The Hamburg/SAO survey for emission-line galaxies^*

IV. The fourth list of 119 galaxies

¹ Special Astrophysical Observatory, Nizhnij Arkhyz, Karachai-Circessia 369167, Russia
² Isaac Newton Institute of Chile, SAO Branch
³ Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
⁴ Wise Observatory, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
⁵ Universitätssternwarte München, Scheiner Str. 1, 81679 München, Germany
⁶ Main Astronomical Observatory, Goloseevo, Kiev-127 03680, Ukraine
⁷ Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, CSIC, Aptdo. 3004, 18080 Granada, Spain
⁸ Département de Radioastronomie ARPEGES, Observatoire de Paris, 92195 Meudon Cedex, France

Corresponding author: A. Y. Kniazev, akn@sao.ru

Received: 17 August 2000
Accepted: 23 November 2000

Abstract

We present the fourth list with results of the Hamburg/SAO Survey for Emission-Line Galaxies (HSS hereafter, SAO - Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russia). The list is a result of the follow-up spectroscopy conducted with the 6 m SAO RAS telescope in 1998, 1999 and 2000. The data of this snap-shot spectroscopy survey confirmed 127 emission-line objects out of 176 observed candidates and allowed their quantitative spectral classification. We could classify 76 emission-line objects as BCG/Hii galaxies or probable BCGs, 8 -as QSOs, 2 -as Seyfert galaxies, 2 -as super-associations in a subluminous spiral and an irregular galaxy, and 37 as low-excitation objects -either starburst nuclei (SBN), or dwarf amorphous nuclei starburst galaxies (DANS). We could not classify 2 ELGs. Furthermore, for 5 galaxies we did not detect any significant emission lines. For 91 emission-line galaxies, the redshifts and/or line intensities are determined for the first time. Of the remaining 28 previously known ELGs we give either improved data on the line intensities or some independent measurements. The candidates were taken from three different samples selected by different criteria. Among our first priority candidates we achieved a detection rate of emission-line objects (ELGs + QSOs) of 68% , among which 51% are BCGs. Observations of a random selected sample among our second priority candidates showed that only ≈10% are BCGs. We found that the confirmed BCGs have usually a blue colour (() < 1 fraction of minute0) and a non-stellar appearance in the APM database. Our third sample is comprised of second priority candidates fulfilling these criteria derived from the APM. Follow-up spectroscopy of a small subsample indicates that the expected detection rate for BCGs is ≈40% .