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A Wide-Field K-band Galaxy Survey: The Color and Surface Brightness Distribution of Nearby Galaxies

Gardner, J.P.; Sharples, R.M.; Frenk, C.S.; Baugh, C.M.; Carrasco, B.E.

Authors

J.P. Gardner

B.E. Carrasco



Abstract

We present the results of a wide-field K band galaxy survey. We have imaged nearly 10 square degrees in two fields at high galactic latitude using linear detectors in the near-infrared K band and the optical B, V, and I bands. We have obtained spectroscopic redshifts for more than 500 galaxies selected on the basis of their K-band flux. In previous papers, we have presented the galaxy number counts, the clustering properties, and the K-band luminosity function of galaxies. In general, the data are consistent with simple passive evolution of the population of galaxies at low to intermediate redshifts, and do not require more extreme models. We discuss the distribution of the galaxies in surface brightness, and find that our luminosity function is not biased due to surface brightness selection effects. We discuss the redshift and rest-frame color distributions of the galaxies in our survey. While the data is generally consistent with passive evolution of galaxies to intermediate redshifts, there is a deficiency of the brightest galaxies at z = 0.5 relative to the simplest models, as expected from heirarchical formation models.

Citation

Gardner, J., Sharples, R., Frenk, C., Baugh, C., & Carrasco, B. (1997). A Wide-Field K-band Galaxy Survey: The Color and Surface Brightness Distribution of Nearby Galaxies. Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 29(2),

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 1997
Journal Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society
Publisher American Astronomical Society
Volume 29
Issue 2
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1609587
Publisher URL https://aas.org/archives/BAAS/v29n2/aas190/abs/S043003.html