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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2015
We have carried out a large area survey for nearby LSB galaxies to try and answer the following questions:
1. How are LSB galaxies distributed relative to the normal HSB galaxies? Do they have the same clustering properties suggesting that they trace the same mass distribution?
2. What are the implications of the clustering properties on galaxy formation scenarios?
3. Can they account for faint blue galaxies at higher redshifts?
4. Is there any difference between the field and cluster LSB galaxies?
2. The Survey
We have devised an automated technique to pick out local LSB galaxies using 65 UKSTU photographic plates corresponding to 2187 sq.°. We have imposed stringent selection criteria in order to minimise the background contamination. Our galaxies have μ0 ≥ 22.5 B mag arcsec-2 α ≥ 3.0 arcseconds and BT ≤ 20.0. Our survey areas are confined to the Fornax Cluster, the NGC1400, Sculptor and Dorado Groups and the fields between them. The survey, which was carried out in three stages over a period of 2 years, has produced detections of 2435 LSB galaxies (32 galaxies per field). We have estimated the background contamination in three ways: first, by a limited redshift sample, secondly, by Ferguson’s (1989) classification on the Fornax plate and finally, by a numerical simulation of background galaxies. The first method produced an estimate of 14 galaxies per field, while the second and the third methods produced the same estimate of 19 galaxies.