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# Discovery of Two High-Magnetic-Field Radio Pulsars

## 1. Introduction

The pulsar in the Crab nebula (PSR B0531+21), with period $`P=33`$ ms, was born in a type II supernova observed in 1054 AD, supporting the view that at least some core-collapse supernovae (SNe) form pulsars. Based largely on studies of the Crab and a few other young objects, a picture has emerged where pulsars are born spinning rapidly (with initial period $`P_020`$ ms in the case of the Crab), and spin down due to their large magnetic moments according to $`\dot{\nu }\nu ^n`$. In this spin-down law $`\nu =1/P`$ is the pulsar rotation frequency, $`\dot{\nu }`$ is its derivative, and $`n=\nu \ddot{\nu }/(\dot{\nu })^2`$ is the “braking index.” Integration of the spin-down law with constant magnetic moment gives the age of the pulsar,

$$\tau =\frac{P}{(n1)\dot{P}}\left[1\left(\frac{P_0}{P}\right)^{n1}\right].$$
(1)
Braking indices have been measured for only four pulsars, namely PSRs B0531+21, B0540$``$69, B0833$``$45, and B1509$``$58, with values for $`n`$ of $`2.51\pm 0.01`$, $`2.2\pm 0.1`$, $`1.4\pm 0.2`$, and $`2.837\pm 0.001`$ respectively (Lyne, Pritchard, & Smith (1993); Deeter, Nagase, & Boynton (1999); Lyne et al. (1996); Kaspi et al. (1994)). In other cases, an oblique rotating vacuum dipole model is typically assumed, for which $`n=3`$ (Manchester & Taylor (1977)), and if $`P_0P`$, equation (1) reduces to $`\tau =P/(2\dot{P})\tau _\mathrm{c}`$, the characteristic age of a pulsar. With a neutron star radius of $`10^6`$ cm and moment of inertia of $`10^{45}`$ g cm2, the surface magnetic field strength is

$$B=3.2\times 10^{19}\sqrt{P\dot{P}}\mathrm{G}.$$
(2)
The luminosity generated in the braking of the pulsar rotation, $`\dot{E}=4\pi ^2I\nu \dot{\nu }`$, is emitted in the form of magnetic dipole radiation and a relativistic particle wind. The vast majority of this luminosity may be deposited in the ambient environment, powering a plerionic supernova remnant (SNR) such as the Crab synchrotron nebula, while a very small portion may be observed as pulsed electromagnetic radiation.

Despite the above, many questions remain regarding the outcome of type II SNe and the manifestation of young neutron stars. Although Galactic SNe and pulsar formation rates are both notoriously difficult to estimate (see, e.g., van den Bergh & Tammann (1991); Tammann, Löffler, & Schröder (1994); Woltjer (1998), and Narayan & Ostriker (1990); Lorimer et al. (1993); Lyne et al. (1998)), it is quite plausible that type II SNe occur significantly more often than radio pulsars of the kind already known are born (see van den Bergh & Tammann (1991); Woltjer (1998)). If this is the case, perhaps some young neutron stars are being “missed.” A possible example is SNR 3C58, the likely outcome of a type II SN observed about 820 yr ago, with no detectable pulsar. Studying the energetics and morphology of the remnant, Helfand, Becker, & White (1995) make a compelling case for the presence of an unseen pulsar with higher magnetic field than any previously known. Having a short period like the Crab at birth, such a pulsar would have spun down rapidly to a present long period. Maybe yet other pulsars are born spinning slowly and never generate the large $`\dot{E}`$ required to power an easily detectable nebula. In addition, some neutron stars may never manifest themselves as radio pulsars at all. It has been suggested that there exists a class of isolated rotating neutron stars with ultra-strong magnetic fields, the so-called “magnetars” (Duncan & Thompson (1992)). The observational properties of radio pulsars and magnetar candidates are very different. Radio pulsars rarely exhibit X-ray pulsations, and when they do, their X-ray power is small compared to their $`\dot{E}`$. By contrast, magnetars emit pulsed X-rays with luminosities far in excess of their spin-down power (Vasisht & Gotthelf (1997); Kouveliotou et al. (1999)) but remain undetected at radio wavelengths. The dichotomy is thought to result from the much larger magnetic fields in magnetars (Thompson & Duncan (1993); Heyl & Hernquist (1997)).

In this paper we report the discovery of two isolated radio pulsars with some properties that are unusual and interesting in the context of the above questions.

## 2. Observations and Results

The radio pulsars J1119$``$6127 and J1814$``$1744 were discovered on 1997 August 24 and 23, respectively, in a survey of the Galactic plane using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope in Australia. This survey (Lyne et al. 2000a ; Camilo et al. (2000)) makes use of the fast rate of sky coverage afforded by a multibeam receiver to increase greatly the integration time, and consequently the sensitivity, relative to previous surveys. The Parkes survey uses 13 beams at a central sky frequency of 1374 MHz with an equivalent system noise of $`S_0=35`$ Jy at high Galactic latitude. For each beam, the sum of two orthogonal linear polarization channels, each 288 MHz wide, is recorded for 35 minutes per grid position, providing sensitivity to all pulsars with flux densities in excess of $`0.15`$ mJy for $`P0.1`$ s.

Follow-on regular timing observations have been carried out at Parkes since 1998 February for newly discovered pulsars with declination south of $`35\mathrm{°}`$, while the remainder are observed with the 76-m telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, England. The system used for timing observations at Parkes is identical to that used in the survey, although we record signals from the central beam only: the down-converted radio-frequency noise is passed through a $`2\times 96\times 3`$-MHz filter bank spectrometer, after which the signals are square-law detected, orthogonal polarizations are summed, and the 96 resulting voltages are high-pass filtered before being 1-bit digitized every 250 $`\mu `$s and written to magnetic tape for subsequent analysis. We also record the start time of each observation, synchronized with the observatory time standard and traceable to UTC. PSR J1119$``$6127, in whose direction $`S_0=40`$ Jy, was observed in this manner on 63 days over a period of two years, for approximately 10 minutes each day. At Jodrell Bank, with $`S_0=50`$ Jy in the direction of PSR J1814$``$1744, the observing setup used a $`2\times 32\times 3`$-MHz filter bank until 1999 July, and a $`2\times 64\times 1`$-MHz filter bank since then, to observe a band centered in the range 1376 to 1396 MHz, depending on the radio-frequency interference environment. Signals from individual frequency channels are delayed by an amount proportional to the dispersion measure (DM) of the pulsar, to account for dispersion caused by propagation through the interstellar medium, and are folded synchronously with the predicted rotation period, generating one pulse profile for each sub-integration lasting 3 minutes. We have observed PSR J1814$``$1744 in this manner on 37 days over a two-year interval, for 18 minutes each day.

We have analyzed the timing data in standard fashion. Briefly, topocentric pulse times-of-arrival (TOAs) were measured by cross-correlating daily-averaged pulse profiles with a high signal-to-noise-ratio template (see Fig. 2). Celestial coordinates and spin parameters were then determined using the tempo software package111http://pulsar.princeton.edu/tempo. and the JPL DE200 planetary ephemeris (Standish (1990)). tempo first converts the TOAs to the barycenter of the solar system, and refines the initial estimated parameters in a fitting procedure that minimizes timing residuals (difference between observed and predicted TOAs) with respect to the model parameters.

Underlying the timing model is the assumption that the rotational phase of the neutron star is described by

$$\varphi (T)=\nu T+\frac{1}{2}\dot{\nu }T^2+\frac{1}{6}\ddot{\nu }T^3+\mathrm{},$$
(3)
where $`T`$ denotes pulsar proper time. In equation (3), the interpretation of $`\nu `$ and its derivatives as representing only the stationary spin parameters of a rotating magnetic dipole does not hold strictly for pulsars displaying rotational irregularities, and parameter estimation in such circumstances must be performed with extra care.

PSR J1119$``$6127 was observed on 1998 October 30 and 31 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), with the interferometer in its “6D” configuration (Lazendic (1999)). The observations were done in pulsar gating mode simultaneously at center frequencies of 1384 and 2496 MHz, with 128 MHz of bandwidth in each of two linear polarizations at each frequency. The radio sources 1934$``$638 and 1036$``$697 were used as flux density and phase calibrators, respectively. The data were processed using the miriad package222http://www.atnf.csiro.au/computing/software/miriad., during which on- and off-pulse maps were generated. The data set at 1384 MHz, at which frequency the pulsar is brightest, was used to obtain the position of the pulsar, and the 2496 MHz observation was used to determine the flux density, both listed in Table 1.

Because PSR J1119$``$6127 has the largest period derivative ($`\dot{P}`$) of any known radio pulsar, and $`\dot{P}`$ correlates highly with “timing noise” (Arzoumanian et al. (1994)) which can bias the celestial coordinates determined with timing data, we use the position obtained from interferometric observations in the timing solution. We then fit for $`\nu `$, $`\dot{\nu }`$, and $`\ddot{\nu }`$. Figures 2a and b indicate a small glitch in rotation occurred on about MJD 51398; glitch parameters are given in Table 1. Figure 2b also suggests that another glitch of similar magnitude may have occurred sometime during MJD 50850–50940, but we cannot be sure. The rotational parameters best describing the behavior of the pulsar are listed in Table 1, with the corresponding timing residuals shown in Figure 2c.

In Figure 2c the residuals following the glitch appear cubic in shape, with amplitude much reduced by comparison with the parabolic residuals in Figure 2b. This suggests that the glitch parameters in Table 1 do not completely describe the behavior of the pulsar following the event. Further data are required to determine whether the post-glitch spin parameters are relaxing with exponential decay time-scales of order several months, as seen in the Vela pulsar, or whether the change in $`\dot{\nu }`$ at the glitch (or at least much of it) is permanent, as observed in the Crab pulsar (see Lyne, Shemar, & Graham-Smith 2000b ).

The uncertainty in the braking index determined from the spin parameters, $`n=2.91\pm 0.01`$, reflects only the random phase noise resulting from uncertainty in the TOAs. We now consider the effect upon this measurement of the possible presence of timing noise and the known occurrence of glitch(es). For most pulsars the stationary value of $`\ddot{\nu }`$ in equation (3) is too small to be measured, and in timing fits where only $`\nu `$ and $`\dot{\nu }`$ are determined, excess noise manifests itself as a quasi-cubic trend in the residuals. Arzoumanian et al. (1994) use the parameter

$$\mathrm{\Delta }(t)=\mathrm{log}\left(\frac{1}{6\nu }|\ddot{\nu }|t^3\right)$$
(4)
to estimate the cumulative phase contribution over time $`t`$ due to timing noise and find that, for $`t=10^8`$ s (arbitrary, but similar to the time span of their observations), most pulsars, despite a large scatter in the data, follow the relationship

$$\mathrm{\Delta }_8=6.6+0.6\mathrm{log}\dot{P}.$$
(5)
Using equations (4)–(5) for PSR J1119$``$6127, we estimate that the measured value of $`\ddot{\nu }`$ may be contaminated by as much as $`8\times 10^{24}\text{s}^3`$, or four times the formal uncertainty given in Table 1. In fact we have not measured any timing noise for this pulsar, as indicated by the apparently “white” residuals (Fig. 2a) and by the upper limit on, rather than measurement of, $`\stackrel{_{\mathrm{}}}{\nu }`$ obtained in an additional fit to the data represented in Figure 2a (see Table 1). However this is not too surprising, given that our inter-glitch data span only 1.2 yr; with a longer time span between glitches, timing noise, if it is present, may be measurable. In summary, we believe an accurate measurement of the braking index between glitches, reflecting the steady spin-down physics of the neutron star, is $`n=2.91\pm 0.01\pm 0.04`$.

If the change in $`\dot{\nu }`$ at the glitch, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\dot{\nu }`$ (Table 1), is permanent, it contributes a component to $`\ddot{\nu }`$ beyond that measured between glitches. This contribution is approximately $`\mathrm{\Delta }\dot{\nu }/\mathrm{\Delta }T`$, where $`\mathrm{\Delta }T`$ is the time interval between glitches. By assuming that all of the measured $`\mathrm{\Delta }\dot{\nu }`$ is permanent, and that a first glitch did occur at $`\text{MJD}50900`$ (see Fig. 2b), we obtain $`\mathrm{\Delta }\ddot{\nu }=2\times 10^{23}\text{s}^3`$, about 10 times the formal uncertainty in $`\ddot{\nu }`$ and implying a correction to $`n`$ of $`0.1`$. Future measurements will settle this question, but for the purposes of calculating pulsar age, the correct value of braking index may be as low as $`2.8`$. A similar effect is seen in the Crab pulsar, where permanent changes in spin-down rate occurring at glitches contribute a correction of $`0.05`$ to the value of $`n=2.5`$ measured between glitches (Nice (1993)).

The quasi-cubic trend in the residuals of PSR J1814$``$1744 shown in Figure 2d suggests the presence of timing noise in this pulsar. In these circumstances, we determined its position by “whitening” the residuals with a fit of the data to a model incorporating celestial coordinates, $`\nu `$, $`\dot{\nu }`$, and $`\ddot{\nu }`$. We took the resulting coordinates, with uncertainties, as our best unbiased estimate of position, and kept them fixed in subsequent fits to the timing data. We then performed one fit for $`\nu `$ and $`\dot{\nu }`$, resulting in the best values for these stationary parameters averaged over the data span, with residuals displayed in Figure 2d and showing some red-noise. Finally we performed one extra fit with the additional free parameter $`\ddot{\nu }`$, which is not stationary. Values obtained for all these parameters are listed in Table 1. We note that the value of $`\ddot{\nu }`$, an estimate of the amount of timing noise present in PSR J1814$``$1744, is approximately at the level expected from equations (4)–(5). Note that the uncertainty in declination is particularly large because this pulsar is located at low ecliptic latitude.

The DMs quoted in Table 1 were obtained by folding raw data at the known pulse period for each of four frequency sub-bands, created by the addition of data from 24 adjacent frequency channels, and fitting a time-delay between the sub-bands. This was done for timing data in the case of PSR J1119$``$6127 and discovery data for PSR J1814$``$1744. Dispersion measures, together with a model for the Galactic electron density distribution (Taylor & Cordes (1993)), are used to estimate distances to pulsars. For PSR J1119$``$6127 the implied distance is $`d>30`$ kpc. However, the model does not account for most individual Hii regions, and, because the pulsar lies in the direction of the Carina spiral arm, with the likelihood of nearby ionizing population I stars, this distance is assuredly a gross overestimate. We believe it is likely that the pulsar is located between the two line-of-sight crossings of the Carina arm, between $`d=2.4`$ and 8 kpc. The distance estimate quoted in Table 1 for PSR J1814$``$1744 is that obtained from the model of Taylor & Cordes (1993).

The flux densities at 1374 MHz listed in Table 1 were determined by converting the average observed signal strength of the pulsars to a scale calibrated using published flux densities at 1400 MHz for a group of high-DM pulsars, taking into account the variation in sky background temperature.

## 3. Discussion

### 3.1. PSR J1119$``$6127

PSR J1119$``$6127 has the largest period derivative known among radio pulsars. Partly for this reason it was relatively straightforward to measure a stationary $`\ddot{\nu }`$ with a phase-connected timing solution (i.e., through absolute pulse numbering), only the third pulsar for which this has been possible. The resulting value of braking index is $`n=2.91\pm 0.05`$, including possible contamination by timing noise (see § 2), and is in good agreement with that predicted by a model treating the pulsar as an oblique rotator with a current-starved outer magnetosphere (Melatos (1997)). For the four other pulsars for which it has been measured, $`n`$ ranges between 1.4 and 2.8 (see § 1). That observed braking indices are smaller than 3 can be explained in a variety of ways (see Melatos (1997) for a review), including a kinetic energy-dominated flow at the light cylinder, or an increase in the magnetic moment of the star over time (Blandford & Romani (1988)). None of these scenarios are consistent with all the observations (Arons (1992)). Measurement of $`\stackrel{_{\mathrm{}}}{\nu }`$ would constrain these possibilities further. At present the upper limit in Table 1 is 30 times the value expected from a simple spin-down law (Blandford & Romani (1988)). Whether this can be measured, and how much the measurement of $`n`$ can be improved with further observations, will depend on the level of timing noise and glitch activity displayed by the pulsar.

Assuming that $`P_0P`$, but using the measured values of $`P`$, $`\dot{P}`$, and $`n`$ (Table 1) in equation (1), the age of PSR J1119$``$6127 is $`1.7\pm 0.1`$ kyr, including possible biases due to timing noise and glitches (see § 2). Of course, if the pulsar were born spinning slower, it would be younger. For $`P_0=0.2`$ s, half the present period, the age is 1.2 kyr. In any case it is clear that PSR J1119$``$6127 is among the very youngest neutron stars known.

Three other pulsars with characteristic ages under 2 kyr are known: the Crab pulsar ($`\tau _\mathrm{c}=1.3`$ kyr), PSR B1509$``$58 in G320.4$``$1.2 ($`\tau _\mathrm{c}=1.6`$ kyr), and PSR B0540$``$69 in the Large Magellanic Cloud ($`\tau _\mathrm{c}=1.7`$ kyr). All three are associated with SNRs. We have searched for evidence of an SNR near PSR J1119$``$6127. Although none is cataloged (Green (1996)), data from the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope obtained at a radio frequency of 843 MHz (Green et al. (1999)) reveal a faint ring of radius 7 centered on the pulsar. This could be the expanding blast wave of the SNR. Its size would imply an expansion velocity of $`10^4`$ km s-1, for a distance of 8 kpc and age of 1.6 kyr, reasonable for the blast-wave interpretation if the surrounding medium is of low density and relatively uniform. Additional ATCA data show that the shell has a non-thermal radio spectrum (Crawford et al., in preparation). This possible SNR is also X-ray-bright, with its spectrum described by either a power-law or thermal model, and additional observations are required to further constrain its properties (Pivovaroff, Kaspi, & Camilo 2000a ). Although the supernova that gave birth to this pulsar occurred in an era in which celestial events were recorded by some civilizations, this explosion may have been too far south and/or too distant or too obscured to have been detected by these observers.

The glitch observed in PSR J1119$``$6127 is small compared to most glitches in most pulsars, with $`\mathrm{\Delta }\nu /\nu =(4.4\pm 0.4)\times 10^9`$ (Table 1), but it is of similar fractional size as three of the five glitches observed in the Crab pulsar over 23 years (Lyne et al. 2000b). It remains to be seen whether at least some of the change measured in $`\dot{\nu }`$ is permanent, as seen in the Crab glitches. Unless we were unreasonably lucky, PSR J1119$``$6127 glitches more often than the Crab pulsar, but it is curious that its glitches share some characteristics with those of the Crab: while its period and magnetic field are approximately 10 times larger than the Crab’s, its age, and perhaps therefore its internal temperature, are similar.

Finally, we compare the PSR J1119$``$6127 system with some young pulsar/SNR systems. For ages $`2000`$ yr, the radio luminosity $`L_\mathrm{R}`$ of a synchrotron nebula (“plerion”) with a central pulsar is a measure of the energy output of the pulsar over its lifetime, due to the relatively long lifetime of the radiating electrons. The plerion X-ray luminosity $`L_\mathrm{X}`$, on the other hand, reflects the current $`\dot{E}`$ of the pulsar. For the Crab and PSR B0540$``$69, $`L_\mathrm{X}0.05\dot{E}`$, while for PSR B1509$``$58, $`L_\mathrm{X}0.01\dot{E}`$ (see Helfand et al. 1995, and references therein). For SNR 3C58, Helfand et al. find that all available data can be reconciled with a (candidate) pulsar having $`P0.2`$ s, $`\dot{P}4\times 10^{12}`$ (parameters similar to those of PSR J1119$``$6127 — see Table 1), and with $`L_\mathrm{X}5\times 10^4\dot{E}`$. For PSR J1119$``$6127, with a current $`\dot{E}`$ 200 times smaller than the Crab’s, the limit on plerionic X-ray emission is $`L_\mathrm{X}10^3\dot{E}`$ (Pivovaroff et al. 2000a). If PSR J1119$``$6127 were born with a small period, it would have had a much larger $`\dot{E}`$ within the past $`1700`$ yr, possibly larger than the Crab’s initially. That energetic past might be reflected in plerionic radio emission near the pulsar, depending on the local environment. A measurement of $`L_\mathrm{X}`$ and $`L_\mathrm{R}`$ may in principle provide information about whether PSR J1119$``$6127 was born with a rapid spin rate, as commonly assumed for most pulsars, or whether it was born a slow rotator.

### 3.2. PSR J1814$``$1744

Figure 3.2 is a plot of $`\dot{P}`$ versus $`P`$ for the radio pulsar population. PSRs J1119$``$6127 and J1814$``$1744 are indicated, and we infer $`B=4.1\times 10^{13}`$ and $`5.5\times 10^{13}`$ G respectively, using equation (2). These are the highest magnetic field strengths yet observed among radio pulsars. The pulsars with the next largest values of $`B`$ are PSRs J1726$``$3530 $`(P=1.1\text{s};B=3.7\times 10^{13}\text{G})`$ and J1632$``$4818 $`(P=0.8\text{s};B=2.3\times 10^{13}\text{G})`$, also discovered in the multibeam survey333See http://www.atnf.csiro.au/$``$pulsar/psr/pmsurv/pmwww/pmpsrs.db.. Prior to this survey the largest value was $`B=2.1\times 10^{13}`$ G for the 2.4 s PSR B0154+61 (Arzoumanian et al. (1994)).

Also shown in Figure 3.2 are the sources usually identified as magnetars, namely the five anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and two soft gamma repeaters (SGRs) for which $`P`$ and $`\dot{P}`$ have been measured. AXPs are characterized by X-ray periods in the range 5–12 s and extremely rapid spin down (Gotthelf & Vasisht (1998)), while the SGRs exhibit occasional enormous bursts of $`\gamma `$-radiation and AXP-like X-ray pulsations during quiescence.

Most models of the radio emission physics (Manchester & Taylor (1977)) depend on pair-production cascades above the magnetic poles and hence on the magnitude of the magnetic field. However, at field strengths near or above the so-called “quantum critical field,”

$$B_\mathrm{c}\frac{m_e^2c^3}{e\mathrm{}}=4.4\times 10^{13}\mathrm{G},$$
(6)
the field at which the cyclotron energy is equal to the electron rest-mass energy, processes such as photon splitting may inhibit pair-producing cascades. It has therefore been argued (Baring & Harding (1998)) that a radio-loud/radio-quiet boundary can be drawn on the $`P`$$`\dot{P}`$ diagram, with radio pulsars on one side, and AXPs and SGRs on the other (see dotted line in Fig. 3.2).

The existence of PSRs J1119$``$6127, J1726$``$3530, and J1814$``$1744 demonstrates that radio emission can be produced in neutron stars with $`BB_\mathrm{c}`$. The radio luminosities of these objects (Table 1) are typical for observed radio pulsars. Thus, photon splitting does not appear to inhibit radio emission at these magnetic fields, in agreement with Usov & Melrose (1995) who argue that this process is inhibited by polarization selection rules. Also, there are both astrophysical and instrumental selection effects which bias searches against the detection of long-period ($`P5`$ s) radio pulsars such as J1814$``$1744: evidence suggests their beams are narrower (e.g., Young, Manchester, & Johnston (1999)), so the chances of one intersecting our line-of-sight are smaller, and instrumental high-pass filtering intended to remove baseline variations reduces the sensitivity of searches for such pulsars. Pulsars such as J1814$``$1744 could therefore be more prevalent than present numbers suggest.

Especially noteworthy is the proximity of PSR J1814$``$1744 to the cluster of AXPs and SGRs at the upper right corner of Figure 3.2. In particular, this pulsar has a very similar $`\dot{P}`$ to that of the well-known AXP 1E 2259+586 (Fahlman & Gregory (1981); Baykal et al. (1998)), which has a period of 7 s. The disparity in their emission properties is therefore surprising.

The absence of X-ray emission from the direction of PSR J1814$``$1744, inferred from archival ASCA and ROSAT observations, implies that it must be significantly less luminous than 1E 2259+586 (Pivovaroff, Kaspi, & Camilo 2000b ).

The radio emission upper limit for 1E 2259+586 (Coe, Jones, & Lehto (1994); Lorimer, Lyne, & Camilo (1998)) implies an upper limit on the radio luminosity at 1400 MHz of 0.8 mJy kpc2, $`10^2`$ that of PSR J1814$``$1744, assuming a distance of 4 kpc (Rho & Petre (1997)). This limit is comparable to the lowest values observed for the radio pulsar population (Tauris et al. (1994)). That the radio pulse may be unobservable because of beaming cannot of course be ruled out.

The radio-loud/radio-quiet boundary line displayed in Figure 3.2 is more illustrative than quantitative (Baring & Harding (1998)). However, the apparently normal radio emission from PSRs J1119$``$6127, J1726$``$3530, and J1814$``$1744, and the absence of radio emission from 1E 2259+586, located very close to PSR J1814$``$1744 on a $`P`$$`\dot{P}`$ diagram (Fig. 3.2), suggests that it may be difficult to delineate any such boundary.

The two sources are also similar in their levels of rotational stability, at least on time scales of $`2`$ yr: PSR J1814$``$1744 displays timing noise in the amount expected for a radio pulsar with its $`\dot{P}`$ (see § 2), as is the upper limit on timing noise for 1E 2259+586 over a 2–3 yr span (Kaspi, Chakrabarty, & Steinberger (1999)). However, longer term incoherent timing of 1E 2259+586 has revealed significant deviations from a simple spin-down model. These have been interpreted as being evidence for radiative precession of the neutron star, due to its physical distortion by the strong magnetic field (Melatos (1999)). Alternatively, Heyl & Hernquist (1999) suggest the deviations are due to extremely large glitches. In either model, similar behavior might be expected of PSR J1814$``$1744; continued radio timing will be sensitive to it.

The similar spin parameters for these two stars and, in turn, many common features between 1E 2259+586 and some other AXPs and SGRs, suggest that very high inferred magnetic field strengths cannot be the sole factor governing whether or not an isolated neutron star is a magnetar or a radio pulsar. Other possible factors include heavy-element atmospheric composition and youth (Thompson & Duncan (1993); Heyl & Hernquist (1997); see also Pivovaroff et al. 2000b). The age of PSR J1814$``$1744, if $`P_0P`$ and $`n=3`$, is 85 kyr. It is unlikely that any associated supernova remnant would still be observable and indeed there is none known in the vicinity (Green (1996)).

We also note that the recently proposed accretion model for AXPs (Chatterjee, Hernquist, & Narayan (2000)), in which they are accreting from a fall-back disk formed from material remaining after the supernova explosion, is challenged by PSR J1814$``$1744. In this model, the neutron star should not be a radio pulsar, but rather an AXP progenitor in a “dim propeller phase,” its rotational frequency being still too high for the accreting material to overcome the centrifugal barrier. Of course, it is always possible that in this one case no fall-back disk formed.

Proof that AXPs or SGRs are isolated high-magnetic-field neutron stars would come from either the discovery of magnetar-like emission from a radio pulsar, or radio pulsations from a putative magnetar. While such radio emission was not expected due to theoretical considerations, because of the high inferred magnetic fields, the discovery of PSR J1814$``$1744 shows that this emission does occur at magnetic field values characteristic of at least some magnetars, opening the possibility that magnetars also emit observable radio waves.

We thank B. Gaensler for assistance with the MOST data analysis, and D. Nice, M. Pivovaroff, D. Helfand, L. Hernquist, and B. Schaefer for useful discussions. The Parkes radio telescope is part of the Australia Telescope which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia for operation as a National Facility managed by CSIRO. V. M. K. and F. Crawford are supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER award (AST-9875897). F. Camilo is supported by NASA grant NAG 5-3229.


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# 1 INTRODUCTION

## 1 INTRODUCTION

Most galaxies in the local universe belong to loose galaxy groups. Groups seem to be the natural continuation of galaxy clusters at smaller mass scales. Indeed, there is a continuity of properties from rich clusters to poor clusters and to groups (e.g., Ramella, Geller, & Huchra 1989; Burns et al. 1996; Mulchaey & Zabludoff 1998; Ramella et al. 1999; Girardi, Boschin, & da Costa 2000).

Zabludoff & Mulchaey (1998) used multi–fiber spectroscopy to obtain velocities for a large number of group members (i.e. 280 galaxies for a total of 12 groups) and Mahdavi et al. (1999) measured several hundreds of redshifts to obtain a sample of 20 groups, each one having , on average, 30 galaxies . For these well–sampled groups Zabludoff & Mulchaey (1998) and Mahdavi et al. (1999) performed refined analyses, i.e. the rejection of interlopers, the study of the internal galaxy distribution and velocity dispersion profiles, and the separation of different galaxy populations (see, e.g., Biviano et al. 1997; Carlberg et al. 1996, 1997b; den Hartog & Katgert 1996; Dressler et al. 1999; Girardi et al. 1996, 1998b; Mohr et al. 1996; Koranyi & Geller 2000; for recent relevant results on rich and poor clusters).

However, all these analyses are so far restricted to a limited number of groups since they require a strong observational effort. Therefore, to analyze group dynamical properties in a statistical sense, one must resort to wide group catalogs where groups are extracted from three–dimensional galaxy catalogs and typically contain $`<`$ five member galaxies (e.g., Huchra & Geller 1982; Tully 1987; Ramella et al. 1999).

Here, we focus our attention on the determination of group mass function from wide catalogs of nearby loose groups. The observational determination of group mass function is plagued by several problems. Some of them concern the estimate of mass and are mainly due to the small number of group members and to uncertainties in the dynamical stage. In fact, although group cores are virialized or close to virialization (Zabludoff & Mulchaey 1998), the size of groups identified in three–dimensional galaxy catalogs, i.e. $`0.5`$$`1`$ $`h^1Mpc`$, is appreciably greater than their expected virialized region, i.e. $`0.2`$–0.4 $`h^1Mpc`$for systems with a line–of–sight velocity dispersion of 100–200 $`kms^1`$(according to the relations found for galaxy clusters, e.g. Carlberg, Yee, & Ellingson 1997; Girardi et al. 1998b). Indeed, there is a strong indication that these groups are not virialized systems over the whole sampled region, but can be rather described as being in a phase of collapse (e.g., Giuricin et al. 1988; Mamon 1994; Diaferio et al. 1993). Therefore, usual estimates of velocity dispersion and virial mass are not easily connected to physical quantities such as group potential and mass.

The small number of data and the uncertainties on dynamical status prevent one to use refined methods to reject interlopers in each individual group (e.g., Zabludoff & Mulchaey 1998, Mahdavi et al. 1999). Instead, one must rely on member galaxies as assigned by the group-selection algorithm, while checking a posteriori the presence of spurious groups in a statistical sense (e.g., Ramella, Pisani, & Geller 1997; Diaferio et al. 1999). Indeed the results could depend on the choice of the group-selection algorithm and its free parameter (e.g., Pisani et al. 1992 – hereafter P92; Ramella et al. 1997). For instance, Frederic’ s (1995b) analysis of cosmological N–body simulations suggested that the estimated median mass depends on the algorithm and that the resulting bias is sensitive to the depth of the galaxy survey. However, even the analysis of simulated groups is not an easy task and, indeed, the results on mass can depend on the treatment of halos (cf. Frederic 1995b).

A further uncertainty is connected to cosmic variance. In fact, group catalogs are recovered from local galaxy catalogs which may not be fair samples of the universe.

In view of these difficulties, few statistical distributions of group dynamical properties are available in the literature and they are often discrepant. The cumulative distributions of internal velocity–dispersion, as computed by Moore, Frenk, & White (1993) and by Zabludoff et al. (1993), are strongly discrepant (the number densities of groups with line–of–sight velocity dispersion larger than 200 $`kms^1`$differ by a factor of 100, see Fig. 6 of Fadda et al. 1996 for a comparison). Moreover, analyzing nearby groups ($`cz2000`$ $`kms^1`$) of three different group catalogs, P92 found a significant dependence of the distribution of mass and other dynamical group parameters on the group-identification algorithm.

The availability of new group catalogs has prompted us to derive a new group mass function, whose connection with the recent determination of the optical virial mass function of nearby rich galaxy clusters (Girardi et al. 1998a, hereafter G98) deserves to be investigated.

The work by Garcia (1993, hereafter G93), who constructed two group catalogs using two different identification algorithms (the percolation and hierarchical ones) and proposed a third catalog which is a combination of the two, represents a good data base for facing the effect of identification algorithms. So far, G93 catalogs are the largest catalogs of groups presently published. They are largely superior to those analyzed by P92 both for the number of groups (450–500 groups for each of the three catalogs) and the encompassed volumes ($`2/3`$ of sky, $`cz5500`$ $`kms^1`$). Moreover, these group catalogs were selected from the same parent galaxy sample, thus allowing us to better investigate on the effects due to differences in the selection algorithm. Furthermore, the improved statistics in the high-mass range (less than ten groups analyzed by P92 have masses larger than $`10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$) permits an interesting comparison with cluster mass function and a determination of the virial mass function over an unprecedently large range of masses.

In § 2 we briefly describe the data. In § 3 we calculate group masses. In § 4 and 5 we compute group mass function and verify its stability, respectively. In § 6 we compare the results of groups and clusters, recovering the mass function of galaxy systems for a mass range which extends over two orders of magnitude. In § 7 we give our discussions. In § 8 we summarize our results and draw our conclusions.

Throughout the paper, errors are given at the $`68\%`$ confidence level and the Hubble constant is $`H_0=100\mathrm{h}`$Mpc<sup>-1</sup> $`kms^1`$.

## 2 DATA SAMPLE

We analyze the loose group catalogs constructed by G93. These groups were identified by using galaxies (within $`cz=5500`$ $`kms^1`$) belonging to the subsample of the Lyon–Meudon Extragalactic Database which is nearly complete down to the limiting apparent magnitude $`B_0=14`$, the total blue magnitude corrected for Galactic absorption, internal absorption and K–dimming. G93 used two methods in group construction: a percolation method (hereafter $`P`$, derived from the friends–of–friends method presented by Huchra & Geller 1982) and a hierarchical method (hereafter $`H`$, derived from that of Tully 1980, 1987). Each method gives one catalog. The $`P`$ and $`H`$ catalogs contain 453 and 498 groups of at least three members, respectively. In particular, G93 tuned the free parameters of the methods so as to obtain the best compromise between the stability of group membership and the similarity of the two group catalogs (Garcia, Morenas, & Paturel et al. 1992).

Then G93 combined together the two catalogs in order to obtain the final catalog (hereafter $`G`$ catalog, 485 groups) defined as the catalog which contains only the groups which were found in part in both catalogs. For these final groups only the galaxies in common were kept as group members. If some groups of a catalog (in most cases the $`P`$ catalog) turned out to be divided into two or more groups in the other catalog (in most cases the $`H`$ catalog), the smallest systems were kept for the final catalog.

In our work, as already suggested by the author, we do not consider galaxies added afterwards (flagged by “+”) which have no known magnitude or which are not fully satisfying the selection criteria. We refer to the original paper for more details on group catalogs.

We exclude from our analysis groups with $`cz500`$ $`kms^1`$because, when the velocity becomes low, its random component dominates and the velocity is no longer a reliable indication of the distance.

The samples we analyze consist of 446, 490, and 476 groups ($`P`$, $`H`$, and $`G`$ groups, respectively).

## 3 COMPUTING GROUP MASSES

The virial mass of a relaxed galaxy system is computed as $`M_{vir}=\sigma ^2R_V/G`$ where $`R_V`$ is the virial radius of the system and $`\sigma `$ is the velocity dispersion of member galaxies (Limber & Mathews 1960). Other usual mass estimators, e.g. the projected and the median mass mass estimators (Bahcall & Tremaine 1981; Heisler, Tremaine, & Bahcall 1985), give similar results as shown by P92 (cf. also Perea, del Olmo, & Moles 1990). A more serious problem comes from the fact that one must assume that, within each group, mass distribution follows galaxy distribution (e.g., Merritt 1987). This assumption is shown to be enough reliable for galaxy clusters both from optical, X–ray, and gravitational lensing analyses (see Girardi et al. 1998b, Lewis et al. 1999 and references therein) and, for likeness, the same assumption can be made for galaxy groups.

We compute the above virial parameters from the observed projected positions in the sky and the line–of–sight velocities of the member galaxies. In fact, for a spherical system, the parameters $`R_V`$ and $`\sigma `$ are linked to their observational counterparts as $`\sigma =\sqrt{3}\sigma _v`$ and $`R_V=(\pi /2)R_{PV}=(\pi /2)N_m(N_m1)/\mathrm{\Sigma }_{i>j}R_{ij}^1`$, where $`\sigma _v`$ is the line–of–sight velocity dispersion, $`R_{PV}`$ is the projected virial radius, $`N_m`$ is the number of group members and $`R_{ij}`$ the galaxy projected distances. In particular, we estimate the ”robust” velocity dispersion by using the biweight estimator for rich groups (member number $`N_m15`$) and the gapper estimator for poorer groups (ROSTAT routines by Beers, Flynn, & Gebhardt 1990). Beers et al. (1990) have shown the superiority of their techniques in terms of efficiency and stability when treating systems with a small number of members (cf. also Girardi et al. 1993). In our case (see also Mahdavi et al. 1999) we verify that the distributions of robust and traditional estimates of velocity dispersion are not different according to the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test (hereafter KS-test, e.g. Ledermann 1982). We apply the relativistic correction and the usual correction for velocity errors (Danese, De Zotti, & di Tullio 1980). In particular, for each galaxy, we assume a typical velocity error of $`30`$ $`kms^1`$based on the average of errors estimated in RC3 catalog from optical and radio spectroscopy (de Vaucouleurs et al. 1991).

Note that our estimates of the virial parameters do not require any luminosity–weighting procedure. Indeed, it was shown that the values of the virial masses are largely insensitive to different weighting procedures (e.g., Giuricin, Mardirossian, & Mezzetti 1982; P92) in agreement with evidences of velocity equipartition (e.g., Giuricin et al. 1982).

In order to take into account the dynamical state of groups we use the method proposed by Giuricin et al. (1988). This method is based on the classical model of the spherical collapse where the initial density fluctuation grows, lagging behind the cosmic expansion when it breaks away from the Hubble flow, and begins to collapse; then a relaxation process sets in (e.g., Gott & Rees 1975). The time evolution curves $`A(t)`$, which is the ratio between the absolute values of the kinetic and potential energies, given by the dynamical model, are the starting point for the determination of the evolutionary stage. The evolution curve used by Giuricin et al. (1988) has been derived from numerical simulations of systems composed of 15 point masses with a Schechter–type mass function (Giuricin et al. 1984; the limits of this model are discussed in §7.1)

According to the above method, the value of $`A`$, which is needed to recover corrected masses as $`M=(1/2A)(\sigma ^2R_V/G)`$, can be inferred from the estimate of the presently observed virial crossing time $`t_{cr}=(3/5)^{3/2}R_V/\sigma `$. One can also derive the value of $`\tau `$, which is the elapsed time since fluctuations started growing (here in units of the crossing time at the virialization, $`t_{cr}^v`$). In particular, the precise values of $`A`$ and $`\tau `$ depend on the background cosmology. Here, we estimate corrected group masses for two reference cosmological models, a flat one with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ for the matter density parameter and an open one with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ (cf. also P92).

For each catalog, in Table 1 we give the number of groups (Col. 2) and median group properties: the mean redshift (Col. 3); the line–of–sight velocity dispersion, $`\sigma _v`$ (Col. 4); the projected virial radius, $`R_{PV}`$ (Col. 5); the crossing time, $`t_{cr}`$ (Col. 6); the virial mass, $`M_{vir}`$ (Col. 7); the value of $`\tau `$ and the corrected virial mass, $`M`$, for the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ model (Cols. 8 and 9) and for the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ model (Cols. 10 and 11).

TABLE 1

Group Properties

| Cat. | $`N`$ | $`z`$ | $`\sigma _v`$ | $`R_{PV}`$ | $`H_0t_{cr}`$ | $`M_{vir}`$ | $`\tau _{0.2}`$ | $`M_{0.2}`$ | $`\tau _1`$ | $`M_1`$ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  | $`\left(kms^1\right)`$ | $`\left(h^1Mpc\right)`$ |  | $`\left(h^1M_{}\right)`$ | $`\left(t_{cr}^v\right)`$ | $`\left(h^1M_{}\right)`$ | $`\left(t_{cr}^v\right)`$ | $`\left(h^1M_{}\right)`$ |
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8) | (9) | (10) | (11) |
| $`G`$ | 476 | 0.0097 | 118 | 0.59 | 0.23 | $`8.4E12`$ | 5.43 | $`10.7E12`$ | 5.22 | $`12.7E12`$ |
| $`H`$ | 490 | 0.0096 | 108 | 0.62 | 0.26 | $`6.6E12`$ | 5.32 | 9.8$`E12`$ | 5.11 | $`11.8E12`$ |
| $`P`$ | 446 | 0.0095 | 151 | 0.62 | 0.20 | $`14.8E12`$ | 5.51 | 18.1$`E12`$ | 5.31 | $`20.3E12`$ |

From the values of $`\tau `$ ($`<2\pi `$) we infer that most groups are in the phase of collapse and not yet virialized in agreement with previous analyses of earlier catalogs (e.g., Giuricin et al. 1988; P92). Moreover, $`P`$ groups result to be more evolved than $`H`$ groups. The resulting estimate of the corrected mass is larger than the virial mass by a factor of $`20`$$`60\%`$, depending on the group catalog and on the assumed background cosmology. Since, for each of the three catalogs, $`t_{cr}`$ does not correlate with $`M_{vir}`$, one could apply the same percent correction to $`M_{vir}`$ of all groups to obtain corrected masses (as inferred from Table 1, e.g. multiplying by $`12.7/8.4=1.41`$ in the case of $`G`$ groups and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$). The mass distribution resulting from the application of an average correction is indistinguishable (according to the KS-test) from the application of individual corrections for each group.

The distribution of corrected group masses is only slightly dependent on the cosmological environment; in fact, the two mass distributions computed for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ do not differ significantly (according to the KS-test). Therefore, hereafter, if not explicitly said, we consider the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ case only.

## 4 GROUP MASS FUNCTION

In order to compute a reliable group mass function, MF, we avoid strongly obscured regions by considering only groups with galactic latitude $`|b|20^{}`$ (i.e. within a solid angle of $`\omega =8.27`$ sr). We consider 409, 381, and 344 $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ groups, respectively.

To obtain the true spatial number density, the selection effects of the galaxy catalog, which is magnitude limited, must be taken into account. Following Moore et al. (1993), we weight each group by using the magnitude of its third brightest galaxy which allows the inclusion of the group itself in the catalog. We weight each group by $`w=1/\mathrm{\Gamma }_{max}`$ where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{max}`$ is the maximum volume, within the catalog velocity cut–off, out to which the group can be seen:

$`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{max}=\left({\displaystyle \frac{\omega }{3}}\right)\left(v_{lim}H_0^1\right)^3\left[1{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}\left(1+q_0\right){\displaystyle \frac{v_{lim}}{c}}\right]`$
$`\left({\displaystyle \frac{\omega }{3}}\right)\left(500H_0^1\right)^3\left[1{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}\left(1+q_0\right){\displaystyle \frac{500}{c}}\right],`$ (1)
where $`v_{lim}`$ is the smaller one between 5500 $`kms^1`$and the maximum recession velocity at which the third brightest galaxy in the group would be brighter than the magnitude limit; $`c`$ is the speed of light and $`q_0`$ the deceleration parameter.

By plotting the weights vs. group masses (cf. Figure 1, left panels), we note that groups generally lie in a well–defined region of the $`wM`$ plane with the exception of a few groups which fall very far away from the other points. Therefore, in order to avoid problems of instability in the resulting MF, for a few groups we recompute the weights according to the following procedure. In each mass range (of a unity in logarithmic scale) we compute the mean and s.d. of $`logw`$ and substitute the values which are three s.d. far away from the mean with the corresponding mean values. We change the value of weights for three, four, and three groups in $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ catalogs, respectively (cf. Figure 1, right panels).

Fig. 1.— For the three catalogs, left panels show that groups generally lie in a well–defined region of the weight–mass plane. Right panels show the same, after recomputing the value of weights for a few groups which lie far from this region (see text).

Then, since the parent galaxy sample was found to have a redshift incompleteness of $`10\%`$ (Marinoni et al. 1999), the resulting group densities are enhanced by the same factor. This is a rough correction. As discussed in § 5, a more refined correction which takes into account the number of group members would give similar results.

The comparison between different catalogs is shown in Figure 2. In the low–mass range the three MFs show large fluctuations (well over the estimated Poissonian errors) and a tendency towards flattening, which suggests problems of incompleteness. Our results for $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$, which we assume as our completeness limit, come from 230, 207, and 214 groups for $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ catalogs, respectively. The determination of global group number density is quite stable, since the density of groups with $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$$`h^1M_{}`$is $`1.4`$, $`1.3`$, and $`1.9\times 10^3(h^1Mpc)^3`$ for $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ catalogs, respectively.

However, Figure 2 shows that $`P`$ catalog gives a flatter MF with respect to $`G`$ and $`H`$ catalogs. In fact, according to the KS–test, the MF of $`P`$ groups strongly differs from that of $`G`$ and $`H`$ groups (at a c.l. greater than 98%), while there is no difference between $`G`$ and $`H`$ groups. However, the difference becomes smaller if we exclude large masses and, for instance, we do not find any significant difference if we exclude $`M>4\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$, a range where reliable results come from cluster analysis.

In the case of the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ model we find similar results, except for the fact that, since estimated masses are smaller, the density of groups with $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$$`h^1M_{}`$is somewhat lower than in the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ case, i.e. $`1.2`$, $`1.0`$, and $`1.7\times 10^3(h^1Mpc)^3`$ for $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ catalogs, respectively.

Fig. 2.— We compare mass functions as computed from the three catalogs. $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ groups are denoted by closed circles, open circles, and triangles, respectively. To avoid confusion we give error bars ($`1\sigma `$ Poissonian uncertainties) only for $`G`$ and $`P`$ groups.

## 5 ON THE STABILITY <br>OF GROUP MASS FUNCTION

Fig. 3.— The cumulative mass function for the nearby groups of $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ catalogs (with $`cz2000`$ $`kms^1`$). Error bars represent $`1\sigma `$ Poissonian uncertainties.

First we consider groups with $`cz2000`$ $`kms^1`$. In particular, we have 136, 124, and 117 $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ nearby groups, respectively, with galactic latitude $`|b|20^{}`$. For each catalog, the observed group population in the nearby subsamples can be considered a good representation of the total population because we do not see any significant trend between mass and distance. Therefore, the nearby groups can be considered a complete sample, except for the less massive ones, which could not be identified out to the distance limit of 20 $`h^1Mpc`$since their third brightest galaxy is not bright enough. If we assume that the nearby groups form a complete sample, we can directly compute the MF for each of the three catalogs. There is no significant difference among the three mass distributions (according to the Kruskas–Wallis test, e.g., Ledermann 1982, cf. Figure 3). Moreover, apart from the density of low-mass groups, $`M10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$, where the completeness of the nearby groups is questionable, there is a good agreement between the number densities estimated from the whole catalogs with those from the nearby ones (cf. Figure 4). This result reassures us of the reliability of our weighting procedure (cf. § 4).

Fig. 4.— For the three catalogs we compare mass functions as computed from all the groups and the nearby groups (closed and open circles, respectively). Error bars represent $`1\sigma `$ Poissonian uncertainties.

The physical reality of the detected groups is often discussed in the literature. In particular, the efficiency of the percolation algorithm has been repeatedly checked through cosmological N–body simulations (e.g., Nolthenius & White 1987; Moore et al. 1993; Nolthenius, Klypin, & Primack 1994; Frederic 1995a,b; Nolthenius, Klypin, & Primack 1997; Diaferio et al. 1999) and geometrical Monte–Carlo simulations (Ramella et al. 1997). These computations show that an appreciable fraction of the poorer groups, those with $`N_m<5`$ members, is false (i.e. unbound density fluctuations), whereas the richer groups almost always correspond to real systems (e.g., Ramella et al. 1995; Mahdavi et al. 1997). By following the results of Ramella et al. (1997; cf. also Diaferio et al. 1999) we reduce the weights of groups with $`N_m=3`$ and $`4N_m5`$ members by $`70\%`$ and $`20\%`$, respectively. Figure 5 shows the effect on the cumulative MF of $`P`$ groups. The MF at large masses is quite stable and, however, the number density at the completeness limit of $`9\times 10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$could be overestimated only by a factor of $`<50\%`$.

Fig. 5.— We show the effect of the presence of poor groups on the cumulative mass function of $`P`$ groups. The thin line indicates the mass function obtained when the weight of poor groups is suitably reduced (see text). Error bars represent $`1\sigma `$ Poissonian uncertainties. The mass completeness limit is indicated by the vertical dashed line ($`M>9\times 10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$).

Galaxy density is known to show significant fluctuations around the mean density. Redshift surveys reveal voids of sizes up to 50 $`h^1Mpc`$and large bidimensional sheets (e.g., de Lapparent, Geller, & Huchra 1986; Geller & Huchra et al. 1989; Vettolani et al. 1997). Indeed, there is also an indication of a local underdensity of the above size (e.g., Zucca et al. 1997; Marinoni et al. 1999). Since group catalogs are obtained from galaxy catalogs, one could suspect that the amplitude of the group MF we estimate in the local universe is far from being a fair value. In order to shed light on this point, we use the groups identified in the northern Center for Astrophysics redshift survey (CfA2N) by Ramella et al. (1997). The CfA2N covers a smaller solid angle (1.2 sr) than the survey analyzed by G93, but it is deeper ($`cz12000`$ $`kms^1`$) and contains the Great Wall, a very overdense structure . From Ramella et al. (1997) we take group dynamical quantities, $`M_{vir}`$ and $`t_{cr}`$, and apply the same procedure outlined in § 3 and 4 for the evolutionary correction and for the computation of weights (we take the luminosity of the third brightest galaxies from Ramella et al. 2000, in preparation). The resulting MF is shown in Figure 6. The number density of the CfA2N groups with $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$$`h^1M_{}`$lies within the range of values we found for G93 catalogs. In conclusion, although the CfA2N groups come from a quite different volume, their MF is similar to the MF of the G93 groups. This result agrees with that by Ramella et al. (1999) who found that different group catalogs, which sample different volumes, give similar velocity–dispersion distributions.

Fig. 6.— We compare the cumulative mass function of the CfA2N groups by Ramella et al. (1997; RPG97) with that of $`G`$, $`H`$, and $`P`$ groups. Error bars represent $`1\sigma `$ Poissonian uncertainties. The mass completeness limit is indicated by the vertical dashed line ($`M>9\times 10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$).

In § 4 in order to take into account the 10% redshift incompleteness of the parent galaxy sample (Marinoni et al. 1999), we have applied a rough, very small upward correction by 10% to the group densities. A more refined correction should take into account the number of members in each group. For instance, let’s adopt the extreme view that the incompleteness of parent galaxy sample does not affect the density of groups with more than three members, but affects only groups with three members. In the worst case, out of 100 groups (i.e. 300 galaxies, of which 30 are missed) one misses 30 groups. According to this kind of incompleteness we recompute the MFs for the three catalogs. The differences in densities for groups with $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$ are very negligible for $`G`$ groups and at most amount to $`<10\%`$, which is within the errors, for $`H`$ and $`P`$ groups.

## 6 GROUP VS. CLUSTER MASS FUNCTION

Contrary to the case of groups, recent determinations of the distribution of internal velocity dispersions for nearby rich clusters well agree within the errors (cf. Figures 6 and 9 of Fadda et al. 1996). The cluster MF based on optical virial masses has recently been presented by G98. In particular, masses were computed within a radius enclosing the region where clusters are virialized. The resulting MF is reliably estimated for masses larger than $`4\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$with $`50`$ nearby clusters available for this mass range.

We must take into account that the groups examined here extend outside their virialized regions for a meaningful comparison of group masses with cluster masses as well as with Press & Schechter (1974, hereafter PS) predictions, which hold for virialized objects (e.g., Eke, Cole, & Frenk 1996; Lacey & Cole 1996; Borgani et al. 1999).

By using eq. 3 of Ramella et al. (1997), we estimate that $`P`$ groups has a limiting number density contrast of $`70`$, while for $`H`$ groups, detected imposing a luminosity density threshold (Gourgoulhon, Chamaraux, & Fouquè 1992; G93), we compute a luminosity density contrast of $`40`$. These calculations use the Schechter luminosity function (1976) with a slope of $`1.1`$, a normalization factor of $`0.014`$ $`h^3Mpc^3`$, and a characteristic magnitude of $`M_B^{}=20.05logh`$, as well as the galaxy blue luminosity density, $`4.5\times 10^8`$ $`L_{}h^3Mpc^3`$, as obtained by Marinoni et al. (1999) for the same parent galaxy sample. The estimated values of density contrast should be considered as rough estimates also in view of the difficulties in obtaining group catalogs with a constant density contrast (e.g., Nolthenius & White 1987).

In order to compute the matter density contrast, $`\delta \rho /\rho `$, from the above galaxy density contrast, $`(\delta \rho /\rho )_g`$, one should know the biasing factor $`b=(\delta \rho /\rho )_g/(\delta \rho /\rho )`$. Herebelow we compute the value of bias as $`b=1/\sigma _8`$ where $`\sigma _8`$, the r.m.s. mass density fluctuation in spheres of 8 $`h^1Mpc`$radius, is estimated for different values of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$ according to the G98 relation found by comparing PS predictions to the cluster MF (cf. their eq. 4). Accordingly, we adopt $`b=1/0.601.7`$ and $`b=1/1.230.8`$ in the case of the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ and the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ models, respectively.

The resulting $`\delta \rho /\rho `$ for $`P`$ and $`H`$ groups (41 and 24, respectively, for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$; 88 and 50 for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$) are much smaller than the values of $`180`$ and $`550`$ expected within the virialized region for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$, respectively (e.g., Eke et al. 1996).

After assuming that groups have a common radial profile (Fasano et al. 1993), we can roughly estimate the fraction of the mass contained in the virialized region. For each of the three catalogs, Figure 7 plots the cumulative distributions of the galaxy distances from the group (biweight) center combining together data of all groups. To combine the galaxies of all groups we divide each galaxy distance to the projected virial radius, $`R_{PV}`$, of its group. Moreover, in order to better show the behavior of galaxy density, we also normalize the distances to the mean $`<R_{max}/R_{PV}>`$ of the catalog, where the maximum radius, $`R_{max}`$, is the projected distance from the group center of the most distant galaxy, and we normalize the numbers of objects, $`N`$, to that contained within $`<R_{max}/R_{PV}>`$.

From Figure 7 one can infer the fraction of the number of galaxies (i.e. the fraction of group mass if galaxies trace mass) contained within each radius (i.e. how density changes with radius). We are interested in determining the radius (and the corresponding galaxy number/group mass) for which one obtains a density enhancement which is large enough to reach the density contrast expected at virialization. In particular, in the case of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ a reduction in radius of $`50\%`$ (i.e. in number/mass of $`30\%`$) is enough to reach the virialization density. In fact, from Figure 7 one infers that $`70\%`$ of galaxies are contained within about half of the radius ($`0.545`$ for $`P`$ groups; $`0.49`$ for $`H`$ groups). Therefore, considering only these central group regions, the density increase is $`=0.7/(0.545^3)4.3`$ for $`P`$ groups and $`0.7/(0.49^3)5.9`$ for $`H`$ groups; in other words, the resulting density contrast in a $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ universe is $`41\times 4.3180`$ for $`P`$ groups and $`24\times 5.9140`$ for $`G`$ groups (these values are comparable to the virialization density contrast). In view of the inherent approximations, we simply adopt a reduction of group masses by $`30\%`$ for all groups in each of the three catalogs. In the case of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$, similar arguments lead us to adopt a reduction in radius of $`60\%`$ (i.e. in number of $`40\%`$) to reach the virialization density.

In the following comparison with clusters we will reduce group masses by $`30\%`$ and $`40\%`$ for the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ and the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ cases, respectively. We remark that this kind of correction is taken to be equal for all groups since we assume a common typical spatial distribution of member galaxies (Fasano et al. 1993) and we do not consider each individual evolutionary state (note that the crossing time does not show any correlation with group mass, cf. the end of § 3).

Fig. 7.— For each of the three catalogs we give the cumulative distribution of the galaxy distances from group center. To combine the galaxies of all groups we divide each galaxy distance to the projected virial radius, $`R_{PV}`$, of its group. Moreover, we also normalize the distances to the mean $`<R_{max}/R_{PV}>`$ of the catalog, and normalize the numbers of objects, $`N`$, to that contained within $`<R_{max}/R_{PV}>`$. The distributions of $`G`$ and $`H`$ are nearly overlapping.

Figure 8 shows the group and the cluster MFs. The $`P`$ group MF gives too high values at high masses when compared with cluster results, while $`G`$ and $`H`$ catalogs do not contain very massive groups. Therefore, the differences among group catalogs in describing the MF at high masses (cf. § 4) lead to strong uncertainties just where cluster data are available. However, for $`M<4\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$all the three group MFs can be regarded as a smooth extrapolation of the cluster MF.

To provide a phenomenological fitting to the data which takes into account the effect of mass uncertainties we use the Schechter expression (1976). A theoretical, PS approach is instead discussed at the end of this section.

Following a maximum–likelihood approach we fit the Schechter expression for our MF on the whole mass range (groups with $`9\times 10^{12}`$$`h^1M_{}`$$`<M<4\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$and clusters with $`M>4\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$):

$$n(M)=n^{}\left(\frac{M}{M^{}}\right)^\alpha e^{M/M^{}},$$
(2)
where $`n(M)`$ is suitably convolved with the mass errors $`\mathrm{\Delta }M`$. We compute uncertainties on group masses in the same way as in Girardi et al. (1998b): we propagate statistical errors in the estimate of the velocity dispersion $`\sigma _v`$ and of the virial radius $`R_{PV}`$, for which errors are estimated via bootstrap and jacknife techniques, respectively. The resulting mass uncertainties range from $`15\%`$ for clusters at $`M2\times 10^{15}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$to $`90\%`$ for groups at $`M9\times 10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$(we fit $`log(\mathrm{\Delta }M/M)=4.5480.355logM`$) and we assume a lognormal error distribution. The effect of these uncertainties is negligible in the cluster mass range, but it becomes significant in the range of low mass groups.

For instance, in the case of $`G`$ groups ($`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ model) the resulting fitted parameters are: $`n^{}=(2.2\pm 0.3)\times 10^5`$ $`(h^1Mpc)^3`$ $`(10^{14}h^1M_{})^1`$, $`M^{}=3.1_{1.3}^{+1.8}\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$, and $`\alpha =1.55_{0.16}^{+0.14}`$. Table 2 gives the fit results for the three catalogs and for both cosmological model: (Col. 3) gives the number of groups used in this analysis; (Cols. 4, 5, and 6) give the fitted $`n^{}`$, $`M^{}`$, and $`\alpha `$ parameters, respectively. The values of $`\alpha `$ vary in the range of $`1.3`$$`1.6`$ and the values of $`M^{}`$ vary in the range of $`2.7`$$`3.9\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$.

Fig. 8.— For the two reference cosmological models and for each of the three catalogs we show group and mass functions, where masses are computed within the virialized region. Cluster data come from Girardi et al. (1998a). We show the fitted Schechter function and its convolution with errors (thin and thick lines, respectively) by combining data of $`G`$ groups and clusters.

TABLE 2

Parameters of the Mass Function Fit

| Cat. | Model | $`N`$ | $`n^{}`$ | $`M^{}`$ | $`\alpha `$ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  | $`\left[\left(h^1Mpc\right)^3\left(10^{14}h^1M_{}\right)^1\right]`$ | $`\left(10^{14}h^1M_{}\right)`$ |  |
| (1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) |
| $`G`$ | $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ | 193 | 2.2$`\times 10^5`$ | 3.1 | 1.55 |
| $`H`$ | $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ | 177 | 1.0$`\times 10^5`$ | 3.9 | 1.64 |
| $`P`$ | $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ | 153 | 4.6$`\times 10^5`$ | 3.1 | 1.42 |
| $`G`$ | $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ | 159 | 2.4$`\times 10^5`$ | 2.7 | 1.49 |
| $`H`$ | $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ | 147 | 1.5$`\times 10^5`$ | 3.1 | 1.55 |
| $`G`$ | $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ | 153 | 5.5$`\times 10^5`$ | 3.0 | 1.31 |

The errors on the ”shape” parameters $`\alpha `$ and $`M^{}`$ are directly given by the maximum likelihood method (Avni 1976). We recover the error on the normalization $`n^{}`$ by considering the Poissonian error bars associated to the global number of objects considered (and assuming the best fit parameters for the shape). These errors are the formal ones and do not consider other additional effects. The effect of incompleteness (see the end of § 5) is very small, being smaller than Poissonian errors. The effect due to the presence of interlopers is evidenced by differences in results relative to different group-selection algorithms. In particular, for $`P`$ groups, for which the presence of spurious groups is well studied in the literature, adopting the correction analyzed in § 5, we find values for the slope and characteristic mass ($`\alpha =1.5`$ and $`M^{}=3.3\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$for the case $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$, respectively) which are within the errors, but a $`n^{}`$ smaller by a factor of $`50\%`$, e.g. $`n^{}=2.4\times 10^5`$ $`(h^1Mpc)^3`$ $`(10^{14}h^1M_{})^1`$, as already pointed out in § 5. However, this normalization is similar to that coming from the $`G`$ catalog.

G98 applied the PS approach to constrain the cosmological parameters from the observational cluster mass function. The PS approach provides fairly accurate analytical approximation to the number density of dark matter halos of a given mass. The halo mass which appears in the PS formula refers to the mass contained within the virialized region, i.e. the region with a present density contrast of $`18\pi ^2=178`$ (for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$, see Eke et al. 1996 for values in different cosmologies). Moreover, the PS mass function has been compared with N–body simulations by several authors (e.g., Eke et al. 1996; Lacey & Cole 1996; Gross et al. 1998; Borgani et al. 1999; Governato et al. 1999) and has been generally shown to provide a rather accurate description of the abundance of virialized halos of cluster size.

Fig. 9.— For the two reference cosmological models and for each of the three catalogs we compare observational mass functions with Press–Schechter mass functions, with and without convolving with the uncertainties in the mass estimates (thick and thin lines, respectively). The plotted Press–Schechter mass functions are those found to well describe cluster data (Girardi et al. 1998a).

It is worth verifying that the present group MF, in spite of all difficulties inherent in the analysis of groups (cf. §7.1), is a good extension of the PS form fitted on clusters. We use the same PS approach used by G98 for describing the MF of galaxy clusters (cf. their eq. 2 and 3 and details in § 3). In particular, G98 recovered the relation between $`\sigma _8`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0`$ (cf. their eq. 4 for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$). Accordingly, we assume $`\sigma _8=0.60`$ and $`=1.23`$ for the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ and the $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$ cosmological models, respectively, and we fix the shape parameter of the CDM–like power spectrum (e.g., Bardeen et al. 1986) to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }=0.2`$. Figure 9 shows the comparison between the predictions of PS and the observational mass functions. Observational data can be described by the PS models, except for the range of low–mass groups in the case of $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$. Although it is well documented that the PS model which fits rich cluster data overpredicts the number density of low–mass halos compared to the simulations (e.g., Gross et al. 1998; Governato et al. 1999), the predicted difference is much smaller than the difference between our observational MF and the (convolved) PS. Unless the observed difference is due to some problems of data incompleteness in the low-mass range, the case for the open model seems to be preferable. We emphasize that the comparison with PS predictions is not done here for determining the best–fitting cosmological model. Instead it is aimed at verifying that our extension of the MF to group scales is reasonable.

## 7 DISCUSSION

### 7.1 Group Mass Determination

We find that G93 groups can be described as systems in a phase of collapse, in agreement with previous results from earlier group samples identified in redshift galaxy catalogs (e.g., Giuricin et al. 1988; P92; Mamon 1994; Diaferio et al. 1993). We find that the presumably virialized region in groups is only $`<`$ half of the radius sampled by galaxy data.

In order to determine the dynamical status of groups and the corresponding mass correction we use the method of Giuricin et al. (1988), which has been also applied by P92. This method is based on simple numerical simulations, in which groups are not framed within a cosmological environment and the galaxies are represented by mass points starting from a spherical distribution with zero velocity (Giuricin et al. 1984). The comparison with observations could be not straightforward since the observed galaxies may be affected by several environmental effects, e.g. tidal stripping, dynamical friction, and merging events which are not taken into account by these simple simulations. This is connected to the validity of the crucial hypothesis “mass distribution follows galaxy distribution” which is needed also for the standard virial mass estimate (see, e.g., Merritt 1987, 1988 for clusters) and which is also used by us in considering group masses contained within virialized regions (thus, our method of determining the dynamical status is fully consistent with the mass estimate itself).

Several N-body simulations of hierarchical clustering have been performed in order to study galaxy systems in realistic situations. However, until recently, the poor resolution of halos within dense environments has led to soft, diffuse halos that are rapidly dissolved by tidal forces (the so–called overmerging problem, White et al. 1987). This makes it difficult to compare simulations with observed group galaxies which are identified with halos. Recent simulations show that environmental effects can be important and affect the structure of individual galaxies (e.g., Moore et al. 1996; Tormen, Diaferio, & Syer 1998; Colpi, Mayer, & Governato 1998). As for the global distribution of galaxies within clusters, Ghigna et al. (1998, 2000) performed very high-resolution simulations of clusters where the overmerging seems to be globally unimportant (the same seems to hold for small systems, see Moore et al. 1999). Ghigna et al. found that the velocity dispersions of the halos agree with that of the dark matter particles. As for spatial biasing, they found that, at an early epoch of cluster formation, halos and dark matter have number density profiles of similar shape, while at the final time halos are anti–biased. In any case, since up to now these results concern virialized systems, studies of larger, unvirialized regions should be awaited before reaching definitive conclusions for just forming groups.

From the observational point of view, the luminosity segregation of galaxies in clusters, attributed to dynamical friction and merging, was found to concern only the brightest or very bright galaxies (Biviano et al. 1992; Stein et al. 1997). The overall global properties of clusters do not appear to depend on galaxy luminosities and also for groups virial masses are largely insensitive to luminosity weighting procedures (Giuricin et al. 1982; P92).

On the other hand, there are several evidences that different galaxy populations (e.g., early– and late–type galaxies, blue and red galaxies, emission- or non-emission-line galaxies–hereafter ELGs and NELGs) show different spatial and velocity distributions (Biviano et al. 1997; Carlberg et al. 1996, 1997b; den Hartog & Katgert 1996; Adami, Biviano, & Mazure 1998; Dressler et al. 1999; Girardi et al. 1996, 1998b; Mohr et al. 1996; Stein 1997; Koranyi & Geller 2000). As shown by the analyses of velocity dispersion profiles and spatial distribution, the galaxy component whose behavior most differs from the norm is that of very late–type galaxies or alternatively ELGs, being often ELGs very late types and vice-versa (Biviano et al. 1997; Adami et al. 1998). Biviano et al. (1997) suggested that the dynamical state of the ELGs reflects the phase of galaxy infall rather than the virialized condition in the relaxed cluster core (cf. also Mahdavi et al. 1999). On the other hand, Carlberg et al. (1997a) suggested that, although differing in their distributions, both blue and red galaxies are in dynamical equilibrium with clusters, cf. also Mazure et al. (2000) who explain ELG dynamics by resorting to more radial orbits with respect to NELGs.

As for global properties, as estimated within large samples, using ENACS (ESO Nearby Abell Clusters Survey) data, Biviano et al. (1997) found that the velocity dispersion and virial masses based on ELGs are, on average, $`20\%`$ and $`50\%`$, respectively, larger than those based on NELGs. However, due to the small fraction of ELGs ($`10\%`$ of cluster members) the presence of ELGs does not strongly affects the estimate of velocity dispersion and mass of clusters. As for groups, we consider the 20 well-sampled groups analyzed by Mahdavi et al. (1999). They detected no velocity dispersion segregation between ELGs and NELGs together with a (not significant) decrease of masses by 20%, if ELGs are excluded from the sample. Therefore, even if global dynamical properties based on ELGs and NELGs can be significantly different, we expect that the possible presence of ELGs in the groups we analyze hardly affects significantly, on average, our mass estimates.

Finally, we note that the dynamical status of the groups analyzed as well as the small number of galaxy members prevents us from applying refined analyses (used for clusters and well–sampled groups), e.g. the determination of velocity anisotropies from velocity dispersion profiles and the Jeans equation. In fact, since the Jeans equation rigorously holds only in regions being in dynamical equilibrium, this analysis was generally applied to galaxy clusters (e.g., Carlberg et al. 1996, 1997b; Girardi et al. 1998b). This kind of analysis was also applied out to external regions of galaxy groups as a successful approximation (Mahdavi et al. 1999), but in any case it requires a large number of data. In this case Mahdavi et al. combined together data of a well–behaved subset of groups as selected by an analysis of the velocity dispersion profiles of individual groups. In this sense, the approach we use should be viewed as an alternative method for deriving masses in the case in which available data do not allow sophisticated analyses.

### 7.2 Comparison with Previous MF

At present, P92 is the only study of the mass distribution function of loose groups. P92 determined the group mass function analyzing nearby groups ($`cz2000`$ $`kms^1`$) of two catalogs based on the percolation method (38 and 21 groups by Geller & Huchra 1983 and Maia, da Costa, & Latham 1989, respectively) and one catalog based on the hierarchical method (107 groups by Tully 1987). The three catalogs have parent galaxy samples which considerably differ both for the selection criteria and the sky region covered.

P92 noted significant differences between the group MFs resulting from the three catalogs of groups and claimed that these differences were not due to the inhomogeneity of the catalogs, but rather to the choice of the group-selection algorithm, the percolation methods giving larger masses than the hierarchical one.

Here, we consider the three group catalogs of G93, each having about 450–500 groups with $`cz5500`$ $`kms^1`$. For the determination of the MF, we retain only groups having $`|b|20^{}`$, in order to avoid regions of high galactic extinction. The homogeneity of the three catalogs, which come from the same parent galaxy sample, allows us to cast light on the compatibility of different selection algorithms. If we take only the nearby groups ($`cz2000`$ $`kms^1`$, i.e. 117, 124, and 136 groups) for a better comparison with P92, we find no difference in MF among the three catalogs. This probably occurs because G93 chose the free parameters of the selection algorithms so as to obtain similar catalogs of groups.

However, if we consider the whole catalogs (for which statistics is better, in particular at high masses) we find that percolation and hierarchical algorithms give really different MFs, the former providing larger masses. A similar difference is also reported by P92 and it is proved here to be clearly due to differences in the algorithms. Indeed, it has been suggested that the drawback of percolation methods is the inclusion in the catalogs of possible non–physical systems, like a long galaxy filament aligned close to the line–of–sight, which give large mass estimates, while the drawback of hierarchical methods is the splitting of galaxy clusters into various subunits, which give small mass estimates (e.g., Gourgoulhon et al. 1992).

The difference among the three MFs is particular relevant in the high-mass range and leads to a flatter MF in the case of P groups. This effect is not seen in the analysis of P92 since they have no groups with $`M>4\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$and less than 10 groups for $`M>10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$.

As for the completeness, the inspection of the three differential MFs indicates that our samples are complete for $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$$`h^1M_{}`$. Similarly, P92 assumed that the selection functions of both algorithms are efficient for $`M>1.1\times 10^{13}`$$`h^1M_{}`$.

As for the theoretical comparisons, P92 fitted their data to Press–Schechter predictions by assuming a unique power–law for the fluctuation power spectrum. However, since P92 did not give the amplitude of the fitted MF, a quantitative comparison with our results is not straightforward. We only note here that their MF power–law slope lies in the range $`1.5<\alpha <1.7`$, being thus consistent with our result from the Schechter–like fit, $`1.3<\alpha <1.6`$. As for the value of $`M_{}`$, P92 determined its value with quite large uncertainties, due to the small number of high–mass systems in their sample.

## 8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

We analyze the three catalogs of nearby loose groups by Garcia (1993). This author identified groups in a magnitude–limited redshift galaxy catalog, which covers about $`2/3`$ of sky within $`cz=5500`$ $`kms^1`$, by using two methods, a percolation and a hierarchical method. She tuned the free parameters of the group-selection algorithms in order to obtain two similar catalogs of groups and proposed a third catalog of groups defined as a combination of the two. Each catalog contains $`450`$$`500`$ groups.

In agreement with previous works on earlier catalogs we find that these groups can be described as collapsing systems. Their typical sampled size is considerably larger than their expected virialized region. For all groups we compute the virial mass and correct this mass by taking into account the young dynamical status of these groups. We estimate corrected group masses, $`M`$, for two reference cosmological models, a flat one with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ for the matter density parameter and an open one with $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$. For each of the three catalogs we calculate the group mass function, MF.

Our main results are the following:

1. The number density of groups is not very sensitive to the choice of the group–identification algorithm. In fact, we find that the density of groups with $`M>9\times 10^{12}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$, which is the adopted limit of sample completeness, ranges in the interval $`1.3`$$`1.9\times 10^3(h^1Mpc)^3`$ for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$ and it is about a factor of $`15\%`$ lower for $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=0.2`$.
2. As for the MF shape, the percolation catalog gives a flatter MF than other catalogs. The difference decreases if we do not consider the most massive groups, for which reliable results come from galaxy cluster analysis.
3. After obtaining the masses contained within the central, presumably virialized, group region by adopting a reduction in mass of $`30`$$`40\%`$, we do a comparison with results coming from the virial analysis of nearby rich galaxy clusters (Girardi et al. 1998a). All three group MFs can be regarded as a smooth extrapolation of the cluster MF at $`M<4\times 10^{14}`$$`h^1M_{}`$, which is the completeness limit of the cluster sample. Following a maximum–likelihood approach and taking into account mass uncertainties, we fit the Schechter expression for our MF on the whole mass range (groups with $`9\times 10^{12}`$$`h^1M_{}`$$`<M<4\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$and clusters with $`M>4\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$) and we obtain a slope of $`1.5`$ and a characteristic mass of $`3\times 10^{14}`$ $`h^1M_{}`$.

Our result strengthens the growing evidence in favor of the continuity of clustering properties from poor groups to very rich clusters (e.g., Ramella et al. 1989; Burns et al. 1996; Mulchaey & Zabludoff 1998; Ramella et al. 1999; Girardi et al. 2000).

Our resulting mass function of galaxy systems, which extends over two orders of magnitude, seems to be reasonably described by Press–Schechter predictions of models which at larger masses describe the rich cluster mass function (in particular, in the case of the open model).

The analysis of wide forthcoming group catalogs, e.g. the UZC (Updated Zwicky Catalog) groups by Pisani et al. (2000) and the NOG (Nearby Optical Galaxies) groups by Giuricin et al. (2000), as well as extensive spectroscopy observations of individual groups (e.g., Zabludoff & Mulchaey 1998; Mahdavi et al. 1999), will be of great aid in improving the determination of the group MF, in particular at the low–mass range which is affected by larger uncertainties.

Furthermore, future studies of N-body cosmological simulations for different cosmological scenarios will improve the understanding of non-virialization effects on the estimate of group masses (e.g., Diaferio et al. 1999).

We thank the referee for several suggestions.

We are grateful to Stefano Borgani, Marino Mezzetti, Armando Pisani for their valuable comments, and, in particular, Massimo Ramella who also provided us with the data of the CfA2N groups in advance of their publication. Special thanks to Dario Giaiotti for his help in the initial phase of this project. This work has been partially supported by the Italian Ministry of University, Scientific Technological Research (MURST), and by the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

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text:
# Multiple Cyclotron Lines in the Spectrum of 4U 0115+63

## I Introduction

4U 0115+63 is a transient accreting X–ray pulsar in an eccentric 24 day orbit bil97  with an O9e star ung98 . A cyclotron resonance scattering feature (CRSF) was first noted near 20 keV by Wheaton, et al.  (1979) with the UCSD/MIT hard X–ray (10-100 keV) experiment aboard HEAO-1. White, Swank & Holt (1983) analyzed concurrent data from the lower energy (2-50 keV) HEAO-1/A2 experiment and found an additional feature at $``$12 keV, making 4U 0115+63 the first pulsar with two cyclotron line harmonics.

We discuss here phase-resolved spectra derived from an observation of the 1999 March outburst wil99 ; hei99  obtained with the *Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer* (RXTE). First results of this work are detailed in Heindl et al.  (1999). BeppoSAX has also made detailed observations of this outburst San99a ; San99b .

## II Observations and Analysis

Observations were made with the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) jah96  and High Energy X-ray Timing Experiment (HEXTE) rot98  on board RXTE. The PCA is a set of 5 Xenon proportional counters sensitive in the energy range 2–60 keV with a total effective area of $``$7000 $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$. HEXTE consists of two arrays of 4 NaI(Tl)/CsI(Na) phoswich scintillation counters (15-250 keV) totaling $``$1600 $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$. The HEXTE alternates between source and background fields in order to measure the background. The PCA and HEXTE fields of view are collimated to the same 1 full width half maximum (FWHM) region.

We performed four long pointings (duration $``$15-35 ks to search for CRSFs. The second observation, on 1999 March 11.87-12.32, spanned periastron passage at March 11.95 (bil97 ) and preceded the outburst maximum by about 2 days. The results presented here are from this observation.

The spectrum of 4U 0115+63 varies significantly with neutron star rotation phase, making fits to the average spectrum difficult to interpret. To avoid this problem, we accumulated spectra as a function of pulse phase. Figure 1 shows the folded light curve in 5 energy bands. The pulse is double peaked at low energies, but the second peak nearly disappears at high energy. Two phase bands, “A” and “B”, which we selected for detailed analysis, are indicated. Our spectral fitting process consists of fitting the joint PCA/HEXTE spectra to various heuristic models (see Kreykenbohm, et al.  1998) which have been successful in fitting pulsars with no cyclotron lines. When none of these models can adequately describe the spectrum, and line-like residuals are present, we add Gaussian absorption lines to the spectrum as required. For a detailed description of our analysis technique, see Heindl, et al.  (1999).

Figure 2 shows the resulting best fit spectra for phases A and B. Both fits have a Fermi-Dirac cutoff powerlaw continuum, a low energy excess in the form of a black body with kT$``$0.4 keV, *no* FeK line, and multiple cyclotron lines. In phase A, the falling edge of the main pulse, five cyclotron lines are required, while in phase B, the fall of the second pulse, only three lines are necessary. Figure 3 illustrates how we determine how many lines are present. The five panels show the residuals to phase A fits with increasing numbers of lines. With fewer than five lines, significant residuals are present. These residuals follow the pattern of a dip at the energy of the first missing line and a gross underprediction of the continuum at high energies. The fit continuum tends to conform to the low side of the missing line, because the statistics are rapidly decreasing with energy. The too steeply falling continuum can then never recover the high energy data. In phase A, adding five harmonics significantly improves the fit, while a sixth is not statistically required.

## III Results and Discussion

Table 1 lists the best fit cyclotron line parameters. Two interesting phenomena are apparent from these results. First, within the individual phases, the lines are not harmonically spaced. And, second, the line energies vary significantly with pulse phase.

A harmonic relation (with small modifications due to relativistic effects) between line energies is expected in simple Landau theory. However, models of cyclotron line formation (e.g. Isenberg, Lamb, & Wang 1998) predict that the fundamental line shape can be quite complex, even having wings resembling *emission* features. On the other hand, the higher harmonics should have relatively simple line shapes. Thus, it may be that our simple Gaussian absorption does not give an accurate measure of the fundamental line energy. Evidence for this appears in the residuals near 10–15 keV (see Fig. 3), which are the most significant remaining deviations in our best fit. Furthermore the third and higher harmonics’ energies are consistent with integer multiples of *half* of the second harmonic energy. Thus it seems likely that *half* of the second harmonic energy gives a more accurate measure of the magnetic field. In the case of phase A, this is $`\mathrm{B}=1.3\times 10^{12}`$ G, assuming a gravitational redshift of 0.3 to the neutron star surface.

Figure 4 shows the HEXTE flux and the $``$20 keV line energy and optical depth as a function of pulse phase. These parameters were determined from the HEXTE data alone in 20 phase bins. The second harmonic line was not required in the HEXTE data *alone* at phases greater than 0.7. Both the line energy and optical depth are maximal not at the pulse peak, but on the falling edge of the main pulse. The line energy varies by $``$20%. This behavior is also seen in Cen X-3 hei99b . In Cen X-3, Burderi et al. (2000) have modeled the variation of the line energy as due to an offset of the magnetic dipole moment from the center of the neutron star, and this may also be the case in 4U 0115+63.