Exponential Disk Research Articles

Simulating sinking satellites with superbox-10

SUPERBOX-10 is the successor of SUPERBOX, a particle-mesh code where additional grids and sub-grids are applied to regions of high particle density. Previous limitations have been solved. For instance, the vertical resolution is improved considerably when flattened grids are used. Since the computationally most intensive part is the Fast Fourier Transform, we introduce a parallelised version using the library FFTW, resulting in a speed-up of a few. The new features are tested using a galaxy model consisting of an exponential disc, a bulge and a dark matter halo. We demonstrate that the use of flattened grids efficiently reduces numerical heating. We simulate the merging of disc-bulge-halo galaxies with small spherical satellites. As a result, satellites on orbits with both low eccentricity and inclination heat the disc most efficiently. Moreover, we find that most of the satellite's energy and angular momentum is transfered to the halo.

The Sagittarius stream and halo triaxiality

We present a mass model for the Milky Way, which is fit to observations of the Sagittarius stream together with constraints derived from a wide range of photometric and kinematic data. The model comprises a S\'{e}rsic bulge, an exponential disk, and an Einasto halo. Our Bayesian analysis is accomplished using an affine-invariant Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. We find that the best-fit dark matter halo is triaxial with axis ratios of $3.3\pm 0.7$ and $2.7\pm 0.4$ and with the short axis approximately aligned with the Sun-Galactic centre line. Our results are consistent with those presented in Law and Majewski (2010). Such a strongly aspherical halo is disfavoured by the standard cold dark matter scenario for structure formation.

The density model of the Milky Way from the tangent-point measurements of the rotation curve

AbstractWe use measurements of the rotation curve of the Milky Way by the tangent point method to reconstruct the density model of the Milky Way. The observed inner rotation curve is fitted by a theoretical density model, consisting of a Dehnen bulge, an exponential disc with a hole, and a flattened dark matter halo with a cored isothermal or NFW density profile. The density model is also set to be consistent with the local density constraints in the solar neighborhood.

Overview of dynamical mechanisms of secular evolution

AbstractGravity-bound isolated systems, from stars, planetary systems, star clusters to galaxies, share common properties where evolution is the rule. Typically if they start forming at a well defined epoch they tend to change significantly over a timescale comparable to their present age. So evolution is never truly stopped, it just proceeds slower and slower: after a rapid, violent phase a slower, secular phase follows. In galactic astronomy for many decades the paradigm was rather that after a short violent time galaxies would settle in a stable steady state just consuming gas into stars. Actually today it appears that the progressive appearance of galaxy systematic morphologies and the slowing pace of mergers indicate that common intrinsic dynamical factors continue to shape galaxies towards similar properties irrespective of their largely different formation histories and initial conditions. Newtonian physics supplemented by a weakly dissipative component provides an amazing amount of explanations for the galaxy properties, like exponential stellar disks, spirals, bars, and peanut-shaped bulges. The purpose of this talk is to review these mechanisms of dynamical secular evolution.

DARK MATTER, MAGNETIC FIELDS, AND THE ROTATION CURVE OF THE MILKY WAY

The study of the disk rotation curve of our Galaxy at large distances provides an interesting scenario for us to test whether magnetic fields should be considered as a non-negligible dynamical ingredient. By assuming a bulge, an exponential disk for the stellar and gaseous distributions, and a dark halo and disk magnetic fields, we fit the rotation velocity of the Milky Way. In general, when the magnetic contribution is added to the dynamics, a better description of the rotation curve is obtained. Our main conclusion is that magnetic fields should be taken into account for the Milky Way dynamics. Azimuthal magnetic field strengths of B ~ 2 μG at distances of ~2 R 0(16 kpc) are able to explain the rise-up for the rotation curve in the outer disk.

Errata: Destructible Bars in Disk Galaxies under the Dynamical Influence of a Massive Central Black Hole

The characteristics of the galactic bars that are prone to suffer a damaging impact from a massive central black hole are examined using flat stellar disks. We construct three disk model groups that consist of exponential disks with one type of velocity distribution and Kuzmin‐Toomre disks with two different types of exact equilibrium distribution functions. For each disk model group, three disks that have different typical Toomre’s Q values are evolved to form bars through dynamical instability. Once a bar is fully developed, a black hole (BH), whose mass is 1% of the disk mass, is adiabatically added at the center of the disk. Our results show that lower-amplitude bars, that is weaker bars, are dissolved more easily by that BH. We have found that this destructibility is rooted in the characteristic feature that the bar formed spontaneously becomes shorter in length and rounder in shape with decreasing bar amplitude. Since such weaker bars are found to originate from colder disks in each disk model group, it follows that for a given form of velocity structure, the coldness of an initial disk determines whether the bar produced in that disk is favorable to dissolution induced by a massive central BH. In addition, the existence of bar-dissolved galaxies of the kind studied here is also discussed.

Disc scalelengths out to redshift 5.8

ABSTRACT We compute the exponential disc scalelength for 686 disc galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts out to redshift 5.8 based on Hubble Space Telescope archival data. We compare the results with our previous measurements based on 30 000 nearby galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Our results confirm the presence of a dominating exponential component in galaxies out to this redshift. At the highest redshifts, the disc scalelength for the brightest galaxies with absolute magnitude between −24 and −22 is up to a factor of 8 smaller compared to that in the local Universe. This observed scalelength decrease is significantly greater than the value predicted by a cosmological picture in which baryonic disc scalelength scales with the virial radius of the dark matter halo.

Spiral galaxy rotation curves in the Horava-Lifshitz gravity theory

We focus on a modified version of Horava - Lifschitz theory and, in particular, we consider the impact of its weak - field static spherically symmetric limit on the galaxy dynamics. In a previous paper, we used the modified gravitational potential obtained in this theory to evaluate the Milky Way rotation curve using a spheroidal truncated power - law bulge and a double exponential disc as the only sources of the gravitational field and showed that the modified rotation curved is not in agreement with the data. Making a step forward, we here include also the contribution from a dark matter halo in order to see whether this helps fitting the rotation curve data. As a test case, we consider a sample of spiral galaxies with smooth baryon matter distribution and well measured circular velocity profiles. It turns out that, although a marginal agreement with the data can be found, this can only be obtained if the dark matter halo has an unrealistically small virial mass and incredibly large concentration. Such results can be interpreted as a strong evidence against the reliability of the gravitational potential obtained in the modified version of Horava -Lifschitz theory that we consider.

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE ANGULAR MOMENTUM PROPERTIES OF GAS AND DARK MATTER IN GALACTIC HALOS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

We perform a set of non-radiative hydrodynamical simulations of merging spherical halos in order to understand the angular momentum (AM) properties of the galactic halos seen in cosmological simulations. The universal shape of AM distributions seen in simulations is found to be generically produced as a result of mergers. The universal shape is such that it has an excess of low AM material and hence cannot explain the exponential structure of disk galaxies. A resolution to this is suggested by the spatial distribution of low AM material which is found to be in the centre and a conical region close to the axis of rotation. A mechanism that preferentially discards the material in the centre and prevents the material along the poles from falling onto the disc is proposed as a solution. We implement a simple geometric criteria for selective removal of low AM material and show that in order for 90% of halos to host exponential discs one has to reject at least 40% of material. Next, we explore the physical mechanisms responsible for distributing the AM within the halo during a merger. For dark matter there is an inside-out transfer of AM, whereas for gas there is an outside-in transfer, which is due to differences between collisionless and gas dynamics. We also explain the apparent high spin of dark matter halos undergoing mergers and show that a criteria stricter than what is currently used, would be required to detect such unrelaxed halos. Finally, we demonstrate that the misalignment of AM between gas and dark matter only occurs when the intrinsic spins of the merging halos are not aligned with the orbital AM of the system. The self-misalignment (orientation of AM when measured in radial shells not being constant), which could be the cause of warps and anomalous rotation in disks galaxies, also occurs under similar conditions.

Evidence of nuclear disks in starburst galaxies from their radial distribution of supernovae

Galaxy-galaxy interactions are expected to be responsible for triggering massive star formation and possibly accretion onto a supermassive black hole, by providing large amounts of dense molecular gas down to the central kiloparsec region. Several scenarios to drive the gas further down to the central ~100 pc, have been proposed, including the formation of a nuclear disk around the black hole, where massive stars would produce supernovae. Here, we probe the radial distribution of supernovae and supernova remnants in the nuclear regions of the starburst galaxies M82, Arp 299-A, and Arp 220, by using high-angular resolution (< 0."1) radio observations published in the literature (for M82 and Arp 220), or obtained by ourselves from the European VLBI Network (Arp 299-A). Our main goal was to characterize the nuclear starbursts in those galaxies and thus test scenarios that propose that nuclear disks of sizes ~100 pc form in the central regions of starburst galaxies. We obtained the radial distribution of supernovae (SNe) in the nuclear starbursts of M82, Arp 299-A, and Arp 220, and derived scale-length values for the putative nuclear disks powering the bursts in those central regions. The scale lengths for the (exponential) disks range from ~20-30 pc for Arp 299-A and Arp 220, up to ~140 pc for M82. The radial distribution of SNe for the nuclear disks in Arp 299-A and Arp 220 is also consistent with a power-law surface density profile of exponent gamma=1, as expected from detailed hydrodynamical simulations of nuclear disks. Our results support scenarios where a nuclear disk of size ~100 pc is formed in (U)LIRGs, and sustained by gas pressure, in which case the accretion onto the black hole could be lowered by supernova feedback.

Destructible Bars in Disk Galaxies under the Dynamical Influence of a Massive Central Black Hole

Abstract The characteristics of the galactic bars that are prone to suffer a damaging impact from a massive central black hole are examined using flat stellar disks. We construct three disk model groups that consist of exponential disks with one type of velocity distribution and Kuzmin–Toomre disks with two different types of exact equilibrium distribution functions. For each disk model group, three disks that have different typical Toomre’s $Q$ values are evolved to form bars through dynamical instability. Once a bar is fully developed, a black hole (BH), whose mass is 1% of the disk mass, is adiabatically added at the center of the disk. Our results show that lower-amplitude bars, that is weaker bars, are dissolved more easily by that BH. We have found that this destructibility is rooted in the characteristic feature that the bar formed spontaneously becomes shorter in length and rounder in shape with decreasing bar amplitude. Since such weaker bars are found to originate from colder disks in each disk model group, it follows that for a given form of velocity structure, the coldness of an initial disk determines whether the bar produced in that disk is favorable to dissolution induced by a massive central BH. In addition, the existence of bar-dissolved galaxies of the kind studied here is also discussed.

THE GRAVITATIONAL FORCE AND POTENTIAL OF THE FINITE MESTEL DISK

Mestel determined the surface mass distribution of the finite disk for which the circular velocity is constant in the disk and found the gravitational field for points in the $z=0$ plane. Here we find the exact closed form solutions for the potential and the gravitational field of this disk in cylindrical coordinates over all the space. The Finite Mestel Disk (FMD) is characterized by a cuspy mass distribution in the inner disk region and by an exponential distribution in the outer region of the disk. The FMD is quite different from the better known exponential disk or the untruncated Mestel disk which, being infinite in extent, are not realistic models of real spiral galaxies. In particular, the FMD requires significantly less mass to explain a measured velocity curve.

Astrophysically motivated bulge-disc decompositions of Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies

We present a set of bulge-disk decompositions for a sample of 71,825 SDSS main-sample galaxies in the redshift range 0.003<z<0.05. We have fit each galaxy with either a de Vaucouleurs ('classical') or an exponential ('pseudo-') bulge and an exponential disk. Two dimensional Sersic fits are performed when the 2-component fits are not statistically significant or when the fits are poor, even in the presence of high signal-to-noise. We study the robustness of our 2-component fits by studying a bright subsample of galaxies and we study the systematics of these fits with decreasing resolution and S/N. Only 30% of our sample have been fit with two-component fits in which both components are non-zero. The g-r and g-i colours of each component for the two-component models are determined using linear templates derived from the r-band model. We attempt a physical classification of types of fits into disk galaxies, pseudo-bulges, classical bulges, and ellipticals. Our classification of galaxies agrees well with previous large B+D decomposed samples. Using our galaxy classifications, we find that Petrosian concentration is a good indicator of B/T, while overall Sersic index is not. Additionally, we find that the majority of green valley galaxies are bulge+disk galaxies. Furthermore, in the transition from green to red B+D galaxies, the total galaxy colour is most strongly correlated with the disk colour.

ANHST/WFC3-IR MORPHOLOGICAL SURVEY OF GALAXIES ATz= 1.5-3.6. I. SURVEY DESCRIPTION AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF STAR-FORMING GALAXIES

We present the results of a 42-orbit Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field Camera 3 (HST/WFC3) survey of the rest-frame optical morphologies of star-forming galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the range z = 1.5–3.6. The survey consists of 42 orbits of F160W imaging covering ∼65 arcmin2 distributed widely across the sky and reaching a depth of 27.9 AB for a 5σ detection within a 0.2 arcsec radius aperture. Focusing on an optically selected sample of 306 star-forming galaxies with stellar masses in the range M* = 109–1011 M☉, we find that typical circularized effective half-light radii range from ∼0.7 to 3.0 kpc and describe a stellar mass–radius relation as early as z ∼ 3. While these galaxies are best described by an exponential surface brightness profile (Sérsic index n ∼ 1), their distribution of axis ratios is strongly inconsistent with a population of inclined exponential disks and is better reproduced by triaxial stellar systems with minor/major and intermediate/major axis ratios ∼0.3 and 0.7, respectively. While rest-UV and rest-optical morphologies are generally similar for a subset of galaxies with HST/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging data, differences are more pronounced at higher masses M* > 3 × 1010 M☉. Finally, we discuss galaxy morphology in the context of efforts to constrain the merger fraction, finding that morphologically identified mergers/non-mergers generally have insignificant differences in terms of physical observables such as stellar mass and star formation rate, although merger-like galaxies selected according to some criteria have statistically smaller effective radii and correspondingly larger ΣSFR.

Dynamic Analysis of Rotating Annular Disk of Variable Thickness under Uniform Axial Pressure

The large-amplitude free vibration analysis of a rotating annular disk of exponentially varying thickness, subjected to uniform axial pressure, is presented. The entire formulation is energy-based and uses variational principles to derive the governing equations. The study is carried out up to the onset of yielding, which occurs due to the application of two types of external loadings, namely body force due to rotation and uniform axial pressure. The results are compared for three exponential disks having the same mass. The effects of the individual loadings and their combination on the free vibration dynamic behavior are presented.

Rotation curve of the Milky Way

We use SEGUE and Hipparcos data to restrict the behaviour of the rotation curve of the Milky Way in the solar neighbourhood. Then we construct a density model of the Milky Way which best reproduces the available observations of the rotation curve and is consistent with the density constraints in the solar neighbourhood. This equation assumes constancy of the shape of the velocity ellipsoid, its alignment with the axes of spherical coordinate system, and an exponential disc with scalelength Rd and a constant thickness. Thus we find the circular velocity vc for our samples. We assume the local circular velocity vc� = 231km/s, the local standard of rest from (3), and the disc scalelength Rd = 2.5kpc. The resulting rotation curve is presented in the left panel of Fig. 1. SEGUE sample is plotted with purple line, GCS is separated in 5 colour bins, which are plotted with points of different colours. Mean rotational velocities without correction for asymmetric drift being implemented are plotted with dashed lines, the corrected circular velocity with solid lines. The consistency of the circular velocity for GCS colour bins with different mean velocities demonstrates viability of the adopted value of Rd and other our assumptions. The rotation curve for the SEGUE data appears to be essentially flat in the solar neighbourhood. At least, it obviously demonstrates no drastic dip between 8 and 10kpc, as it was assumed in (6).

Models of disk chemical evolution focusing the pure dynamical radial mixing

We performed N-body simulations to study the dynamical evolution of a stellar disk inside a Dark Matter (DM) halo. Our results evidence how a standard -radially decreasing- metallicity gradient produces an egativev vs. (Fe/H) correlation, similar to that shown by the thin disk stars, while an inverse radial gradient generates a positive rotation-metallicity correlation, as that observed in the old thick population. 1. METHODS We used a halo with a cosmological radial density profile, mass, radius and concentration appropriate for a Milky Way-like DM halo. Embedded in our halo is an exponential stellar disk; two cases have been analyzed: a bulgeless disk and a disk endowed with a bulge. The bulge has an Hernquist radial density profile. The bulgeless disk develops a bar, whereas the disk with a bulge is stable. We investigate the impact of the bar structure on the stellar migration and on the formation of the thick disk. We also follow the redistribution of the metallicity inside the disk due to radial mixing. By using non-dissipative models, we investigate the contribution of pure dynamics to chemical evolution.

Antitruncated stellar light profiles in the outer regions of STAGES spiral galaxies: bulge or disc related?

We present a comparison of azimuthally averaged radial surface brightness mu(r) profiles and analytical bulge-disc decompositions (de Vaucouleurs, r^(1/4) bulge plus exponential disc) for spiral galaxies using Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys V-band imaging from the Space Telescope A901/2 Galaxy Evolution Survey (STAGES). In the established classification scheme, antitruncated mu(r) profiles (Type III) have a broken exponential disc with a shallower region beyond the break radius r_brk. The excess light at large radii (r > r_brk) can either be caused by an outer exponential disc (Type III-d) or an extended spheroidal component (Type III-s). Using our comparisons, we determine the contribution of bulge light at r > r_brk for a large sample of 78 (barred/unbarred, Sa-Sd) spiral galaxies with outer disc antitruncations (mu_brk > 24 mag arcsec^-2). In the majority of cases (~85 per cent), evidence indicates that excess light at r > r_brk is related to an outer shallow disc (Type III-d). Here, the contribution of bulge light at r > r_brk is either negligible (~70 per cent) or too little to explain the antitruncation (~15 per cent). However in the latter cases, bulge light can affect the measured disc properties (e.g. mu_brk, outer scalelength). In the remaining cases (~15 per cent), light at r > r_brk is dominated by the bulge (Type III-s). Here, for most cases the bulge profile dominates at all radii and only occasionally (3 galaxies, ~5 per cent) extends beyond that of a dominant disc and explains the excess light at r > r_brk. We thus conclude that in the vast majority of cases antitruncated outer discs cannot be explained by bulge light and thus remain a pure disc phenomenon.

HALO EXPANSION IN COSMOLOGICAL HYDRO SIMULATIONS: TOWARD A BARYONIC SOLUTION OF THE CUSP/CORE PROBLEM IN MASSIVE SPIRALS

A clear prediction of the Cold Dark Matter model is the existence of cuspy dark matter halo density profiles on all mass scales. This is not in agreement with the observed rotation curves of spiral galaxies, challenging on small scales the otherwise successful CDM paradigm. In this work we employ high resolution cosmological hydro-dynamical simulations to study the effects of dissipative processes on the inner distribution of dark matter in Milky-Way like objects (M~1e12 Msun). Our simulations include supernova feedback, and the effects of the radiation pressure of massive stars before they explode as supernovae. The increased stellar feedback results in the expansion of the dark matter halo instead of contraction with respect to N-body simulations. Baryons are able to erase the dark matter cuspy distribution creating a flat, cored, dark matter density profile in the central several kpc of a massive Milky-Way like halo. The profile is well fit by a Burkert profile, with fitting parameters consistent with the observations. In addition, we obtain flat rotation curves as well as extended, exponential stellar disk profiles. While the stellar disk we obtain is still partially too thick to resemble the MW thin disk, this pilot study shows that there is enough energy available in the baryonic component to alter the dark matter distribution even in massive disc galaxies, providing a possible solution to the long standing problem of cusps vs. cores.

Quantifying the faint structure of galaxies: the late-type spiral NGC 2403★†

Ground-based surveys have mapped the stellar outskirts of Local Group galaxies in unprecedented detail, but extending this work to other galaxies is necessary to overcome stochastic variations in evolutionary history and provide more stringent constraints on cosmological galaxy formation models. As part of our continuing program of ultra-deep imagery of galaxies beyond the Local Group, we present a wide-field analysis of the isolated late-type spiral NGC2403 using data obtained with Suprime-Cam on Subaru. The survey reaches a maximum projected radius of 30 kpc or deprojected radius of R_dp~60 kpc. The colour-magnitude diagram reaches 1.5 mag below the tip of the metal-poor red giant branch (RGB) at a completeness rate > 50% for R_dp >12 kpc. Using the combination of diffuse light photometry and resolved star counts, we are able to trace the radial surface brightness (SB) profile over a much larger range of radii and surface brightness than is possible with either technique alone. The exponential disc as traced by RGB stars dominates the SB profile out to >8 disc scale-lengths, or R_dp~18 kpc, and reaches a V-band SB of 29 mag per sq. arcsec. Beyond this radius, we find evidence for an extended structural component with a significantly flatter SB profile than the inner disc and which we trace to R_dp~40 kpc and ~32 mag per sq. arcsec. This component can be fit with a power-law index of ~3, has an axial ratio consistent with that of the inner disc and has a V-band luminosity of 1-7% that of the whole galaxy. At R_dp~20 - 30 kpc, we estimate a peak metallicity [M/H]= -1.0+/-0.3. Although the extant data are unable to discriminate between stellar halo or thick disc interpretations of this component, our results support the notion that faint, extended stellar structures are a common feature of all disc galaxies, even isolated, low-mass systems.