H-alpha observations of spiral galaxies in Cancer, A1367, and Coma

Large-aperture H-alpha photometry of 65 spiral galaxies in the Cancer, Coma, and Abell 1367 clusters has been used to compare the ionized-gas contents and star-formation rates in cluster and field spirals. Overall, no significant deficiency of H-alpha emission in the cluster members is observed. Emi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 1984-09, Vol.89, p.1279-1287
Main Authors: Kennicutt, R. C., Jr, Bothun, G. D., Schommer, R. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Large-aperture H-alpha photometry of 65 spiral galaxies in the Cancer, Coma, and Abell 1367 clusters has been used to compare the ionized-gas contents and star-formation rates in cluster and field spirals. Overall, no significant deficiency of H-alpha emission in the cluster members is observed. Emission strength correlates strongly with integrated galaxy colors, but only weakly with H I content. All three clusters contain several galaxies with unusually strong H-alpha emission, including several H I-poor objects in Coma and A1367. Thus, spirals which appear 'anemic' in their morphology or exhibit weak H-alpha emission are not necessarily H I poor; conversely, H I poor spirals can show strong H-alpha emission, indicating relatively high current star-formation rates. Gas depletion time scales for some objects in the core of Coma are significantly shorter than the field, indicating rapid stellar and gaseous evolution.
ISSN:0004-6256
DOI:10.1086/113625