High Tangential Velocity Research Articles

Numerical investigation of energy dissipation and vortex characteristics on the S-shaped region of a reversible pump-turbine

In order to meet the regulation needs of power system, the pump-turbine is prone to operate in the S-shaped region during frequent start-up, leading to unit vibration and grid connection failure. In this paper, the S characteristic experiment was carried out, and the entropy production, unstable flow and vortex structure under turbine, runaway, turbine breaking, reverse pump conditions with optimum guide vane opening are detailed analyzed. The relationship between the energy dissipation and flow field characteristics is clarified. The results show that the runner entropy production is the largest in all components, and the wall entropy production is greater than the fluctuating entropy production under turbine condition. With the decrease in discharge, the fluctuating entropy production and wall entropy production first increase and then decrease, reaching the maximum values in the runaway condition. The circumferential movement trend of water enhances, and forms circumferential flow in the vaneless region. The separation vortex formed on the blade suction surface extends from the blade inlet to the middle of the flow channel, inducing a high entropy production. Under the turbine braking condition, the tangential velocity increases rapidly in the vaneless region. The circumferential flow develops into water ring, blocking the water flows into the runner. Under the reverse pump condition, the water flows in the opposite direction, with negative tangential and streamwise velocities. The absolute flow angle becomes obtuse, and a large-scale reverse vortex is formed. The runner inlet is blocked by the water ring, and the flow channel is almost completely filled with the low-speed region. The proportion of the guide vanes entropy production reaches maximum. Unstable flow leads to the increase in vorticity. Separation vortex, bypassed vortex, and reverse flow vortex leads to an increase in VST, forming a high VST region at corresponding positions. Due to the rotational motion accompanying the development of separated vortex, it leads to the increase in CFT. In addition, the circumferential flow and water ring have higher tangential velocities, which can lead to high CFT regions.

Thermo-hydraulic Investigation of a Heat Exchanger Tube Equipped with 3D-Printed Swirl Flow Generators

AbstractHeat transfer capabilities of the heat exchangers require enhancements to save energy and decrease their size. For this purpose, the swirl generators have been widely preferred. However, the swirler inserts have not reached their optimum shape. Thus, this study experimentally and numerically investigates the impact of novel 3D-printed swirler inserts with varying twist angles in the range of 0°–450° on the thermo-hydraulic performance of solar absorber tube heat exchangers under laminar flow (Re = 513–2054) condition. Friction factor, Nusselt number, and performance evaluation criterion (PEC) were used to assess heat exchanger performance, and related correlations are provided. Tangential velocity components were also used to explore fluid flow characteristics in local analysis. Numerical investigation was done by using computational fluid dynamics adopting Finite Volume Method in ANSYS Fluent. Results show that 3D-printed swirlers considerably increase heat transfer compared to plain tube. The swirler with a twist angle of 450° led to the maximum enhancements of nearly 217% in average Nusselt number and around 1630% in friction factor at Reynolds number of 2054. Overall, increasing Reynolds number enhanced Nusselt number. The highest PEC of 1.15 was observed at a Reynolds number of 1031 using the swirler with 150° twist angle. Flow near the swirler has higher tangential velocities, hence contributing to local Nusselt number enhancement up to 453.8% compared to plain tube when swirler with twist angle of 450° utilized. It is anticipated that findings of this study can guide further related research and increase the usage of swirlers in heat exchangers.

The relationship between the resistance characteristics and structural parameters of the elongated filter cartridge in the dust collector

Due to the advantages of a large filtration area, elongated filter cartridges are gradually replacing filter bags in dust collectors. However, the production standards for these filter cartridges lack clarity in determining various parameters. Therefore, this paper combines experimental validation with computational fluid dynamics simulations to analyze the resistance characteristics of elongated filter cartridges, aiming to establish recommended parameter combinations for their optimal design. Single factor analysis and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) are employed for parameter optimization. The study establishes a quadratic regression model to predict resistance based on various filter cartridge parameters. Single factor analysis indicates that the optimal combination of length and pleat number is approximately diagonally distributed. The RSM ranks the factors' impacts on resistance as follows: length (L) > pleat number (N) ≈ pleat length (Pl) > filtering velocity (vf) > outer radius (R). The optimal parameter combination under global optimization is: N = 43, Pl=23 mm, R = 76 mm, L = 2 m. Additionally, the study analyzes the distribution of normal and tangential velocities of airflow on the filter medium surface to understand their impact on filter lifespan. Results indicate that tangential velocity has a significant impact on filter wear, and locations with higher tangential velocity are situated in the bottom region of the fold at the outlet.

Estimation of tangential speed of ground moving targets in SAR

In parallel with the development of systems of highly detailed mapping of the underlying surface, methods of ground moving targets indication (GMTI) were also improved. A dramatic improvement in the resolution characteristics of onboard radars occurred after the introduction of mapping modes with synthetic artificial antenna aperture. The advent of synthetic aperture radars (SAR) made it possible to detect ground moving targets (GMT) against the background of reflections from the underlying surface, which made it possible to further implement GMTI algorithms for detecting low-speed moving ground objects. The simple way to carry out GMTI is if the observed target has a radial component of the velocity vector, which generates a Doppler frequency shift in the reflected signal. A more complex situation arises when it is necessary to detect targets moving at a tangential speed relative to the onboard radar. The difficulty of detecting targets moving at tangential speed is due to the fact that target movement in the direction perpendicular to the line of sight leads to deformation of the phase structure of the signal. This particular deformation manifests itself in the appearance of quadratic phase modulation of the reflected trajectory signal. With consistent signal processing in mapping mode, due to the appearance of quadratic phase modulation, the response of the observed moving target will be defocused. To detect the presence of a moving target with tangential speed, it is proposed to use an algorithm similar to the well-known phase difference algorithm for autofocusing radar images. It consists in dividing the implementation of the trajectory signal into two parts, after which the bottom of them is subjected to a complex conjugation procedure. Next, the two implementations are multiplied with each other and the amplitude spectrum of the result of the multiplication is calculated. The shift of the maximum spectral density relative to the origin is proportional to the tangential velocity of the observed target. The sign of the shift (to the right or to the left) depends on the direction of movement of the GMT relative to the velocity vector of the carrier. This algorithm was justified by an analytical method, then its mathematical modeling was carried out. In the case of observation of spruce trees by on-board radar with a high tangential velocity, the error in its estimation increases, which is due to the spreading of the spectrum of the signal reflected from the GMT to reduce the influence of this effect.

Taphonomic significance of Aristotle's 'Wheel Paradox': an example with the cerithid gastropod Cerithium atratum (Born, 1778) from Conceição Lagoon, Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil

In the book Mechanical Problems, attributed to Aristotle, the author relates the differential degrees of wearing and rounding of pebbles and shells moved by waves on the seashore to the variable radii and diameters of these particles. This phenomenon, which became known as Aristotle’s ‘Wheel Paradox,’ seems to explain the pattern of abrasion observed in shells of gastropods Cerithium atratum (Born) found in Conceição Lagoon, on the Island of Santa Catarina, Brazil. In situ observations show that the elongated turriform shells of C. atratum deposited at shallow (< 30 cm) depths on a sandy bottom with pavements of disarticulated valves of Anomalocardia flexuosa Gmelin are subject to bidirectional wave-generated currents under fairweather conditions. The 47 specimens analyzed exhibit a pattern of abrasion characterized by the loss of the shell wall, apparently proceeding from the wider last whorl toward the narrow apex, culminating in the exposure of the columella. Experiments designed to test whether this pattern could be related to the ‘Wheel Paradox’ principle show that under bidirectional flow, the shells describe circles on the vertical plane around the longitudinal axis (rolling) and a pendulum movement (revolution) on the horizontal plane centered on the apex. The whorls located farther from the apex have larger diameters and describe broader arc segments. Thus, they have higher tangential velocities and travel longer paths, which could explain why they are abraded earlier than the narrower whorls. Recognizing similar abrasion features in fossil shells can provide information on the local paleo-currents, hydrodynamics, and relative time-averaging of death assemblages and allow distinguishing between natural or anthropogenic modification in archaeological specimens. Although the effects vary between shells with different shapes, Aristotle’s ‘Wheel Paradox’ principle explains the general abrasion pattern among gastropods under certain hydrodynamic conditions. Keywords: Actualistic Taphonomy, Aktuopaläontologie, shell abrasion, shell orientation, biostratinomy, hydrodynamics

Uncertainty in the numerical prediction of the tangential velocity in axial turbines at part load operations: A parametric study

Numerical simulations of axial hydraulic turbines away from the best efficiency point are challenging. Previous studies especially show difficulties predicting the tangential velocity at Part Load (PL) operating conditions, where the swirl is high, in comparison to experiments. This is a reoccurring problem, and it is essential to understand, as the high tangential velocity is a fundamental characteristic of the flow in hydraulic turbines and is directly related to the swirling flow stability and the turbine’s power output. The objective of this study is to numerically investigate and understand the origin of the tangential velocity deviation from experimental results by performing simulations with the finite volume method of an axial turbine operated at PL. A parametric study is performed to address the abovementioned. Specifically, the effects of the blade clearance, blade angle, flow rate, and different turbulence models are studied on this issue. Results are analyzed by comparing the predicted axial and tangential velocity profiles and torque to experimentally obtained values. Primarily the runner inter-blades flow is studied as there is a knowledge gap. In addition, the physical phenomena responsible for head losses are studied in detail. Results show that the model can predict the flow relatively well at optimal flow conditions with low swirl but has problems at part load; the tangential velocity between the runner blades is underestimated by ∼20%. The undervalued head losses are the root cause. They result in an overestimated torque and an underestimated tangential velocity as the runner extracts too much energy from the fluid. A small modeling error of 0.5° in the blade angle and a change of 3% in the flow rate significantly affect the tangential velocity and torque prediction. The studied parameters must be considered carefully when building a numerical model.

A multiyear photopolarimetric study of the semi-regular variable V CVn and identification of analog sources

The semi-regular variable star V Canum Venaticorum (V CVn) is well known for its unusual linear polarization position angle (PA). Decades of observing V CVn reveal a nearly constant PA spanning hundreds of pulsation cycles. This phenomenon has persisted through variability that has varied by two magnitudes in optical brightness and through variability in the polarization amplitude over 0.3 and 6.9%. Additionally, the polarization fraction of V CVn varies inversely with brightness. This paper presents polarization measurements obtained over three pulsation cycles. We find that the polarization maximum does not always occur precisely at the same time as the brightness minimum. Instead, we observe a small lead or lag in relation to the brightness minimum, spanning a period of a few days up to three weeks. Furthermore, the PA sometimes exhibits a non-negligible rotation, especially at lower polarization levels. To elucidate the unusual optical behavior of V CVn, we present a list of literature sources that also exhibit polarization variability with a roughly fixed PA. We find this correlation occurs in stars with high tangential space velocities, for instance, “runaway” stars, suggesting that the long-term constant PA is related to how the circumstellar gas is shaped by the star’s high-speed motion through the interstellar medium.

Performance analysis of a gas cyclone with a dustbin inverted hybrid solid cone

This study uses the CFD technique to investigate the influence of a twisted inverted hybrid solid cone (TIHSC) placed at the gas cyclone dustbin on the separator performance. This new design improves the stability and reduces the length of the vortex finder, resulting in a stronger swirl in the cyclone with a higher tangential velocity. The study showed that an increase in the height of the TIHSC increases the maximum tangential velocity up to 2.9 times the inlet velocity. Overall, using TIHSC leads to a significant increase in particle separation efficiency compared to the conventional cyclone. In addition, with an increase in the height of TIHSC, the pressure drop significantly decreases while the separation efficiency increases. For the optimized model, the particle cut size improves from 0.97 to 0.85 µm at 50% separation and from 6.2 to 4.7 µm at 100% separation, while the pressure drop is reduced by 12.7%.Copyright © 2023 American Association for Aerosol Research

Numerical investigation of solidification behavior and inclusion transport with M-EMS in continuous casting mold

The present study deals with the development of a multiphase numerical model of the continuous casting process of steel bloom. Two SEN configurations that differ in port angles are considered for the study of flow pattern, temperature distribution, solidification thickness, interface fluctuation and inclusion behavior during the process. The influence of mold electromagnetic stirring (M-EMS) on the various output parameters is examined. The results show that the upper circulation loop formed in the 15° port angle case is responsible for higher inclusion removal, high interface level, and low solidification thickness in the meniscus region compared to that of the 30° case. The presence of M-EMS completely changes the flow pattern below SEN. Strong rotational flow coupled with oppositely directed swirl flow provides high tangential velocity near the solidification front and high axial velocity in the core region. It results in fluctuation in shell thickness along the casting direction and decreasing the superheated steam penetration. However, flow patterns remain unaffected above the SEN as upwards swirl flow is not able to reach this region. On applying the M-EMS, inclusion entrapment in solidifying shell increases for both 15° and 30° cases. In contrast, inclusion removal at the interface decreases for 15° case and increases for 30° case.

Hidden deep in the halo: selection of a reduced proper motion halo catalogue and mining retrograde streams in the velocity space

ABSTRACTThe Milky Way halo is one of the few galactic haloes that provides a unique insight into galaxy formation by resolved stellar populations. Here, we present a catalogue of ∼47 million halo stars selected independent of parallax and line-of-sight velocities, using a combination of Gaia DR3 proper motion and photometry by means of their reduced proper motion. We select high tangential velocity (halo) main sequence stars and fit distances to them using their simple colour-absolute-magnitude relation. This sample reaches out to ∼21 kpc with a median distance of 6.6 kpc thereby probing much further out than would be possible using reliable Gaia parallaxes. The typical uncertainty in their distances is $0.57_{-0.26}^{+0.56}$ kpc. Using the colour range 0.45 < (G0 − GRP, 0) < 0.715, where the main sequence is narrower, gives an even better accuracy down to $0.39_{-0.12}^{+0.18}$ kpc in distance. The median velocity uncertainty for stars within this colour range is 15.5 km s−1. The distribution of these sources in the sky, together with their tangential component velocities, are very well-suited to study retrograde substructures. We explore the selection of two complex retrograde streams: GD-1 and Jhelum. For these streams, we resolve the gaps, wiggles and density breaks reported in the literature more clearly. We also illustrate the effect of the kinematic selection bias towards high proper motion stars and incompleteness at larger distances due to Gaia’s scanning law. These examples showcase how the full RPM catalogue made available here can help us paint a more detailed picture of the build-up of the Milky Way halo.

Stellar Loci. VI. An Updated Catalog of the Best and Brightest Metal-poor Stars

We employ Gaia, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and ALLWISE photometry, as well as astrometric data from Gaia, to search for relatively bright very metal-poor (VMP; [Fe/H] < −2.0) giant star candidates using three different criteria: (1) the derived Gaia photometric metallicities from Xu et al., (2) the lack of stellar molecular absorption near 4.6 μm, and (3) their high tangential velocities. With different combinations of these criteria, we have identified six samples of candidates with G < 15: the Gold sample (24,304 candidates), the Silver GW sample (40,157 candidates), the Silver GK sample (120,452 candidates), the Bronze G sample (291,690 candidates), the Bronze WK sample (68,526 candidates), and the Low-b sample (4645 candidates). The Low-b sample applies to sources with low Galactic latitude, ∣b∣ < 10°, while the others are for sources with ∣b∣ > 10°. By crossmatching with results derived from medium-resolution spectroscopy (R ∼ 1800) from LAMOST DR8, we establish that the success rate for identifying VMP stars is 60.1% for the Gold sample, 39.2% for the Silver GW sample, 41.3% for the Silver GK sample, 15.4% for the Bronze G sample, 31.7% for the Bronze WK sample, and 16.6% for the Low-b sample, respectively. An additional strict cut on the quality parameter RUWE < 1.1 can further increase the success rate of the Silver GW, Silver GK, and Bronze G samples to 46.9%, 51.6%, and 29.3%, respectively. Our samples provide valuable targets for high-resolution follow-up spectroscopic observations and are made publicly available.

Loss Analysis of Cavity Leakage Flow in a Compressor Cascade

Abstract The cavity flow of shrouded stators is quite complex and not yet completely understood, especially for its loss characteristics. In this paper, a matrix of numerical simulations was designed and conducted to investigate the loss characteristics of the cavity flow in a compressor cascade, with a wide range of incidence, two flow coefficients, and three seal clearances. The effect of the skewed boundary layer was introduced to simulate the practical compressor environment as far as possible. The results show that the total pressure loss coefficient is unable to evaluate the cavity leakage loss correctly since it ignores the temperature rise. With the reduction of the flow coefficient, the entropy loss coefficient and thermal entropy generation rate tend to increase, while the change of the viscous entropy generation rate is dependent on the incidence since the high tangential velocity deteriorates the flow of the pressure side at large negative incidence but significantly improves the flow of the suction side as the incidence increases. In addition, there is a significant difference in loss sensitivity to the seal clearance at various incidences. One of the major reasons is the change of pressure difference between the downstream and upstream. And the other major reason is the distribution difference of the high-loss fluid caused by the variation in the passage vortex. These key findings are able to provide insights leading to reducing the compressor loss due to the cavity leakage flow.

Analysis of Swirl Number Effects on Effusion Flow Behavior Using Time-Resolved Particle Image Velocimetry

Abstract The analysis of the interaction between the swirling and cooling flows, promoted by the liner film cooling system, is a fundamental task for the design of turbine combustion chambers since it influences different aspects such as emissions and cooling capability. In particular, high turbulence values, flow instabilities, and tangential velocity components induced by the swirling flow deeply affect the behavior of effusion cooling jets, demanding for dedicated time-resolved near-wall experimental analysis. The experimental setup of this work consists of a non-reactive single sector linear combustor test rig scaled up with respect to engine dimensions; the test section was equipped with an effusion plate with standard inclined cylindrical holes to simulate the liner cooling system. The rig was instrumented with a 2D time-resolved particle image velocimetry system, focused on different field of views. The degree of swirl for a swirling flow is usually characterized by the swirl number, Sn, defined as the ratio of the tangential momentum flux to axial momentum flux. To assess the impact of such parameter on the near-wall effusion behavior, a set of three different axial swirlers with swirl number equal to Sn = 0.6–0.8–1.0 were designed and tested in the experimental apparatus. An analysis of the main flow field by varying the Sn was first performed in terms of average velocity, root mean square, and Tu values, providing kinetic energy spectra and turbulence length scale information. In a second step, the analysis was focused on the near-wall regions: the strong effects of Sn on the coolant jets were quantified in terms of vorticity analysis and jet oscillation.

Experimental and Numerical Study of Heat Transfer and Pressure Loss in a Swirl Multi-Pass Channel With Convergent Jet Slots

Abstract This paper presents a comparative experimental and numerical study of the heat transfer and pressure loss in a swirl multi-pass channel with tangential jet slots, and another baseline multi-pass channel with 180-deg U-bends as a comparison baseline has also been investigated. The tangential jets can induce large-scale swirling flows and significantly enhance the connective heat transfer. The swirl multi-pass channel can be considered as an effective internal cooling strategy for the gas turbine blades. Transient liquid crystal thermography is used to obtain the detailed heat transfer distribution on the internal surfaces of the multi-pass serpentine channels. The heat transfer patterns in the swirl multi-pass channel are quite different from those of the baseline multi-pass channel. Circumferentially, the three heat transfer surfaces, i.e., the bottom, top and side surfaces of the two multi-pass serpentine channels, have roughly similar trend along the flow direction and reach the peak values after the U-bends and jet injections, respectively. Compared with the baseline multi-pass channel, the experimental globally averaged Nusselt number ratios of the last two passes in the swirl multi-pass channel can be increased by up to 82.9%, 104.8%, and 124.6% for the Reynolds numbers 20,000, 40,000, and 60,000, respectively. The differences of globally averaged Nusselt number ratios between the two kinds of multi-pass serpentine channels gradually increase with the Reynolds numbers, which means that the swirl multi-pass channel has higher heat transfer enhancement capability at a higher Reynolds number. The circumferentially uniform heat transfer characteristic of swirling flow also performs well in this study. The high and circumferentially uniform heat transfer is mainly due to the large-scale swirling flow induced by the tangential slots. In more detail, the large-scale swirling flow impinges onto the surface and further induces high tangential velocity near the wall, which destroys the boundary layer flow and thus improves the heat transfer rates at the wall. However, the notable pressure loss of the swirl multi-pass channel should be further controlled reasonably, which is about 5.4 times that of the baseline multi-pass channel. As supplements to the experiments, three-dimensional numerical computations provide more insights into the turbulent flow structure in the two kinds of multi-pass serpentine channels.

Astrometric and Photometric Verification of Faint Blue White Dwarfs in the Gaia Catalog of nearby Stars

Abstract The Gaia catalog of nearby stars (GCNS) divided all objects with parallaxes &gt;10 mas into GCNS-selected and GCNS-rejected 100 pc samples. Below the white dwarf (WD) sequence in the complete GCNS color–magnitude diagram (CMD), at Gabs &gt; 14.7 + 4.7(G − RP), there appear 60 GCNS-selected faint blue white dwarfs (FBWDs). However this CMD region is also populated by 411 GCNS-rejected objects, mainly from crowded regions toward the Galactic center and the Magellanic Clouds. The WD catalog of Gentile et al. lists only 47 GCNS-selected but also 8 GCNS-rejected objects. I confirm 59 of the GCNS-selected but none of the GCNS-rejected objects as FBWDs from visual inspection and a proper motion check using additional optical sky surveys. Hence FBWDs form an additional branch in the CMD. Compared to the full GCNS-selected 100 pc sample, FBWDs have relatively high proper motions and tangential velocities. They represent interesting targets for studies of ultracool or infrared-faint, and possibly also ultramassive WDs.

Effects of high-speed spin on the reacting flow of drag reduction equipment under rapid depressurization

• The coupled combustion of two gases under dual environmental stress was simulated. • The effects of spin on the reaction flow under depressurization were analyzed. • A vortex core forms with a high tangential velocity gradient in the spin case. • Mass addition is a primary factor for the spin to improve the device performance. The drag reduction equipment (DRE) suffers dual environmental stress of high-speed spin and rapid depressurization during the launching process, disturbing the projectile intensely. To research the effect of this extreme process on heat and mass transfer, flow field development, as well as drag reduction performance of the DRE, a numerical model was established based on the MT-based pyrotechnics combustion mechanism and the H 2 -CO combustion mechanism. Simulation on the unsteady reacting flow was conducted to investigate the effect of high-speed spin on the performance of the DRE under depressurization. The results indicate that the wake flow field of the DRE transforms from a supersonic under-expanded jet into a subsonic swirling flow, and two recirculation zones with low-pressure appear at the base of the DRE. The transition region between propellant gas and igniter gas in the combustion chamber displays the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, in which a vortex core forms with a high tangential velocity gradient. The igniter gas burns in the combustion chamber, resulting in an axial high-temperature region. And then the combustion products of igniter gas are mixed with propellant gas and inject outwards, reacting with the air near the jet boundary to be an intense post-combustion. High-speed spin improves the nozzle mass flow rate, enhancing the post-combustion. Eventually, compared with the non-spin case, the mass flow rate and base temperature in the case of 20,000 rpm are improved by 67.6% and 21.56%, respectively. And the base drag is reduced by 10.14%.

Numerical Assesment of a Small-Scale and Very Low Tip Speed Ratio Wind Turbine

The aim of this paper is to study by CFD the performance and to characterize the velocity fields in the wake of an horizontal axis wind turbine. The design of this wind turbine is far from classical as it has been designed to work at very low angular velocity to promote torque. The 8 blades are not isolated but form a high solidity blade cascade. The numerical simulation compares well to experimental data regarding the power coefficients. The analysis of the wake does show that high tangential velocities, close to the order of magnitude that was used as a design requirement, are generated and form a stable rotating wake. This rotating kinetic energy in the wake may be used to rotate a second rotor in a counter-rotating arrangment.

Experimental and CFD investigation on effects of internals on the flow pattern and performance of a divergent cyclone separator

In order to improve the separation efficiency of a divergent cyclone separator, a kind of combined internals of a spiral guide vane and a central column was proposed. In this work, experimental tests and numerical simulations were performed to investigate the effects of the internals on the flow pattern and separation performance of a divergent cyclone separator. The Eulerian–Lagrangian approach was used for the gas–solid two-phase flow in this study. The numerical model has been validated by the experimental results and the data in the literature. Results show that the internals provides a higher tangential velocity not only in the main separation region but also in the dust-bin region. Moreover, the internals leads to reduce the turbulence intensity. The highest turbulence kinetic energy is reduced by 80% at most. With the internals, the particle cut-off diameter was reduced to 0.6 μm from 1.18 μm of the common one at the 18 m/s inlet gas velocity. By comparing the weighted factor, the novel design provides a 44.4% better in separation performance than the reference one.

Formation of counter-rotating stars during gas-rich disc–disc mergers

ABSTRACT We present a new scenario for the origin of the counter-rotating stars in disc galaxies, defined as stars that have a negative tangential velocity. This scenario involves a merger between two gas-rich disc galaxies that have comparable masses, are nearly coplanar, and are rotating in the same direction. The merger results in an intense starburst, during which a significant fraction of the gas is converted to stars. The system then settles into an equilibrium configuration consisting of a thick disc and a bulge partly supported by velocity dispersion and a thin disc supported by rotation. Star formation proceeds until most of the gas supply is exhausted. Stars formed during the starburst have tangential velocities ranging from $-600$ to $600\, {\rm km\, s^{-1}}$. Stars formed afterward in the thick disc and bulge have high eccentricities and low tangential velocities, typically in the range $-100$ to $100\, {\rm km\, s^{-1}}$, while stars formed in the thin disc have large, positive velocities. All fast, counter-rotating stars ($V\lt -200\, {\rm km\, s^{-1}}$) are old, metal-poor, with very low dispersion in ages and metallicities. By contrast, fast, corotating stars ($V\gt 200\, {\rm km\, s^{-1}}$) have a wide range of ages and metallicities. The average abundances ratios $\rm [O/H]$ and [Fe/H] for fast, corotating stars typically exceed the corresponding ratios for fast, counter-rotating stars by $0.1-0.4\,\mathrm{ dex}$, while the dispersion in the values of NFe/NH are larger by factors between 2 and 14. This provides an observational signature of major, gas-rich mergers at high redshift.

Connecting the Local Stellar Halo and Its Dark Matter Density to Dwarf Galaxies via Blue Stragglers

Abstract The Gaia H-R diagram shows the presence of apparently young stars at high tangential velocities. Using a simple analytical model, I show that these stars are likely to be blue stragglers. Once normalized to red giant stars, the fraction of nearby halo blue stragglers is of order 20%, and remarkably close to that measured in dwarf galaxies. Motivated by this similarity, I apply to field blue stragglers scaling relations inferred from blue stragglers in dwarf galaxies. Doing this for the Milky Way halo returns an average stellar density of and a dark matter density of within 2 kpc from the Sun. These values compare favorably to other determinations available in the literature but are based on an independent set of assumptions. A few considerations of this methodology are discussed, most notably that the correlation between the dark matter halo core density and stellar mass seems to hold from dwarf galaxies to the nearby Milky Way halo.