We present a catalogue of galaxy photometric redshifts and k‐corrections for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS‐DR7), available on the World Wide Web. The photometric redshifts were estimated with an artificial neural network using five ugriz bands, concentration indices and Petrosian radii in the g and r bands. We have explored our redshift estimates with different training sets, thus concluding that the best choice for improving redshift accuracy comprises the main galaxy sample (MGS), the luminous red galaxies and the galaxies of active galactic nuclei covering the redshift range 0 < z≤ 0.3. For the MGS, the photometric redshift estimates agree with the spectroscopic values within rms = 0.0227. The distribution of photometric redshifts derived in the range 0 < zphot≤ 0.6 agrees well with the model predictions. k‐corrections were derived by calibration of the k‐correct_v4.2 code results for the MGS with the reference‐frame (z= 0.1) (g−r) colours. We adopt a linear dependence of k‐corrections on redshift and (g−r) colours that provide suitable distributions of luminosity and colours for galaxies up to redshift zphot= 0.6 comparable to the results in the literature. Thus, our k‐correction estimate procedure is a powerful, low computational time algorithm capable of reproducing suitable results that can be used for testing galaxy properties at intermediate redshifts using the large SDSS data base.

We analyse a sample of 71 triplets of luminous galaxies derived from the work of O'Mill et al. (2012). We compare the properties of triplets and their members with those of control samples of compact groups, the ten brightest members of rich clusters, and galaxies in pairs.The triplets are restricted to have members with spectroscopic redshifts in the range 0.01 z 0.14 and absolute r-band luminosities brighter than M r = −20.5. For these member galaxies, we analyse the stellar mass content, the star formation rates, the D n (4000) parameter and (M g − M r ) colour index. Since galaxies in triplets may finally merge in a single system, we analyse different global properties of these systems. We calculate the probability that the properties of galaxies in triplets are strongly correlated. We also study total star formation activity and global colours, and define the triplet compactness as a measure of the percentage of the system total area that is filled by the light of member galaxies. We concentrate in the comparison of our results with those of compact groups to assess how the triplets are a natural extension of these compact systems.Our analysis suggest that triplet galaxy members behave similarly to compact group members and galaxies in rich clusters. We also find that systems comprising three blue, starforming, young stellar population galaxies (blue triplets) are most probably real systems and not a chance configuration of interloping galaxies. The same holds for triplets composed by three red, non star-forming galaxies, showing the correlation of galaxy properties in these systems. From the analysis of the triplet as a whole, we conclude that, at a given total stellar mass content, triplets show a total star formation activity and global colours similar to compact groups. However, blue triplets show a high total star formation activity with a lower stellar mass content. From an analysis of the compactness parameter of the systems we find that light is even more concentrated in triplets than in compact groups.We propose that triplets composed by three luminous galaxies, should not be considered as an analogous of galaxy pairs with a third extra member, but rather they are a natural extension of compact groups.

We present a new catalogue of galaxy triplets derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7. The identification of systems was performed considering galaxies brighter than Mr=−20.5 and imposing constraints over the projected distances, radial velocity differences of neighbouring galaxies and isolation. To improve the identification of triplets, we employed a data pixelization scheme, which allows us to handle large amounts of data as in the SDSS photometric survey. Using spectroscopic and photometric data in the redshift range 0.01 ≤z≤ 0.40, we obtain 5901 triplet candidates. We have used a mock catalogue to analyse the completeness and contamination of our methods. The results show a high level of completeness (∼80 per cent) and low contamination (∼5 per cent). By using photometric and spectroscopic data, we have also addressed the effects of fibre collisions in the spectroscopic sample. We have defined an isolation criterion considering the distance of the triplet brightest galaxy to the closest neighbour cluster, to describe a global environment, as well as the galaxies within a fixed aperture, around the triplet brightest galaxy, to measure the local environment. The final catalogue comprises 1092 isolated triplets of galaxies in the redshift range 0.01 ≤z≤ 0.40. Our results show that photometric redshifts provide very useful information, allowing us to complete the sample of nearby systems whose detection is affected by fibre collisions, as well as extending the detection of triplets to large distances, where spectroscopic redshifts are not available.

Context. S uzaku and Chandra X-ray observations detected a new cluster of galaxies, Suzaku J1759−3450, at a redshift z = 0.13. It is located behind the Milky Way, and the high Galactic dust extinction renders it nearly invisible at optical wavelengths. Aims. We attempt here to confirm the galaxy cluster with near-infrared imaging observations and to characterize its central member galaxies. Methods. Images from the VVV survey were used to detect candidate member galaxies of Suzaku J1759−3450 within the central region of the cluster up to 350 kpc from the X-ray peak emission. Color-magnitude diagrams, color-color diagrams, and morphology criteria allowed us to select the galaxies among the numerous foreground sources. Results. Fifteen candidate cluster members were found very close to a modeled red-sequence at the redshift of the cluster. Five members are extremely bright, and one is possibly a cD galaxy. The asymmetry in the spatial distribution of the galaxies with respect to the X-ray peak emission is an indicator that this cluster is still suffering a virialization process. Conclusions. Our investigation of Suzaku J1759−3450 demonstrates the potential of the VVV survey to study the hidden population of galaxies in the zone of avoidance.