[Previous] | [Session 75] | [Next]
J. Eder, K. O'Neil (Arecibo Observatory/NAIC), G. D. Bothun (University of Oregon), J. Schombert (University of Oregon)
Despite the difficulty in detecting low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies, it has been well established in recent years that these diffuse systems play a significant role in both defining the baryon content of the universe and our understanding of the distribution of local galaxy types. Additionally, LSB galaxies afford a unique view into star formation and evolution on galactic scales. The wide bandwidth and high sensitivity of the Arecibo Gregorian telescope make it an excellent instrument to probe the HI content of known LSB systems. Obtaining our source list from a variety of (optically determined) galaxy catalogs, from the UGC through new LSB catalogs based off both DPOSS and other galaxy searches, we have spent the last two years determining the HI properties of LSB systems. Our studies have greatly expanded our knowledge of these diffuse systems, and include - the detection of the highest MHI/LB galaxies known; discovery of red LSB galaxies with high gas-to-luminosity ratios, raising questions about how star formation proceeds in diffuse systems; extending of the known local galaxy surface brightness distribution function by one magnitude, to 25.0 B mag arcsec-2; and the discovery of a large number of massive (MHI > 1010M\odot) LSB systems, including a significant number of galaxies with LSB disks surrounding active galactic nuclei.
The Arecibo Observatory is part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, which is operated by Cornell University under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
If you would like more information about this abstract, please follow the link to http://www.naic.edu/~koneil. This link was provided by the author. When you follow it, you will leave the Web site for this meeting; to return, you should use the Back comand on your browser.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: koneil@naic.edu