The AMIGA sample of isolated galaxies XII. Revision of the isolation degree for AMIGA galaxies using the SDSS

TL;DR

This study refines the classification of isolated galaxies in the AMIGA sample by utilizing SDSS data to better quantify their environment and isolation degree through an automated, multi-criteria approach.

Contribution

It introduces an automated method combining photometry and spectroscopy to reassess galaxy isolation, improving previous assessments with deeper, more accurate data from SDSS.

Findings

Approximately 50% of photometrically identified neighbours are background objects.

About 92% of velocity-similar neighbours are not classified as potential companions.

The environment of isolated galaxies is more complex than previously thought.

Abstract

In the framework of the AMIGA project we present a revision of the environment for galaxies in the Catalogue of Isolated Galaxies (CIG, Karachentseva 1973) using the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR9). The aims of this study are to refine the photometric-based AMIGA sample of isolated galaxies and to provide an improvement of the quantification of the isolation degree with respect to previous works, using both photometry and spectroscopy. We developed an automatic method to search for neighbours within a projected area of 1 Mpc radius centred on each primary galaxy to revise the CIG isolation criteria. Of the 636 CIG galaxies considered in the photometric study, 426 galaxies fulfil the CIG isolation criteria within 1 Mpc, taking into account projected neighbours. Of the 411 CIG galaxies considered in the spectroscopic study, 347 galaxies fulfil the CIG isolation criteria when a criterion about redshift difference is added. The available redshifts allow us to reject background neighbours and thus improve the photometric assessment. For the first time, the environment and the isolation degree of AMIGA galaxies are quantified using digital data. The use of the SDSS database permits one to identify fainter and smaller-size satellites than in previous AMIGA works. About 50% of the neighbours considered as potential companions in the photometric study are in fact background objects. We also find that about 92% of the neighbour galaxies that show recession velocities similar to the corresponding CIG galaxy are not considered by the CIG isolation criteria as potential companions, which may have a considerable influence on the evolution of the central CIG galaxy.