Galaxy spin direction distribution inHSTand SDSS show similar large-scale asymmetry

Abstract

AbstractSeveral recent observations using large data sets of galaxies showed non-random distribution of the spin directions of spiral galaxies, even when the galaxies are too far from each other to have gravitational interaction. Here, a data set of$\sim8.7\cdot10^3$spiral galaxies imaged byHubble Space Telescope(HST) is used to test and profile a possible asymmetry between galaxy spin directions. The asymmetry between galaxies with opposite spin directions is compared to the asymmetry of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The two data sets contain different galaxies at different redshift ranges, and each data set was annotated using a different annotation method. The results show that both data sets show a similar asymmetry in the COSMOS field, which is covered by both telescopes. Fitting the asymmetry of the galaxies to cosine dependence shows a dipole axis with probabilities of$\sim2.8\sigma$and$\sim7.38\sigma$inHSTand SDSS, respectively. The most likely dipole axis identified in theHSTgalaxies is at$(\alpha=78^{\rm o},\delta=47^{\rm o})$and is well within the$1\sigma$error range compared to the location of the most likely dipole axis in the SDSS galaxies with$z>0.15$, identified at$(\alpha=71^{\rm o},\delta=61^{\rm o})$.