We present optical and near-infrared imaging and long-slit spectroscopy for the blue compact dwarf galaxy (BCD) Mrk 49 in the Virgo Cluster. The surface brightness distribution analysis shows that Mrk 49 consists of an off-centered blue bright compact core of r = 10′′ and a red faint outer exponential envelope. The Hα image and color difference suggest that these two components have different stellar populations: a high surface brightness population of massive young stars and an underlying low surface brightness population of older stars. The redder near-infrared colors of the inner most region suggest that the near-infrared flux of Mrk 49 originates from evolved massive stars associated with the current star-forming activity. The total apparent magnitude is BT = 14.32 mag and the mean effective surface brightness is μeff (B) = 21.56 mag arcsec−2. Long-slit spectroscopy shows that Mrk 49 rotates apparently as a solid body within r = 10′′ in a plane at position angle 55 degrees with an amplitude of about 20 km sec−1. The measured radial velocity of Mrk 49 was derived as 1,535 km sec−1; and the total mass of stars and gases is in the range of 3 to 6 × 109 M⊙. The mass-to-light ratios for the central region of Mrk 49 in I and B band are estimated 1.0 and 0.5, respectively. The upper limit of the dark matter to visible matter ratio seems to be < 5. The oxygen abundance is 12 + log(O/H) = 8.21 ± 0.1 which is about one quarter of the solar value while the relative helium abundance appears to be similar to that of the sun.

We have studied the environmental effect on optical-NIR color gradients of 273 nearby elliptical galaxies. Color gradient is a good tool to study the evolutionary history of elliptical galaxies, since the steepness of the color gradient reflects merging history of early types. When an elliptical galaxy goes through many merging events, the color gradient can be get less steep or reversed due to mixing of stars. One simple way to measure color gradient is to compare half-light radii in different bands. We have compared the optical and near infrared half-light radii of 273 early-type galaxies from Pahre (1999). Not surprisingly, we find that re(V)s (half-light radii measured in V-band) are in general larger than re(K)s (half-light radii measured in K-band). However, when divided into different environments, we find that elliptical galaxies in the denser environment have gentler color gradients than those in the less dense environment. Our finding suggests that elliptical galaxies in the dense environment have undergone many merging events and the mixing of stars through the merging have created the gentle color gradients.

Anomalies in the far-infrared [C II] 158 μm line emission observed in the central one-kiloparsec regions of spiral galaxies are reviewed. Low far-infrared intensity ratios of the [C II] line to the continuum were observed in the center of the Milky Way, because the heating ratio of the gas to the dust is reduced by the soft interstellar radiation field due to late-type stars in the Galactic bulge. In contrast, such low line-to-continuum ratios were not obtained in the center of the nearby spiral M31, in spite of its bright bulge. A comparison with numerical simulations showed that a typical column density of the neutral interstellar medium between illuminating sources at hv ~ 1 eV is NH ≲ 1021 cm-2 in the region; the medium is translucent for photons sufficiently energetic to heat the grains but not sufficiently energetic to heat the gas. This interpretation is consistent with the combination of the extremely high [C Il]/CO J = 1-0 line intensity ratios and the low recent star-forming activity in the region; the neutral interstellar medium is not sufficiently opaque to protect the species even against the moderately intense incident UV radiation. The above results were unexpected from classical views of the [C II] emission, which was generally considered to trace intense interstellar UV radiation enhanced by active star formation.

Optical (R) and near-infrared (K') images of the IRAS 1-Jy sample of 118 ultraluminous infrared galaxies have been studied. All but one object in the 1-Jy sample show signs of strong tidal interaction/merger. Most of them harbor a single disturbed nucleus and are therefore in the later stages of a merger event. Single-nucleus ULIGs show a broad distribution in host magnitudes with significant overlap with those of quasars. The same statement applies to R - K' colors in ULIG and quasar hosts. An analysis of the surface brightness profiles of the host galaxies in single-nucleus sources reveals that about 35% of the Rand K' surface brightness profiles are well fit by an elliptical-like R1/4-law, while only 2% are well fit by an exponential disk. Another 38% of the single-nucleus systems are fit equally well with an exponential or de Vaucouleurs profile. Elliptical-like hosts are most common among merger remnants with Seyfert 1 nuclei (83%) and Seyfert 2 optical characteristics (69%). The mean effective radius of these ULIGs is 4.80 ± 1.37 kpc at R and 3.48 ± 1.39 kpc at K'. These values are in excellent agreement with recent quasar measurements obtained at H with HST. The hosts of elliptical-like 1-Jy systems follow with some scatter the same μe - re relation, giving credence to the idea that some of these objects may eventually become elliptical galaxies if they get rid of their excess gas or transform this gas into stars.

Deep surveys at mid-infared through submillimeter wavelengths indicate that a substantial fraction of the total luminosity output from galaxies at high redshift (z > 1) emerges at wavelengths 30 - 300 μm. In addition, much of the star formation and AGN activity associated with galaxy building at these epochs appears to reside in a class of luminous infrared galaxies (LIGs), often so heavily enshrouded in dust that they appear as 'blank-fields' in deep optical/UV surveys. Here we present an update on the state of our current knowledge of the cosmic evolution of LIGs from z = 0 to z ~ 4 based on the most recent data obtained from ongoing ground-based redshift surveys of sources detected in ISO and SCUBA deep fields. A scenario for the origin and evolution of LIGs in the local Universe (z < 0.3), based on results from multiwavelength observations of several large complete samples of luminous IRAS galaxies, is then discussed.

Infrared spectroscopic observations and their analysis revealed many physical and chemical characteristics of the various stars with dust envelopes. Especially, AGB stars and young stellar objects are believed to be major contributors of infrared radiation from galaxies. The wavelength of the peak spectral energy for typical galaxies is about 100μm 100μm . Therefore, infrared spectral observations of galaxies provide important information for their overall properties. The qualitative analysis of the infrared spectra which are made of various stars and interstellar matter will be possible through a new population synthesis.