Spiral Pattern Speed Research Articles

Understanding the spiral structure of the Milky Way using the local kinematic groups

We study the spiral arm influence on the solar neighbourhood stellar kinematics. As the nature of the Milky Way (MW) spiral arms is not completely determined, we study two models: the Tight-Winding Approximation (TWA) model, which represents a local approximation, and a model with self-consistent material arms named PERLAS. This is a mass distribution with more abrupt gravitational forces. We perform test particle simulations after tuning the two models to the observational range for the MW spiral arm properties. We explore the effects of the arm properties and find that a significant region of the allowed parameter space favours the appearance of kinematic groups. The velocity distribution is mostly sensitive to the relative spiral arm phase and pattern speed. In all cases the arms induce strong kinematic imprints for pattern speeds around 17 km/s/kpc (close to the 4:1 inner resonance) but no substructure is induced close to corotation. The groups change significantly if one moves only ~0.6 kpc in galactocentric radius, but ~2 kpc in azimuth. The appearance time of each group is different, ranging from 0 to more than 1 Gyr. Recent spiral arms can produce strong kinematic structures. The stellar response to the two potential models is significantly different near the Sun, both in density and kinematics. The PERLAS model triggers more substructure for a larger range of pattern speed values. The kinematic groups can be used to reduce the current uncertainty about the MW spiral structure and to test whether this follows the TWA. However, groups such as the observed ones in the solar vicinity can be reproduced by different parameter combinations. Data from velocity distributions at larger distances are needed for a definitive constraint.

THE SHEARING H I SPIRAL PATTERN OF NGC 1365

The Tremaine-Weinberg equations are solved for a pattern speed that is allowed to vary with radius. The solution method transforms an integral equation for the pattern speed to a least squares problem with well established procedures for statistical analysis. The method applied to the HI spiral pattern of the barred, grand-design galaxy NGC 1365 produced convincing evidence for a radial dependence in the pattern speed. The pattern speed behaves approximately as 1/r, and is very similar to the material speed. There are no clear indications of corotation or Lindblad resonances. Tests show that the results are not selection biased, and that the method is not measuring the material speed. Other methods of solving the Tremaine-Weinberg equations for shearing patterns were found to produce results in agreement with those obtained using the current method. Previous estimates that relied on the assumptions of the density-wave interpretation of spiral structure are inconsistent with the results obtained using the current method. The results are consistent with spiral structure theories that allow for shearing patterns, and contradict fundamental assumptions in the density-wave interpretation that are often used for finding spiral arm pattern speeds. The spiral pattern is winding on a characteristic timescale of ~ 500 Myrs.

EFFECTS OF NON-CIRCULAR MOTIONS ON AZIMUTHAL COLOR GRADIENTS

Assuming that density waves trigger star formation, and that young stars preserve the velocity components of the molecular gas where they are born, we analyze the effects that non-circular gas orbits have on color gradients across spiral arms. We try two approaches, one involving semianalytical solutions for spiral shocks, and another with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulation data. We find that, if non-circular motions are ignored, the comparison between observed color gradients and stellar population synthesis models would in principle yield pattern speed values that are systematically too high for regions inside corotation, with the difference between the real and the measured pattern speeds increasing with decreasing radius. On the other hand, image processing and pixel averaging result in systematically lower measured spiral pattern speed values, regardless of the kinematics of stellar orbits. The net effect is that roughly the correct pattern speeds are recovered, although the trend of higher measured Ωp at lower radii (as expected when non-circular motions exist but are neglected) should still be observed. We examine the Martínez-García et al. photometric data and confirm that this is indeed the case. The comparison of the size of the systematic pattern speed offset in the data with the predictions of the semianalytical and MHD models corroborates that spirals are more likely to end at outer Lindblad resonance, as these authors had already found.

TESTING THE LINK BETWEEN TERRESTRIAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND GALACTIC SPIRAL ARM TRANSIT

We re-examine past suggestions of a close link between terrestrial climate change and the Sun's transit of spiral arms in its path through the Milky Way galaxy. These links produced concrete fits, deriving the unknown spiral pattern speed from terrestrial climate correlations. We test these fits against new data on spiral structure based on CO data that does not make simplifying assumptions about symmetry and circular rotation. If we compare the times of these transits to changes in the climate of Earth, not only do the claimed correlations disappear, but also we find that they cannot be resurrected for any reasonable pattern speed.

PATTERN SPEEDS OF BARS AND SPIRAL ARMS FROM Hα VELOCITY FIELDS

We have applied the Tremaine-Weinberg method to 10 late-type barred spiral galaxies using data cubes, in H-alpha emission, from the GHAFAS and FANTOMM Fabry-Perot spectrometers. We have combined the derived bar (and/or spiral) pattern speeds with angular frequency plots to measure the corotation radii for the bars in these galaxies. We base our results on a combination of this method with a morphological analysis designed to estimate the corotation radius to bar-length ratio using two independent techniques on archival near infrared images, and although we are aware of the limitation of the application of the Tremaine-Weinberg method using ionised gas observations, we find consistently excellent agreement between bar and spiral arm parameters derived using different methods. In general, the corotation radius, measured using the Tremaine-Weinberg method, is closely related to the bar length, measured independently from photometry and consistent with previous studies. Our corotation/bar-length ratios and pattern speed values are in good agreement with general results from numerical simulations of bars. In systems with identified secondary bars, we measure higher H-alpha velocity dispersion in the circumnuclear regions, whereas in all the other galaxies, we detect flat velocity dispersion profiles. The excellent agreement between the Tremaine-Weinberg method results and the morphological analysis and bar parameters in numerical simulations, suggests that although the H-alpha emitting gas does not obey the continuity equation, it can be used to derive the bar pattern speed.

Galactic spiral structure

We describe the structure and composition of six major stellar streams in a population of 20 574 local stars in the New Hipparcos Reduction with known radial velocities. We find that, once fast moving stars are excluded, almost all stars belong to one of these streams. The results of our investigation have led us to re-examine the hydrogen maps of the Milky Way, from which we identify the possibility of a symmetric two-armed spiral with half the conventionally accepted pitch angle. We describe a model of spiral arm motions that matches the observed velocities and compositions of the six major streams, as well as the observed velocities of the Hyades and Praesepe clusters at the extreme of the Hyades stream. We model stellar orbits as perturbed ellipses aligned at a focus in coordinates rotating at the rate of precession of apocentre. Stars join a spiral arm just before apocentre, follow the arm for more than half an orbit, and leave the arm soon after pericentre. Spiral pattern speed equals the mean rate of precession of apocentre. Spiral arms are shown to be stable configurations of stellar orbits, up to the formation of a bar and/or ring. Pitch angle is directly related to the distribution of orbital eccentricities in a given spiral galaxy. We show how spiral galaxies can evolve to form bars and rings. We show that orbits of gas clouds are stable only in bisymmetric spirals. We conclude that spiral galaxies evolve toward grand design two-armed spirals. We infer from the velocity distributions that the Milky Way evolved into this form about 9 billion years ago (Ga).

UNCOVERING THE ORIGINS OF SPIRAL STRUCTURE BY MEASURING RADIAL VARIATION IN PATTERN SPEEDS

Current theories of spiral and bar structure predict a variety of pattern speed behaviors, calling for detailed, direct measurement of the radial variation of pattern speeds. Our recently developed Radial Tremaine–Weinberg (TWR) method allows this goal to be achieved for the first time. Here, we present TWR spiral pattern speed estimates for M101, IC 342, NGC 3938, and NGC 3344 in order to investigate whether spiral structure is steady or winding, whether spirals are described by multiple pattern speeds, and the relation between bar and spiral speeds. Where possible, we interpret our pattern speeds estimates according to the resonance radii associated with each (established with the disk angular rotation), and compare these to previous determinations. By analyzing the high-quality H i and CO data cubes available for these galaxies, we show that it is possible to determine directly multiple pattern speeds within these systems, and hence identify the characteristic signatures of the processes that drive the spiral structure. Even this small sample of galaxies reveals a surprisingly complex taxonomy, with the first direct evidence for the presence of resonant coupling of multiple patterns found in some systems, and the measurement of a simple single-pattern speed in others. Overall, this study demonstrates that we are now in a position to uncover more of the apparently complex physics that lies behind spiral structure.

The Effect of the Corotation on the Radial Gradient of Metallicity of Spiral Galaxies

AbstractThe corotation radius in a spiral galaxy is the place where the spiral pattern speed has the same velocity of the rotation curve. By compiling results coming from the literature for 20 spiral galaxies we verified a strong correlation between the radius of the minima or inflections of the metallicity distribution and the corotation radius.

Radial Dependence of the Pattern Speed of M51

The grand-design spiral galaxy M51 has long been a crucial target for theories of spiral structure. Studies of this iconic spiral can address the question of whether strong spiral structure is transient (e.g. interaction-driven) or long-lasting. As a clue to the origin of the structure in M51, we investigate evidence for radial variation in the spiral pattern speed using the radial Tremaine-Weinberg (TWR) method. We implement the method on CO observations tracing the ISM-dominant molecular component. Results from the method's numerical implementation--combined with regularization, which smooths intrinsically noisy solutions--indicate two distinct patterns speeds inside 4 kpc at our derived major axis PA=170 deg., both ending at corotation and both significantly higher than the conventionally adopted global value. Inspection of the rotation curve suggests that the pattern speed interior to 2 kpc lacks an ILR, consistent with the leading structure seen in HST near-IR observations. We also find tentative evidence for a lower pattern speed between 4 and 5.3 kpc measured by extending the regularized zone. As with the original TW method, uncertainty in major axis position angle (PA) is the largest source of error in the calculation; in this study, where \delta PA=+/-5 deg. a ~20% error is introduced to the parameters of the speeds at PA=170 deg. Accessory to this standard uncertainty, solutions with PA=175 deg. (also admitted by the data) exhibit only one pattern speed inside 4 kpc, and we consider this circumstance under the semblance of a radially varying PA.

Tests of the Radial Tremaine‐Weinberg Method

At the intersection of galactic dynamics, evolution and global structure, issues such as the relation between bars and spirals and the persistence of spiral patterns can be addressed through the characterization of the angular speeds of the patterns and their possible radial variation. The Radial Tremaine-Weinberg (TWR) Method, a generalized version of the Tremaine-Weinberg method for observationally determining a single, constant pattern speed, allows the pattern speed to vary arbitrarily with radius. Here, we perform tests of the TWR method with regularization on several simulated galaxy data sets. The regularization is employed as a means of smoothing intrinsically noisy solutions, as well as for testing model solutions of different radial dependence (e.g. constant, linear or quadratic). We test these facilities in studies of individual simulations, and demonstrate successful measurement of both bar and spiral pattern speeds in a single disk, secondary bar pattern speeds, and spiral winding (in the first application of a TW calculation to a spiral simulation). We also explore the major sources of error in the calculation and find uncertainty in the major axis position angle most dominant. In all cases, the method is able to extract pattern speed solutions where discernible patterns exist to within 20% of the known values, suggesting that the TWR method should be a valuable tool in the area of galactic dynamics. For utility, we also discuss the caveats in, and compile a prescription for, applications to real galaxies.

The effect of spiral structure on the measurements of the Oort constants

We perform test-particle simulations in a 2D, differentially rotating stellar disk, subjected to a two-armed steady state spiral density wave perturbation in order to estimate the influence of spiral structure on the local velocity field. By using Levenberg-Marquardt least-squares fit we decompose the local velocity field (as a result of our simulations) into Fourier components to fourth order. Thus we obtain simulated measurements of the Oort constants, A, B, C, and K. We get relations between the Fourier coefficients and some galactic parameters, such as the phase angle of the Solar neighborhood and the spiral pattern speed. We show that systematic errors due to the presence of spiral structure are likely to affect the measurements of the Oort constants. Moderate strength spiral structure causes errors of order 5 km/s/kpc in A and B. We find variations of the Fourier coefficients with velocity dispersion, pattern speed, and sample depth. For a sample at an average heliocentric distance of 0.8 kpc we can summarize our findings as follows:(i) if our location in the Galaxy is near corotation then we expect a vanishing value for C for all phase angles;(ii) for a hot disk, spiral structure induced errors for all Oort constants vanish at, and just inward of the corotation radius; (iii) as one approaches the 4:1 indblad resonances |C| increases and so does its variation with galactic azimuth; (iv) for all simulations |C|, on average, is larger for lower stellar velocity dispersions, contrary to recent measurements.

Triggered star formation in spiral arms

AbstractWe present preliminary results for six spiral galaxies from a sample of 25, where we have used the method developed by González & Graham (1996) to search for and analyze azimuthal color gradients across spiral arms. The six galaxies analyzed here are NGC 1703 (SBrb), NGC 3001 (SABrsbc), NGC 3059 (SBrsbc), NGC 3513 (SBrsc), NGC 4593 (RSBrsb), and NGC 4603 (SAsc).NGC 1703: We found one azimuthal color gradient in NGC 1703. Star formation was traced with the reddening free parameter Q, and the dust lane was located with the (g – J) color. This gradient lies at a distance of 1.45 kpc from the center of the galaxy. In order to get some physical parameters of the star formation processes that are taking place in the spiral arms of the galaxies in our sample, we compared the observed Q profiles with the stellar population synthesis models of Bruzual & Charlot (2003). The fitted Q model is shown in figure 1. If one assumes that stars form in the site of the shock, and that they age as they move away from this birthsite, then distance from the dust lane (at constant radius) parameterizes stellar age. In fact, stretching the model Q to the fit the data fixes the ratio between the distance and the age of the stellar population. If, in addition, the rotational velocity is known, it is possible to find the angular velocity of the spiral pattern. The spiral pattern speeds derived from the gradients (under the assumption that star formation is triggered by the density wave) yield theoretical resonance positions that are coincident with the observed spiral end points, in 3 out of 6 spirals. It would be hard to avoid the conclusion that disk dynamics and star formation are fundamentally related in these objects.

On the Relevance of the Tremaine‐Weinberg Method Applied to an Hα Velocity Field: Pattern Speed Determination in M100 (NGC 4321)

The relevance of the Tremaine-Weinberg (TW) method is tested to measure the bar, spiral and inner structure pattern speeds using a gaseous velocity field. The TW method is applied to various simulated barred galaxies in order to demonstrate its validity in seven different configurations, including star formation or/and dark matter halo. The reliability of the different physical processes involved and of the various observational parameters are also tested. The simulations show that the TW method could be applied to the gaseous velocity fields to get a good estimate of the bar pattern speed, under the condition that regions of shocks are avoided and measurements are confined to regions where the gaseous bar is well formed. We successfully apply the TW method to the \\ha velocity field of the Virgo Cluster Galaxy M100 (NGC 4321) and derive pattern speeds of 55+/-5 km/s/kpc for the nuclear structure, 30+/-2 km/s/kpc for the bar and 20+/-1 km/s/kpc for the spiral pattern, in full agreement with published determinations using the same method or alternative ones.

The Effect of Spiral Structure on the Stellar Velocity Distribution in the Solar Neighborhood

Clumps in the solar neighborhood's stellar velocity distribution could be caused by spiral density waves. In the solar neighborhood, stellar velocities corresponding to orbits that are nearly closed in the frame rotating with a spiral pattern represent likely regions for stellar concentrations. Via particle integration, we show that orbits can intersect the solar neighborhood when they are excited by Lindblad resonances with a spiral pattern. We find that a two-armed spiral density wave with pattern speed placing the Sun near the 4:1 inner Lindblad resonance can cause two families of nearly closed orbits in the solar neighborhood. One family corresponds to square-shaped orbits aligned so that their peaks lie on top of, and support, the two dominant stellar arms. The second family corresponds to orbits 45° out of phase with the other family. Such a spiral density pattern could account for two major clumps in the solar neighborhood's velocity distribution. The Pleiades/Hyades moving group corresponds to the first family of orbits, and the Coma Berenices moving group corresponds to the second family. This model requires a spiral pattern speed of approximately 0.66 ± 0.03 times the angular rotation rate of the Sun, or 18.1 ± 0.8 km s-1 kpc-1.

Pattern Speeds of BIMA SONG Galaxies with Molecule‐dominated Interstellar Mediums Using the Tremaine‐Weinberg Method

We apply the Tremaine-Weinberg method of pattern speed determination to data cubes of CO emission in six spiral galaxies from the BIMA Survey of Nearby Galaxies, each with an interstellar medium dominated by molecular gas. We compare derived pattern speeds with estimates based on other methods, usually involving the identification of a predicted behavior at one or more resonances of the pattern(s). In two cases (NGC 1068 and NGC 4736), we find evidence for a central bar pattern speed that is greater than that of the surrounding spiral and roughly consistent with previous estimates. However, the spiral pattern speed in both cases is much larger than previous determinations. For the barred spirals NGC 3627 and NGC 4321, the method is insensitive to the bar pattern speed (the bar in each is nearly parallel to the major axis; in this case the method will not work), but for the former galaxy the spiral pattern speed found agrees with previous estimates of the bar pattern speed, suggesting that these two structures are part of a single pattern. For the latter, the spiral pattern speed found is in agreement with several previous determinations. For the flocculent spiral NGC 4414 and the Evil Eye galaxy NGC 4826, the method does not support the presence of a large-scale coherent pattern. We also apply the method to a simulated barred galaxy in order to demonstrate its validity and to understand its sensitivity to various observational parameters. In addition, we study the results of applying the method to a simulated, clumpy axisymmetric disk with no wave present. The Tremaine & Weinberg method in this case may falsely indicate a well-defined pattern.

HiiRegions in Spiral Galaxies: Size Distribution, Luminosity Function, and New Isochrone Diagnostics of Density-Wave Kinematics

We investigate the relationship of the H II region luminosity function (H II LF) to the H II region size distribution and density-wave triggering in grand-design spiral galaxies. We suggest that the differential nebular size distribution is described by a power law approximately of slope -4, with flattening at radii below ~130 pc. This contrasts with the conventional exponential description, but it is physically and quantitatively consistent with the typical observed value of -2 for the H II LF slope. To study H II LF evolution, we have developed an interactive code that computes spatial isochrones for the evolving loci of spiral density waves in disk galaxies. This allows comparison of the nebular spatial distribution with the spatial isochrones for simple rotation curve parameters. Our comparisons for four grand-design galaxies suggest that the corotation radius rco coincides with the outer ends of the star-forming arms. This value for rco yields the best spatial correspondence between the H II regions and the isochrones and also appears to yield a coincidence between the inner Lindblad resonance with the radial onset of star formation in the arms. Thus, we suggest that isochrones offer a new, simple, and effective technique for determining rco and thus the spiral pattern speed. However, application of the isochrones also demonstrates that the evolution of the nebular population is difficult to spatially isolate in these galaxies.

Dark Matter within High Surface Brightness Spiral Galaxies

We present results from a detailed dynamical analysis of five high surface brightness, late-type spiral galaxies, NGC 3810, NGC 3893, NGC 4254, NGC 5676, and NGC 6643, which were studied with the aim of quantifying the luminous-to-dark matter ratio inside their optical radii. The galaxies' stellar light distribution and gas kinematics have been observed and compared to hydrodynamic gas simulations that predict the gasdynamics arising in response to empirical gravitational potentials, which are combinations of differing stellar disk and dark halo contributions. The gravitational potential of the stellar disk was derived from near-infrared photometry, color corrected to yield a constant stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L); for the dark halo, the mass density distribution of an axisymmetric isothermal sphere with a core was chosen. Hydrodynamic gas simulations were performed for each galaxy for a sequence of five different mass fractions of the stellar disk and for a wide range of spiral pattern speeds. These two parameters mainly determine the modeled gas distribution and kinematics. The agreement between the simulated and observed gas kinematics permitted us to conclude that the galaxies with the highest rotation velocities tend to possess very massive stellar disks that dominate the gasdynamics within the optical radius. In less massive galaxies, with a maximal rotation velocity of less than 200 km s-1, the mass of the dark halo at least equals the stellar mass within 2-3 disk scale lengths. The maximal disk stellar mass-to-light ratio in the K band was found to lie at about M/LK ≈ 0.6. Furthermore, the gasdynamic simulations provide a powerful tool for accurately determining the dominant spiral pattern speed for galaxies, independent of a specific density wave theory. It was found that the location of the corotation resonance falls into a narrow range of around three exponential disk scale lengths for all galaxies from the sample. The corotation resonance encloses the strong part of the stellar spiral in all cases. Based on the experience gained from this project, the use of a color correction to account for local stellar population differences is strongly encouraged when properties of galactic disks are studied that rely on their stellar mass distributions.

The spiral structure of the Milky Way, cosmic rays, and ice age epochs on Earth

The short term variability of the galactic cosmic ray flux (CRF) reaching Earth has been previously associated with variations in the global low altitude cloud cover. This CRF variability arises from changes in the solar wind strength. However, cosmic ray variability also arises intrinsically from variable activity of and motion through the Milky Way. Thus, if indeed the CRF climate connection is real, the increased CRF witnessed while crossing the spiral arms could be responsible for a larger global cloud cover and a reduced temperature, thereby facilitating the occurrences of ice ages. This picture has been recently shown to be supported by various data [PhRvL 89 (2002) 051102]. In particular, the variable CRF recorded in Iron meteorites appears to vary synchronously with the appearance ice ages. Here, we expand upon the original treatment with a more thorough analysis and more supporting evidence. In particular, we discuss the cosmic ray diffusion model which considers the motion of the galactic spiral arms. We also elaborate on the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way’s spiral arms. In particular, we bring forth new argumentation using HI observations which imply that the galactic spiral arm pattern speed appears to be that which fits the glaciation period and the cosmic-ray flux record extracted from Iron meteorites. In addition, we show that apparent peaks in the star formation rate history, as deduced by several authors, coincides with particularly icy epochs, while the long period of 1 to 2 Gyr before present, during which no glaciations are known to have occurred, coincides with a significant paucity in the past star formation rate.

Dynamics of Circumstellar Disks

We present a series of 2-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of massive disks around protostars. We simulate the same physical problem using both a `Piecewise Parabolic Method' (PPM) code and a `Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic' (SPH) code, and analyze their differences. The disks studied here range in mass from $0.05 M_*$ to $1.0 M_*$ and in initial minimum Toomre $Q$ value from 1.1 to 3.0. For this problem, the strengths of the codes overlap only in a limited fashion, but similarities exist in their predictions, including spiral arm pattern speeds and morphological features. Our results represent limiting cases (i.e. systems evolved isothermally) rather than true physical systems. Disks become active from the inner regions outward. From the earliest times, their evolution is a strongly dynamic process rather than a smooth progression toward eventual nonlinear behavior. We calculate approximate growth rates for the spiral patterns; the one-armed ($m=1$) spiral arm is not the fastest growing pattern of most disks. In our SPH simulations, disks with initial minimum $Q=1.5$ or lower break up into proto-binary or proto-planetary clumps. However, these simulations cannot follow the physics important for the flow and must be terminated before the system has completely evolved. At their termination, PPM simulations with similar initial conditions show uneven mass distributions within spiral arms, suggesting that clumping behavior might result if they were carried further. Concern that the point-like nature of SPH exaggerates clumping, that our representation of the gravitational potential in PPM is too coarse, and that our physics assumptions are too simple, suggest caution in interpretation of the clumping in both the disk and torus simulations.

Spiral arm amplitude variations and pattern speeds in the grand design galaxies M51, M81, and M100

view Abstract Citations (157) References (17) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Spiral-Arm Amplitude Variations and Pattern Speeds in the Grand Design Galaxies M51, M81, and M100 Elmegreen, Bruce G. ; Elmegreen, Debra Meloy ; Seiden, Philip E. Abstract The amplitudes of the spiral arms in M51, M81, and M100 have been found to oscillate smoothly around their mean radial variations with a characteristic wavelength of ~5 kpc and a relative amplitude of 100%. The phases of the spirals and the relative amplitudes of the m = 4 and m = 2 Fourier components oscillate slightly too. The absence of corresponding color variations and the symmetry of the amplitude peaks with respect to the galaxy centers suggest that the oscillations are an intrinsic part of the stellar spiral density wave. ThIs observation confirms predictions of both the modal and stellar dynamical theories of spiral structure. The radial positions of the prominent gaps in the spiral arm amplitudes are compared to the expected positions of various wave resonances. Excellent fits are obtained for M81 and M100 if the gaps are at the 4:1 resonances; then the spirals end at the outer Lindblad resonances, the inner Lindblad resonances are well shielded, and the primary star formation ridges and dust lanes are between the 4:1 and corotation resonances. Prominent interarm features and spurs also occur at the 4:1 and corotation resonances in these galaxies. The situation is similar but more complicated in M51, which requires two spiral systems to cover the disk. The best fit is for an inner spiral mode that has an outer Lindblad resonance at the position of a prominent arm intensity gap, and an outer material spiral that corotates with the companion. Then the average position of the inner Lindblad resonances of the outer material arms occurs at the same radius as the corotation resonances of the inner mode. This conjunction of resonances may explain how the companion to M51 triggered a strong spiral throughout most of the disk. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: August 1989 DOI: 10.1086/167733 Bibcode: 1989ApJ...343..602E Keywords: Andromeda Galaxy; Galactic Structure; Spiral Galaxies; Interstellar Gas; Orbital Resonances (Celestial Mechanics); Star Formation; Astrophysics; GALAXIES: INDIVIDUAL MESSIER NUMBER: M51; GALAXIES: INDIVIDUAL MESSIER NUMBER: M81; GALAXIES: INDIVIDUAL MESSIER NUMBER: M100; GALAXIES: INTERNAL MOTIONS; GALAXIES: STRUCTURE full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (4) NED (4)