Bibcode
DOI
Scarpa, Riccardo; Urry, C. Megan; Falomo, Renato; Pesce, Joseph E.; Treves, Aldo
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 532, Issue 2, pp. 740-815.
Advertised on:
4
2000
Journal
Citations
159
Refereed citations
138
Description
We report on a large Hubble Space Telescope imaging survey of BL Lac
objects, at spatial resolution >~10 times better than previous
ground-based surveys. We focus on data reduction and analysis,
describing the procedures used to model the host galaxy surface
brightness radial profiles. A total of 69 host galaxies were resolved
out of 110 objects observed, including almost all sources at z<~0.5.
We classify them morphologically by fitting with either an exponential
disk or a de Vaucouleurs profile; when one fit is preferred over the
other, in 58 of 69 cases, it is invariably the elliptical morphology.
This is a very strong result given the large number of BL Lac objects,
the unprecedented spatial resolution, and the homogeneity of the data
set. With the present reclassification of the host galaxy of 1418+546 as
an elliptical, there remain no undisputed examples of a disk galaxy
hosting a BL Lac nucleus. This implies that, at 99% confidence, fewer
than 7% of BL Lac objects can be in disk galaxies. The apparent
magnitude of the host galaxies varies with distance as expected if the
absolute magnitudes are approximately the same, with a spread of +/-1
mag, out to redshift z~0.5. At larger redshifts, only six of 23 BL Lac
objects are resolved so the present data do not constrain possible
luminosity evolution of the host galaxies. The collective Hubble diagram
for BL Lac host galaxies and radio galaxies strongly supports their
unification.