AINUR: Atlas of Images of NUclear Rings Comerón, S.; Knapen, J. H.; Beckman, J. E. ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
March 2010, Letnik:
402, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We present the most complete atlas of nuclear rings to date. We include 113 rings found in 107 galaxies, six of which are elliptical galaxies, five are highly inclined disc galaxies, 18 are unbarred ...disc galaxies and 78 are barred disc galaxies. Star-forming nuclear rings occur in 20 ± 2 per cent of disc galaxies with types between T=−3 and T= 7. We aim to explore possible relationships between the size and morphology of the rings and various galactic parameters. We also aim to establish whether ultra-compact nuclear rings are a distinct population of nuclear rings or if they are merely the low-end tail of the nuclear ring size distribution. We produce colour index and structure maps, as well as Hα and Paα continuum-subtracted images from Hubble Space Telescope archival data. We derive ellipticity profiles from H-band Two-Micron All-Sky Survey images in order to detect bars and find their metric parameters. We measure the non-axisymmetric torque parameter, Qg, and search for correlations between bar and ring metric parameters, and Qg. Our atlas of nuclear rings includes star-forming and dust rings. Nuclear rings span a range from a few tens of parsecs to a few kiloparsecs in radius. Star-forming nuclear rings can be found in a wide range of morphological types, from S0 to Sd, with a peak in the distribution between Sab and Sb and without strong preference for barred galaxies. The ellipticities of rings found in disc galaxies range from εr= 0 to εr= 0.4, assuming that nuclear rings lie in the galactic plane. Dust nuclear rings are found in elliptical and S0 galaxies. For barred galaxies, the maximum radius that a nuclear ring can reach is a quarter of the bar radius. We found a nearly random distribution of position angle offsets between nuclear rings and bars. There is some evidence that nuclear ring ellipticity is limited by bar ellipticity. We confirm that the maximum relative size of a star-forming nuclear ring is inversely proportional to the non-axisymmetric torque parameter, Qg (‘stronger bars host smaller rings’) and that the origin of nuclear rings, even the ones in non-barred hosts, is closely linked to the existence of dynamical resonances. Ultra-compact nuclear rings constitute the low-radius portion of the nuclear ring size distribution. We discuss implications for the lifetimes of nuclear rings and for their origin and evolution.
We construct dynamical models of the Milky Way's box/peanut (B/P) bulge, using the recently measured 3D density of red clump giants (RCGs) as well as kinematic data from the Bulge Radial Velocity ...Assay (BRAVA) survey. We match these data using the nmagic made-to-measure method, starting with N-body models for barred discs in different dark matter haloes. We determine the total mass in the bulge volume of the RCGs measurement ( ± 2.2 × ±1.4 × ±1.2 kpc) with unprecedented accuracy and robustness to be 1.84 ± 0.07 × 1010 M⊙. The stellar mass in this volume varies between 1.25 and 1.6 × 1010 M⊙, depending on the amount of dark matter in the bulge. We evaluate the mass-to-light and mass-to-clump ratios in the bulge and compare them to theoretical predictions from population synthesis models. We find a mass-to-light ratio in the K band in the range 0.8–1.1. The models are consistent with a Kroupa or Chabrier initial mass function (IMF), but a Salpeter IMF is ruled out for stellar ages of 10 Gyr. To match predictions from the Zoccali IMF derived from the bulge stellar luminosity function requires ∼40 per cent or ∼ 0.7 × 1010 M⊙ dark matter in the bulge region. The BRAVA data together with the RCGs 3D density imply a low pattern speed for the Galactic B/P bulge of Ωp = 25-30 km s− 1 kpc− 1. This would place the Galaxy among the slow rotators (
$\mathcal {R}\ge 1.5$
). Finally, we show that the Milky Way's B/P bulge has an off-centred X structure, and that the stellar mass involved in the peanut shape accounts for at least 20 per cent of the stellar mass of the bulge, significantly larger than previously thought.
We have used Spitzer images of a sample of 68 barred spiral galaxies in the local universe to make systematic measurements of bar length and bar strength. We combine these with precise determinations ...of the corotation radii associated with the bars, taken from our previous study, which used the phase change from radial inflow to radial outflow of gas at corotation, based on high-resolution two-dimensional velocity fields in H taken with a Fabry-Pérot spectrometer. After presenting the histograms of the derived bar parameters, we study their dependence on the galaxy morphological type and on the total stellar mass of the host galaxy, and then produce a set of parametric plots. These include the bar pattern speed versus bar length, the pattern speed normalized with the characteristic pattern speed of the outer disk versus the bar strength, and the normalized pattern speed versus , the ratio of corotation radius to bar length. To provide guidelines for our interpretation, we used recently published simulations, including disk and dark matter halo components. Our most striking conclusion is that bars with values of < 1.4, previously considered dynamically fast rotators, can be among the slowest rotators both in absolute terms and when their pattern speeds are normalized. The simulations confirm that this is because as the bars are braked, they can grow longer more quickly than the outward drift of the corotation radius. We conclude that dark matter halos have indeed slowed down the rotation of bars on Gyr timescales.
We continue the exploration of the BaLROG (Bars in Low Redshift Optical Galaxies) sample: 16 large mosaics of barred galaxies observed with the integral field unit Spectrographic Areal Unit for ...Research on Optical Nebulae. We quantify the influence of bars on the composition of the stellar component. We derive line-strength indices of H β, Fe5015 and Mgb. Based on single stellar population (SSP) models, we calculate ages, metallicities and Mg/Fe abundances and their gradients along the bar major and minor axes. The high spatial resolution of our data allows us to identify breaks among index and SSP profiles, commonly at 0.13 ± 0.06 bar length, consistent with kinematic features. Inner gradients are about 10 times steeper than outer gradients and become larger when there is a central rotating component, implying that the gradients are not independent of dynamics and orbits. Central ages appear to be younger for stronger bars. Yet, the bar regions are usually old. We find a flattening of the iron (Fe5015) and magnesium (Mgb) outer gradients along the bar major axis, translating into a flattening of the metallicity gradient. This gradient is found to be 0.03 ± 0.07 dex kpc−1 along the bar major axis while the mean value of the bar minor axis compares well with that of an unbarred control sample and is significantly steeper, namely −0.20 ± 0.04 dex kpc−1. These results confirm recent simulations and discern the important localized influence of bars. The elevated Mg/Fe abundances of bars and bulges compared to the lower values of discs suggest an early formation, in particular for early-type galaxies.
We present the BaLROG (Bars in Low Redshift Optical Galaxies) sample of 16 morphologically distinct barred spirals to characterize observationally the influence of bars on nearby galaxies. Each ...galaxy is a mosaic of several pointings observed with the integral-field unit (IFU) SAURON leading to a tenfold sharper spatial resolution (∼100 pc) compared to ongoing IFU surveys. In this paper we focus on the kinematic properties. We calculate the bar strength
$Q_{\rm _b}$
from classical torque analysis using 3.6-μm Spitzer (S4G) images, but also develop a new method based solely on the kinematics. A correlation between the two measurements is found and backed up by N-body simulations, verifying the measurement of
$Q_{\rm _b}$
. We find that bar strengths from ionized gas kinematics are ∼2.5 larger than those measured from stellar kinematics and that stronger bars have enhanced influence on inner kinematic features. We detect that stellar angular momentum ‘dips’ at 0.2 ± 0.1 bar lengths and half of our sample exhibits an anticorrelation of h
3–stellar velocity (v/σ) in these central parts. An increased flattening of the stellar σ gradient with increasing bar strength supports the notion of bar-induced orbit mixing. These measurements set important constraints on the spatial scales, namely an increasing influence in the central regions (0.1–0.5 bar lengths), revealed by kinematic signatures due to bar-driven secular evolution in present-day galaxies.
We present SAURON integral-field observations of a sample of 12 mid-to-high-inclination disc galaxies, to unveil hidden bars on the basis of their kinematics, i.e. the correlation between velocity ...and h
3 profiles, and to establish their degree of cylindrical rotation. For the latter, we introduce a method to quantify cylindrical rotation that is robust against inner disc components. We confirm high levels of cylindrical rotation in boxy/peanut bulges, but also observe this feature in a few galaxies with rounder bulges. We suggest that these are also barred galaxies with end-on orientations. Re-analysing published data for our own Galaxy using this new method, we determine that the Milky Way bulge is cylindrically rotating at the same level as the strongest barred galaxy in our sample. Finally, we use self-consistent three-dimensional N-body simulations of bar-unstable discs to study the dependence of cylindrical rotation on the bar's orientation and host galaxy inclination.
Abstract
Boxy/peanut bulges are considered to be part of the same stellar structure as bars and both could be linked through the buckling instability. The Milky Way is our closest example. The goal ...of this Letter is to determine if the mass assembly of the different components leaves an imprint in their stellar populations allowing the estimation the time of bar formation and its evolution. To this aim, we use integral field spectroscopy to derive the stellar age distributions, SADs, along the bar and disc of NGC 6032. The analysis clearly shows different SADs for the different bar areas. There is an underlying old (≥12 Gyr) stellar population for the whole galaxy. The bulge shows star formation happening at all times. The inner bar structure shows stars of ages older than 6 Gyr with a deficit of younger populations. The outer bar region presents an SAD similar to that of the disc. To interpret our results, we use a generic numerical simulation of a barred galaxy. Thus, we constrain, for the first time, the epoch of bar formation, the buckling instability period and the posterior growth from disc material. We establish that the bar of NGC 6032 is old, formed around 10 Gyr ago while the buckling phase possibly happened around 8 Gyr ago. All these results point towards bars being long-lasting even in the presence of gas.
The GIRAFFE Inner Bulge Survey (GIBS) Zoccali, M; Gonzalez, O A; Vasquez, S ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
2/2014, Letnik:
562
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Galactic bulge is a massive, old component of the Milky Way. It is known to host a bar, and it has recently been demonstrated to have a pronounced boxy/peanut structure in its outer region. ...Several independent studies suggest the presence of more than one stellar populations in the bulge, with different origins and a relative fraction changing across the bulge area. This is the first of a series of papers presenting the results of the Giraffe Inner Bulge Survey, carried out at the ESO-VLT with the multifibre spectrograph FLAMES. In total we present here radial velocities for 6392 red clump stars. We derive a radial velocity, and velocity dispersion map of the Milky Way bulge, useful to be compared with similar maps of external bulges, and to infer the expected velocities and dispersion at any line of sight. Finally, we find strong evidence for a velocity dispersion peak at (0, -1) and (0, -2), possibly indicative of a high density peak in the central ~250 pc of the bulge.
We have applied the Tremaine-Weinberg method to 10 late-type barred spiral galaxies using data cubes, in Hα emission, from the FaNTOmM and GHAFAS Fabry-Perot spectrometers. We have combined the ...derived bar (and/or spiral) pattern speeds with angular frequency plots to measure the corotation radii for the bars in these galaxies. We base our results on a combination of this method with a morphological analysis designed to estimate the corotation radius to bar-length ratio using two independent techniques on archival near-infrared images, and although we are aware of the limitation of the application of the Tremaine-Weinberg method using Hα observations, we find consistently excellent agreement between bar and spiral arm parameters derived using different methods. In general, the corotation radius, measured using the Tremaine-Weinberg method, is closely related to the bar length, measured independently from photometry and consistent with previous studies. Our corotation/bar-length ratios and pattern speed values are in good agreement with general results from numerical simulations of bars. In systems with identified secondary bars, we measure higher Hα velocity dispersion in the circumnuclear regions, whereas in all the other galaxies, we detect flat velocity dispersion profiles. In the galaxies where the bar is almost purely stellar, Hα measurements are missing, and the Tremaine-Weinberg method yields the pattern speeds of the spiral arms. The excellent agreement between the Tremaine-Weinberg method results and the morphological analysis and bar parameters in numerical simulations suggests that although the Hα emitting gas does not obey the continuity equation, it can be used to derive the bar pattern speed. In addition, we have analyzed the Hα velocity dispersion maps to investigate signatures of secular evolution of the bars in these galaxies. The increased central velocity dispersion in the galaxies with secondary bars suggests that the formation of inner bars or disks may be a necessary step in the formation of bulges in late-type spiral galaxies.
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