Structure of Bright 2MASS Galaxies: 2D Fits to the Ks-band Surface Brightness Profiles

The unprecedented sky coverage and photometric uniformity of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) provides a rich resource for obtaining a detailed understanding of the galaxies populating our local (z<0.1) Universe. A full characterization of the physical structure of nearby galaxies is essenti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors McIntosh, Daniel H, Maller, Ari H, Katz, Neal, Weinberg, Martin D
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 01.09.2002
Subjects
Computer simulation
Galactic evolution
Galaxies
Morphology
Parameter uncertainty
Photometry
Sky surveys (astronomy)
Structural analysis
Surface brightness
Two dimensional models
Universe
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Summary:The unprecedented sky coverage and photometric uniformity of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) provides a rich resource for obtaining a detailed understanding of the galaxies populating our local (z<0.1) Universe. A full characterization of the physical structure of nearby galaxies is essential for theoretical and observational studies of galaxy evolution and structure formation. We have begun a quantified description of the internal structure and morphology of 10,000 bright (10<Ks<11) 2MASS galaxies through multi-component model fits to the 2D surface brightness profiles using GIM2D. From our initial Monte Carlo tests on 77 galaxies drawn at random from the RC3, we find that the model derived structural parameter errors due to sky uncertainies are typically less than 10%.
ISSN:2331-8422