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The HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale VI. The Cepheids in NGC925

We report the detection of Cepheid Variable stars in the barred spiral galaxy NGC925, using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Twelve V (F555W), four I (F814W) and three B (F439W) epochs of cosmic ray split observations were obtained. Eighty Cepheids were discovered, with periods from 6 to +-80 days. Light curves of the Cepheids are presented, and their corresponding period-luminosity diagrams are discussed.

Cepheids Cepheid Cepheid Variable stars barred spi↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: The link between bars and the early cessation of star formation in spiral galaxies

ABSTRACT Bars are common in low-redshift disc galaxies, and hence quantifying their influence on their host is of importance to the field of galaxy evolution. We determine the stellar populations and star formation histories of 245 barred galaxies from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) galaxy survey, and compare them to a mass- and morphology-matched comparison sample of unbarred galaxies. At fixed stellar mass and morphology, barred galaxies are optically redder than their unbarred counterparts. From stellar population analysis using the full spectral fitting code starlight, we attribute this difference to both older and more metal-rich stellar populations. Dust attenuation however, is lower in the barred sample. The star formation histories of barred galaxies peak earlier than their non-barred counterparts, and the galaxies build up their mass at earlier times. We can detect no significant differences in the local environment of barred and unbarred galaxies in this sample, but find that the H i gas mass fraction is significantly lower in high-mass ($\rm {M}_{\star } \gt 10^{10}~\rm {M}_{\odot }$) barred galaxies than their non-barred counterparts. We speculate on the mechanisms that have allowed barred galaxies to be older, more metal-rich and more gas-poor today, including the efficient redistribution of galactic fountain byproducts, and a runaway bar formation scenario in gas-poor discs. While it is not possible to fully determine the effect of the bar on galaxy quenching, we conclude that the presence of a bar and the early cessation of star formation within a galaxy are intimately linked.

Fraser-McKelvie, Amelia↗

Some fluid-dynamical problems in galaxies

Galaxies are examined through their primary components of gas and stars. The normal spiral and barred spiral galaxies have gaseous and stellar constituents in a thin disk, with a prominent nuclear bulge in the inner parts. The gaseous disk of matter is considered as a large-scale motion of the interstellar medium in the presence of the collective gravitational field of the massive stellar component in normal and spiral galaxies. The stellar component is viewed from a fluid-dynamical perspective; finally the asymptotic theory, dynamical mechanisms, and modal maintenance are discussed.

Lin, C. C.↗

IRAS observations of Shapley-Ames galaxies

A preliminary discussion of the infrared properties of a representative subsample of galaxies in the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalog (B less than about 13 mag) is presented. Of the 165 galaxies in the sample, 108 predominantly spiral galaxies, are detected in the infrared by IRAS. None of the elliptical galaxies and only about 25 percent of the lenticular galaxies scanned were detected. The range of infrared-to-blue luminosity ratios, a measure of the infrared excess of galaxies, is large, varying from roughly 0.1 to roughly 5. The data suggest that weakly infrared emitting galaxies are cool (100-60 micron color temperatures of about 25 K), while the more infrared luminous ones tend to be warmer (about 50 K). The rate of star formation in barred spiral galaxies is apparently higher than in normal spirals. About 1 solar mass/year of interstellar matter is converted into massive stars in the typical spiral galaxy.

De Jong, T.↗

Peculiar morphologies of four IRAS galaxies

Optical and radio data that reveal the peculiar morphologies of four IRAS galaxies are discussed. NGC 1620 is shown to have an off-center arclike structure of 3 kpc radius that may be the largest supernova-blown bubble known. UGC 2982 is an ongoing merger of two gas-rich galaxies. It is shown that the UGC 3004/3005 pair is not interacting despite the proximity of its components. UGC 3004 is a regular barred spiral galaxy. A second nucleus in the edge-on system UGC 3005 suggests a recent merger. Finally, IRAS 23385 + 0300 is one of the most infrared-luminous galaxies known.

Chaboyer, Brian↗

Hubble Space Telescope Medium Deep Survey. 2: Deconvolution of Wide Field Camera field galaxy images in the 13 hour + 43 deg field

We present isophotal profiles of six faint field galaxies from some of the first deep images taken for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Medium Deep Survey (MDS). These have redshifts in the range z = 0.126 to 0.402. The images were taken with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) in `parallel mode' and deconvolved with the Lucy method using as the point-spread function nearby stars in the image stack. The WFC deconvolutions have a dynamic range of 16 to 20 dB (4 to 5 mag) and an effective resolution approximately less than 0.2 sec (FWHM). The multiorbit HST images allow us to trace the morphology, light profiles, and color gradients of faint field galaxies down to V approximately equal to 22 to 23 mag at sub-kpc resolution, since the redshift range covered is z = 0.1 to 0.4. The goals of the MDS are to study the sub-kpc scale morphology, light profiles, and color gradients for a large samole of faint field galaxies down to V approximately equal to 23 mag, and to trace the fraction of early to late-type galaxies as function of cosmic time. In this paper we study the brighter MDS galaxies in the 13 hour + 43 deg MDS field in detail, and investigate to what extent model fits with pure exponential disks or a(exp 1/4) bulges are justified at V approximately less than 22 mag. Four of the six field galaxies have light profiles that indicate (small) inner bulges following r(exp 1/4) laws down to 0.2 sec resolution, plus a dominant surrounding exponential disk with little or no color gradients. Two occur in a group at z = 0.401, two are barred spiral galaxies at z = 0.179 and z = 0.302, and two are rather subluminous (and edge-on) disk galaxies at z = 0.126 and z = 0.179. Our deep MDS images can detect galaxies down to V, I approximately less than 25 to 26 mag, and demonstrate the impressive potential of HST--even with its pre-refurbished optics--to resolve morphological details in galaxies at cosmologically significant distances (v approximately less than 23 mag). Since the median redshift of these galaxies is approximately less than 0.4, the HST resolution allows us to study sub kpc size scales at the galaxy, which cannot be done with stable images over wide fields from the best ground-based sites.

Windhorst, R. A.↗

Preferred orbit planes in the gravitational field of a tumbling spheroidal galaxy

An analytic method is described by means of which the preferred planes into which gas will settle by dissipative differential precession in a slightly nonspherical, nonstatic potential can be determined. Attention is given to the analysis of circular orbit precession in the external potential of a slightly prolate spheroidal mass that is tumbling about a short axis, providing a crude model for barred spiral galaxies as well as for prolate elliptical ones. The results obtained agree with previous work on the existence, orientation, and stability of periodic orbits in triaxial potentials. Depending on the source and injection geometry of the gas and on the nature of dissipation in the gas, the orbital dynamics presented could lead to enhanced, or even catastrophic, radial inflow and to steady state warped structures.

Durisen, R. H.↗

HST imaging of the inner 3 arcseconds of NGC 1068 in the light of forbidden O III 5007 A

The Planetary Camera aboard HST has been used to obtain a high spatial resolution forbidden O III 5007 A image of the nucleus of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1068. This image shows more detail than any previously published images and resolves the NLR into several distinct clouds arranged in an apparently conical geometry. The individual emission-line regions appear to be resolved with sizes of 0.1-0.2 arcsec. There is a strong apparent correspondence between the 1.3 cm radio structure and several of the forbidden O III 5007 A clouds, although there are also bright emission-line clouds for which there are no radio counterparts. In particular, the radio 'triple' of Ulvestad et al. (1987) appears to correspond directly to the forbidden O III 5007 A clouds A-D. It is concluded that the distribution of the clouds is consistent with ionization core models. The hidden nucleus is located somewhere in the southern radio component and may be coincident with the H2O megamaser.

Evans, I. N.↗

Detection of WC9 stars in NGC 1365

We report the discovery of a broad emission feature at 5696 A in a giant extragalactic H II region in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365, identified with a C III emission line seen in some Wolf-Rayet stars. The absence of comparable C IV emission in 5808 A implies the observed feature is from stars of WC9 subtype. This constitutes the first unequivocal detection of WC9 stars in a giant H II region and the first example of these stars outside our Galaxy. Their presence in the high-abundance environment of NGC 1365 supports the notion that late WC-type progenitors form only in "metal-rich" circumstances.

Phillips, Andrew C.↗

The near-ultraviolet spectrum of Markarian 205

We report measurements of the absorption and of the emission lines between 1600 and 3200 A in the spectrum of the nearby AGN Markarian 205 (z = 0.071), which lies at a projected distance of 3 kpc (H0 = 100 km/s) from the nucleus of the nearby barred spiral galaxy, NGC 4319 (z = 0.0047). The results were obtained using high-resolution (R = 1300) observations with the Faint Object Spectrograph of the HST. A total of 15 absorption lines, 13 of which are produced by Galactic gas, and four AGN emission lines are detected. Two of the absorption lines, the Mg II resonant doublet, are produced by gas in the intervening galaxy NGC 4319. This is the first detection of absorption due to intervening gas in this famous quasar-galaxy pair.

Bahcall, John N.↗

Coordinated Broadband Monitoring of Variable X-Ray Sources in NGC 1313

The nearby (3.7 Mpc) late-type barred spiral galaxy NGC 1313 contains three ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) that are offset from the center of the galaxy. Two of these have been associated with optical ionized nebulae, and their spectral and variability properties indicate that they contain black holes. The third ULX is SN 1978K, which was the second supernova to be detected and recognized as a supernova from its radio emission, and the first from its X-rays. In this project, we have started a long-term program of X-ray (XMM-Newton), optical (VLT), and radio (ATCA) observations of these and other sources in NGC 1313. This program has been continued through Cycle 3. XMM-Newton observations in cycle 2 consisted of eight 10 ksec priority A monitoring observations between 2003 November 25 and 2004 January 16. The data obtained from these observations have been fully analyzed, and the results have been published in Smith et al. (2004). The results included the identification of the optical counterpart of ULX X-2, and firm upper limits for the radio counterparts of ULXs X-1 and X-2. Previously unknown X-ray spectral variability has been detected in ULXs X-1 and X-2. For SNR 1978K, we were able to extend and refine the X-ray decay light curve. In tandem, we developed a semi-analytical model for the spectral variability of microquasar jets, which will be refined and applied to the combined results from our cycle 2 + 3 observations after the cycle-3 data have been fully analyzed.

Boettcher, Markus↗

Effect of bars on evolution of SDSS spiral galaxies

ABSTRACT We explore the significance of bars in triggering central star formation (SF) and active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity for spiral galaxy evolution using a volume-limited sample with 0.020 < z < 0.055, Mr < −19.5, and σ > 70 km s−1 selected from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. On a central SF rate–σ plane, we measure the fraction of galaxies with strong bars in our sample and also the AGN fractions for barred and non-barred galaxies, respectively. The comparison between the bar and AGN fractions reveals a causal connection between the two phenomena of SF quenching and AGN activity. A massive black hole and abundant gas fuels are sufficient conditions to trigger AGNs. We infer that the AGNs triggered by satisfying the two conditions drive the strong AGN feedback, suddenly suppressing the central SF and leaving the SF sequence. We find that in galaxies where either of the two conditions is not sufficient, bars are a great help for the AGN triggering, accelerating the entire process of evolution, which is particularly evident in pseudo-bulge galaxies. All of our findings are obtained only when plotted in terms of their central velocity dispersion and central SFR (not galactic scale SFR), indicating that the AGN-driven SF quenching is confined in the central kpc region.

Kim, Minbae↗

Bar-driven spiral waves in disk galaxies

The response of rotating disks of gas to barlike perturbations in galactic gravitational fields is investigated. In particular, two-dimensional time-dependent numerical hydrodynamical calculations have been performed in order to determine the steady-state response of disks of gas to rotating barlike perturbations. Two types of barlike perturbations are considered: oval distortions in the axisymmetric gravitational field of the disk, and heterogeneous prolate spheroids. The calculations reveal that in the absence of gaseous self-gravity, a viscous differentially rotating disk of gas responds to a rotating barlike perturbation by forming a central gas bar with two trailing spiral waves. The local phase of the gas response is primarily a function of the number and spacing of the principal resonances in the disk. This result may be understood in terms of particle orbit theory. The gas response to barlike perturbations also depends on the relative strength and the effective axial ratio of the bar. In these calculations strong narrow bars produce offset shocks in the central gas bar. These shocks correspond in position to the long narrow dust lanes observed in many barred spiral galaxies.

Huntley, J. M.↗

Galactic Bar Resonances with Diffusion: An Analytic Model with Implications for Bar–Dark Matter Halo Dynamical Friction

Abstract The secular evolution of disk galaxies is largely driven by resonances between the orbits of “particles” (stars or dark matter) and the rotation of non-axisymmetric features (spiral arms or a bar). Such resonances may also explain kinematic and photometric features observed in the Milky Way and external galaxies. In simplified cases, these resonant interactions are well understood: for instance, the dynamics of a test particle trapped near a resonance of a steadily rotating bar is easily analyzed using the angle-action tools pioneered by Binney, Monari, and others. However, such treatments do not address the stochasticity and messiness inherent to real galaxies—effects that have, with few exceptions, been previously explored only with complex N -body simulations. In this paper, we propose a simple kinetic equation describing the distribution function of particles near an orbital resonance with a rigidly rotating bar, allowing for diffusion of the particles’ slow actions. We solve this equation for various values of the dimensionless diffusion strength Δ, and then apply our theory to the calculation of bar–halo dynamical friction. For Δ = 0, we recover the classic result of Tremaine and Weinberg that friction ultimately vanishes, owing to the phase mixing of resonant orbits. However, for Δ > 0, we find that diffusion suppresses phase mixing, leading to a finite torque. Our results suggest that stochasticity—be it physical or numerical—tends to increase bar–halo friction, and that bars in cosmological simulations might experience significant artificial slowdown, even if the numerical two-body relaxation time is much longer than a Hubble time.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Powering the superwind in NGC 253

NGC 253 is a prototypical moderate nuclear starburst galaxy. It is a barred SBc spiral galaxy at a distance of approximately 3 Mpc and can be studied on scales down to 15 pc in the optical and near IR. It is a bright IRAS source with a flux of 1000 Jy at 60 microns and a FIR luminosity of 3 x 10(exp 10) solar luminosity. It has a strong Br(gamma) emission line, a signature of ongoing massive star formation and deep CO absorption bands, which are indicative of the dominance of red supergiants in the near IR. It contains a population of compact radio sources, similar to those seen in M82. Optical spectra show that the nucleus is heavily reddened, with a Balmer decrement of approximately 30. NGC 253 possesses a 'superwind,' seen both in x-ray emission and in optical line emission. Nuclear ejection was first suggested to explain the kinematics of the nuclear region. We have obtained J, H, and K images of the entire galaxy at 1.3 arcsec/pixel (18 pc/pixel) using the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) on the KPNO 1.3 m. We have constructed a mosaic of 180 s exposures which traces the galaxy over much of its optical extent. The data were shifted, rotated, magnified, and calibrated following normal practice.

Watson, Alan↗