Abstract
We determine the companion galaxy luminosity function (LF) for regions around isolated spiral galaxies. If we assume that any excess in the galaxy number counts in the vicinity of a spiral galaxy is due to galaxies at the same distance, then a system LF can be determined from the variation of excess numbers with apparent magnitude. By studying the excess over many held 'centre' galaxies, a good statistical accuracy can be obtained for the companion galaxy LF. Since redshift information is not required for the faint galaxies, it is possible to sample further down the LF as compared with redshift surveys. For 23 primary galaxies of known redshift, we find a dwarf satellite Schechter LF with a characteristic magnitude M-V*(D) similar or equal to -19 and a faint-end slope alpha = -1.7, down to M-V = -14 (H-0 = 50 km s(-1) Mpc(-1)).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 99-108 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
| Volume | 295 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Mar 1998 |
Keywords
- galaxies, clusters, general
- galaxies, evolution
- galaxies, luminosity function, mass function
- galaxies, spiral
- cosmology, observations
- CFA REDSHIFT SURVEY
- DWARF GALAXIES
- FAINT GALAXIES
- COMA CLUSTER
- LOCAL GROUP
- FIELD
- LIGHT