Abstract. Based on Paper I of this series (Mehlert et al. 2000), we derive central values and logarithmic gradients for the Hβ, Mg and Fe indices of 35 early-type galaxies in the Coma cluster. We find that pure elliptical galaxies have on average slightly higher velocity dispersions, lower Hβ, and higher metallic line-strengths than galaxies with disks (S0). The latter form two families, one comparable to the ellipticals and a second one with significantly higher Hβ, and weaker metallic lines. Our measured logarithmic gradients within the effective radius are Mg b ≈ −0.037, Fe ≈ −0.029, Hβ ≈ +0.017 and σ ≈ −0.063. The gradients strongly correlate with the gradients of σ, but only weakly with the central index values and galaxy velocity dispersion. Using stellar population models with variable element abundance ratios from Thomas et al. (2003a) we derive average ages, metallicities and [α/Fe] ratios in the center and at the effective radius. We find that the α/Fe ratio correlates with velocity dispersion and drives 30% of the Mg-σ relation, the remaining 70% being caused by metallicity variations. We confirm previous findings that part of the lenticular galaxies in the Coma cluster host very young (∼2 Gyr) stellar populations, hence must have experienced relatively recent star formation episodes. Again in accordance with previous work we derive negative metallicity gradients (∼−0.16 dex per decade) that are significantly flatter than what is expected from gaseous monolithic collapse models, pointing to the importance of mergers in the galaxy formation history. Moreover, the metallicity gradients correlate with the velocity dispersion gradients, confirming empirically earlier suggestions that the metallicity gradient in ellipticals is produced by the local potential well. The gradients in age are negligible, implying that no significant residual star formation has occurred either in the center or in the outer parts of the galaxies, and that the stellar populations at different radii must have formed at a common epoch. For the first time we derive the gradients of the α/Fe ratio and find them very small on average. Hence, α/Fe enhancement is not restricted to galaxy centers but it is a global phenomenon. Our results imply that the Mg-σ local relation inside a galaxy, unlike the global Mg-σ relation, must be primarily driven by metallicity variations alone. Finally we note that none of the stellar population parameters or their gradients depend on the density profile of the Coma cluster, even though it spans 3 dex in density.

Abstract. We use the very deep and homogeneous I-band selected dataset of the FORS Deep Field (FDF) to trace the evolution of the luminosity function over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 5.0. We show that the FDF I-band selection down to I AB = 26.8 misses of the order of 10% of the galaxies that would be detected in a K-band selected survey with magnitude limit K AB = 26.3 (like FIRES). Photometric redshifts for 5558 galaxies are estimated based on the photometry in 9 filters (U, B, Gunn g, R, I, SDSS z, J, K and a special filter centered at 834 nm). A comparison with 362 spectroscopic redshifts shows that the achieved accuracy of the photometric redshifts is ∆z/(z spec + 1) ≤ 0.03 with only ∼1% outliers. This allows us to derive luminosity functions with a reliability similar to spectroscopic surveys. In addition, the luminosity functions can be traced to objects of lower luminosity which generally are not accessible to spectroscopy. We investigate the evolution of the luminosity functions evaluated in the restframe UV (1500 Å and 2800 Å), u , B, and g bands. Comparison with results from the literature shows the reliability of the derived luminosity functions. Out to redshifts of z ∼ 2.5 the data are consistent with a slope of the luminosity function approximately constant with redshift, at a value of −1.07 ± 0.04 in the UV (1500 Å, 2800 Å) as well as u , and −1.25 ± 0.03 in the blue (g , B). We do not see evidence for a very steep slope (α ≤ −1.6) in the UV at z ∼ 3.0 and z ∼ 4.0 favoured by other authors. There may be a tendency for the faint-end slope to become shallower with increasing redshift but the effect is marginal. We find a brightening of M * and a decrease of φ * with redshift for all analyzed wavelengths. The effect is systematic and much stronger than what can be expected to be caused by cosmic variance seen in the FDF. The evolution of M * and φ * from z = 0 to z = 5 is well described by the simple approximations Mfor M * and φ * . The evolution is very pronounced at shorter wavelengths (a = −2.19, and b = −1.76 for 1500 Å rest wavelength) and decreases systematically with increasing wavelength, but is also clearly visible at the longest wavelength investigated here (a = −1.08, and b = −1.29 for g ). Finally we show a comparison with semi-analytical galaxy formation models.Key words. galaxies: luminosity function, mass function -galaxy: fundamental parameters -galaxies: high-redshiftgalaxies: distances and redshifts -galaxies: evolution

Abstract. Using the Very Large Telescope in Multi Object Spectroscopy mode, we have observed a sample of 113 field spiral galaxies in the FORS Deep Field (FDF) with redshifts in the range 0.1 < z < 1.0. The galaxies were selected based on apparent brightness (R < 23 m ) and encompass all late spectrophotometric types from Sa to Sdm/Im. Spatially resolved rotation curves have been extracted for 77 galaxies and fitted with synthetic velocity fields taking into account all observational effects from inclination and slit misalignment to seeing and slit width. We also compared different shapes for the intrinsic rotation curve. To obtain robust values of V max , our analysis is focused on galaxies with rotation curves that extend well into the region of constant rotation velocity at large radii. If the slope of the local Tully-Fisher relation (TFR) is held fixed, we find evidence for a mass-dependent luminosity evolution which is as large as up to ∆M B ≈ −2 m for the lowest-mass galaxies, but is small or even negligible for the highest-mass systems in our sample. In effect, the TFR slope is shallower at z ≈ 0.5 in comparison to the local sample. We argue for a mass-dependent evolution of the mass-to-light ratio. An additional population of blue, low-mass spirals does not seem a very appealing explanation. The flatter tilt we find for the distant TFR is in contradiction to the predictions of recent semi-analytic simulations.

Abstract. We present long slit spectra for a magnitude limited sample of 35 E and S0 galaxies of the Coma cluster. The high quality of the data allowed us to derive spatially resolved spectra for a substantial sample of Coma galaxies for the first time. From these spectra we obtained rotation curves, the velocity dispersion profiles and the H 3 and H 4 coefficients of the Hermite decomposition of the line of sight velocity distribution. Moreover, we derive the radial line index profiles of Mg, Fe and Hβ line indices out to R ≈ 1r e − 3r e with high signal-to-noise ratio. We describe the galaxy sample, the observations and data reduction, and present the spectroscopic database. Groundbased photometry for a subsample of 8 galaxies is also presented.The Coma cluster is one of the richest known clusters of galaxies, spanning about 4 decades in density. Hence it is the ideal place to study the structure of galaxies as a function of environmental density in order to constrain the theories of galaxy formation and evolution. Based on the spectroscopic database presented, we will discuss these issues in a series of future papers.Send offprint requests to: D. Mehlert e-mail: dmehlert@lsw.uni-heidelberg.de Tables 1 and 4 are also available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Tables 5 to 82 are only available in electronic form at CDS.

Abstract. We present a catalogue and atlas of low-resolution spectra of a well defined sample of 341 objects in the FORS Deep Field. All spectra were obtained with the FORS instruments at the ESO VLT with essentially the same spectroscopic set-up. The observed extragalactic objects cover the redshift range 0.1 to 5.0. 98 objects are starburst galaxies and QSOs at z > 2. Using this data set we investigated the evolution of the characteristic spectral properties of bright starburst galaxies and their mutual relations as a function of redshift. Significant evolutionary effects were found for redshifts 2 < z < 4. Most conspicuous are the increase of the average C IV absorption strength, of the dust reddening, and of the intrinsic UV luminosity, and the decrease of the average Lyα emission strength with decreasing redshift. In part the observed evolutionary effects can be attributed to an increase of the metallicity of the galaxies with cosmic age. Moreover, the increase of the total star-formation rates and the stronger obscuration of the starburst cores by dusty gas clouds suggest the occurrence of more massive starbursts at later cosmic epochs.

Context. A significant fraction of the high-redshift galaxies show strong Lyα emission lines. For redshifts z > 5, most known galaxies belong to this class. However, so far not much is known about the physical structure and nature of these objects. Aims. Our aim is to analyse the Lyα emission in a sample of high-redshift UV-continuum selected galaxies and to derive the physical conditions that determine the Lyα profile and the line strength. Methods. VLT/FORS spectra with a resolution of R ≈ 2000 of 16 galaxies in the redshift range of z = 2.7 to 5 are presented. The observed Lyα profiles are compared with theoretical models. Results. The Lyα lines range from pure absorption (EW = −17 Å) to strong emission (EW = 153 Å). Most Lyα emission lines show an asymmetric profile, and three galaxies have a double-peaked profile. Both types of profiles can be explained by a uniform model consisting of an expanding shell of neutral and ionised hydrogen around a compact starburst region. The broad, blueshifted, low-ionisation interstellar absorption lines indicate a galaxy-scale outflow of the ISM. The strengths of these lines are found to be determined in part by the velocity dispersion of the outflowing medium. We find star-formation rates of these galaxies ranging from SFR UV = 1.2 to 63.2 M yr −1 uncorrected for dust absorption. Conclusions. The Lyα emission strength of our target galaxies is found to be determined by the amount of dust and the kinematics of the outflowing material.

We present the B-band Tully-Fisher relation (TFR) of 60 late-type galaxies with redshifts 0.1 − 1. The galaxies were selected from the FORS Deep Field with a limiting magnitude of R = 23. Spatially resolved rotation curves were derived from spectra obtained with FORS2 at the VLT. High-mass galaxies with v max 150 km/s show little evolution, whereas the least massive systems in our sample are brighter by ∼ 1 − 2 mag compared to their local counterparts. For the entire distant sample, the TFR slope is flatter than for local field galaxies (−5.77 ± 0.45 versus −7.92 ± 0.18). Thus, we find evidence for evolution of the slope of the TFR with redshift on the 3 σ level. This is still true when we subdivide the sample into three redshift bins. We speculate that the flatter tilt of our sample is caused by the evolution of luminosities and an additional population of blue galaxies at z 0.2. The mass dependence of the TFR evolution also leads to variations for different galaxy types in magnitude-limited samples, suggesting that selection effects can account for the discrepant results of previous TFR studies on the luminosity evolution of late-type galaxies.

We present the redshift evolution of the restframe galaxy luminosity function (LF) in the red r , i , and z bands, as derived from the FORS Deep Field (FDF), thus extending our earlier results to longer wavelengths. Using the deep and homogeneous I-band selected dataset of the FDF, we were able to follow the red LFs over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 3.5. The results are based on photometric redshifts for 5558 galaxies derived from the photometry in 9 filters and achieving an accuracy of ∆z/(z spec + 1) ≤ 0.03 with only ∼1% outliers. A comparison with results from the literature shows the reliability of the derived LFs. Because of the depth of the FDF, we can give relatively tight constraints on the faint-end slope α of the LF; the faint-end of the red LFs does not show a large redshift evolution and is compatible within 1σ to 2σ with a constant slope over the redshift range 0.5 < ∼ z < ∼ 2.0. Moreover, the slopes in r , i , and z are very similar to a best-fitting value of α = −1.33 ± 0.03 for the combined bands. There is a clear trend of α to steepen with increasing wavelength: α UV&u = −1.07 ± 0.04 → α g &B = −1.25 ± 0.03 → α r &i &z = −1.33 ± 0.03. We subdivided our galaxy sample into four SED types and determined the contribution of a typical SED type to the overall LF. We show that the wavelength dependence of the LF slope can be explained by the relative contribution of different SED-type LFs to the overall LF, as different SED types dominate the LF in the blue and red bands. Furthermore we also derived and analyzed the luminosity density evolution of the different SED types up to z ∼ 2. We investigated the evolution of M * and φ * by means of the redshift parametrization M * (z) = M * 0 + a ln (1 + z) and φ * (z) = φ * 0 (1 + z) b . Based on the FDF data, we found only a mild brightening of M * (a r ∼ −0.8, and a i ,z ∼ −0.4) and a decreasing φ * (b r ,i ,z ∼ −0.6) with increasing redshift. Therefore, from z ∼ 0.5 to z ∼ 3 the characteristic luminosity increases by ∼0.8, ∼0.4, and ∼0.4 mag in the r , i , and z bands, respectively. Simultaneously the characteristic density decreases by about 40% in all analyzed wavebands. A comparison of the LFs with semianalytical galaxy formation models by Kauffmann et al. (1999) shows a similar result to the blue bands: the semi-analytical models predict LFs that describe the data at low redshift very well, but show growing disagreement with increasing redshifts.Article published by EDP Sciences and available at http://www.edpsciences.org/aa or http://dx.