1994A&A...285....1C

We discuss the properties of a sample of 137 Kiso ultraviolet-excess galaxies (KUGs), mostly with compact morphologies, found to have an emission-line spectrum. The spectroscopic material is collected in a separate paper (Augarde et al. 1994). Estimates of the luminosity function, surface and volume densities are derived for two complete subsamples. The large-scale spatial distribution is found to follow the already known large structures in the nearby Universe. We did not find any KUG lying in a known "void". Spectrophotometry of the emission lines shows that most of the objects are photoionized starbursting galaxies of various degrees of excitation. The range of physical conditions in the ionized gas is discussed by comparison with classical extragalactic H II regions models. The equivalent widths of oxygen and Hβ emission lines are correlated and their average values are also correlated with the estimate of the ultraviolet excess. A discussion of selection effects affecting color surveys and objective-prism emission-line surveys is given. The oxygen abundance distribution among this KUG sample is found to be comparable to that already derived for other emission-line galaxy samples. We have not found any new extremely oxygen-deficient emission-line galaxy.