Galactic Center Research Articles

A stream come true: Connecting tidal tails, shells, streams, and planes with galaxy kinematics and formation history

Context. The rapidly improving quality and resolution of both low surface brightness observations and cosmological simulations of galaxies enable us to address the important question of how the formation history is imprinted in the outer unrelaxed regions of galaxies, and to inspect the correlations of these imprints with another tracer of galaxy formation, the internal kinematics. Aims. Using the hydrodynamical cosmological simulation called Magneticum Pathfinder, we identified tidal tails, shells, streams, and satellite planes, and connected them to the amount of rotational support and the formation histories of the host galaxies. This presents the first combined statistical census considering all these four types of features in hydrodynamical cosmological simulations. Methods. Tidal features were visually classified from a three-dimensional rendering of the simulated galaxies by several scientists independently. Only features that were identified by at least half of the participating individuals were considered to be existing features. The data on satellite planes and kinematic properties of the simulated galaxies were taken from previous work. The results were compared to observations, especially from the MATLAS survey. Results. Generally, prominent features are much more common around elliptical than around disk galaxies. Shells are preferentially found around kinematically slowly rotating galaxies in both simulations and observations, while streams can be found around all types of galaxies, with a slightly higher probability to be present around less rotationally supported galaxies. Tails and satellite planes, however, appear independently of the internal kinematics of the central galaxy, indicating that they are formed through processes that have not (yet) affected the internal kinematics. Prolate rotators have the overall highest probability to exhibit tidal features, but the highest likelihood for a specific type of feature is found for galaxies with kinematically distinct cores (KDCs), nearly 20% of which exhibit streams. Conclusions. As shells are formed through radial merger events while streams are remnants of circular merger infall, this suggests that the orbital angular momentum of the merger event plays a more crucial role in transforming the host galaxy than previously anticipated. The existence of a shell around a given slow rotator furthermore is a sign of a radial merger formation for this particular slow rotator because one-third of the galaxies with a shell were transformed into slow rotators by the merger event that also caused the shells. The appearance of a stream around a KDC is a direct indicator for the multiple merger formation pathway of that KDC as opposed to the major merger pathway.

QUAS(AI)R: A Novel Machine Learning Algorithm to Predict X-ray Brightness in Active Galactic Nuclei

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are a compact region at the center of galaxies that emit more energy than the rest of the galaxy itself. They emit light across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to optical light to high-energy X-rays. AGNs indicate the existence of highly energetic phenomena in the nucleus of the galaxy. Although AGNs were identified 60 years ago, our knowledge about their physical properties is limited. Quasars, a subtype of AGNs, provide some of the most intense forms of X-rays, which are among the most energetic light known. Furthering our understanding of X-rays in the dynamic environments of quasars will add to our understanding of how to benefit from their use on Earth. In my project, I study the X-ray brightness in quasars to develop six types of regression-based machine learning models for the X-ray brightness predictions. These six models were Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD), Random Forest, Ridge, Lasso, Bayesian and the baseline linear regression model, built on the scikit-learn Python package. The training/testing split on the MILLIQUAS dataset was 80/20 percent, and each model was tuned on model-specific hyperparameters. Benchmarked with the normalized mean absolute error (NMAE), the top three performing models were the Bayesian (0.022%), Ridge (0.180%), and Lasso (0.183%), with the baseline NMAE at 0.284%. With this, we can learn more about the evolution of galaxies in the early Universe and understand how these dynamic environments came to be.

An Early Dark Matter–dominated Phase in the Assembly History of Milky Way–mass Galaxies Suggested by the TNG50 Simulation and JWST Observations

Whereas well-studied galaxies at cosmic noon are found to be baryon dominated within the effective radius, recent JWST observations of z ∼ 6–7 galaxies with stellar masses of only M * ∼ 108−9 M ⊙ surprisingly indicate that they are dark matter dominated within r e ≈ 1 kpc. Here, we place these high-redshift measurements in the context of the TNG50 galaxy formation simulation by measuring the central (within 1 kpc) stellar, gas, and dark matter masses of galaxies in the simulation. The central baryon fraction varies strongly with galaxy stellar mass in TNG50, and this M * dependence is remarkably constant across 0 < z < 6: galaxies of low stellar mass (M * ∼ 108−9 M ⊙) are dark matter dominated as f baryon(<1 kpc) ∼ 0.25. At z = 6, the baryonic mass in the centers of low-mass galaxies is largely comprised of gas, exceeding the stellar mass component by a factor ∼4. We use the simulation to track the typical evolution of such low-mass, dark matter–dominated galaxies at z = 6 and show that these systems become baryon dominated in their centers at cosmic noon, with high stellar-to-gas mass ratios, and grow to galaxies of M * ∼ 1010.5 M ⊙ at z = 0. Comparing to the dynamical and stellar mass measurements from observations at high redshifts, these findings suggest that the inferred star formation efficiency in the early Universe is broadly in line with the established assumptions for the cosmological simulations. Moreover, our results imply that the JWST observations may indeed have reached the early low-mass regime where the central parts of galaxies transition from being dark matter dominated to being baryon dominated.

Flares in the Galactic centre – II. Polarization signatures of flares at mm-wavelengths

ABSTRACT Recent polarimetric mm-observations of the galactic centre showed sinusoidal loops in the $\mathcal {Q{\small --}U}$ plane with a duration of one hour. The loops coincide with a quasi-simultaneous X-ray flare. A promising mechanism to explain the flaring events are magnetic flux eruptions in magnetically arrested accretion flows (MAD). In our previous work, we studied the accretion flow dynamics during flux eruptions. Here, we extend our previous study by investigating whether polarization loops can be a signature produced by magnetic flux eruptions. We find that loops in the $\mathcal {Q{\small --}U}$ plane are robustly produced in MAD models as they lead to enhanced emissivity of compressed disc material due to orbiting flux bundles. A timing analysis of the synthetic polarized light curves demonstrate a polarized excess variability at time-scales of $\simeq 1~\rm h$. The polarization loops are also clearly imprinted on the cross-correlation of the Stokes parameters which allows us to extract a typical periodicity of $30~\rm min$ to $1~\rm h$ with some evidence for a spin dependence. These results are intrinsic to the MAD state and should thus hold for a wide range of astrophysical objects. A subset of general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations without saturated magnetic flux, namely, single temperature standard and normal evolution models, also produces $\mathcal {Q{\small --}U}$ loops. However, in disagreement with the observations, loops in these simulations are quasi-continuous with a low polarization excess.

Revisiting flares in Sagittarius A* based on general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic numerical simulations of black hole accretion

ABSTRACT High-resolution observations with GRAVITY-Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) instrument have provided abundant information about the flares in Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole in our Galactic centre, including the time-dependent location of the centroid (a ‘hotspot’), the light curve, and polarization. Yuan et al. (2009) proposed a ‘coronal mass ejection’ model to explain the flares and their association with the plasma ejection. The key idea is that magnetic reconnection in the accretion flow produces the flares and results in the formation and ejection of flux ropes. The dynamical process proposed in the model has been confirmed by three-dimensional general-relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations in a later work. Based on this scenario, in our previous works the radiation of the flux rope has been calculated analytically and compared to the observations. In the present paper, we develop the model by directly using numerical simulation data to interpret observations. We first identify flux ropes formed due to reconnection from the data. By assuming that electrons are accelerated in the reconnection current sheet and flow into the flux rope and emit their radiation there, we have calculated the time-dependent energy distribution of electrons after phenomenologically considering their injection due to reconnection acceleration, radiative and adiabatic cooling. The radiation of these electrons is calculated using the ray-tracing approach. The trajectory of the hotspot, the radiation light curve during the flare, and the polarization are calculated. These results are compared with the GRAVITY observations and good consistencies are found.

Parameter constraints on traversable wormholes within beyond Horndeski theories through quasiperiodic oscillations

compact astrophysical objects such as black holes and wormholes, as well as testing gravity theories, are important issues in relativistic astrophysics. In this sense, theoretical and observational studies of quasiperiodic oscillations (QPOs) observed in (micro)quasars become helpful in exploring their central object, which can be a black hole or a wormhole. In the present work, we study the throat properties of traversable wormholes beyond Horndeski theory. Also, we investigate the circular motion of test particles orbiting the wormhole. We analyze the test particle’s effective potential and angular momentum for circular orbits. Frequencies of radial and vertical oscillations of the particles around stable circular orbits have also been studied and applied in explaining the quasiperiodic oscillations mechanism in the relativistic precession (RP) model. Finally, we obtain constraint values for the parameters of beyond Horndeski gravity and the mass of the wormhole candidates using QPOs observed in the microquasars GRO J1655-40, GRS 1915+105 &amp; XTE J1550-564 and at the center of Milky Way galaxy through Monte-Carlo-Markovian-chain (MCMC) analyses. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Maser Activity of Organic Molecules toward Sgr B2(N)

At centimeter wavelengths, single-dish observations have suggested that the Sagittarius (Sgr) B2 molecular cloud at the Galactic Center hosts weak maser emission from several organic molecules, including CH2NH, HNCNH, and HCOOCH3. However, the lack of spatial distribution information on these new maser species has prevented us from assessing the excitation conditions of the maser emission as well as their pumping mechanisms. Here, we present a mapping study toward Sgr B2 north (N) to locate the region where the complex maser emission originates. We report the first detection of the Class I methanol (CH3OH) maser at 84 GHz and the first interferometric map of the methanimine (CH2NH) maser at 5.29 GHz toward this region. In addition, we present a tool for modeling and fitting the unsaturated molecular maser signals with non-LTE radiative transfer models and Bayesian analysis using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach. These enable us to quantitatively assess the observed spectral profiles. The results suggest a two-chain-clump model for explaining the intense CH3OH Class I maser emission toward a region with low continuum background radiation. By comparing the spatial origin and extent of maser emission from several molecular species, we find that the 5.29 GHz CH2NH maser has a close spatial relationship with the 84 GHz CH3OH Class I masers. This relationship serves as observational evidence to suggest a similar collisional pumping mechanism for these maser transitions.

NEural Engine for Discovering Luminous Events (NEEDLE): identifying rare transient candidates in real time from host galaxy images

ABSTRACT Known for their efficiency in analysing large data sets, machine learning-based classifiers have been widely used in wide-field sky survey pipelines. The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will generate millions of real-time alerts every night, enabling the discovery of large samples of rare events. Identifying such objects soon after explosion will be essential to study their evolution. Using ∼5400 transients from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Bright Transient Survey as training and test data, we develop NEEDLE (NEural Engine for Discovering Luminous Events), a novel hybrid (convolutional neural network + dense neural network) classifier to select for two rare classes with strong environmental preferences: superluminous supernovae (SLSNe) preferring dwarf galaxies, and tidal disruption events (TDEs) occurring in the centres of nucleated galaxies. The input data includes (i) cutouts of the detection and reference images, (ii) photometric information contained directly in the alert packets, and (iii) host galaxy magnitudes from Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System). Despite having only a few tens of examples of the rare classes, our average (best) completeness on an unseen test set reaches 73 per cent (86 per cent) for SLSNe and 80 per cent (87 per cent) for TDEs. While very encouraging for completeness, this may still result in relatively low purity for the rare transients, given the large class imbalance in real surveys. However, the goal of NEEDLE is to find good candidates for spectroscopic classification, rather than to select pure photometric samples. Our system will be deployed as an annotator on the UK alert broker, Lasair, to provide predictions of real-time alerts from ZTF and LSST to the community.

Median surface-brightness profiles of Lyman-alpha haloes in the MUSE Extremely Deep Field

We present the median surface brightness profiles of diffuse haloes (LAHs) around star-forming galaxies by stacking 155 spectroscopically confirmed emitters (LAEs) at $3&lt;z&lt;4$ in the MUSE Extremely Deep Field (MXDF) with a median luminosity of $ L_ Ly alpha $. After correcting for a systematic surface brightness offset we identified in the data cube, we detect extended emission out to a distance of approx 270 kpc. The median surface-brightness profile shows a power-law decrease in the inner 20 kpc and a possible flattening trend at a greater distance. This shape is similar for LAEs with different luminosities, but the normalisation of the surface-brightness profile increases with luminosity. At distances over 50 kpc, we observe a strong overlap of adjacent LAHs, and the surface brightness is dominated by the LAHs of nearby LAEs. We find no clear evidence of redshift evolution of the observed profiles when comparing with samples at $4&lt;z&lt;5$ and $5&lt;z&lt;6$. Our results are consistent with a scenario in which the inner 20 kpc of the LAH is powered by star formation in the central galaxy, while the LAH beyond a radius of 50 kpc is dominated by photons from surrounding galaxies.

JWST’s First Glimpse of a z > 2 Forming Cluster Reveals a Top-heavy Stellar Mass Function

Clusters and their progenitors (protoclusters) at z ∼ 2 − 4, the peak epoch of star formation, are ideal laboratories to study the formation process of both the clusters themselves and their member galaxies. However, a complete census of their member galaxies has been challenging due to observational difficulties. Here we present new JWST/NIRCam observations targeting the distant cluster CLJ1001 at z = 2.51 from the COSMOS-Web program, which, in combination with previous narrowband imaging targeting Hα emitters and deep millimeter surveys of CO emitters, provide a complete view of massive galaxy assembly in CLJ1001. In particular, JWST reveals a population of massive, extremely red cluster members in the long-wavelength bands that were invisible in previous Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/F160W imaging (HST-dark members). Based on this highly complete spectroscopic sample of member galaxies, we show that the spatial distribution of galaxies in CLJ1001 exhibits a strong central concentration, with the central galaxy density already resembling that of low-z clusters. Moreover, we reveal a “top-heavy” stellar mass function for the star-forming galaxies (SFGs), with an overabundance of massive SFGs piled up in the cluster core. These features strongly suggest that CLJ1001 is caught in a rapid transition, with many of its massive SFGs likely soon becoming quiescent. In the context of cluster formation, these findings suggest that the earliest clusters form from the inside out and top to bottom, with the massive galaxies in the core assembling first, followed by the less massive ones in the outskirts.

Pulsar-wind-nebula-powered Galactic center X-ray filament G0.13–0.11

We report the discovery of X-ray polarization from the X-ray-bright filament G0.13−0.11 in the Galactic center (GC) region. This filament features a bright, hard X-ray source that is most plausibly a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) and an extended and structured diffuse component. Combining the polarization signal from IXPE with the imaging/spectroscopic data from Chandra, we find that X-ray emission of G0.13−0.11 is highly polarized PD = 57(±18)% in the 3−6 keV band, while the polarization angle is PA = 21 ° ( ± 9 ° ). This high degree of polarization proves the synchrotron origin of the X-ray emission from G0.13−0.11. In turn, the measured polarization angle implies that the X-ray emission is polarized approximately perpendicular to a sequence of nonthermal radio filaments that may be part of the GC Radio Arc. The magnetic field on the order of 100 μG appears to be preferentially ordered along the filaments. The above field strength is the fiducial value that makes our model self-consistent, while the other conclusions are largely model independent.

Increasing AGN sample completeness using long-term near-infrared variability

Abstract In this work, we use 8 years of deep near-infrared imaging to select and study a new set of 601active galaxies identified through long-term near-infrared (NIR) variability in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS). These objects are compared to 710X-ray bright AGN detected by the Chandra X-ray observatory. We show that infrared variability and X-ray emission select distinct sets of active galaxies, finding only a 37 per centoverlap of galaxies detected by both techniques and confirming NIR-variable AGN to be typically X-ray quiet. Examining the mass functions of the active galaxies shows that NIR variability detects AGN activity in galaxies over a significantly wider range of host stellar mass compared to X-ray detection. For example, at z ∼ 1, variable AGN are identified among approximately 1 per cent of galaxies in a roughly flat distribution above the stellar mass completeness limit ($&amp;gt;10^{9}\rm \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$), while X-ray detection primarily identifies AGN in galaxies of higher mass ($&amp;gt;10^{10}\rm \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$). We conclude that long-term near-infrared variability provides an important new tool for obtaining more complete samples of AGN in deep survey fields.

Morphological Evidence for the eROSITA Bubbles Being Giant and Distant Structures

There are two contradictory views of the eROSITA bubbles: either a 104 pc scale pair of giant bubbles blown by the Galactic center (GC), or a 102 pc scale local structure coincidentally located in the direction of GC. A key element of this controversy is the distance to the bubbles. Based on the 3D dust distribution in the Galactic plane, we found three isolated, distant (500–800 pc) clouds at intermediate Galactic latitudes. Their projected morphologies perfectly match the X-ray shadows on the defining features of the north eROSITA bubble, i.e., the North Polar Spur (NPS) and the Lotus Petal Cloud (LPC), indicating that both the NPS and LPC are distant, with a distance lower limit of nearly 1 kpc. In the X-ray-dark region between the NPS and LPC, we found a few polarized radio arcs and attributed them to the bubble’s shock front. These arcs match up perfectly with the outer border of the NPS and LPC and provide a way to define the bubble’s border. The border defined in this way can be well described by the line-of-sight tangent of a 3D skewed cup model rooted in the GC. We conclude that, instead of being two independent, distant features, the NPS and LPC compose a single, giant bubble, which therefore is most plausibly a 10 kpc scale bubble rooted at the GC.

Measurement of Dependence of Microlensing Planet Frequency on the Host Star Mass and Galactocentric Distance by Using a Galactic Model

We measure the dependence of planet frequency on host star mass, M L, and distance from the Galactic center, R L, using a sample of planets discovered by gravitational microlensing. We compare the two-dimensional distribution of the lens-source proper motion, μ rel, and the Einstein radius crossing time, t E, measured for 22 planetary events from Suzuki et al. with the distribution expected from Galactic model. Assuming that the planet-hosting probability of a star is proportional to MLmRLr , we calculate the likelihood distribution of (m,r). We estimate that r=0.10−0.37+0.51 and m=0.50−0.70+0.90 under the assumption that the planet-hosting probability is independent of the mass ratio. We also divide the planet sample into subsamples based on their mass ratio, q, and estimate that m=−0.08−0.65+0.95 for q < 10−3 and 1.25−1.14+1.07 for q > 10−3. Although uncertainties are still large, this result implies a possibility that, in orbits beyond the snowline, massive planets are more likely to exist around more massive stars whereas low-mass planets exist regardless of their host star mass.

An Asymmetric Galactic Stellar Disk Traced by OB-type Stars from LAMOST DR7

Using 9943 OB-type stars from LAMOST DR7 in the solar neighborhood, we fit the vertical stellar density profile with the model including a single exponential distribution at different positions (R, Φ). The distributions of the scale heights and scale length show that the young disk traced by the OB-type stars is not axisymmetric. The scale length decreases versus the azimuthal angle Φ, i.e., from 1.14−0.19+0.30 kpc with Φ = − 3° to 0.77−0.06+0.08 kpc with Φ = 9°. Meanwhile we find signal of non-symmetry in the distribution of the scale height of the north and south of the disk plane. The scale height in the north side shows signal of flaring of the disk, while that of the south disk stays almost constant around h s = 130 pc. The distribution of the displacement of the disk plane Z 0 also shows variance versus the azimuthal angle Φ, which displays significant differences with the warp model constrained by the Cepheid stars. We also test different values for the position of the Sun, and the distance between the Sun and the Galactic center affects the scale heights and the displacement of the disk significantly, but that does not change our conclusion that the disk is not axisymmetric.

Detecting Wandering Intermediate-Mass Black Holes with AXIS in the Milky Way and Local Massive Galaxies

This white paper explores the detectability of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) wandering in the Milky Way (MW) and massive local galaxies, with a particular emphasis on the role of AXIS. IMBHs, ranging within 103−6M⊙, are commonly found at the centers of dwarf galaxies and may exist, yet undiscovered, in the MW. By using model spectra for advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs), we calculated the expected fluxes emitted by a population of wandering IMBHs with masses of 105M⊙ in various MW environments and extrapolated our results to massive local galaxies. Around 40% of the potential population of wandering IMBHs in the MW can be detected in an AXIS deep field. We proposed criteria to aid with selecting IMBH candidates using already available optical surveys. We also showed that IMBHs wandering in &gt;200 galaxies within 10 Mpc can be easily detected with AXIS when passing within dense galactic environments (e.g., molecular clouds and cold neutral medium). In summary, we highlighted the potential X-ray detectability of wandering IMBHs in local galaxies and provided insights for guiding future surveys. Detecting wandering IMBHs is crucial for understanding their demographics and evolution and the merging history of galaxies. This white paper is part of a series commissioned for the AXIS Probe Concept Mission; additional AXIS white papers can be found at the AXIS website.

A JVLA, LOFAR, e-Merlin, VLBA, and EVN study of RBS 797: can binary supermassive black holes explain the outburst history of the central radio galaxy?

The multifaceted central radio galaxy of the cluster RBS 797 shows several episodes of jet activity in multiple directions. We wish to understand the causes behind these dramatic misalignments and measure the timescales of the successive outbursts. We present a multifrequency (144 MHz -- 9 GHz) and multiscale (5 pc -- $50$ kpc) investigation of the central radio galaxy in RBS 797, by means of JVLA, LOFAR (with international stations), e-Merlin, VLBA, and EVN data. We investigate the morphological and spectral properties of the radio lobes, the jets, and the active core. We confirm the co-spatiality of the radio lobes with the four perpendicular X-ray cavities previously discovered. The radiative ages of the east-west lobes ($31.4 Myr) and of the north-south lobes ($32.1 Myr) support a coeval origin of the perpendicular outbursts, which also have similar active phase duration (sim 12 Myr). Based on the analysis of the inner north-south jets (on scales of $ kpc), we (a) confirm the S-shaped jet morphology; (b) show the presence of two hotspots per jet with a similar spectral index; and (c) estimate the age of the twisting north-south jets to be less than $ Myr. Based on these results, we determine that jet precession, with a period sim 9 Myr, half-opening angle sim circ $, and jet advance speed sim 0.01$c$, can explain the properties of the north-south jets. We also find that the synchrotron injection index has steepened from the large, older outbursts ($ to the younger S-shaped jets ($ possibly due to a transition from FR I-like to FR II-like activity. The e-Merlin, VLBA, and EVN data reveal a single, compact core at the heart of RBS 797, surrounded by extended radio emission whose orientation depends on the spatial scale sampled by the data. We explore several engine-based scenarios to explain these results. Piecing together the available evidence, we argue that RBS 797 likely hosts (or hosted) binary active supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The detection of a single component in the VLBA and EVN data is still consistent with this interpretation, since the predicted separation of the binary SMBHs (leq 0.6 pc) is an order of magnitude smaller than the resolution of the available radio data (5 pc).

The High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): the circum-nuclear environment of growing supermassive black holes

Ever since the discovery of the first active galactic nuclei (AGN), substantial observational and theoretical effort has been invested into understanding how massive black holes have evolved across cosmic time. Circum-nuclear obscuration is now established as a crucial component, with almost every AGN observed known to display signatures of some level of obscuration in their X-ray spectra. However, despite more than six decades of effort, substantial open questions remain: how does the accretion power impact the structure of the circum-nuclear obscurer? What are the dynamical properties of the obscurer? Can dense circum-nuclear obscuration exist around intrinsically weak AGN? How many intermediate mass black holes occupy the centers of dwarf galaxies? In this paper, we showcase a number of next-generation prospects attainable with the High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P1) to contribute toward solving these questions in the 2030s. The uniquely broad (0.2–80 keV) and strictly simultaneous X-ray passband of HEX-P makes it ideally suited for studying the temporal co-evolution between the central engine and circum-nuclear obscurer. Improved sensitivities and reduced background will enable the development of spectroscopic models complemented by current and future multi-wavelength observations. We show that the angular resolution of HEX-P both below and above 10 keV will enable the discovery and confirmation of accreting massive black holes at both low accretion power and low black hole masses even when concealed by thick obscuration. In combination with other next-generation observations of the dusty hearts of nearby galaxies, HEX-P will be pivotal in paving the way toward a complete picture of black hole growth and galaxy co-evolution.

Mapping the Milky Way with LAMOST – IV. The large Galactic disc extending to 35 kpc

ABSTRACT We investigate extent of the disc in both vertical and radial directions by separately analysing the density and azimuthal velocity distributions using 31116 M giant stars selected from LAMOST DR5. We first measure the metallicities, radial velocities, and the distances with precision of 0.26 dex, 5.01 km s−1, and 20.8 per cent, respectively. Then, a Bayesian method is applied to model the distributions of the outer Galaxy including components of the thin, thick discs and the halo, to obtain the scale height and azimuthal velocity distributions for the thin and thick discs as a function of galactocentric distance R. The density profile of the thin disc shows that it extends out to R ∼ 35 kpc, beyond which there are no M giant stars in the halo except for Sagittarius Stream members. By using azimuthal velocity to trace the thin disc out to 26 kpc from the Galactic Centre, we show that both the density profile and azimuthal velocity decrease with Galactocentric distance R. In both the density and azimuthal velocity distributions, there is a significant breakpoint at a galactocentric distance of R ∼ 14 kpc. The scale height distribution shows that the thin disc is significantly flared, consistent with previous works. We also find that there is no significant thick disc (as traced by M giant stars) in the outer region beyond R ∼ 15.5 kpc.

Simulations of galaxies in an expanding Universe with modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) and with modified gravitational attractions (MOGA)

The stability of galaxies is either explained by the existence of dark matter or caused by a modification of Newtonian acceleration (MOND). Here, we show that the modification of the Newtonian dynamics can equally well be obtained by a modification of Newton’s law of universal gravitational attraction (MOGA) when Newton’s inverse square attraction from a distant object is replaced with an inverse attraction. This modification is often proposed in the standard model, and with the modification of the attraction caused by dark matter. The recently derived algorithm, Eur Phys J Plus, 137:99, 2022; Class Quantum Grav, 39:225006, 2022, for classical celestial dynamics is used to simulate models of the Milky Way in an expanding universe and with either MOND or MOGA. The simulations show that the galaxies with MOND dynamics are unstable, whereas MOGA stabilizes the galaxies. The rotation velocities for objects in galaxies with classical Newtonian dynamics decline inversely proportional to the square root of the distance r to the center of the galaxy. But the rotation velocities is relatively independent of r for MOGA and qualitatively in agreement with experimentally determined rotation curves for galaxies in the Universe. The modification of the attractions may be caused by the masses of the objects in the central part of the galaxy by the lensing of gravitational waves from far-away objects in the galaxy.