We present the radial velocities and blue, optical magnitudes for all of the galaxies within the Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey. This catalogue consists of ∼2500 galaxy redshifts to a limiting apparent magnitude of BJ⋍17 mag, covering a ∼1500‐deg2 area around the South Galactic Pole. The galaxies in this survey were selected from the Edinburgh/Durham Southern Galaxy Catalogue and were sampled, in order of apparent magnitude, at a rate of one galaxy in every three. The spectroscopy was performed at the 1.2‐m UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia using the FLAIR multi‐object spectrograph. We show that our radial velocity measurements made with this instrument have an empirical accuracy of ±150 km s−1. The observational techniques and data reduction procedures used in the construction of this survey are also discussed. This survey demonstrates that the UKST can be used to make a three‐dimensional map of the large‐scale galaxy distribution, via a redshift survey to bJ⋍17 mag, over a wide area of the sky.

We present the power spectrum analysis of clustering in the Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey. The Survey covers 1450 square degrees and consists of 2501 galaxy redshifts. The galaxies are sampled at a rate of one in three down to a magnitude limit of bJ∼17 from cosmos scanned UK Schmidt Telescope plates. Our measurement of the power spectrum is robust for wavenumbers in the range 0.04 h Mpc−1k0.6 h Mpc−1. The slope of the power spectrum for k>0.1 h Mpc−1 is close to k−2. The fluctuations in the galaxy distribution can be expressed as the rms variance in the number of galaxies in spheres of radius 8 h−1 Mpc as σ8=1.01±0.17. We find remarkably good agreement between the power spectrum measured for the Durham/UKST Survey and those obtained from other optical studies on scales up to λ=2π/k∼80 h−1 Mpc. On scales larger than this we find good agreement with the power measured from the Stromlo–APM Survey, but find more power than estimated from the Las Campanas Redshift Survey. The Durham/UKST Survey power spectrum has a higher amplitude than the power spectrum of IRAS galaxies on large scales, implying a relative bias between optically and infrared selected samples of brel=1.3. We apply a simple model for the distortion of the pattern of clustering caused by the peculiar motions of galaxies to the APM Galaxy Survey power spectrum, which is free from such effects, and find a shape and amplitude that are in very good agreement with the power spectrum of the Durham/UKST Survey. This implies β=Ω0.6b=0.60±0.35, where b is the bias between fluctuations in the galaxy and mass distributions, and also suggests a one‐dimensional velocity dispersion of σ=320±140 km s−1. We compare the Durham/UKST power spectrum with cold dark matter (CDM) models of structure formation, including the effects of nonlinear growth of the density fluctuations and redshift‐space distortions on the theoretical power spectra. We find that for any choice of normalization, the standard CDM model has a shape that cannot be reconciled with the Durham/UKST Survey power spectrum, unless either unacceptably high values of the one‐dimensional velocity dispersion are adopted or the assumption that bias is constant is invalid on scales greater than 20 h−1 Mpc. Over the range of wavenumbers for which we have a robust measurement of the power spectrum, we find the best agreement is obtained for a critical‐density CDM model in which the shape of the power spectrum is modified.

A B S T R A C TWe present the results for the galaxy luminosity function as estimated from the Durham/UKST Galaxy Redshift Survey. This survey is magnitude-limited to b J #17, contains #2500 galaxies sampled at a rate of one-in-three, and surveys a #4 10 6 (h 21 Mpc) 3 volume of space. The maximum-likelihood parameters for a standard Schechter luminosity function are estimated to be M * b J : 219.72<0.09, :21.14<0.08 and *:(1.2<0.2) 10 22 (h 3 Mpc 23 ). Attempting to correct for the scatter in the observed magnitudes leads to a flatter faint-end slope, :21.04<0.08, which, combined with the different luminosity function shape, causes a higher normalization to be estimated, *:(1.7<0.3) 10 22 (h 3 Mpc 23 ). Neither of these parametric functions provides a good formal fit to the non-parametric estimate of the luminosity function. A comparison with galaxy luminosity functions from other redshift surveys shows good agreement, and the shape of the luminosity function now appears to be well defined down to M b J %217. There are some discrepancies between the different surveys for galaxies fainter than this absolute magnitude. However, our estimate agrees well with that from the APM-Stromlo Galaxy Redshift Survey and we measure a fairly flat faint-end slope.

Using the PDS microdensitometer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, we have acquired U, B, V, R and I surface photometry from UK Schmidt photographic plates for all the galaxies with measured redshifts in the Durham–AAT redshift survey. By comparison with CCD photometry we show that such precision photographic photometry of galaxies off IIIa emulsions is capable of an accuracy as good as a few hundredths of a magnitude. We discuss the colour‐related properties of these galaxies, and derive luminosity functions in each waveband. We show that when divided by colour, the faint‐end slope of the luminosity function of the bluer galaxies is significantly steeper than that for the redder ones.

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