319 research outputs found
The Bar Pattern Speed of NGC 1433 Estimated Via Sticky-Particle Simulations
We present detailed numerical simulations of NGC 1433, an intermediate-type
barred spiral showing strong morphological features including a secondary bar,
nuclear ring, inner ring, outer pseudoring, and two striking, detached spiral
arcs known as ``plumes.'' This galaxy is an ideal candidate for recreating the
observed morphology through dynamical models and determining the pattern speed.
We derived a gravitational potential from an -band image of the galaxy and
simulated the behavior of a two-dimensional disk of 100,000 inelastically
colliding gas particles. We find that the closest matching morphology between a
-band image and a simulation occurs with a pattern speed of 0.89 km s
arcsec 5-10%. We also determine that the ratio of corotation
radius to the average published bar radius is 1.7 0.3, with the ambiguity
in the bar radius being the largest contributor to the error.Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astronomical Journal. 34 pages, 13
figures, 2 table
Dynamical Simulations of NGC 2523 and NGC 4245
We present dynamical simulations of NGC 2523 and NGC 4245, two barred
galaxies (types SB(r)b and SB(r)0/a, respectively) with prominent inner rings.
Our goal is to estimate the bar pattern speeds in these galaxies by matching a
sticky-particle simulation to the -band morphology, using near-infrared
-band images to define the gravitational potentials. We compare the
pattern speeds derived by this method with those derived in our previous paper
using the well-known Tremaine-Weinberg continuity equation method. The inner
rings in these galaxies, which are likely to be resonance features, help to
constrain the dynamical models. We find that both methods give the same pattern
speeds within the errors.Comment: 29 pages, 3 tables, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in The
Astronomical Journa
What is important in history teaching? Student class teachersâ conceptions
In Finland, history is taught in comprehensive schools at both primary and secondary levels. In primary schools, teachers are qualified class teachers who study
one or two history courses during their teacher education. The amount of history taught in teacher education is limited, but student class teachers have studied
history while at comprehensive school and general upper secondary school, and they have lived experience of historical cultures as members of different groups
and communities. Thus, they have conceptions of what history teaching in school is, and what it should be. In this article, student class teachersâ conceptions of
teaching history were examined using data (n=92) consisting of studentsâ writings at the beginning of their history studies. A phenomenographic approach was used to identify and characterize different conceptions. The results showed that student class teachers considered understanding of the present to be the most important objective in school history. Based on their own school experiences,
they highlighted the significance of the big picture instead of learning scattered facts and details. Students also stressed the importance of the motivation to study history. Their conceptions are similar to the curriculum objectives for history teaching in primary school
Ice Age Epochs and the Sun's Path Through the Galaxy
We present a calculation of the Sun's motion through the Milky Way Galaxy
over the last 500 million years. The integration is based upon estimates of the
Sun's current position and speed from measurements with Hipparcos and upon a
realistic model for the Galactic gravitational potential. We estimate the times
of the Sun's past spiral arm crossings for a range in assumed values of the
spiral pattern angular speed. We find that for a difference between the mean
solar and pattern speed of Omega_Sun - Omega_p = 11.9 +/- 0.7 km/s/kpc the Sun
has traversed four spiral arms at times that appear to correspond well with
long duration cold periods on Earth. This supports the idea that extended
exposure to the higher cosmic ray flux associated with spiral arms can lead to
increased cloud cover and long ice age epochs on Earth.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Radial Dependence of the Pattern Speed of M51
The grand-design spiral galaxy M51 has long been a crucial target for
theories of spiral structure. Studies of this iconic spiral can address the
question of whether strong spiral structure is transient (e.g.
interaction-driven) or long-lasting. As a clue to the origin of the structure
in M51, we investigate evidence for radial variation in the spiral pattern
speed using the radial Tremaine-Weinberg (TWR) method. We implement the method
on CO observations tracing the ISM-dominant molecular component. Results from
the method's numerical implementation--combined with regularization, which
smooths intrinsically noisy solutions--indicate two distinct patterns speeds
inside 4 kpc at our derived major axis PA=170 deg., both ending at corotation
and both significantly higher than the conventionally adopted global value.
Inspection of the rotation curve suggests that the pattern speed interior to 2
kpc lacks an ILR, consistent with the leading structure seen in HST near-IR
observations. We also find tentative evidence for a lower pattern speed between
4 and 5.3 kpc measured by extending the regularized zone. As with the original
TW method, uncertainty in major axis position angle (PA) is the largest source
of error in the calculation; in this study, where \delta PA=+/-5 deg. a ~20%
error is introduced to the parameters of the speeds at PA=170 deg. Accessory to
this standard uncertainty, solutions with PA=175 deg. (also admitted by the
data) exhibit only one pattern speed inside 4 kpc, and we consider this
circumstance under the semblance of a radially varying PA.Comment: 14 pages in emulateapj format, 12 figures, accepted for publication
in Ap
The Kinematically Measured Pattern Speeds of NGC 2523 and NGC 4245
We have applied the Tremaine-Weinberg continuity equation method to derive
the bar pattern speed in the SB(r)b galaxy NGC 2523 and the SB(r)0/a galaxy NGC
4245 using the Calcium Triplet absorption lines. These galaxies were selected
because they have strong inner rings which can be used as independent tracers
of the pattern speed. The pattern speed of NGC 2523 is 26.4 6.1 km
s kpc, assuming an inclination of 49.7 and a distance
of 51.0 Mpc. The pattern speed of NGC 4245 is 75.5 31.3 km s
kpc, assuming an inclination of 35.4 and a distance of 12.6
Mpc. The ratio of the corotation radius to the bar radius of NGC 2523 and NGC
4245 is 1.4 0.3 and 1.1 0.5, respectively. These values place the
bright inner rings near and slightly inside the corotation radius, as predicted
by barred galaxy theory. Within the uncertainties, both galaxies are found to
have fast bars that likely indicate dark halos of low central concentration.
The photometric properties, bar strengths, and disk stabilities of both
galaxies are also discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, 11 figures, 2
table
Kinematics of the outer pseudorings and the spiral structure of the Galaxy
The kinematics of the outer rings and pseudorings is determined by two
processes: the resonance tuning and the gas outflow. The resonance kinematics
is clearly observed in the pure rings, while the kinematics of the gas outflow
is manifested itself in the pseudorings. The direction of systematical motions
in the pure rings depends on the position angle of a point with respect to the
bar major axis and on the class of the outer ring. The direction of the radial
and azimuthal components of the residual velocities of young stars in the
Perseus, Carina, and Sagittarius regions can be explained by the presence of
the outer pseudoring of class R1R2' in the Galaxy. We present models, which
reproduce the directions and values of the residual velocities of
OB-associations in the Perseus and Sagittarius regions, and also model
reproducing the directions of the residual velocities in the Perseus,
Sagittarius, and Carina regions. The kinematics of the Sagittarius region
accurately defines the solar position angle with respect to the bar elongation,
theta_b=45 (+/-5) deg.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter
On the bar pattern speed determination of NGC 3367
An important dynamic parameter of barred galaxies is the bar pattern speed.
Among several methods that are used for the determination of the pattern speed
the Tremaine-Weinberg method has the advantage of model independency and
accuracy. In this work we apply the method to a simulated bar including gas
dynamics and study the effect of 2D spectroscopy data quality on robustness of
the method. We added a white noise and a Gaussian random field to the data and
measured the corresponding errors in the pattern speed. We found that a signal
to noise ratio in surface density ~5 introduces errors of ~20% for the Gaussian
noise, while for the white noise the corresponding errors reach ~50%. At the
same time the velocity field is less sensitive to contamination. On the basis
of the performed study we applied the method to the NGC 3367 spiral galaxy
using H{\alpha} Fabry-Perot interferometry data. We found for the pattern speed
43 \pm 6 km/s/kpc for this galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 16 pages, 16 figure
Double Bars, Inner Disks, and Nuclear Rings in Early-Type Disk Galaxies
We present results from an imaging survey of an unbiased sample of
thirty-eight early-type (S0--Sa), low-inclination, optically barred galaxies in
the field. Our goal was to find and characterize central stellar and gaseous
structures: secondary bars, inner disks, and nuclear rings. Bars inside bars
are surprisingly common: at least one quarter of the sample galaxies (possibly
as many as 40%) are double-barred, with no preference for Hubble type or the
strength of the primary bar. A typical secondary bar is ~12% of the size of its
primary bar and 240--750 pc in radius. We see no significant effect of
secondary bars on nuclear activity. We also find kiloparsec-scale inner disks
in at least 20% of our sample, almost exclusively in S0 galaxies. These disks
are on average 20% the size of their host bar, and show a wider range of
relative sizes than do secondary bars. Nuclear rings are present in about a
third of our sample. Most are dusty, sites of current or recent star formation,
or both; such rings are preferentially found in Sa galaxies. Three S0 galaxies
(15% of the S0's) appear to have purely stellar nuclear rings, with no evidence
for dust or recent star formation. The fact that these central stellar
structures are so common indicates that the inner regions of early-type barred
galaxies typically contain dynamically cool and disklike structures. This is
especially true for S0 galaxies, where secondary bars, inner disks, and/or
stellar nuclear rings are present at least two thirds of the time. (abridged)Comment: LaTeX, 15 pages, 7 EPS figures; to appear in The Astronomical Journal
(July 2002
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