Compact groups in theory and practice - III. Compact groups of galaxies in the Sixth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We present the largest publicly available catalogue of compact groups (CGs) of galaxies identified using the original selection criteria of Hickson, selected from the Sixth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR6). We identify 2297 CGs down to a limiting magnitude of r = 18 (similar to 0.24 groups deg(-2)), and 74 791 CGs down to a limiting magnitude of r = 21 (similar to 6.7 groups deg(-2)). This represents 0.9 per cent of all galaxies in the SDSS DR6 at these magnitude levels. Contamination due to gross photometric errors has been removed from the bright sample of groups, and we estimate it is present in the large sample at the 14 per cent level. Spectroscopic information is available for 4131 galaxies in the bright catalogue (43 per cent completeness), and we find that the median redshift of these groups is z(med) = 0.09. The median line-of-sight (LOS) velocity dispersion within the CGs from the bright catalogue is sigma(LOS) similar or equal to 230 km s(-1), and their typical intergalactic separations are of the order of 50-100 kpc. We show that the fraction of groups with interloping galaxies identified as members is in good agreement with the predictions from our previous study of a mock galaxy catalogue, and we demonstrate how to select CGs such that the interloper fraction is well defined and minimized. This observational data set is ideal for large statistical studies of CGs, the role of environment on galaxy evolution and the effect of galaxy interactions in determining galaxy morphology.