A structural and dynamical study of late-type, edge-on galaxies. I. Sample selection and imaging data

We present optical (B and R) and infrared (K-s) images and photometry for a sample of 49 extremely late-type, edge-on disk galaxies selected from the Flat Galaxy Catalog of Karenchentsev et al. Our sample was selected to include galaxies with particularly large axial ratios, increasing the likelihood that the galaxies in the sample are truly edge-on. We have also concentrated the sample on galaxies with low apparent surface brightness in order to increase the representation of intrinsically low surface brightness galaxies. Finally, the sample was chosen to have no apparent bulges or optical warps so that the galaxies represent undisturbed, "pure disk" systems. The resulting sample forms the basis for a much larger spectroscopic study designed to place constraints on the physical quantities and processes that shape disk galaxies. The imaging data presented in this paper have been painstakingly reduced and calibrated to allow accurate surface photometry of features as faint as 30 mag arcsec(-2) in B and 29 mag arcsec(-2) in R on scales larger than 10". Because of limitations in sky subtraction and flat-fielding, the infrared data can reach only to 22.5 mag arcsec(-2) in K-s, on comparable scales. As part of this work, we have developed a new method for quantifying the reliability of surface photometry, which provides useful diagnostics for the presence of scattered light, optical emission from infrared cirrus, and other sources of nonuniform sky backgrounds.