The EFIGI catalogue of 4458 nearby galaxies with detailed morphology
  Now that large databases of resolved galaxy images are provided by modern
imaging surveys, advanced morphological studies can be envisioned, urging for
well defined calibration samples. We present the EFIGI catalogue, a
multiwavelength database specifically designed for a dense sampling of all
Hubble types. The catalogue merges data from standard surveys and catalogues
(Principal Galaxy Catalogue, Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Value-Added Galaxy
Catalogue, HyperLeda, and the NASA Extragalactic Database) and provides
detailed morphological information. Imaging data are obtained from the SDSS DR4
in the u, g, r, i, and z bands for a sample of 4458 PGC galaxies, whereas
photometric and spectroscopic data are obtained from the SDSS DR5 catalogue.
Point-Spread Function models are derived in all five bands. Composite colour
images of all objects are visually examined by a group of astronomers, and
galaxies are staged along the Hubble sequence and classified according to 16
morphological attributes describing their structure, texture, as well as
environment and appearance on a five-level scale. The EFIGI Hubble sequence
shows remarkable agreement with the RC3 Revised Hubble Sequence. The main
characteristics and reliability of the catalogue are examined, including
photometric completeness, type mix, systematic trends and correlations. The
final EFIGI database is a large sub-sample of the local Universe, with a dense
sampling of Sd, Sdm, Sm and Im types compared to magnitude-limited catalogues.
We estimate the photometric catalogue to be more than ~ 80% complete for
galaxies with 10<g<14. More than 99.5% of EFIGI galaxies have a known redshift
in the HyperLeda and NED databases.
