98 research outputs found
NGC 1300 Dynamics: III. Orbital analysis
We present the orbital analysis of four response models, that succeed in
reproducing morphological features of NGC 1300. Two of them assume a planar
(2D) geometry with =22 and 16 \ksk respectively. The two others
assume a cylindrical (thick) disc and rotate with the same pattern speeds as
the 2D models. These response models reproduce most successfully main
morphological features of NGC 1300 among a large number of models, as became
evident in a previous study. Our main result is the discovery of three new
dynamical mechanisms that can support structures in a barred-spiral grand
design system. These mechanisms are presented in characteristic cases, where
these dynamical phenomena take place. They refer firstly to the support of a
strong bar, of ansae type, almost solely by chaotic orbits, then to the support
of spirals by chaotic orbits that for a certain number of pat tern revolutions
follow an n:1 (n=7,8) morphology, and finally to the support of spiral arms by
a combination of orbits trapped around L and sticky chaotic orbits with
the same Jacobi constant. We have encountered these dynamical phenomena in a
large fraction of the cases we studied as we varied the parameters of our
general models, without forcing in some way their appearance. This suggests
that they could be responsible for the observed morphologies of many
barred-spiral galaxies. Comparing our response models among themselves we find
that the NGC 130 0 morphology is best described by a thick disc model for the
bar region and a 2D disc model for the spirals, with both components rotating
with the same pattern speed =16 \ksk !. In such a case, the whole
structure is included inside the corotation of the system. The bar is supported
mainly by regular orbits, while the spirals are supported by chaotic orbits.Comment: 18 pages, 32 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
NGC 1300 Dynamics: II. The response models
We study the stellar response in a spectrum of potentials describing the
barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. These potentials have been presented in a
previous paper and correspond to three different assumptions as regards the
geometry of the galaxy. For each potential we consider a wide range of
pattern speed values. Our goal is to discover the geometries and the
supporting specific morphological features of NGC 1300. For this
purpose we use the method of response models. In order to compare the images of
NGC 1300 with the density maps of our models, we define a new index which is a
generalization of the Hausdorff distance. This index helps us to find out
quantitatively which cases reproduce specific features of NGC 1300 in an
objective way. Furthermore, we construct alternative models following a
Schwarzschild type technique. By this method we vary the weights of the various
energy levels, and thus the orbital contribution of each energy, in order to
minimize the differences between the response density and that deduced from the
surface density of the galaxy, under certain assumptions. We find that the
models corresponding to \ksk and \ksk are
able to reproduce efficiently certain morphological features of NGC 1300, with
each one having its advantages and drawbacks.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Structures induced by companions in galactic discs
Using N-body simulations we study the structures induced on a galactic disc
by repeated flybys of a companion in decaying eccentric orbit around the disc.
Our system is composed by a stellar disc, bulge and live dark matter halo, and
we study the system's dynamical response to a sequence of a companion's flybys,
when we vary i) the disc's temperature (parameterized by Toomre's Q-parameter)
and ii) the companion's mass and initial orbit. We use a new 3D Cartesian grid
code: MAIN (Mesh-adaptive Approximate Inverse N-body solver). The main features
of MAIN are reviewed, with emphasis on the use of a new Symmetric Factored
Approximate Sparse Inverse (SFASI) matrix in conjunction with the multigrid
method that allows the efficient solution of Poisson's equation in three space
variables. We find that: i) companions need to be assigned initial masses in a
rather narrow window of values in order to produce significant and more
long-standing non-axisymmetric structures (bars and spirals) in the main
galaxy's disc by the repeated flyby mechanism. ii) a crucial phenomenon is the
antagonism between companion-excited and self-excited modes on the disc. Values
of are needed in order to allow for the growth of the
companion-excited modes to prevail over the the growth of the disc's
self-excited modes. iii) We give evidence that the companion-induced spiral
structure is best represented by a density wave with pattern speed nearly
constant in a region extending from the ILR to a radius close to, but inside,
corotation.Comment: Published in MNRA
NGC 1300 Dynamics: I. The gravitational potential as a tool for detailed stellar dynamics
In a series of papers we study the stellar dynamics of the grand design
barred-spiral galaxy NGC~1300. In the first paper of this series we estimate
the gravitational potential and we give it in a form suitable to be used in
dynamical studies. The estimation is done directly from near-infrared
observations. Since the 3D distribution of the luminous matter is unknown, we
construct three different general models for the potential corresponding to
three different assumptions for the geometry of the system, representing
limiting cases. A pure 2D disc, a cylindrical geometry (thick disc) and a third
case, where a spherical geometry is assumed to apply for the major part of the
bar. For the potential of the disc component on the galactic plane a Fourier
decomposition method is used, that allows us to express it as a sum of
trigonometric terms. Both even and odd components are considered, so that the
estimated potential accounts also for the observed asymmetries in the
morphology. For the amplitudes of the trigonometric terms a smoothed cubic
interpolation scheme is used. The total potential in each model may include two
additional terms (Plummer spheres) representing a central mass concentration
and a dark halo component, respectively. In all examined models, the relative
force perturbation points to a strongly nonlinear gravitational field, which
ranges from 0.45 to 0.8 of the axisymmetric background with the pure 2D being
the most nonlinear one. We present the topological distributions of the stable
and unstable Lagrangian points as a function of the pattern speed .
In all three models there is a range of values, where we find
multiple stationary points whose stability affects the overall dynamics of the
system.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, published in MNRA
Invariant manifolds and the response of spiral arms in barred galaxies
The unstable invariant manifolds of the short-period family of periodic
orbits around the unstable Lagrangian points and of a barred galaxy
define loci in the configuration space which take the form of a trailing spiral
pattern. In the present paper we investigate this association in the case of
the self-consistent models of Kaufmann & Contopoulos (1996) which provide an
approximation of real barred-spiral galaxies. We also examine the relation of
`response' models of barred-spiral galaxies with the theory of the invariant
manifolds. Our main results are the following: The invariant manifolds yield
the correct form of the imposed spiral pattern provided that their calculation
is done with the spiral potential term turned on. We provide a theoretical
model explaining the form of the invariant manifolds that supports the spiral
structure. The azimuthal displacement of the Lagrangian points with respect to
the bar's major axis is a crucial parameter in this modeling. When this is
taken into account, the manifolds necessarily develop in a spiral-like domain
of the configuration space, delimited from below by the boundary of a
banana-like non-permitted domain, and from above either by rotational KAM tori
or by cantori forming a stickiness zone. We construct `spiral response' models
on the basis of the theory of the invariant manifolds and examine the
connection of the latter to the `response' models (Patsis 2006) used to fit
real barred-spiral galaxies, explaining how are the manifolds related to a
number of morphological features seen in such models.Comment: 16 Page
The structure of invariant tori in a 3D galactic potential
We study in detail the structure of phase space in the neighborhood of stable
periodic orbits in a rotating 3D potential of galactic type. We have used the
color and rotation method to investigate the properties of the invariant tori
in the 4D spaces of section. We compare our results with those of previous
works and we describe the morphology of the rotational, as well as of the tube
tori in the 4D space. We find sticky chaotic orbits in the immediate
neighborhood of sets of invariant tori surrounding 3D stable periodic orbits.
Particularly useful for galactic dynamics is the behavior of chaotic orbits
trapped for long time between 4D invariant tori. We find that they support
during this time the same structure as the quasi-periodic orbits around the
stable periodic orbits, contributing however to a local increase of the
dispersion of velocities. Finally we find that the tube tori do not appear in
the 3D projections of the spaces of section in the axisymmetric Hamiltonian we
examined.Comment: 26 pages, 34 figures, accepted for publication in the International
Journal of Bifurcation and Chao
Asymptotic Orbits in Barred Spiral Galaxies
We study the formation of the spiral structure of barred spiral galaxies,
using an -body model. The evolution of this -body model in the adiabatic
approximation maintains a strong spiral pattern for more than 10 bar rotations.
We find that this longevity of the spiral arms is mainly due to the phenomenon
of stickiness of chaotic orbits close to the unstable asymptotic manifolds
originated from the main unstable periodic orbits, both inside and outside
corotation. The stickiness along the manifolds corresponding to different
energy levels supports parts of the spiral structure. The loci of the disc
velocity minima (where the particles spend most of their time, in the
configuration space) reveal the density maxima and therefore the main
morphological structures of the system. We study the relation of these loci
with those of the apocentres and pericentres at different energy levels. The
diffusion of the sticky chaotic orbits outwards is slow and depends on the
initial conditions and the corresponding Jacobi constant.Comment: 17 pages, 24 figure
Six New Galactic Orbits of Globular Clusters in a Milky-Way-Like Galaxy
Absolute proper motions for six new globular clusters have recently been
determined. This motivated us to obtain the Galactic orbits of these six
clusters both in an axisymmetric Galactic potential and in a barred potential,
such as the one of our Galaxy. Orbits are also obtained for a Galactic
potential that includes spiral arms. The orbital characteristics are compared
and discussed for these three cases. Tidal radii and destruction rates are also
computed and discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
A New High Resolution CO Map of the inner 2.'5 of M51 I. Streaming Motions and Spiral Structure
[Abridged] The Owens Valley mm-Array has been used to map the CO 1--0
emission in the inner 2'.5 of the grand design spiral galaxy M51 at 2''-3''
resolution. The molecular spiral arms are revealed with unprecedented clarity:
supermassive cloud complexes, Giant Molecular Associations, are for the first
time resolved both along and perpendicular to the arms. Major complexes occur
symmetrically opposite each other in the two major arms. Streaming motions can
be studied in detail along the major and minor axes of M51. The streaming
velocities are very large, 60-150 km/s. For the first time, sufficient
resolution to resolve the structure in the molecular streaming motions is
obtained. Our data support the presence of galactic shocks in the arms of M51.
In general, velocity gradients across arms are higher by a factor of 2-10 than
previously found. They vary in steepness along the spiral arms, becoming
particularly steep in between GMAs. The steep gradients cause conditions of
strong reverse shear in several regions in the arms, and thus the notion that
shear is generally reduced by streaming motions in spiral arms will have to be
modified. Of the three GMAs studied on the SW arm, only one shows reduced
shear. We find an expansion in the NE molecular arm at 25'' radius SE of the
center. This broadening occurs right after the end of the NE arm at the Inner
Lindblad Resonance. Bifurcations in the molecular spiral arm structure, at a
radius of 73'', may be evidence of a secondary compression of the gas caused by
the 4/1 ultraharmonic resonance. Inside the radius of the ILR, we detect narrow
(~ 5'') molecular spiral arms possibly related to the K-band arms found in the
same region. We find evidence of non-circular motions in the inner 20'' which
are consistent with gas on elliptical orbits in a bar.Comment: 29 pages, 15 figures, uses latex macros for ApJ; accepted for
publication in Ap
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