Identikit 2: An Algorithm for Reconstructing Galactic Collisions

Using a combination of self-consistent and test-particle techniques, Identikit 1 provided a way to vary the initial geometry of a galactic collision and instantly visualize the outcome. Identikit 2 uses the same techniques to define a mapping from the current morphology and kinematics of a tidal encounter back to the initial conditions. By requiring that various regions along a tidal feature all originate from a single disc with a unique orientation, this mapping can be used to derive the initial collision geometry. In addition, Identikit 2 offers a robust way to measure how well a particular model reproduces the morphology and kinematics of a pair of interacting galaxies. A set of eight self-consistent simulations is used to demonstrate the algorithm's ability to search a ten-dimensional parameter space and find near-optimal matches; all eight systems are successfully reconstructed.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. To get a copy with high-resolution figures, use the web interface, or download the Identikit software, visit http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/faculty/barnes/research/identikit

Intrinsic Shapes of Molecular Cloud Cores

We conduct an analysis of the shapes of molecular cloud cores using recently compiled catalogs of observed axis ratios of individual cores mapped in ammonia or through optical selection. We apply both analytical and statistical techniques to deproject the observed axis ratios in order to determine the true distribution of cloud core shapes. We find that neither pure oblate nor pure prolate cores can account for the observed distribution of core shapes. Intrinsically triaxial cores produce distributions which agree with observations. The best-fit triaxial distribution contains cores which are more nearly oblate than prolate.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures. To appear in ApJ (2001 April 1). Color figures available at http://www.astro.uwo.ca/~cjones/ or http://www.astro.uwo.ca/~basu/pub.htm

Using tidal tails to probe dark matter halos

We use simulations of merging galaxies to explore the sensitivity of the morphology of tidal tails to variations of the halo mass distributions in the parent galaxies. Our goal is to constrain the mass of dark halos in well-known merging pairs. We concentrate on prograde encounters between equal mass galaxies which represent the best cases for creating tidal tails, but also look at systems with different relative orientations, orbital energies and mass ratios. As the mass and extent of the dark halo increase in the model galaxies, the resulting tidal tails become shorter and less massive, even under the most favorable conditions for producing these features. Our simulations imply that the observed merging galaxies with long tidal tails (\sim 50-100 kpc) such as NGC 4038/39 (the Antennae) and NGC 7252 probably have halo:disk+bulge mass ratios less than 10:1. These results conflict with the favored values of the dark halo mass of the Milky Way derived from satellite kinematics and the timing argument which give a halo:disk+bulge mass ratio of \sim 30:1. However, the lower bound of the estimated dark halo mass in the Milky Way (mass ratio \sim 10:1) is still consistent with the inferred tidal tail galaxy masses. Our results also conflict with the expectations of \Omega=1 cosmologies such as CDM which predict much more massive and extended dark halos

Figure rotation of dark halos in CDM simulations

We investigate the figure rotation of dark matter halos identified in Lambda CDM simulations. We find that when strict criteria are used to select suitable halos for study, 5 of the 222 halos identified in our z=0 simulation output undergo coherent figure rotation over a 5h^{-1}Gyr period. We discuss the effects of varying the selection criteria and find that pattern speeds for a much larger fraction of the halos can be measured when the criteria are relaxed. Pattern speeds measured over a 1h^{-1}Gyr period follow a log-normal distribution, centred at Omega_p = 0.25h rad/Gyr with a maximum value of 0.94h rad/Gyr. Over a 5h^{-1}Gyr period, the average pattern speed of a halo is about 0.1h rad/Gyr and the largest pattern speed found is 0.24h rad/Gyr. Less than half of the selected halos showed alignment between their figure rotation axis and minor axis, the exact fraction being somewhat dependent on how one defines a halo. While the pattern speeds observed are lower than those generally thought capable of causing spiral structure, we note that coherent figure rotation is found over very long periods and argue that further simulations would be required before strong conclusions about spiral structure in all galaxies could be drawn. We find no correlation between halo properties such as total mass and the pattern speed.Comment: accepted to MNRAS, 8 page

Determining the galactic mass distribution using tidal streams from globular clusters

We discuss how to use tidal streams from globular clusters to measure the mass distribution of the Milky Way. Recent proper motion determinations for globular clusters from plate measurements and Hipparcos astrometry provide several good candidates for Galactic mass determinations in the intermediate halo, far above the Galactic disk, including Pal 5, NGC 4147, NGC 5024 (M53) and NGC 5466; the remaining Hipparcos clusters provide candidates for measurements several kpc above and below the disk. These clusters will help determine the profile and shape of the inner halo. To aid this effort, we present two methods of mass determination: one, a generalization of rotation-curve mass measurements, which gives the mass and potential from complete position-velocity observations for stream stars; and another using a simple chi^2 estimator, which can be used when only projected positions and radial velocities are known for stream stars. We illustrate the use of the latter method using simulated tidal streams from Pal 5 and find that fairly accurate mass determinations are possible even for relatively poor data sets. Follow-up observations of clusters with proper motion determinations may reveal tidal streams; obtaining radial velocity measurements would enable accurate measurements of the mass distribution in the inner Galaxy.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, published in A

Substructure around M31 : Evolution and Effects

We investigate the evolution of a population of 100 dark matter satellites orbiting in the gravitational potential of a realistic model of M31. We find that after 10 Gyr, seven subhalos are completely disrupted by the tidal field of the host galaxy. The remaining satellites suffer heavy mass loss and overall, 75% of the mass initially in the subhalo system is tidally stripped. Not surprisingly, satellites with pericentric radius less than 30 kpc suffer the greatest stripping and leave a complex structure of tails and streams of debris around the host galaxy. Assuming that the most bound particles in each subhalo are kinematic tracers of stars, we find that the halo stellar population resulting from the tidal debris follows an r^{-3.5} density profile at large radii. We construct B-band photometric maps of stars coming from disrupted satellites and find conspicuous features similar both in morphology and brightness to the observed Giant Stream around Andromeda. An assumed star formation efficiency of 5-10% in the simulated satellite galaxies results in good agreement with the number of M31 satellites, the V-band surface brightness distribution, and the brightness of the Giant Stream. During the first 5 Gyr, the bombardment of the satellites heats and thickens the disk by a small amount. At about 5 Gyr, satellite interations induce the formation of a strong bar which, in turn, leads to a significant increase in the velocity dispersion of the disk.Comment: 45 pages, 18 figures. To be submitted to the Astrophysical Journal, version 2.0 : scale height value corrected, references added, and some figures have been modifie

The dynamics of spiral arms in pure stellar disks

It has been believed that spirals in pure stellar disks, especially the ones spontaneously formed, decay in several galactic rotations due to the increase of stellar velocity dispersions. Therefore, some cooling mechanism, for example dissipational effects of the interstellar medium, was assumed to be necessary to keep the spiral arms. Here we show that stellar disks can maintain spiral features for several tens of rotations without the help of cooling, using a series of high-resolution three-dimensional $N$-body simulations of pure stellar disks. We found that if the number of particles is sufficiently large, e.g., $3\times 10^6$, multi-arm spirals developed in an isolated disk can survive for more than 10 Gyrs. We confirmed that there is a self-regulating mechanism that maintains the amplitude of the spiral arms. Spiral arms increase Toomre's $Q$ of the disk, and the heating rate correlates with the squared amplitude of the spirals. Since the amplitude itself is limited by the value of $Q$, this makes the dynamical heating less effective in the later phase of evolution. A simple analytical argument suggests that the heating is caused by gravitational scattering of stars by spiral arms, and that the self-regulating mechanism in pure-stellar disks can effectively maintain spiral arms on a cosmological timescale. In the case of a smaller number of particles, e.g., $3\times 10^5$, spiral arms grow faster in the beginning of the simulation (while $Q$ is small) and they cause a rapid increase of $Q$. As a result, the spiral arms become faint in several Gyrs.Comment: 18 pages, 19 figures, accepted for Ap

The velocity peaks in the cold dark matter spectrum on Earth

The cold dark matter spectrum on earth is expected to have peaks in velocity space. We obtain estimates for the sizes and locations of these peaks. To this end we have generalized the secondary infall model of galactic halo formation to include angular momentum of the dark matter particles. This new model is still spherically symmetric and it has self-similar solutions. Our results are relevant to direct dark matter search experiments.Comment: 12 pages including 1 table and 4 figures, LaTeX, REVTEX 3.0 versio

The effect of bars and transient spirals on the vertical heating in disk galaxies

The nature of vertical heating of disk stars in the inner as well as the outer region of disk galaxies is studied. The galactic bar (which is the strongest non-axisymmetric pattern in the disk) is shown to be a potential source of vertical heating of the disk stars in the inner region. Using a nearly self-consistent high-resolution N-body simulation of disk galaxies, the growth rate of the bar potential is found to be positively correlated with the vertical heating exponent in the inner region of galaxies. We also characterize the vertical heating in the outer region where the disk dynamics is often dominated by the presence of transient spiral waves and mild bending waves. Our simulation results suggest that the non-axisymmetric structures are capable of producing the anisotropic heating of the disk stars.Comment: 14 pages, 20 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Unfolding the Hierarchy of Voids

We present a framework for the hierarchical identification and characterization of voids based on the Watershed Void Finder. The Hierarchical Void Finder is based on a generalization of the scale space of a density field invoked in order to trace the hierarchical nature and structure of cosmological voids. At each level of the hierarchy, the watershed transform is used to identify the voids at that particular scale. By identifying the overlapping regions between watershed basins in adjacent levels, the hierarchical void tree is constructed. Applications on a hierarchical Voronoi model and on a set of cosmological simulations illustrate its potential.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure