F. Stootman

The HIPASS catalogue - I. Data presentation

The H I Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) catalogue forms the largest uniform catalogue of H I sources compiled to date, with 4315 sources identified purely by their H I content. The catalogue data comprise the southern region δ< + 2 ◦ of HIPASS, the first blind H I survey to cover the entire southern sky. The rms noise for this survey is 13 mJy beam −1 and the velocity range is −1280 to 12 700 km s −1 . Data search, verification and parametrization methods are discussed along with a description of measured quantities. Full catalogue data are made available to the astronomical community including positions, velocities, velocity widths, integrated fluxes and peak flux densities. Also available are on-sky moment maps, position‐velocity moment maps and spectra of catalogue sources. A number of local large-scale features are observed in the space distribution of sources, including the super-Galactic plane and the Local Void. Notably, large-scale structure is seen at low Galactic latitudes, a region normally obscured at optical wavelengths.

Tidal disruption of the Magellanic Clouds by the Milky Way

Interactions between galaxies are common and are an important factor in determining their physical properties such as position along the Hubble sequence and star-formation rate. There are many possible galaxy interaction mechanisms, including merging, ram-pressure stripping, gas compression, gravitational interaction and cluster tides. The relative importance of these mechanisms is often not clear, as their strength depends on poorly known parameters such as the density, extent and nature of the massive dark halos that surround galaxies. A nearby example of a galaxy interaction where the mechanism is controversial is that between our own Galaxy and two of its neighbours -- the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Here we present the first results of a new HI survey which provides a spectacular view of this interaction. In addition to the previously known Magellanic Stream, which trails 100 degrees behind the Clouds, the new data reveal a counter-stream which lies in the opposite direction and leads the motion of the Clouds. This result supports the gravitational model in which leading and trailing streams are tidally torn from the body of the Magellanic Clouds.Interactions between galaxies are common, and influence physical properties such as the global morphology and star-formation rate (Hubble type). Galaxies can interact in many different ways: they can merge together; they can pass through each other, with gas being stripped from the smaller of the two and compressed in the larger; and they can interact gravitationally (including, for example, tides in clusters). The relative importance of these mechanisms is often not clear, as the strength of each depends on poorly known parameters such as the density, extent and nature of the dark-matter haloes that surround galaxies. A nearby example of a galaxy interaction where the mechanism is controversial is that between our Galaxy and two of its neighbours, the Magellanic Clouds. Here we present the results of an atomic-hydrogen survey that help to elucidate this mechanism. Our data reveal a new stream of gas that lies in the opposite direction to the trailing Magellanic Stream and leads the motion of the Clouds. The existence of both leading and trailing streams supports a gravitational interaction whereby the streams are torn from the bodies of the Magellanic Clouds by tidal forces.

The 1000 brightest hipass galaxies: The HI mass function and Omega(HI)

We present a new, accurate measurement of the H I mass function of galaxies from the HIPASS Bright Galaxy Catalog, a sample of 1000 galaxies with the highest H I peak flux densities in the southern (delta<0D) hemisphere. This sample spans nearly 4 orders of magnitude in H I mass [ log (M-H I/M-O) + 2 log h(75)=6.8-10.6] and is the largest sample of H I-selected galaxies to date. We develop a bivariate maximum likelihood technique to measure the space density of galaxies and show that this is a robust method, insensitive to the effects of large-scale structure. The resulting H I mass function can be fitted satisfactorily with a Schechter function with faint-end slope α=-1.30. This slope is found to be dependent on morphological type, with late-type galaxies giving steeper slopes. We extensively test various effects that potentially bias the determination of the H I mass function, including peculiar motions of galaxies, large-scale structure, selection bias, and inclination effects, and we quantify these biases. The large sample of galaxies enables an accurate measurement of the cosmological mass density of neutral gas: U(H) I=(3.8P0.6)x10(-4) h(75)(-1). Low surface brightness galaxies contribute only similar to15% to this value, consistent with previous findings.

The Northern HIPASS catalogue – data presentation, completeness and reliability measures

The Northern HIPASS catalogue (NHICAT) is the northern extension of the HIPASS catalogue, HICAT. This extension adds the sky area between the declination (Dec.) range of +2 degrees 300 km s(-1). Sources with -300 < nu(hel) < 300 km s(-1) were excluded to avoid contamination by Galactic emission. In total, the entire HIPASS survey has found 5317 galaxies identified purely by their HI content. The full galaxy catalogue is publicly available at http://hipass.aus-vo.org.

The 1000 brightest HIPASS galaxies: The H I mass function and ω

We present a new, accurate measurement of the H I mass function of galaxies from the HIPASS Bright Galaxy Catalog, a sample of 1000 galaxies with the highest H I peak flux densities in the southern (delta<0D) hemisphere. This sample spans nearly 4 orders of magnitude in H I mass [ log (M-H I/M-O) + 2 log h(75)=6.8-10.6] and is the largest sample of H I-selected galaxies to date. We develop a bivariate maximum likelihood technique to measure the space density of galaxies and show that this is a robust method, insensitive to the effects of large-scale structure. The resulting H I mass function can be fitted satisfactorily with a Schechter function with faint-end slope α=-1.30. This slope is found to be dependent on morphological type, with late-type galaxies giving steeper slopes. We extensively test various effects that potentially bias the determination of the H I mass function, including peculiar motions of galaxies, large-scale structure, selection bias, and inclination effects, and we quantify these biases. The large sample of galaxies enables an accurate measurement of the cosmological mass density of neutral gas: U(H) I=(3.8P0.6)x10(-4) h(75)(-1). Low surface brightness galaxies contribute only similar to15% to this value, consistent with previous findings.

The HIPASS catalogue - II. completeness, reliability and parameter accuracy

The H I Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS) is a blind extragalactic H I 21-cm emission-line survey covering the whole southern sky from declination -90degrees to +25degrees. The HIPASS catalogue (HICAT), containing 4315 H I-selected galaxies from the region south of declination +2degrees, is presented in Meyer et al. (Paper I). This paper describes in detail the completeness and reliability of HICAT, which are calculated from the recovery rate of synthetic sources and follow-up observations, respectively. HICAT is found to be 99 per cent complete at a peak flux of 84 mJy and an integrated flux of 9.4 Jy km. s(-1). The overall reliability is 95 per cent, but rises to 99 per cent for sources with peak fluxes >58 mJy or integrated flux >8.2 Jy km s(-1). Expressions are derived for the uncertainties on the most important HICAT parameters: peak flux, integrated flux, velocity width and recessional velocity. The errors on HICAT parameters are dominated by the noise in the HIPASS data, rather than by the parametrization procedure.

HIPASS detection of an intergalactic gas cloud in the NGC 2442 group

We report the discovery from the H I Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) of a gas cloud associated with the asymmetric spiral galaxy NGC 2442. This object, designated HIPASS J0731-69, contains similar to 10(9) M-. of H I, or nearly one-third as much atomic gas as NGC 2442 itself. No optical counterpart to any part of HIPASS J0731-69 has yet been identified, consistent with the gas being diffuse and its streamlike kinematics. If the gas in HIPASS J0731-69 was once part of NGC 2442, then it was most likely a fairly recent tidal encounter with a moderately massive companion that tore it loose, although the possibility of ram-pressure stripping cannot be ruled out. This discovery highlights the potential of the HIPASS data for yielding new clues to the nature of some of the best-known galaxies in the local universe.

An Extragalactic H I Cloud with No Optical Counterpart

We report the discovery, from the H I Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS), of an isolated cloud of neutral hydrogen, which we believe to be extragalactic. The H I mass of the cloud (HIPASS J1712-64) is very low, 1.7 x 10(7) M-circle dot, using an estimated distance of similar to 3.2 Mpc. Most significantly, we have found no optical companion to this object to very faint limits [mu(B) similar to 27 mag arcsec(-2)]. HIPASS J1712-64 appears to be a binary system similar to, but much less massive than, H I 1225 + 01 (the Virgo H. I cloud) and has a size of at least 15 kpc. The mean velocity dispersion measured with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) is only 4 km s(-1) for the main component and, because of the weak or nonexistent star formation, possibly reflects the thermal line width (T < 2000 K) rather than bulk motion or turbulence. The peak column density for HIPASS J1712-64, from the combined Parkes and ATCA data, is only 3.5 x 1019 cm(-2), which is estimated to be a factor of 2 below the critical threshold for star formation. Apart from its significantly higher velocity, the properties of HIPASS J1712-64 are similar to the recently recognized class of compact high-velocity clouds. We therefore consider the evidence for a Local Group or Galactic origin, although a more plausible alternative is that HIPASS J1712-64 was ejected from the interacting Magellanic Cloud-Galaxy system at perigalacticon similar to 2 x 10(8) yr ago.

New XMM-Newton observations of supernova remnants in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Context. A complete overview of the supernova remnant (SNR) populati on is required to investigate their evolution and interacti on with the surrounding interstellar medium in the Small Magel lanic Cloud (SMC). Aims. Recent XMM-Newton observations of the SMC cover three known SNRs (DEM S5, SNR B0050 −72.8, and SNR B0058 −71.8), which are poorly studied and are X-ray faint. We used new mult i-frequency radio-continuum surveys and new optical obser vations at Hα, [S ii], and [Oiii] wavelengths, in combination with the X-ray data, to invest igate their properties and to search for new SNRs in the SMC. Methods. We used X-ray source selection criteria and found one SMC obj ect with typical SNR characteristics (HFPK 334), that was initially detected by ROSAT. We analysed the X-ray spectra a nd present multi-wavelength morphological studies of the t hr e SNRs and the new candidate. Results. Using a non-equilibrium ionisation collisional plasma mod el, we find temperatures kT around 0.18 keV for the three known remnants and 0.69 keV for the candidate. The low temperature , low surface brightness, and large extent of the three remna nts indicates relatively large ages. The emission from the new candidate ( HFPK 334) is more centrally peaked and the higher temperatur e s ggests a younger remnant. Our new radio images indicate that a pulsa r wind nebulae (PWN) is possibly associated with this object . Conclusions. The SNRs known in the SMC show a variety of morphological stru ctures that are relatively uncorrelated in the di fferent wavelength bands, probably caused by the di fferent conditions in the surrounding medium with which the re mnant interacts.Context. A complete overview of the supernova remnant (SNR) population is required to investigate their evolution and interaction with the surrounding interstellar medium in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Aims. Recent XMM-Newton observations of the SMC cover three known SNRs (DEM S5, SNR B0050−72.8, and SNR B0058−71.8), which are poorly studied and are X-ray faint. We used new multi-frequency radio-continuum surveys and new optical observations at Hα ,[ Sii], and [O iii] wavelengths, in combination with the X-ray data, to investigate their properties and to search for new SNRs in the SMC. Methods. We used X-ray source selection criteria and found one SMC object with typical SNR characteristics (HFPK 334), that was initially detected by ROSAT. We analysed the X-ray spectra and present multi-wavelength morphological studies of the three SNRs and the new candidate. Results. Using a non-equilibrium ionisation collisional plasma model, we find temperatures kT around 0.18 keV for the three known remnants and 0.69 keV for the candidate. The low temperature, low surface brightness, and large extent of the three remnants indicates relatively large ages. The emission from the new candidate (HFPK 334) is more centrally peaked and the higher temperature suggests a younger remnant. Our new radio images indicate that a pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) is possibly associated with this object. Conclusions. The SNRs known in the SMC show a variety of morphological structures that are relatively uncorrelated in the different wavelength bands, probably caused by the different conditions in the surrounding medium with which the remnant interacts.

The large-scale distribution of neutral hydrogen in the Fornax region

Using data from the H I Parkes All Sky Survey (HIPASS), we have searched for neutral hydrogen in galaxies in a region similar to25x25 deg(2) centred on NGC 1399, the nominal centre of the Fornax cluster. Within a velocity search range of 300-3700 km s(-1) and to a 3sigma lower flux limit of similar to40 mJy, 110 galaxies with H I emission were detected, one of which is previously uncatalogued. None of the detections has early-type morphology. Previously unknown velocities for 14 galaxies have been determined, with a further four velocity measurements being significantly dissimilar to published values. Identification of an optical counterpart is relatively unambiguous for more than similar to90 per cent of our H I galaxies. The galaxies appear to be embedded in a sheet at the cluster velocity which extends for more than 30degrees across the search area. At the nominal cluster distance of similar to20 Mpc, this corresponds to an elongated structure more than 10 Mpc in extent. A velocity gradient across the structure is detected, with radial velocities increasing by similar to500 km s(-1) from south-east to north-west. The clustering of galaxies evident in optical surveys is only weakly suggested in the spatial distribution of our H I detections. Of 62 H I detections within a 10degrees projected radius of the cluster centre, only two are within the core region (projected radius <1D) and less than 30 per cent are within 3.5D, suggesting a considerable deficit of H I-rich galaxies in the centre of the cluster. However, relative to the field, there is a 3(P1)-fold excess of H I-rich galaxies in the outer parts of the cluster where galaxies may be infalling towards the cluster for the first time.