1994A&AS..108...41S

We present the results of CCD surface photometry in B, V, R and I filters for the spiral galaxy NGC 7412. The position angles and axial ratios of the isophotes present variations from inner to outer regions that suggest the galaxy is warped. The mean luminosity distribution has a type II profile, and in the central region is better described by an exponential law rather than by a de Vaucouleurs law. The color distribution shows that the nucleus of the galaxy is bluer than its surroundings, and its stellar population has components of intermediate age mixed to the old bulge population; nevertheless we found no evidence for significant starbursts in the nucleus. We made a Fourier analysis on the azimuthal profiles using two different methods: one with a sinusoidal basis, and the other with a logarithmic spirals basis. Both methods gave results compatible with the existence of a short bar in NGC 7412. The analysis with logarithmic spirals shows the dominance of two two-armed components, with different pitch angles for the inner and outer regions. The whole galaxy shows a high degree of asymmetry due to the irregular distribution of the HII regions through the arms, and also due to the asymmetry of the arms themselves.