Near Infrared Photometry of Southern Pairs and Triplets of Galaxies

We present near infrared photometry of select pairs and triplets of galaxies observed with the CASPIR camera attached to the 2.3m Advanced Technology Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. The preliminary results show that galaxies in pairs or triplets present near infrared colors that are redder than normal galaxies. We also performed a morphological analysis using bi-dimensional Fourier Transform techniques, as well as classical bulge + disk fits. Compared to isolated galaxies, the light distribution of galaxies in pairs and triplets often needs a larger number of Fourier coefficients to be well represented. Also, light profiles usually show deviations from the exponential disk (disk distortions, strong bars, etc.). In the future we intend to define some method to quantify the strength of the interactions by using the Fourier coefficients and/or the magnitude of the deviations from the classical Sersic + exponential laws.