Spheroid's Panchromatic Investigation in Different Environmental Regions
  (SPIDER) - I. Sample and galaxy parameters in the grizYJHK wavebands
  This is the first paper of a series presenting a Spheroid's Panchromatic
Investigation in Different Environmental Regions (SPIDER). The sample of
spheroids consists of 5,080 bright (Mr<-20) Early-Type galaxies (ETGs), in the
redshift range of 0.05 to 0.095, with optical (griz) photometry and
spectroscopy from SDSS-DR6 and Near-Infrared (YJHK) photometry from UKIDSS-LAS
(DR4). We describe how homogeneous photometric parameters (galaxy colors and
structural parameters) are derived using grizYJHK wavebands. We find no
systematic steepening of the CM relation when probing the baseline from g-r to
g-K, implying that internal color gradients drive most of the mass-metallicity
relation in ETGs. As far as structural parameters are concerned we find that
the mean effective radius of ETGs smoothly decreases, by ~30%, from g through
K, while no significant dependence on waveband is detected for the axis ratio,
Sersic index, and a4 parameters. Also, velocity dispersions are re-measured for
all the ETGs using STARLIGHT and compared to those obtained by SDSS. We compare
our (2DPHOT) measurements of total magnitude, effective radius, and mean
surface brightness with those obtained as part of the SDSS pipeline (Photo).
Significant differences are found and reported, including comparisons with a
third and independent part. A full characterization of the sample completeness
in all wavebands is presented, establishing the limits of application of the
characteristic parameters presented here for the analysis of the global scaling
relations of ETGs.
