72 research outputs found
The nature of near-infrared emission from spiral galaxies
We present K-band spectroscopy for several regions of three nearby spiral galaxies, NGC 613, NGC 628 and NGC 7741. Analysis of the depth of the 2.293 micron CO absorption feature in these spectra reveals that some regions have deep absorptions, indicative of recent star formation, while others have anomalously shallow absorptions. We interpret the latter as evidence for a significant but localised contribution to the 2.3 micron light from hot dust with an effective temperature of about 1000 K, which could have a significant effect on the K-band morphologies of star-forming galaxies
A cosmologically motivated description of the dark matter halo profile for the Low Surface Brightness Galaxy, Malin 1
In this paper we derive a possible mass profile for the low surface
brightness galaxy, Malin 1, based upon previously published space-based and
ground-based photometric properties and kinematics. We use properties of the
bulge, normal disk, outer extended disk and \ion{H}{1} mass as inputs into mass
profile models. We find that the dark matter halo model of Malin 1 is best
described by a halo profile that has undergone adiabatic contraction,
inconsistent with the findings for most disk galaxies to date, yet consistent
with rotation curve studies of M31. More importantly, we find that Malin 1 is
baryon dominated in its central regions out to a radius of kpc (in the
bulge region). Low-surface brightness galaxies are often referred to as being
dark matter dominated at all radii. If this is the case, then Malin 1 would
seem to have characteristics similar to those of normal barred disk galaxies,
as suggested by other recent work. We also find that Malin 1 also falls on the
rotation curve shear versus spiral arm pitch angle relation for normal
galaxies, although more LSB galaxies need to be studied to determine if this is
typical.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures (1 color), accepted for publication in PAS
JHK Observations of Faint Standard Stars in the Mauna Kea Near-Infrared Photometric System
JHK photometry in the Mauna Kea Observatory (MKO) near-IR system is presented
for 115 stars. Of these, 79 are UKIRT standards and 42 are LCO standards. The
average brightness is 11.5 mag, with a range of 10 to 15. The average number of
nights each star was observed is 4, and the average of the internal error of
the final results is 0.011 mag. These JHK data agree with those reported by
other groups to 0.02 mag. The measurements are used to derive transformations
between the MKO JHK photometric system and the UKIRT, LCO and 2MASS systems.
The 2MASS-MKO data scatter by 0.05 mag for redder stars: 2MASS-J includes H2O
features in dwarfs and MKO-K includes CO features in giants. Transformations
derived for stars whose spectra contain only weak features cannot give accurate
transformations for objects with strong absorption features within a filter
bandpasses. We find evidence of systematic effects at the 0.02 mag level in the
photometry of stars with J<11 and H,K<10.5. This is due to an underestimate of
the linearity correction for stars observed with the shortest exposure times;
very accurate photometry of stars approaching the saturation limits of infrared
detectors which are operated in double-read mode is difficult to obtain. Four
stars in the sample, GSPC S705-D, FS 116 (B216-b7), FS 144 (Ser-EC84) and FS 32
(Feige 108), may be variable. 84 stars in the sample have 11< J< 15 and
10.5<H,K<15, are not suspected to be variable, and have magnitudes with an
estimated error <0.027 mag; 79 of these have an error of <0.020 mag. These
represent the first published high-accuracy JHK stellar photometry in the MKO
photometric system; we recommend these objects be employed as primary standards
for that system [abridged].Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 14 pages, 5 Figure
Pitch angles of distant spiral galaxies
We have studied the pitch angles of spiral arms for 31 distant galaxies at
z~0.7 from three Hubble Deep Fields (HDF-N, HDF-S, HUDF). Using the pitch angle
- rotation velocity relation calibrated from nearby galaxies, we have estimated
the rotation velocities of galaxies from the deep fields. These estimates have
a low accuracy (~50 km/s), but they allow low-mass and giant galaxies to be
distinguished. The Tully-Fisher relation constructed using our velocity
estimates shows satisfactory agreement with the actually observed relations for
distant galaxies and provides evidence for the luminosity evolution of spiral
galaxies.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Milky Way potentials in CDM and MOND. Is the Large Magellanic Cloud on a bound orbit?
We compute the Milky Way potential in different cold dark matter (CDM) based
models, and compare these with the modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND)
framework. We calculate the axis ratio of the potential in various models, and
find that isopotentials are less spherical in MOND than in CDM potentials. As
an application of these models, we predict the escape velocity as a function of
the position in the Galaxy. This could be useful in comparing with future data
from planned or already-underway kinematic surveys (RAVE, SDSS, SEGUE, SIM,
GAIA or the hypervelocity stars survey). In addition, the predicted escape
velocity is compared with the recently measured high proper motion velocity of
the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). To bind the LMC to the Galaxy in a MOND
model, while still being compatible with the RAVE-measured local escape speed
at the Sun's position, we show that an external field modulus of less than
is needed.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 7 figures, 3 table
On the Spiral Structure of the Milky Way Galaxy
We consider the possible pattern of the overall spiral structure of the
Galaxy, using data on the distribution of neutral (atomic), molecular, and
ionized hydrogen, on the base of the hypothesis of the spiral structure being
symmetric, i.e. the assumption that spiral arms are translated into each other
for a rotation around the galactic center by 180{\deg} (a two-arm pattern) or
by 90{\deg} (a four-arm pattern). We demonstrate that, for the inner region,
the observations are best represented with a four-arm scheme of the spiral
pattern, associated with all-Galaxy spiral density waves. The basic position is
that of the Carina arm, reliably determined from distances to HII regions and
from HI and H2 radial velocities. This pattern is continued in the quadrants
III and IV with weak outer HI arms; from their morphology, the Galaxy should be
considered an asymmetric multi-arm spiral. The kneed shape of the outer arms
that consist of straight segments can indicate that these arms are transient
formations that appeared due to a gravitational instability in the gas disk.
The distances between HI superclouds in the two arms that are the brightest in
neutral hydrogen, the Carina arm and the Cygnus (Outer) arm, concentrate to two
values, permitting to assume the presence of a regular magnetic field in these
arms.Comment: 21 pages, 14 fugures; accepted for publication in Astronomichesky
Journal (Astron. Rep.
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