Univ., Diss--Bonn, 2001.

Fotometria fotográfica superficial no sistema BV foi realizada para duas galáxias SO's do hemisfério sul, NGC 2855 e NGC 6771. Foram obtidos mapas de isofptas nas duas cores e determinados parâmetros geométricos e integrados característicos das galáxias, tais como ângulo fr posição, inclinação, diâmetros, magnitudes e cores integradas. / Photografic surface photometry in the BV system was made for two southern SO's galaxies, NGC 2855 and NGC 6771. Isophote B and V maps were obtained as well as geometric and integrated parameters as position angles, inclination, diameters, magnitudes and integrated colors.

Fotometria fotográfica superficial no sistema BV foi realizada para duas galáxias SO's do hemisfério sul, NGC 2855 e NGC 6771. Foram obtidos mapas de isofptas nas duas cores e determinados parâmetros geométricos e integrados característicos das galáxias, tais como ângulo fr posição, inclinação, diâmetros, magnitudes e cores integradas. / Photografic surface photometry in the BV system was made for two southern SO's galaxies, NGC 2855 and NGC 6771. Isophote B and V maps were obtained as well as geometric and integrated parameters as position angles, inclination, diameters, magnitudes and integrated colors.

Fotometria fotográfica superficial no sistema BV foi realizada para duas galáxias SO's do hemisfério sul, NGC 2855 e NGC 6771. Foram obtidos mapas de isofptas nas duas cores e determinados parâmetros geométricos e integrados característicos das galáxias, tais como ângulo fr posição, inclinação, diâmetros, magnitudes e cores integradas. / Photografic surface photometry in the BV system was made for two southern SO's galaxies, NGC 2855 and NGC 6771. Isophote B and V maps were obtained as well as geometric and integrated parameters as position angles, inclination, diameters, magnitudes and integrated colors.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / This work focuses on generating a new dynamical model of the nearby (9.5 Mpc) interacting galaxy system NGC 1512/1510. Neutral hydrogen (H i ) observations from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) are used to model the dynamics of the main H i disk using two routines, the two and three-dimensional modeling techniques. For the two-dimensional modeling technique, we adopt ROTCUR which is based on fitting a tilted ring model onto the 2D velocity field of the galaxy. The three-dimensional modeling routine used is 3DBarolo, which is a recently developed algorithm of fitting 3D tilted ring model to the full data cube. We note that the 2D approach fails to model the inclination profile of NGC 1512. Thus, a new rotation curve is generated using the three-dimensional modeling routine only i.e. by fitting a 3D tilted ring model to the H i line data cube of NGC 1512/1510.

This thesis is a detailed, multi-waveband study of the inner 14 kpc of the famous spiral galaxy, NCG 891. The primary data have come from the Infrared Space Observatory's Camera. These data are images of the galaxy in 9 different mid-infrared wavebands. We have supported these data with archived data from the Spitzer Infrared Array Camera in 4 similar wavebands. Surface brightness contour maps of the galaxy were created and examined to determine where the mid-infrared emitters are located with respect to the galactic plane. We have determined that the main mid-infrared emission, due to warm dust and PAHs, lies in a thin disk of width 700 - 800 pc, but has faint emission that reaches up to about 2.3 kpc into the halo. The infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) for four environments in NGC 891 were created from the above mentioned wavebands as well as measurements from Spitzer's Multiband Imaging Photometer (3 Far-Infrared wavebands), the Two Micron All Sky Survey J, H, and K near-infrared wavebands, and the Sub-millimeter Common User Bolometer Array 450 and 850 $\mu$m bands. These spectra were fit with a SED model created by Frederic Galliano, and the physical properties of these environments were computed. The maps and SED show that while there is a relatively large amount of dust in NGC 891's halo, there is a depletion of PAHs beyond 2.3 kpc from the mid-plane. This is only the fourth galaxy to date that has PAH emission discovered in the halo, and it is the first in which the SED has been modeled for the halo. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2007-08-15 22:39:02.167

Estudamos, através de fotometria superficial CCD em B, V, R e I, quatro galáxias espirais, classificadas como barradas, com tipos morfológicos entre Sa e Se: NGC 6835, NGC 5757, IC 1091 e NGC 7412. Para cada galáxia, obtivemos mapas de isofotas e, através do ajuste de elipses às isofotas, determinamos parâmetros como inclinação, orientação no céu e diâmetros. Pelo ajuste de curvas padrões de crescimento às magnitudes integradas, obtivemos magnitudes totais em B e V. Traçamos diferentes tipos de perfis de brilho, tais como perfis de luminosidade ao longo dos eixos maior e menor das galáxias e/ou das barras, perfis de luminosidade promediados elipticamente e perfis azimutais. Os perfis nas direções das barras mostraram que o brilho superficial ao longo dessas componentes decresce de maneira uniforme, com um gradiente quase exponencial, e que é mais íngreme em I do que em B. Decompusemos os perfis de luminosidade médios em componentes bojo e disco, ajustando leis de De Vaucouleurs e exponencial. Os perfis azimutais foram estudados com análise de Fourier para determinar as componentes dominantes na região da barra. Traçamos perfis em várias cores ao longo dos eixos principais das galáxias e constatamos que três delas têm núcleo azul, sugerindo ser esse um fenômeno comum em galáxias barradas. Comparamos as cores nucleares com modelos de síntese de população estelar, o que mostrou que aconteceram eventos de formação estelar nesses núcleos nos últimos 108 anos. / We obtained CCD surface photometry in the B, V, R, I wavebands, for four barred spiral galaxies with morphological types ranging from Sa to Se: NGC 6835, NGC 5757, IC 1091, and NGC 7412. For each galaxy we obtained isophote maps, inclination, orientatión, and diameters. We determined B and V total magnitudes by fitting standard growth curves to integrated magnitudes. We determined different kinds of luminosity profiles, · such as luminosity profiles along the major and minor axis of the galaxies and/or the bars, elliptically averaged luminosity profiles and azimuthal profiles. The profiles along the major axis of the bars showed that the surface brightness along these components decreases smoothly; the gradient is almost exponential and steeper in I than in B. We decomposed the mean luminosity profiles in contributions from bulge and disc, using as fitting functions de Vaucouleurs' law and an exponentiallaw. The azimuthal profiles were studied by Fourier transformations to determine the main components in the bar region. Color profiles along the principal axis of the galaxies revealed that three of them have blue nucleus, suggesting · this is a common phenomenon among barred galaxies. A comparison of the nuclear colors with models of stellar population synthesis showed that bursts of star formation occurred in these nuclei during the last 108 years.

In the current era of “precision cosmology”, measuring the expansion rate of the Universe (Hubble constant, or H0) more accurately and precisely helps to better constrain the properties of dark energy. Cepheid-based distances are a critical step in the Extragalactic Distance Scale and have been recently used to measure H0 with a total uncertainty of only 3.4%. I will present my work on Cepheid variables in three different galaxies as part of this effort. NGC 4258 is a galaxy with a very precise and accurate distance (3% uncertainty) based on radio interferometric observations of water masers orbiting its central massive black hole. Therefore, it can be used to obtain a robust absolute calibration of the Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation. I analyzed observations of NGC 4258 obtained at Gemini North over four years and increased the number of long-period Cepheids (P>45 days) known in this galaxy. NGC 5584 was the host of type Ia SN 2007af. I applied a difference imaging technique to Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of this galaxy and discovered several hundred Cepheids. I compared my results with previous work based on traditional PSF photometry. The distance estimates of the two samples matched within the errors of the measurements, and so the difference imaging technique was a success. Additionally, I validated the first “white-light” variability search with the HST F350LP filter for discovering Cepheids. NGC 4921 is located in the heart of the Coma cluster at a distance of about 100 Mpc. I conducted a search for Cepheid variables using HST, extending the reach of Hubble by a factor of 3 relative to previous Cepheid work. Since Coma is in the Hubble flow, this approach eliminates the need for a secondary distance indicator and enables a direct determination of H0 based exclusively on a Cepheid distance. I present preliminary results from this challenging project.

Estudamos, através de fotometria superficial CCD em B, V, R e I, quatro galáxias espirais, classificadas como barradas, com tipos morfológicos entre Sa e Se: NGC 6835, NGC 5757, IC 1091 e NGC 7412. Para cada galáxia, obtivemos mapas de isofotas e, através do ajuste de elipses às isofotas, determinamos parâmetros como inclinação, orientação no céu e diâmetros. Pelo ajuste de curvas padrões de crescimento às magnitudes integradas, obtivemos magnitudes totais em B e V. Traçamos diferentes tipos de perfis de brilho, tais como perfis de luminosidade ao longo dos eixos maior e menor das galáxias e/ou das barras, perfis de luminosidade promediados elipticamente e perfis azimutais. Os perfis nas direções das barras mostraram que o brilho superficial ao longo dessas componentes decresce de maneira uniforme, com um gradiente quase exponencial, e que é mais íngreme em I do que em B. Decompusemos os perfis de luminosidade médios em componentes bojo e disco, ajustando leis de De Vaucouleurs e exponencial. Os perfis azimutais foram estudados com análise de Fourier para determinar as componentes dominantes na região da barra. Traçamos perfis em várias cores ao longo dos eixos principais das galáxias e constatamos que três delas têm núcleo azul, sugerindo ser esse um fenômeno comum em galáxias barradas. Comparamos as cores nucleares com modelos de síntese de população estelar, o que mostrou que aconteceram eventos de formação estelar nesses núcleos nos últimos 108 anos. / We obtained CCD surface photometry in the B, V, R, I wavebands, for four barred spiral galaxies with morphological types ranging from Sa to Se: NGC 6835, NGC 5757, IC 1091, and NGC 7412. For each galaxy we obtained isophote maps, inclination, orientatión, and diameters. We determined B and V total magnitudes by fitting standard growth curves to integrated magnitudes. We determined different kinds of luminosity profiles, · such as luminosity profiles along the major and minor axis of the galaxies and/or the bars, elliptically averaged luminosity profiles and azimuthal profiles. The profiles along the major axis of the bars showed that the surface brightness along these components decreases smoothly; the gradient is almost exponential and steeper in I than in B. We decomposed the mean luminosity profiles in contributions from bulge and disc, using as fitting functions de Vaucouleurs' law and an exponentiallaw. The azimuthal profiles were studied by Fourier transformations to determine the main components in the bar region. Color profiles along the principal axis of the galaxies revealed that three of them have blue nucleus, suggesting · this is a common phenomenon among barred galaxies. A comparison of the nuclear colors with models of stellar population synthesis showed that bursts of star formation occurred in these nuclei during the last 108 years.

Estudamos, através de fotometria superficial CCD em B, V, R e I, quatro galáxias espirais, classificadas como barradas, com tipos morfológicos entre Sa e Se: NGC 6835, NGC 5757, IC 1091 e NGC 7412. Para cada galáxia, obtivemos mapas de isofotas e, através do ajuste de elipses às isofotas, determinamos parâmetros como inclinação, orientação no céu e diâmetros. Pelo ajuste de curvas padrões de crescimento às magnitudes integradas, obtivemos magnitudes totais em B e V. Traçamos diferentes tipos de perfis de brilho, tais como perfis de luminosidade ao longo dos eixos maior e menor das galáxias e/ou das barras, perfis de luminosidade promediados elipticamente e perfis azimutais. Os perfis nas direções das barras mostraram que o brilho superficial ao longo dessas componentes decresce de maneira uniforme, com um gradiente quase exponencial, e que é mais íngreme em I do que em B. Decompusemos os perfis de luminosidade médios em componentes bojo e disco, ajustando leis de De Vaucouleurs e exponencial. Os perfis azimutais foram estudados com análise de Fourier para determinar as componentes dominantes na região da barra. Traçamos perfis em várias cores ao longo dos eixos principais das galáxias e constatamos que três delas têm núcleo azul, sugerindo ser esse um fenômeno comum em galáxias barradas. Comparamos as cores nucleares com modelos de síntese de população estelar, o que mostrou que aconteceram eventos de formação estelar nesses núcleos nos últimos 108 anos. / We obtained CCD surface photometry in the B, V, R, I wavebands, for four barred spiral galaxies with morphological types ranging from Sa to Se: NGC 6835, NGC 5757, IC 1091, and NGC 7412. For each galaxy we obtained isophote maps, inclination, orientatión, and diameters. We determined B and V total magnitudes by fitting standard growth curves to integrated magnitudes. We determined different kinds of luminosity profiles, · such as luminosity profiles along the major and minor axis of the galaxies and/or the bars, elliptically averaged luminosity profiles and azimuthal profiles. The profiles along the major axis of the bars showed that the surface brightness along these components decreases smoothly; the gradient is almost exponential and steeper in I than in B. We decomposed the mean luminosity profiles in contributions from bulge and disc, using as fitting functions de Vaucouleurs' law and an exponentiallaw. The azimuthal profiles were studied by Fourier transformations to determine the main components in the bar region. Color profiles along the principal axis of the galaxies revealed that three of them have blue nucleus, suggesting · this is a common phenomenon among barred galaxies. A comparison of the nuclear colors with models of stellar population synthesis showed that bursts of star formation occurred in these nuclei during the last 108 years.