The Space Density of Spiral Galaxies as function of their Luminosity, Surface Brightness and Scalesize

Roelof S. de Jong, Cedric Lacey

Published 1998-10-31Version 1

The local space density of galaxies as a function of their basic structural parameters --like luminosity, surface brightness and scalesize-- is still poorly known. Our poor knowledge is mainly the result of strong selection biases against low surface brightness and small scalesize galaxies in any optically selected sample. We show that in order to correct for selection biases one has to obtain accurate surface photometry and distance estimates for a large (>~1000) sample of galaxies. We derive bivariate space density distributions in the (scalesize, surface brightness)-plane and the (luminosity, scalesize)-plane for a sample of ~1000 local Sb-Sdm spiral galaxies. We present a parameterization of these bivariate distributions, based on a Schechter type luminosity function and a log-normal scalesize distribution at a given luminosity. We show how surface brightness limits and (1+z)^4 cosmological redshift dimming can influence interpretation of luminosity function determinations and deep galaxy counts.