您选择的条件: Ortwin Gerhard
  • Orbit-Superposition Dynamical Modeling of Barred Galaxies

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Barred structures are important in understanding galaxy evolution, but they were not included explicitly in most dynamical models for nearby galaxies due to their complicated morphological and kinematic properties. We modify the triaxial orbit-superposition Schwarzschild implementation by Van den Bosch et al. (2008) to include barred structures explicitly. The gravitational potential is a combination of a spherical dark matter halo and stellar mass; with the 3D stellar density distribution de-projected from the observed 2D image using a two-component de-projection method, including an axisymmetric disk and a triaxial barred bulge. We consider figure rotation of the galaxy with the bar pattern speed as a free parameter. We validate the method by applying it to a mock galaxy with IFU data created from an N-body simulation with a boxy/peanut or X-shaped bar. Our model fits the observed 2D surface density and all kinematic features well. The bar pattern speed is recovered well with a relative uncertainty smaller than 10%. Based on the internal stellar orbit distribution of the model, we decompose the galaxy into an X-shaped bar, a boxy bulge, a vertically extended structure and a disk, and demonstrate that our model recovers these structures generally well, similar to the true structures in the N-body simulation. Our method provides a realistic way of modelling the bar structure explicitly for nearby barred galaxies with IFU observations.

  • Large-scale Hydrodynamical Shocks as the Smoking Gun Evidence for a Bar in M31

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The formation and evolutionary history of M31 are closely related to its dynamical structures, which remain unclear due to its high inclination. Gas kinematics could provide crucial evidence for the existence of a rotating bar in M31. Using the position-velocity diagram of [OIII] and HI, we are able to identify clear sharp velocity jump (shock) features with a typical amplitude over 100 km/s in the central region of M31 (4.6 kpc X 2.3 kpc, or 20 arcmin X 10 arcmin). We also simulate gas morphology and kinematics in barred M31 potentials and find that the bar-induced shocks can produce velocity jumps similar to those in [OIII]. The identified shock features in both [OIII] and HI are broadly consistent, and they are found mainly on the leading sides of the bar/bulge, following a hallmark pattern expected from the bar-driven gas inflow. Shock features on the far side of the disk are clearer than those on the near side, possibly due to limited data coverage on the near side, as well as obscuration by the warped gas and dust layers. Further hydrodynamical simulations with more sophisticated physics are desired to fully understand the observed gas features and to better constrain the parameters of the bar in M31.

  • Gas Dynamics in the Galaxy: Total Mass Distribution and the Bar Pattern Speed

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Gas morphology and kinematics in the Milky Way contain key information for understanding the formation and evolution of our Galaxy. We present a high resolution hydrodynamical simulation based on a realistic barred Milky Way potential constrained by recent observations. Our model can reproduce most features in the observed longitude-velocity diagram, including the Central Molecular Zone, the Near and Far 3-kpc arms, the Molecular Ring, and the spiral arm tangents. It can also explain the non-circular motions of masers obtained by the recent BeSSeL2 survey. The central gas kinematics are consistent with a mass of $6.9\times10^8\; {\rm M}_{\odot}$ in the Nuclear Stellar Disk. Our model predicts the formation of an elliptical gaseous ring surrounding the bar, which is composed of the 3-kpc arms, Norma arm, and the bar-spiral interfaces. This ring is similar to those "inner" rings in some Milky Way analogs with a boxy/peanut-shaped bulge. The kinematics of gas near the solar neighbourhood are governed by the Local arm, which is induced by the four major stellar spiral arms. The bar pattern speed constrained by our gas model is $37.5-40\; {\rm km}\;{\rm s}^{-1}\;{\rm kpc}^{-1}$, corresponding to a corotation radius of $R_{\rm CR}=6.0-6.4\;{\rm kpc}$. The rotation curve of our model rises gently within the central $\sim5\;{\rm kpc}$, which is significantly less steep than those predicted by modern zoom-in cosmological simulations such as Auriga.