The luminosity function of galaxies in the Las Campanas Redshift Survey

被引:282
作者
Lin, H
Kirshner, RP
Shectman, SA
Landy, SD
Oemler, A
Tucker, DL
Schechter, PL
机构
[1] HARVARD SMITHSONIAN CTR ASTROPHYS, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138 USA
[2] CARNEGIE INST WASHINGTON OBSERV, PASADENA, CA 91101 USA
[3] YALE UNIV, DEPT ASTRON, NEW HAVEN, CT 06520 USA
[4] ASTROPHYS INST POTSDAM, D-14482 POTSDAM, GERMANY
[5] MIT, DEPT PHYS, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 USA
关键词
cosmology; observations; galaxies; distances and redshifts; luminosity function; mass function; surveys;
D O I
10.1086/177300
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
We present the r-band luminosity function for a sample of 18,678 galaxies, with average redshift z = 0.1, from the Las Campanas Redshift Survey (LCRS). The luminosity function may be fitted by a Schechter function with M* = -20.29 +/- 0.02 + 5 log h, alpha = -0.70 +/- 0.05, and phi* = 0.019 +/- 0.001 h(3) Mpc(-3), for absolute magnitudes -23.0 less than or equal to M - 5 log h less than or equal to -17.5 and h = H-0/(100 km s(-1) Mpc(-1)). Over the same absolute magnitude range, the mean galaxy density is 0.029 +/- 0.002 h(3) Mpc(-3) for a volume extending to cz = 60,000 km s(-1). We compare our luminosity function to that from other redshift surveys; in particular, our luminosity function normalization is consistent with that of the Stromlo-APM survey and is therefore a factor of 2 below the normalization implied by the b(J) approximate to 20 bright galaxy counts. Our normalization thus indicates that much more evolution is needed to match the faint galaxy count data, compared to minimal evolution models that normalize at b(J) approximate to 20. Also, we show that our faint-end slope alpha = -0.7, though ''shallower'' than typical previous values alpha = -1, results primarily from fitting the detailed shape of the LCRS luminosity function, rather than from any absence of intrinsically faint galaxies from our survey. Finally, we find that the faint end of the luminosity function is dominated by galaxies with emission lines. Using [O II] lambda 3727 equivalent width W-lambda = 5 Angstrom as the dividing line, we find significant differences in the luminosity functions of emission and nonemission galaxies, particularly in their alpha values; emission galaxies have Schechter parameters M* = -20.03 +/- 0.03 + 5 log h and alpha = -0.9 +/- 0.1, while nonemission galaxies are described by M* = -20.22 +/- 0.02 + 5 log h and alpha = -0.3 + 0.1. The average [O II] lambda 23727 equivalent widths do not change significantly with redshift, consistent with a star formation rate that stays constant over the depths sampled by the LCRS. This result holds for galaxies of different luminosities and over the respective redshift ranges that these galaxies may be observed, in particular up to about z = 0.2 for galaxies brighter than M*.
引用
收藏
页码:60 / 78
页数:19
相关论文
共 57 条
  • [1] ON DWARF ELLIPTIC GALAXIES AND THE FAINT BLUE COUNTS
    BABUL, A
    REES, MJ
    [J]. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 1992, 255 (02) : 346 - 350
  • [2] BINGGELI B, 1988, ANNU REV ASTRON ASTR, V26, P509
  • [3] THE DURHAM ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN TELESCOPE FAINT GALAXY REDSHIFT SURVEY
    BROADHURST, TJ
    ELLIS, RS
    SHANKS, T
    [J]. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 1988, 235 (03) : 827 - 856
  • [4] FAINT GALAXIES - EVOLUTION AND COSMOLOGICAL CURVATURE
    BROADHURST, TJ
    ELLIS, RS
    GLAZEBROOK, K
    [J]. NATURE, 1992, 355 (6355) : 55 - 58
  • [5] Galaxy cluster virial masses and Omega
    Carlberg, RG
    Yee, HKC
    Ellingson, E
    Abraham, R
    Gravel, P
    Morris, S
    Pritchet, CJ
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 1996, 462 (01) : 32 - 49
  • [6] HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING OF FAINT BLUE GALAXIES
    COLLESS, M
    SCHADE, D
    BROADHURST, TJ
    ELLIS, RS
    [J]. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 1994, 267 (04) : 1108 - 1120
  • [7] FAINT BLUE GALAXIES - HIGH OR LOW REDSHIFT
    COLLESS, M
    ELLIS, RS
    BROADHURST, TJ
    TAYLOR, K
    PETERSON, BA
    [J]. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 1993, 261 (01) : 19 - 38
  • [8] COLLESS M, 1990, MON NOT R ASTRON SOC, V244, P408
  • [9] COLLESS M, 1995, WIDE FIELD SPECTROSC, P263
  • [10] WERE SMALL GALAXIES ONCE THE DOMINANT COSMOLOGICAL POPULATION
    COWIE, LL
    SONGAILA, A
    HU, EM
    [J]. NATURE, 1991, 354 (6353) : 460 - 461