No Arabic abstract
Rings are important and characteristic features of disc-shaped galaxies. This paper is the first in a series which re-visits galactic rings with the goals of further understanding the nature of the features and for examining their role in the secular evolution of galaxy structure. The series begins with a new sample of 3962 galaxies drawn from the Galaxy Zoo 2 citizen science database, selected because zoo volunteers recognized a ring-shaped pattern in the morphology as seen in Sloan Digital Sky Survey colour images. The galaxies are classified within the framework of the Comprehensive de Vaucouleurs revised Hubble-Sandage (CVRHS) system. It is found that zoo volunteers cued on the same kinds of ring-like features that were recognized in the 1995 Catalogue of Southern Ringed Galaxies (CSRG). This paper presents the full catalogue of morphological classifications, comparisons with other sources of classifications, and some histograms designed mainly to highlight the content of the catalogue. The advantages of the sample are its large size and the generally good quality of the images; the main disadvantage is the low physical resolution which limits the detectability of linearly small rings such as nuclear rings. The catalogue includes mainly inner and outer disc rings and lenses. Cataclysmic (encounter-driven) rings (such as ring and polar ring galaxies) are recognized in less than 1% of the sample.
We present the data release for Galaxy Zoo 2 (GZ2), a citizen science project with more than 16 million morphological classifications of 304,122 galaxies drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Morphology is a powerful probe for quantifying a galaxys dynamical history; however, automatic classifications of morphology (either by computer analysis of images or by using other physical parameters as proxies) still have drawbacks when compared to visual inspection. The large number of images available in current surveys makes visual inspection of each galaxy impractical for individual astronomers. GZ2 uses classifications from volunteer citizen scientists to measure morphologies for all galaxies in the DR7 Legacy survey with m_r>17, in addition to deeper images from SDSS Stripe 82. While the original Galaxy Zoo project identified galaxies as early-types, late-types, or mergers, GZ2 measures finer morphological features. These include bars, bulges, and the shapes of edge-on disks, as well as quantifying the relative strengths of galactic bulges and spiral arms. This paper presents the full public data release for the project, including measures of accuracy and bias. The majority (>90%) of GZ2 classifications agree with those made by professional astronomers, especially for morphological T-types, strong bars, and arm curvature. Both the raw and reduced data products can be obtained in electronic format at http://data.galaxyzoo.org .
We present the data release paper for the Galaxy Zoo: Hubble (GZH) project. This is the third phase in a large effort to measure reliable, detailed morphologies of galaxies by using crowdsourced visual classifications of colour composite images. Images in GZH were selected from various publicly-released Hubble Space Telescope Legacy programs conducted with the Advanced Camera for Surveys, with filters that probe the rest-frame optical emission from galaxies out to $z sim 1$. The bulk of the sample is selected to have $m_{I814W} < 23.5$,but goes as faint as $m_{I814W} < 26.8$ for deep images combined over 5 epochs. The median redshift of the combined samples is $z = 0.9 pm 0.6$, with a tail extending out to $z sim 4$. The GZH morphological data include measurements of both bulge- and disk-dominated galaxies, details on spiral disk structure that relate to the Hubble type, bar identification, and numerous measurements of clump identification and geometry. This paper also describes a new method for calibrating morphologies for galaxies of different luminosities and at different redshifts by using artificially-redshifted galaxy images as a baseline. The GZH catalogue contains both raw and calibrated morphological vote fractions for 119,849 galaxies, providing the largest dataset to date suitable for large-scale studies of galaxy evolution out to $z sim 1$.
Though S0 galaxies are usually thought to be `red and dead, they demonstrate often star formation organized in ring structures. We try to clarify the nature of this phenomenon and its difference from star formation in spiral galaxies. The moderate-luminosity nearby S0 galaxy, NGC 4513, is studied here. By applying long-slit spectroscopy along the major axis of NGC 4513, we have measured gas and star kinematics, Lick indices for the main body of the galaxy, and strong emission-line flux ratios in the ring. After inspecting the gas excitation in the ring using the line ratios diagnostic diagrams and have assured that it is ionized by young stars, we have determined the gas oxygen abundance by using popular strong-line calibration methods. We have estimated star formation rate (SFR) in the outer ring by using the archival Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) ultraviolet images of the galaxy. The ionized gas counterrotates the stars over the whole extension of NGC 4513 so being accreted from outside. The gas metallicity in the ring is slightly subsolar, [O/H]=-0.2 dex, matching the metallicity of the stellar component of the main galactic disc. However the stellar component of the ring is much more massive than can be explained by the current star formation level in the ring. We conclude that probably the ring of NGC 4513 is a result of tidal disruption of a massive gas-rich satellite, or it may be a consequence of a long star-formation event provoked by a gas accretion from a cosmological filament having started some 3 Gyr ago.
We use an information theoretic framework to analyze data from the Galaxy Zoo 2 project and study if there are any statistically significant correlations between the presence of bars in spiral galaxies and their environment. We measure the mutual information between the barredness of galaxies and their environments in a volume limited sample ($M_r leq -21$) and compare it with the same in datasets where (i) the bar/unbar classifications are randomized and (ii) the spatial distribution of galaxies are shuffled on different length scales. We assess the statistical significance of the differences in the mutual information using a t-test and find that both randomization of morphological classifications and shuffling of spatial distribution do not alter the mutual information in a statistically significant way. The non-zero mutual information between barredness and environment arises due to the finite and discrete nature of the dataset which can be entirely explained by mock Poisson distributions. We also separately compare the cumulative distribution functions of the barred and unbarred galaxies as a function of their local density. Using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we find that the null hypothesis can not be rejected even at $75%$ confidence level. Our analysis indicates that environments do not play a significant role in the formation of a bar, which is largely determined by the internal processes of the host galaxy.
We present results from the first twelve months of operation of Radio Galaxy Zoo, which upon completion will enable visual inspection of over 170,000 radio sources to determine the host galaxy of the radio emission and the radio morphology. Radio Galaxy Zoo uses $1.4,$GHz radio images from both the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters (FIRST) and the Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) in combination with mid-infrared images at $3.4,mu$m from the {it Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer} (WISE) and at $3.6,mu$m from the {it Spitzer Space Telescope}. We present the early analysis of the WISE mid-infrared colours of the host galaxies. For images in which there is $>,75%$ consensus among the Radio Galaxy Zoo cross-identifications, the project participants are as effective as the science experts at identifying the host galaxies. The majority of the identified host galaxies reside in the mid-infrared colour space dominated by elliptical galaxies, quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), and luminous infrared radio galaxies (LIRGs). We also find a distinct population of Radio Galaxy Zoo host galaxies residing in a redder mid-infrared colour space consisting of star-forming galaxies and/or dust-enhanced non star-forming galaxies consistent with a scenario of merger-driven active galactic nuclei (AGN) formation. The completion of the full Radio Galaxy Zoo project will measure the relative populations of these hosts as a function of radio morphology and power while providing an avenue for the identification of rare and extreme radio structures. Currently, we are investigating candidates for radio galaxies with extreme morphologies, such as giant radio galaxies, late-type host galaxies with extended radio emission, and hybrid morphology radio sources.