ~5000 local galaxies provides the largest study to date of local bars and minimizes the effect of cosmic variance. The sample galaxies have Mg ≤ −18.5 mag and cover the redshift range 0.01 ≤ z < 0.04. We use a color cut in the color-magnitude diagram and the Sérsic index n to identify disk galaxies. We characterize bars and disks using r-band images and the method of iterative ellipse fits and quantitative criteria developed in Jogee at al. (2004, ApJL, 615, L105). After excluding highly inclined (i>60°) systems our results are: (1) the optical (r-band) fraction of barred galaxies among local disk galaxies is 43% (Figure 1, left panel), which confirms the ubiquity of local bars, in agreement with other optical studies based on smaller samples (e.g. Eskridge et al 2000, AJ, 119, 536, Marinova & Jogee 2006, astro-ph/0608039); (2) the optical bar fraction rises for bluer galaxies, suggesting a relation between bars and star formation (Figure 1, middle panel); (3) preliminary analyzes suggest that the optical bar fraction increases steeply with the galaxy effective radius (reff, Figure 1, right panel); (4) the optical bar fraction at z ~ 0 is ~35% for bright disks (Mg ≤ −19.3 mag) and strong (bar ellipticity >0.4), large-scale (bar semi-major axis >1.5 kpc) bars, which is comparable to the value of ~30 ± 6% reported earlier (Jogee et al 2004) for similar disks and bars at z ~ 0.2 − 1.0.

The detectability of Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s) with hidden broad-line regions(HBLRs) is still a question open to debate. Using a large sample of 90 Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s) with spectropolarimetric observations (Gu & Huang 2002), we tested the suggestion that the presence of hidden broad-line regions (HBLRs) in Sy2s is dependent upon the Eddington ratio (Nicastro et al. 2003). The stellar velocity dispersion and the extinction-corrected [O III] luminosity are used to derive the masses of central super-massive black holes and the Eddington ratios. The main conclusion are summarized as follows.

Variability phenomenon in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) provides a powerful constrain on their central engine. For a long time the long-term multi-wavelength photometric monitoring plays an important role in obtaining the optical variability of QSOs. However, it just monitors the flux variability in a few points in the wavelength which usually consists of many components including continuum and strong emission line (although the photometric data are accurate). So it is necessary to study the optical spectral variability using spectroscopic monitoring data.

To test the extension of the theory of the Fundamental Plane (FP) proposed by Secco (2000, 2001, 2005) to an higher order (non-linear) we explore the effect on an homogeneous stellar component due to a DM halo with a density profile characterized by an inner slope γ free and an outer slope −3, according to high resolution RCs of Sps (Garrido et al., 2004). The aim is to investigate the role of the dark to bright mass ratio m and of the halo concentration CD in order to produce the maximum of Clausius' Virial potential energy (CV). Particular attention is devoted to the slope of the density halo profile at the maximum location, to its height in comparison with the CV value when the two components coincide, Vn. For all models we choose γ = 0. We follow the general method proposed by Caimmi, 1993 for two striated ellipsoidals with Zhao-density profiles. Virial equilibrium is described by tensor virial equations extended to two components (Caimmi & Secco, 1992). Sequences of CV as function of the ratio baryonic to halo virial semi-axis, numerically performed for different values of m and CD, are taken into account.

We investigate the rotation of dark matter halos identified in ΛCDM simulations. After removing halos that contain a significant amount of substructure, about 82% of the remaining halos were found to undergo coherent rotation over 5h−1 Gyr. The rotation speeds follow a log-normal distribution. The average rotation speed of a halo was 0.11h rads/Gyr. Less than half of the selected halos showed alignment between their rotation and minor axes. We found no correlation between halo properties, such as total mass, and the rotation speed.

Bars are the most important features that redistribute angular momentum and drive secular evolution in disk galaxies. We have derived the distribution of bar strengths in spirals and the Fourier properties of early-type galaxy bars in order to evaluate recent models of bar-halo angular momentum transfer and external gas accretion. A few results are presented here.

Extremely red halos have been detected around high surface brightness (HSB) disk galaxies and blue compact galaxies. We analyse the halo emission of a sample of 970 stacked edge-on low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in the SDSS (DR4) down to μg ~ 30 mag arcsec−2. These are divided by g − r colour limits into a “blue” Sample A (336 galaxies), “yellow” Sample B (318 galaxies) and “red” Sample C (316 galaxies). The gri colours indicate a prominent red excess in the polar direction, strongly deviating from any normal stellar population.

We have developed a code for modeling 3-dimensional kinematical data (i.e., both radial velocity and proper motions) of individual tracers in stellar systems. The code relies on the Schwarzschild method of orbit superposition to find the distribution function (a function of energy, angular momentum, and third integral of motion) that best reproduces all the observations (the positions and velocities of the tracers as well as the overall light distribution) in a given potential. Previous implementations of this method have generally focused on fitting integrated light measurements, instead of data for individual tracers. However, the latter is the only data that are generally available in a large class of problems (e.g., kinematics of tracers in nearby globular clusters, kinematics of planetary nebulae or globular clusters in galaxy halos, etc.). We have performed extensive tests of the fitting process by making use of data generated by a well-tested N-body simulation of an axisymmetric galaxy, quantifying how well the code can recover the known input distribution function and potential.

A statistical population is always associated with the distribution of a random variable. If the distribution is too complex, it is useful to think about a superposition of simpler components. For the stellar velocities, the distribution is generally assumed as a mixture of gaussian distributions, since these are particular solutions of Chandrasekhar equations for statistical equilibrium, easy to interprete dynamically. In any case, the nature of the phase space density function might be explained from the dynamics of large stellar groups, sharing a common potential, through integrals like the energy, the angular momentum, or more general quadratic integrals, rather than from the kinematics of particular groups of stars, such as those producing streaming motions. Another fact to point out is that a well defined population must be adult, that is, well described from some constant and consistent statistics. Otherwise, if a sample estimate varies depending on an external parameter, for example the mean age of a sample, then, either the type of distribution might be exchanged, or the population might be divided into an adequate number of subpopulations.

In this context, the MEMPHIS algorithm (Alcobé & Cubarsi 2005) has demonstrated to be useful in order to identify nearby stellar populations, by using the full space motions of a stellar sample obtained from the Hipparcos catalog (Cubarsi & Alcobé 2004). A sampling parameter, the modulus of the velocity |V|max, produces a hierarchical set of nested samples allowing to detect significant population components of their velocity distribution. Although the method was designed to identify normal distributions, it also provides, as a less prior information pattern, a good approach to segregate non-gaussian populations. The entropy variations of the mixture probability allow us to estimate the number of populations without any prior assumption about such a number, according to the parameters of the Table below (sampling parameter, velocity dispersions, means –in Km s−1– and vertex deviation are displayed in the UVW-cartesian heliocentric coordinates system). The main disk structure is supported by two gaussian populations, thin and thick disk. Two subcomponents were found within the thin disk, which have a high deviation from gaussianity in the radial direction, as a consequence of a non-random behaviour (Cubarsi & Alcobé 2006), but not in the other directions. Old disk stars were obtained as a broad wing of the young-thin disk. All together, with the early-thin population, they make up the thin disk component. In total 2+2 populations, since halo stars were not included in the sample.

The segregated disk populations obtained from applying the MEMPHIS algorithm (Cubarsi & Alcobé, This symposium) to the Hipparcos catalogue are the basis of the following important kinematical results (Cubarsi & Alcobé 2006). In particular, the thick disk population was extrapolated until reaching an asymptotic ideal axisymmetric population. The obtained no net radial motion point had a radial heliocentric velocity of 20 ± 1 Km s−1 toward the galactic anticentre, which is the opposite of the solar radial motion.

According to the obtained population mean velocities, an intriguing question arose: Why the young thin disk population, the continuum of old thin disk stars, and the thick disk, are moving, on average, in the same direction, as belonging to an unique main stream? On the other hand, the early thin disk population, in the region of the Hyades-Pleiades supercluster, remains as an isolated population, with a nearly null radial mean velocity.

The thick disk stars drawn from increasing Hipparcos subsamples showed a decreasing trend of vertex deviation (Cubarsi & Alcobé 2004, Alcobé & Cubarsi 2005), by indicating a clear trend to axial-symmetry. If we assume that the asymptotic thick disk is nearly in steady state, then we can also admit a null radial mean velocity for the oldest thick disk. Thus, in the plane, using galactocentric cylindrical coordinates, with star velocities Π (toward the Galactic anticentre) and Θ (in the rotational direction), the mean velocity of thick disk stars satisfieswhere Π0(cyl) and Θ0(cyl) are the mean velocities of a pure axial population, and ρ is a constant.

The rotation mean velocity of such an ideal axial and steady state thick disk was extrapolated for Π0=Π0(cyl)=0, giving a value of Π0(cyl) = 138 ± 2 Km s−1. Moreover, the progressive partial thick disk populations were also extrapolated in the Π Θ plane, up to the above rotation mean velocity, leading to a solar galactocentric radial velocity of Π⊙ = −20 ± 1 Km s−1.

The centroid of such an asymptotic local thick disk (or local halo) is moving on a circular orbit, similarly to the early-thin disk. The young-thin disk is moving on the most eccentric elliptical orbit. This fact would be consistent with the effect of a Galactic bar moving stars from circular to eccentric orbits, in the journey from the early to the young thin disk. As the stars get older, the disk populations partially lose their average angular momentum, as well as they lose radial motion and increase their velocity dispersion.

Finally, let us remark that the mean radial velocity of the thick disk stars remains explained as the addition of a term due to the non axiality of the system, and a term due to the system's time dependence, which is clearly non-null. Both terms are acting in opposite senses, and are more important for younger than for older stars. The term due to the deviation from axial symmetry increases the radial motion toward the Galactic center, while the time dependent term opposes it, in a trend to recover the axial symmetry, that is reached for the extrapolated population.

In this work, we investigate the dynamical influence that external, triaxial and tumbling halos may exercise on disks that may lie embedded in them. Such halo configurations are noted in cosmological simulations, to typically rotate about their short axes, with tumbling periods of the order of a Hubble time. Thus, such halos can exert a slowly changing external torque on disks, affecting disk evolution in the process. Another source of complex dynamical effects is the probable misalignment between a disk and a triaxial dark halo. In this work, we conduct a series of experiments in which we explore the effect of a slowly changing quadrupolar tidal potential on N-body models of our Galaxy and M31; our particular aim is to check if this can induce disk structures such as bars, spirals and warps!

The estimation of the distribution of the total (luminous and dark) mass in early type systems is hard! Even for the lucky few systems for which kinematic information is available, its implementation is mired in problems, given uncertainties about the assumptions that enter the calculations; the most critical of such assumptions involve considerations of the system geometry and the shape of its velocity ellipsoid. This work offers an independent means of getting to the mass distributions of early type galaxies, without relying directly on the phase space distribution function. The methodology is based upon the well established idea that in elliptical galaxies, the largest variations in normalised velocity dispersion profiles occur typically at R < 0.5Re (Re≡ half-light radius) and at R ≥ 2Re.

LSB galaxies have low metallicities, diffuse stellar disks, and massive HI disks. We have detected molecular gas in two giant LSB galaxies, UGC 6614 and F568-6. A millimeter continuum source has been detected in UGC 6614 as well. At centimeter wavelengths we have detected and mapped the continuum emission from the giant LSB galaxy 1300+0144. The emission is extended about the nucleus and is most likely originating from the AGN in the galaxy. The HI gas distribution and velocity field in 1300+0144 was also mapped. The HI disk extends well beyond the optical disk and appears lopsided in the intensity maps.

We describe a made-to-measure algorithm (χ2M2M) for constructing N-particle models of stellar systems from observational data (De Lorenzi Debattista, Gerhard, et al. (2007)), extending earlier ideas by Syer & Tremaine (1996). The algorithm properly accounts for observational errors. We implemented this algorithm in a parallel code NMAGIC and carried out a sequence of tests to illustrate its power and performance: (i) We reconstructed an isotropic Hernquist (1990) model from density moments and projected kinematics including higher-order Gauss-Hermite moments (Gerhard (1993), van der Marel & Franx (1993)). We gave NMAGIC two initial models, made from distribution function (Debattista & Sellwood (2000)), with different density distributions to start with. While both recovered the correct differential energy distribution and intrinsic kinematics, that with density closer to the density of the final model had smaller final deviations from the target observables, and a narrower distribution of weights. (ii) We built a self-consistent oblate three-integral maximum rotator model and compared how the distribution function is recovered from integral field and slit kinematic data. In these experiments we gave the algorithm a difficult problem to solve. Since the target system was maximally rotating, the weights of all counter-rotating particles were zero. Using density observables and either slit or integral field kinematics, NMAGIC was asked to recover this maximally rotating model starting from an isotropic spherical system. A good fit to the kinematic constraint data was achieved. These experiments also showed the advantage of integral field data over slit data for constraining the model. The different applications show that the χ2M2M algorithm is practical, reliable and can be applied to various systems. High quality dynamical models of galaxies can be achieved which match targets to ~1σ for plausible uncertainties in the observables, and without symmetry restrictions. We conclude that χ2M2M holds great promise for unraveling the nature of galaxies.

We present results from a project aimed at better understanding the kinematics and metallicities of populous clusters in the LMC. In an effort to update previous [Fe/H] determinations, we have utilized FORS2 on the VLT to obtain infrared spectra for more than 200 stars in 28 LMC clusters. The absorption lines of the calcium II triplet were then used to calculate radial velocities and [Fe/H] for a sample of clusters spanning a large range of ages (~ 1-13 Gyr) and metallicities (−0.3 >[Fe/H]> − 2.0). We determine mean cluster velocities to typically 1.6 km s−1 and mean metallicities to 0.04 dex (random error). For eight of these clusters, we report the first spectroscopically determined metallicities based on individual cluster stars, and six of these eight have no published radial velocity measurements. Combining our data with archival HST/WFPC2 photometry, we find the newly measured cluster, NGC 1718, is one of the most metal-poor ([Fe/H] ~ −0.80), intermediate age (~ 2 Gyr) inner disk clusters in the LMC. Similar to what was found by previous authors, this cluster sample has motions consistent with that of a single rotating disk system, with no indication that the newly reported clusters exhibit halo kinematics. Additionally, our findings confirm previous results which show that the LMC lacks the metallicity gradient typically seen in non-barred spiral galaxies, suggesting that the bar is driving the mixing of stellar populations in the LMC. However, in contrast to previous work, we find that the higher metallicity clusters (≥−1.0 dex) in our sample show a very tight distribution (mean [Fe/H] = −0.48, σ = 0.09), with no tail toward solar metallicities. The cluster distribution is similar to what has been found for red giant stars in the bar, which indicates that the bar and the intermediate age clusters have similar star formation histories. This is in good agreement with recent theoretical models that suggest the bar and intermediate age clusters formed as a result of a close encounter with the SMC ~ 4 Gyr ago.

GEMINI-S+CIRPASS configuration has been used to obtain 490 high quality spectra, centred in 1.3 microns of the NW-SE oriented, central 80 × 200 pc of NGC 5236 (M83), with spectral resolution of 3200. We determine the kinematics of this region with 0.36 arcsec sampling, sub-arcsec resolution. Disk-like motions are detected in Paβ at parsec scales around: a) the optical nucleus (ON), b) the dynamical centre of the CO velocity map (Sakamoto et al 2004) coincident with the K–band center (hereafter KC; Thatte et al. 2000), located 50 pc to the W of the optical nucleus, and c) the hidden condensation (hereafter HN; Mast et al. 2006), now more precisely located at 120 pc to the N-NW of the optical nucleus. The disk around ON has a radius of 10–15 pc and those around KC and HN can be traced approximately up to 40-50 pc from their kinematical centres. Rotation curve fittings using Satoh like spheroids give masses of 2–4×106M⊙, 10–15×106M⊙ and 15–20×106M⊙ respectively. N-body simulations using Gadget2 (Springel, 2005) show that ON, KC and HN will merge in 20-50 Myrs. A question that arise immediately is if this degree of dynamical activity is peculiar of M83 or it is a common behaviour, seen in this galaxy in all its dramaticity due to its small distance from us.

We have conducted a 3D imaging spectroscopic survey of 15 nearby Seyfert and control non-active galaxies, using the SAURON Integral Field Unit on the WHT. One goal of the project is to search for dynamical triggers of nuclear activity in nearby galaxies. We present here the preliminary results of the kinematic analysis of the gaseous and stellar velocity fields.

We measured the SCUBA fluxes of a sample of Seyfert 1, Seyfert 2, starburst and normal disc galaxies, taken from the Extended 12 Micron Galaxy Sample. From these data, we determine the entire dust content and temperature distribution of galaxies of different classes through a Planckian inversion technique.

We present preliminary results of the Gemini/GMOS longslit spectra for four radiogalaxies: 3C 135, 3C 180, 3C 234 and 3C 284. These objects are a subsample of a set of galaxies with noticeable extended structure selected from the HST/WFPC2 3CR Snapshot Survey, data taken with the filters F555W, F702W and narrow-ramp. All of these objects show large regions of [Oiii]λ5007 emission (narrow ramp filter) and the broad-band filters data show similar structures indicating the presence of strong emission in several lines over these regions. The morphology observed seems to be related (e.g. same position angle, direct overlapping or similar shape) with the radio-jet. For some candidates with these properties GMOS/Gemini spectroscopy was taken. These data (both HST direct imaging and Gemini spectroscopy) can be tested with diagnostic diagrams and total UV photons budget to understand the source of energy that is ionizing the gas. This source of ionization was commonly believed to be the UV photons emitted by the powerful AGN, but several of these objects shows clearly that shocks produce by the radio jet are the main cause of the observed gas line emission.

Observations in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS) have provided us with a useful set of data in the optical (COMBO-17), near-infrared (GOODS JHK), and mid-infrared (GOODS IRAC bands 1,2) wavelength regimes to test and improve a new spectral galaxy template library, designed to operate in the rest-frame wavelength range between 0.1 and 5 microns. In this range the stellar continuum and emission lines from HII regions dominate the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of galaxies. The new library is based on a self-consistent two-burst model, that has been developed in order to reproduce the star formation histories of different types of galaxies more accurately than single-burst histories and thus provides a better match to real galaxy spectra, as well as more reliable mass-to-light ratios. The spectral library is built by using a population synthesis code (PEGASE) assuming a Kroupa (2003) initial mass function. An old burst of exponentially decaying star formation with an initial metallicity of 0.1 solar is followed by a very recent (60 Myr old) second burst in order to reproduce the spectra of actively star forming blue galaxies. In addition, the templates include dust extinction of various strengths. For the multi-color classification the spectral library is red-shifted between z + 0 and z + 2.5 and converted into the 21 colors which have been observed by COMBO-17 plus its near- and mid-infrared extensions provided by the public GOODS data.