A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshift galaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse, extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximately one-third of these detections have not been previously reported in the literature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of the virial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain an intragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that contain at least one early-type galaxy.

A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshift galaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse, extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximately one-third of these detections have not been previously reported in the literature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of the virial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain an intragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that contain at least one early-type galaxy.

A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshift galaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse, extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximately one-third of these detections have not been previously reported in the literature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of the virial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain an intragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that contain at least one early-type galaxy.

A search was conducted for a hot intragroup medium in 109 low-redshift galaxy groups observed with the ROSAT PSPC. Evidence for diffuse, extended X-ray emission is found in at least 61 groups. Approximately one-third of these detections have not been previously reported in the literature. Most of the groups are detected out to less than half of the virial radius with ROSAT. Although some spiral-rich groups do contain an intragroup medium, diffuse emission is restricted to groups that contain at least one early-type galaxy.

The detailed morphology of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the central kiloparsec of galaxies is controlled by pressure and gravitation. The combination of these forces shapes both circumnuclear star formation and the growth of the central, supermassive black hole. We present visible and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope images and color maps of 123 nearby galaxies that show the distribution of the cold ISM, as traced by dust, with excellent spatial resolution. These observations reveal that nuclear dust spirals are found in the majority of active and inactive galaxies and they possess a wide range in coherence, symmetry, and pitch angle. We have used this large sample to develop a classification system for circumnuclear dust structures. In spite of the heterogeneous nature of the complete sample, we only find symmetric, two-arm nuclear dust spirals in galaxies with large-scale bars, and these dust lanes clearly connect to dust lanes along the leading edges of the large-scale bars. Not all dust lanes along large-scale bars form two-arm spirals, however, and several instead end in nuclear rings. We find that tightly wound, or low pitch angle, nuclear dust spirals are more common in unbarred galaxies than barred galaxies. Finally, the extended narrow-line region in several of the active galaxies is well resolved. The connection between the ionized gas and circumnuclear dust lanes in four of these galaxies provides additional evidence that a significant fraction of their extended narrow-line region is ambient gas photoionized in situ by the active nucleus. In a future paper we will use our classification system for circumnuclear dust to identify differences between active and inactive galaxies, as well as barred and unbarred galaxies, in well-matched subsamples of these data.

The detailed morphology of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the central kiloparsec of galaxies is controlled by pressure and gravitation. The combination of these forces shapes both circumnuclear star formation and the growth of the central, supermassive black hole. We present visible and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope images and color maps of 123 nearby galaxies that show the distribution of the cold ISM, as traced by dust, with excellent spatial resolution. These observations reveal that nuclear dust spirals are found in the majority of active and inactive galaxies and they possess a wide range in coherence, symmetry, and pitch angle. We have used this large sample to develop a classification system for circumnuclear dust structures. In spite of the heterogeneous nature of the complete sample, we only find symmetric, two-arm nuclear dust spirals in galaxies with large-scale bars, and these dust lanes clearly connect to dust lanes along the leading edges of the large-scale bars. Not all dust lanes along large-scale bars form two-arm spirals, however, and several instead end in nuclear rings. We find that tightly wound, or low pitch angle, nuclear dust spirals are more common in unbarred galaxies than barred galaxies. Finally, the extended narrow-line region in several of the active galaxies is well resolved. The connection between the ionized gas and circumnuclear dust lanes in four of these galaxies provides additional evidence that a significant fraction of their extended narrow-line region is ambient gas photoionized in situ by the active nucleus. In a future paper we will use our classification system for circumnuclear dust to identify differences between active and inactive galaxies, as well as barred and unbarred galaxies, in well-matched subsamples of these data.

The detailed morphology of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the central kiloparsec of galaxies is controlled by pressure and gravitation. The combination of these forces shapes both circumnuclear star formation and the growth of the central, supermassive black hole. We present visible and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope images and color maps of 123 nearby galaxies that show the distribution of the cold ISM, as traced by dust, with excellent spatial resolution. These observations reveal that nuclear dust spirals are found in the majority of active and inactive galaxies and they possess a wide range in coherence, symmetry, and pitch angle. We have used this large sample to develop a classification system for circumnuclear dust structures. In spite of the heterogeneous nature of the complete sample, we only find symmetric, two-arm nuclear dust spirals in galaxies with large-scale bars, and these dust lanes clearly connect to dust lanes along the leading edges of the large-scale bars. Not all dust lanes along large-scale bars form two-arm spirals, however, and several instead end in nuclear rings. We find that tightly wound, or low pitch angle, nuclear dust spirals are more common in unbarred galaxies than barred galaxies. Finally, the extended narrow-line region in several of the active galaxies is well resolved. The connection between the ionized gas and circumnuclear dust lanes in four of these galaxies provides additional evidence that a significant fraction of their extended narrow-line region is ambient gas photoionized in situ by the active nucleus. In a future paper we will use our classification system for circumnuclear dust to identify differences between active and inactive galaxies, as well as barred and unbarred galaxies, in well-matched subsamples of these data.

The detailed morphology of the interstellar medium (ISM) in the central kiloparsec of galaxies is controlled by pressure and gravitation. The combination of these forces shapes both circumnuclear star formation and the growth of the central, supermassive black hole. We present visible and near-infrared Hubble Space Telescope images and color maps of 123 nearby galaxies that show the distribution of the cold ISM, as traced by dust, with excellent spatial resolution. These observations reveal that nuclear dust spirals are found in the majority of active and inactive galaxies and they possess a wide range in coherence, symmetry, and pitch angle. We have used this large sample to develop a classification system for circumnuclear dust structures. In spite of the heterogeneous nature of the complete sample, we only find symmetric, two-arm nuclear dust spirals in galaxies with large-scale bars, and these dust lanes clearly connect to dust lanes along the leading edges of the large-scale bars. Not all dust lanes along large-scale bars form two-arm spirals, however, and several instead end in nuclear rings. We find that tightly wound, or low pitch angle, nuclear dust spirals are more common in unbarred galaxies than barred galaxies. Finally, the extended narrow-line region in several of the active galaxies is well resolved. The connection between the ionized gas and circumnuclear dust lanes in four of these galaxies provides additional evidence that a significant fraction of their extended narrow-line region is ambient gas photoionized in situ by the active nucleus. In a future paper we will use our classification system for circumnuclear dust to identify differences between active and inactive galaxies, as well as barred and unbarred galaxies, in well-matched subsamples of these data.

We present the first detailed X-ray observations of optically selected clusters at high redshift. Two clusters, Cl 1324 + 3011 at z = 0.76 and Cl 1604 + 4304 at z = 0.90, were observed with XMM-Newton. The optical center of each cluster is coincident with an extended X-ray source whose emission is detected out to a radius of similar to0.5 h(70)(-1) Mpc. The emission from each cluster appears reasonably circular, with some indication of asymmetries and more complex morphologies. Similar to other optically selected clusters at redshifts of z greater than or similar to0.4, both clusters are modest X-ray emitters with bolometric luminosities of only L-X(bol) = (1.4-2.0) x 10(44) h(70)(-2) ergs s(-1). We measure gas temperatures of T = 2.88(-0.49)(+0.71) keV for Cl 1324 + 3011 and 2.51(-0.69)(+1.05) keV for Cl 1604 + 4304. The X-ray properties of both clusters are consistent with the high-redshift L-X-T relation measured from X-ray-selected samples at z greater than or equal to 0.5. However, based on the local relations, their X-ray luminosities and temperatures are low for z = 0.5 their measured velocity dispersions (sigma). The clusters are cooler by a factor of 2-9 compared to the local sigma-T relation. We briefly discuss the possible explanations for these results.

We present the first detailed X-ray observations of optically selected clusters at high redshift. Two clusters, Cl 1324 + 3011 at z = 0.76 and Cl 1604 + 4304 at z = 0.90, were observed with XMM-Newton. The optical center of each cluster is coincident with an extended X-ray source whose emission is detected out to a radius of similar to0.5 h(70)(-1) Mpc. The emission from each cluster appears reasonably circular, with some indication of asymmetries and more complex morphologies. Similar to other optically selected clusters at redshifts of z greater than or similar to0.4, both clusters are modest X-ray emitters with bolometric luminosities of only L-X(bol) = (1.4-2.0) x 10(44) h(70)(-2) ergs s(-1). We measure gas temperatures of T = 2.88(-0.49)(+0.71) keV for Cl 1324 + 3011 and 2.51(-0.69)(+1.05) keV for Cl 1604 + 4304. The X-ray properties of both clusters are consistent with the high-redshift L-X-T relation measured from X-ray-selected samples at z greater than or equal to 0.5. However, based on the local relations, their X-ray luminosities and temperatures are low for z = 0.5 their measured velocity dispersions (sigma). The clusters are cooler by a factor of 2-9 compared to the local sigma-T relation. We briefly discuss the possible explanations for these results.