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It has been suggested that the gravitational potential can have a significant role in suppressing the star formation in the nearby galaxies. To establish observational constrains on this scenario, we investigate the connection between the dynamics, through the circular velocity curves (CVCs) as a proxy of the inner gravitational potential, and star formation quenching in 215 non-active galaxies across Hubble sequence from the Calar Alto Legacy Integral Field Area (CALIFA) survey. Our results show that galaxies with similar CVCs tend to have a certain star-formation quenching pattern. To explore these findings in more details, we construct kpc-resolved relations of the equivalent width of the H$\alpha$ ($W_{{\rm H}\alpha}$) versus the amplitude ($V_c$) and shape ($\beta= d\ln V_c/ d\ln R$) of the circular velocity at given radius. We find that the $W_{{\rm H}\alpha}-V_c$ is a declining relationship, where the retired regions of the galaxies (the ones with $W_{{\rm H}\alpha}$ values below 3 \r{A}) tend to have higher $V_c$. Differently, $W_{{\rm H}\alpha}-\beta$ is a bi-modal relationship, characterised by two peaks: concentration of the star forming regions at a positive $\beta$ (rising CVC) and another one of the retired regions with a negative $\beta$ (declining CVC). Our results show that both the amplitude of the CVC, driven by the mass of the galaxies, and the shape of the CVC, reflecting the internal structure of the galaxies, play an important role in galaxy's quenching history., Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

The mechanisms that bring galaxies to strongly reduce their star formation activity (star-formation quenching) is still poorly understood. To better study galaxy evolution, we propose a classification based on the maps of the ionised hydrogen distribution, traced by kpc-resolved, equivalent width of H$\alpha$ maps, and the nuclear activity of the galaxies using information from the BPT diagnostic diagrams. Using these tools, we group a sample of 238 galaxies from the CALIFA survey in six quenching stages (QS): objects dominated by recent star formation; systems that present a quiescent-nuclear-ring structure in their centre; galaxies that are centrally-quiescent; galaxies with no clear pattern in their ionisation gas distribution - mixed; systems that posses only a few star-forming regions - nearly-retired, or galaxies that are completely quiescent - fully-retired. Regarding their nuclear activity, we further divide the galaxies into two groups - active systems that host a weak or strong AGN in their centre, and non-active objects. Galaxies grouped into quenching stage classes occupy specific locations on the star-formation-rate versus stellar mass diagram. The "Blue cloud" is populated by the star-forming and the quiescent-nuclear-ring galaxies, the "Green valley" is populated by centrally-quiescent and mixed systems, "Red sequence" by the nearly- and fully-retired objects. Generally, galaxies that host a weak or strong AGN show properties, comparable to the non-active counterparts at the same quenching stages, except for the AGN-hosting star-forming systems. The degree of the star-formation quenching increases along the present emission-line pattern sequence from star-forming to fully-retired. The proposed emission-line classes reinforce the "inside-out" quenching scenario, which foresees that the suppression of the star-formation begins from the central regions of the galaxies., Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in A&A

We have carried out a survey of compact star clusters (apparent size <3 arcsec) in the southwest part of the M31 galaxy, based on the high-resolution Suprime-Cam images (17.5 arcmin x 28.5 arcmin), covering ~15% of the deprojected galaxy disk area. The UBVRI photometry of 285 cluster candidates (V < 20.5 mag) was performed using frames of the Local Group Galaxies Survey. The final sample, containing 238 high probability star cluster candidates (typical half-light radius r_h ~ 1.5 pc), was selected by specifying a lower limit of r_h > 0.15 arcsec (>0.6 pc). We derived cluster parameters based on the photometric data and multiband images by employing simple stellar population models. The clusters have a wide range of ages from ~5 Myr (young objects associated with 24 um and/or Ha emission) to ~10 Gyr (globular cluster candidates), and possess mass in a range of 3.0 < log(m/M_sol) < 4.3 peaking at m ~ 4000 M_sol. Typical age of these intermediate-mass clusters is in the range of 30 Myr < t < 3 Gyr, with a prominent peak at ~70 Myr. These findings suggest a rich intermediate-mass star cluster population in M31, which appears to be scarce in the Milky Way galaxy., Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ

A new survey of star clusters in the South-West field of the M31 disk based on the high resolution Subaru Suprime-Cam observations is presented. The UBVRI aperture CCD photometry catalog of 285 objects (V < 20.5; 169 of them identified for the first time) is provided. Each object is supplemented with multi-band color maps presented in the electronic edition of the Astrophysical Journal Supplement. Seventy seven star cluster candidates from the catalog are located in the Hubble Space Telescope archive frames., Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables; full version of Table 2 included

The King and the EFF (Elson, Fall & Freeman 1987) analytical models are employed to determine the structural parameters of star clusters using an 1-D surface brightness profile fitting method. The structural parameters are derived and a catalogue is provided for 51 star cluster candidates from the survey of compact star clusters in the South-West field of the M31 disk performed by Kodaira et al. (2004)., Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 1 table

A study of aperture size effects on star cluster photometry in crowded fields is presented. Tests were performed on a sample of 285 star cluster candidates in the South-West field of the M31 galaxy disk, measured in the Local Group Galaxy Survey mosaic images (Massey et al. 2006). In the majority of cases the derived UBVRI photometry errors represent the accuracy of cluster colors well, however, for faint objects, residing in crowded environments, uncertainties of colors could be underestimated. Therefore, prior to deriving cluster parameters via a comparison of measured colors with SSP models, biases of colors, arising due to background crowding, must be taken into account. A comparison of our photometry data with Hubble Space Telescope observations of the clusters by Krienke and Hodge (2007) is provided., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

We present structural parameters for 51 compact star clusters from the survey of star clusters conducted in the South-West field of the M31 disk by Kodaira et al. (2004). Structural parameters of the clusters were derived by fitting the 2-D King and EFF (Elson, Fall and Freeman 1987) models to the V-band cluster images. Structural parameters derived for two M31 clusters, which are in common with the study based on the HST data (Barmby et al. 2002), are consistent with earlier determination. The M31 star cluster structural parameters in general are compatible with the corresponding Milky Way galaxy and Magellanic Clouds cluster parameters., Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables

We study the effects of dusty spiral arms on the photometric properties of disk galaxies using a series of 2D radiative transfer models, approximating the arms with axially symmetrical rings. We find that dusty arms, as well as dusty disks, have a significant influence on the aperture photometry and surface brightness profiles altering colors of model galaxies. We suggest that, in addition to the conventionally modeled diffuse absorbing layers or disks, the dusty arms should be taken into account in spiral galaxy extinction studies., Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, published in Baltic Astronomy

We present the results of UBVRI broad-band aperture CCD photometry of 51 compact star clusters located in the South-West part of the M31 disk. The mean rms errors of all measured star cluster colors are less than 0.02 mag. In color vs. color diagrams the star clusters show significantly tighter sequences when compared with the photometric data from the compiled catalog of the M31 star clusters published by Galleti et al. (2004)., Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, 1 table

The Subaru Deep Field (SDF) project is a program of Subaru Observatory to carry out a deep galaxy survey over a blank field as large as 34'x27'. The program consists of very deep multi-band optical imaging, near infrared imaging for smaller portions of the field and follow-up optical spectroscopy. Major scientific goals of the project are to construct large samples of Lyman-break galaxies at z~4-5 and Lyman alpha emitters at z~5.7 and 6.6, and to make detailed studies these very high-redshift galaxy populations. In this paper, we describe the optical imaging observations and data reduction, presenting mosaicked images and object catalogs in seven bandpasses.The optical imaging was made through five broad-band filters, B, V, R, i', z', and two narrow-band filters, NB816 (lambda_c=8150A) and NB921 (lambda_c=9196A) with almost 10 hours long integrations for each band. The limiting magnitudes measured at 3-sigma on a 2" aperture are B=28.45, V=27.74, R=27.80, i'=27.43, z'=26.62, NB816=26.63, and NB921=26.54 in the AB system. The object catalog constructed for each of the seven bands contains more than 10^5 objects. The galaxy number counts corrected for detection incompleteness and star count contribution are found to be consistent with previous results in the literature. The mosaicked images and catalogs of all the bands have been made open to the public on Oct. 1, 2004 on the SDF project website at http://soaps.naoj.org/sdf/., Comment: 18 pages, 10figures, accepted for publication in PASJ, and see also http://step.mtk.nao.ac.jp/sdf/ [Japan site], http://soaps.naoj.org/sdf/ [US site]

We report on the discovery of a star-forming galaxy at z=6.33 in the Subaru Deep Field. This object is selected as a candidate of an i'-dropout, high-redshift galaxy around z=6 because of its red i'-z' color in our deep optical imaging survey in the Subaru Deep Field. Our follow up optical spectroscopy reveals that this object is a strong Ly-alpha emitter with only very faint ultraviolet continuum. The rest-frame equivalent width of the detected Ly-alpha emission is as much as 130 A. Thus the light detected in our z' image is largely attributed to the Ly-alpha emission, i.e., ~40% of the z'-band flux is the strong Ly-alpha emission, giving a very red i'-z' color. This is consistent with the photometric property of this object because the narrow-band data obtained with the NB921 filter shows a significant depression, z'-NB921 = -0.54 mag. By using the photometric data, we show that some other objects among the 48 i'-dropout high-redshift galaxy candidates found in the Subaru Deep Field also show a significant NB921 depression. We briefly discuss the nature of these NB921-depressed objects., Comment: 13 pages including 3 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journal Letters

We present new results of a deep optical imaging survey using a narrowband filter ($NB921$) centered at $\lambda =$ 9196 \AA ~ together with $B$, $V$, $R$, $i^\prime$, and $z^\prime$ broadband filters in the sky area of the Subaru Deep Field which has been promoted as one of legacy programs of the 8.2m Subaru Telescope. We obtained a photometric sample of 58 Ly$\alpha$ emitter candidates at $z \approx$ 6.5 -- 6.6 among $\sim 180$ strong $NB921$-excess ($z^\prime - NB921 > 1.0$) objects together with a color criterion of $i^\prime - z^\prime > 1.3$. We then obtained optical spectra of 20 objects in our $NB921$-excess sample and identified at least nine Ly$\alpha$ emitters at $z \sim 6.5$ -- 6.6 including the two emitters reported by Kodaira et al. (2003). Since our Ly$\alpha$ emitter candidates are free from strong amplification of gravitational lensing, we are able to discuss their observational properties from a statistical point of view. Based on these new results, we obtain a lower limit of the star formation rate density of $\rho_{\rm SFR} \simeq 5.5 \times 10^{-4}$ $h_{0.7}$ $M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-3}$ at $z \approx 6.6$, being consistent with our previous estimate. We discuss the nature of star-formation activity in galaxies beyond $z=6$., Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, PASJ, Vol. 57, No. 1, in press

We report the discovery of a large-scale structure of Lyman alpha emitters (LAEs) at z=4.86 based on wide-field imaging with the prime-focus camera (Suprime-Cam) on the Subaru telescope. We observed a 25' x 45' area of the Subaru Deep Field in a narrow band (NB, lambdaC=7126 A and FWHM=73 A) together with R and i'. We isolate from these data 43 LAE candidates down to NB=25.5 mag using color criteria. Follow-up spectroscopy of five candidates suggests the contamination by low-z objects to be ~ 20%. We find that the LAE candidates are clustered in an elongated region on the sky of 20 Mpc in width and 50 Mpc in length at z=4.86, which is comparable in size to present-day large-scale structures (we adopt H0=70 km/s/Mpc, Omega0=0.3, lambda0=0.7). This elongated region includes a circular region of 12 Mpc radius of higher surface overdensity (delta=2), which may be the progenitor of a cluster of galaxies. Assuming this circular region to be a sphere with a spatial overdensity of 2, we compare our observation with predictions by Cold Dark Matter models. We find that an Omega0=0.3 flat model with sigma8=0.9 predicts the number of such spheres consistent with the observed number (one sphere in our survey volume) if the bias parameter of LAEs is b \simeq 6. This value suggests that the typical mass of dark haloes hosting LAEs at z \simeq 5 is of the order of 10^12 Msolar. Such a large mass poses an interesting question about the nature of LAEs., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, uses emulateapj5.sty, ApJL, accepted

We have performed a deep optical imaging survey using a narrowband filter ($NB921$) centered at $\lambda =$ 9196 \AA ~ together with $i^\prime$ and $z^\prime$ broadband filters covering an 814 arcmin$^2$ area of the Subaru Deep Field. We obtained a sample of 73 strong $NB921$-excess objects based on the following two color criteria; $z^\prime - NB921 > 1$ and $i^\prime - z^\prime > 1.3$. We then obtained optical spectroscopy of nine objects in our $NB921$-excess sample, and identified at least two Ly$\alpha$ emitters at$z=6.541 \pm 0.002$ and $z=6.578 \pm 0.002$, each of which shows the characteristic sharp cutoff together with the continuum depression at wavelengths shortward of the line peak. The latter object is more distant than HCM-6A at $z=6.56$ and thus this is the most distant known object found so far. These new data allow us to estimate the first meaningful lower limit of the star formation rate density beyond redshift 6; $\rho_{\rm SFR} \sim 5.2 \times 10^{-4} M_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-3}$. Since it is expected that the actual density is higher by a factor of several than this value, our new observation reveals that a moderately high level of star formation activity already occurred at $z \sim$ 6.6., Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. PASJ (Letters), 55, vol.2, in press

We report on early results from deep and wide-field narrow-band imaging on a 543 arcmin^2 area of the Subaru Deep Field. We find 87 Lya emitters (LAEs) at z=4.86(+/-0.03) which are photometrically selected by a combination of two broad bands (R and i') and one narrow band (NB711; 7126A FWHM=73A). We derive the luminosity functions (LFs) of the LAEs at Lya luminosity and at UV-continuum (1700A) luminosity. The LFs show little evolution between z=3.4 and z=4.86 either in Lya or UV-continuum emission. The amplitude of the LAE LF tends to decline at the bright magnitudes more rapidly than that of the LBG LF at similar redshifts. We calculate the angular correlation function of our LAEs up to ~15 arcmin separations. The angular correlation w(theta) is found to increase with decreasing angular separations, showing a clear signal of clustering. It is also found that the distribution of LAEs shows a large density gradient with a scale of >~15 arcmin, which would indicate the existence of a large-scale structure of LAEs on >~20h^(-1) Mpc scales.We fit the observed correlation function by Aw theta^(-0.8) to find Aw=29arcsec^(0.8). The estimated correlation length is r0=3.5(+/-0.3)h^(-1)Mpc in comoving units (Omega_m=0.3 and Omega_Lambda=0.7), which is slightly larger than the value for z~4 LBGs with i'<26. We calculate the angular correlation function for two sub-samples of the 87 LAEs divided by Lya luminosity, UV-continuum luminosity, and Lya equivalent width (EW). The Lya bright sub-sample shows a larger correlation amplitude than the Lya faint sub-sample, while no significant difference is found for the sub-samples divided by UV-continuum luminosity or EW., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ. High resolution versions of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 are available at http://ichou.astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~ouchi/work/0202204fig23.tar.gz