Abstract
OBSERVATIONS have revealed a population of faint blue galaxies1–5 at intermediate redshifts (z≈0.4). These galaxies are present in significant excess relative to what is expected based on observations of local galaxies, which has led some to propose that the discrepancy must be due either to non-standard cosmologies4,6or to the effects of very pronounced galaxy evolution4,7–10. The surveys that define the population of local galaxies are strongly biased against objects of low surface brightness11–14. Recent work15,16 has shown that nearby low-surface-brightness galaxies have properties very similar to those of the excess faint blue galaxies, and has suggested that they may be as common as normal spiral galaxies14,17. Here I show that the deep surveys that have identified the faint blue galaxies can easily detect low-surface-brightness galaxies at intermediate redshifts, even though they are not readily apparent in local surveys. Thus, the faint blue galaxies may indeed correspond to low-surface-brightness galaxies.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tyson, A. J. Astr. J. 96, 1–23 (1988).
Broadhurst, T. J., Ellis, R. S. & Shanks, T. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 235, 827–856 (1988).
Colles, M. M., Ellis, R. S., Taylor, K. & Hook, R. H. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 244, 408–423 (1990).
Lilly, S. J., Cowie, L. L. & Gardner, J. P. Astrophys. J. 369, 79–105 (1991).
Metcalfe, N., Shanks, T., Fong, R. & Jones, L. R. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 249, 498–522 (1991).
Yoshii, Y. Astrophys. J. 403, 552–566 (1993).
Broadhurst, T. J., Ellis, R. S. & Glazebrook, K. Nature 355, 55–58 (1992).
Lilly, S. J. Astrophys. J. 411, 501–512 (1993).
Babul, A. & Rees, M. J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 255, 346–354 (1992).
Efstathiou, G., Bernstein, G., Katz, N., Tyson, J. A. & Guhathakurta, P. Astrophys. J. 380, L47–L50 (1991).
Disney, M. J. Nature 263, 573–575 (1976).
Allen, R. J. & Shu, F. H. Astrophys. J. 227, 67–79 (1979).
Bothun, G. D., Impey, C. D., Malin, D. F. & Mould, J. R. Astr. J. 94, 23–29 (1987).
Schombert, J. M., Bothun, G. D., Schneider, S. E. & McGaugh, S. S. Astr. J. 103, 1107–1133 (1992).
McGaugh, S. S. thesis, Univ. of Michigan (1992).
McGaugh, S. S. & Bothun, G. D. Astr. J. (in the press).
Mo, H. J., McGaugh, S. S. & Bothun, G. D. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. (in the press).
Moaz, D. & Rix, H.-W. Astrophys. J. 416, 425–443 (1993).
Eales, S. Astrophys, J. 404, 51–62 (1993).
Toth, G. & Ostriker, J. P. Astrophys. J. 389, 5–11 (1992).
Roche, N., Shanks, T., Metcalfe, N. & Fong, R. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 263, 360–368 (1993).
Boroson, T. A., Salzer, J. J. & Trotter, A. Astrophys. J. 412, 524–534 (1993).
Freeman, K. C. Astrophys. J. 160, 811–820 (1970).
Schombert, J. M., Bothun, G. D., Impey, C. D. & Mundy, L. G. Astr. J. 100, 1523–1531 (1990).
Bothun, G. D., Schombert, J. M., Impey, C. D., Sprayberry, D. & McGaugh, S. S. Astr. J. 106, 530–547 (1993).
Koo, D. C. & Kron, R. G. A. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 30, 613–652 (1992).
Weinberg, S. Gravitation and Cosmology (Wiley, New York, 1972).
Loveday, J., Peterson, B. A., Efstathiou, G. & Maddox, S. J. Astrophys. J. 390, 338–344 (1992).
Maddox, S. J., Sutherland, W. J., Efstathiou, G., Loveday, J. & Peterson, B. A. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 247, 1P–5P (1990).
Sodré, L. & Lahav, O. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 260, 285–298 (1993).
Irwin, M. J., Davies, J. I., Disney, M. J. & Phillipps, S. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 245, 289–311 (1990).
Bothun, G. D., Impey, C. D. & Malin, D. F. Astrophys. J. 376, 404–419 (1991).
Schechter, P. Astrophys. J. 203, 297–311 (1976).
Salpeter, E. E. Astr. J. 106, 1265–1271 (1993).
White, S. D. M., Navarro, J. F., Evrard, A. E. & Frenk, C. S. Nature 366, 429–433 (1993).
Mattila, K., Leinert, C. & Schnur, G. in The Early Observable Universe from Diffuse Backgrounds (eds Rocca-Volmerange, B., Deharveng, J.-M. & V̄an, J.-J.-T.) 133–135 (Ed. Frontíeres, Paris, 1991).
Maddox, S. J., Sutherland, W. J., Efstathiou, G. & Loveday, J. Mon. Not. R. astr. Soc. 243, 692–712 (1990).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McGaugh, S. A possible local counterpart to the excess population of faint blue galaxies. Nature 367, 538–541 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/367538a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/367538a0
This article is cited by
-
Faint galaxies: merging model of E/SO galaxies
Astrophysics and Space Science (1995)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.