Multicolor CCD photometry of six lenticular and spiral galaxies. Structure of the galaxies

The results of multicolor surface photometry of the S0 galaxies NGC 524, NGC 1138, and NGC 7280 and the spiral galaxies NGC 532, NGC 783, and NGC 1589 are reported. U BV RI observations were acquired with the 1.5-m telescope of the Maidanak Observatory (Uzbekistan), while JHK data were taken from the 2MASS catalog. The overall structure of the galaxies is analyzed and the galaxy images decomposed into bulge and disk components. The parameters of the galaxy components—rings, bars, spiral arms, and dust lanes—are determined. The bulge/disk decompositions based on averaged one-dimensional photometric profiles yield incorrect parameters for the bulges of the S0-Sa galaxies with bars and/or rings, whose inner regions are dominated by the radiation of the bulge.     

Early-type disk galaxies: Structure and kinematics

Spectroscopic observations of three lenticular (S0) galaxies (NGC 1167, NGC 4150, and NGC 6340) and one SBa galaxy (NGC 2273) have been taken with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences aimed to study the structure and kinematic properties of early-type disk galaxies. The radial profiles of the stellar radial velocities and the velocity dispersion are measured. N-body simulations are used to construct dynamical models of galaxies containing a stellar disk, bulge, and halo. The masses of individual components are estimated formaximum-mass disk models. A comparison of models with estimated rotational velocities and the stellar velocity dispersion suggests that the stellar disks in lenticular galaxies are “overheated”; i.e., there is a significant excess velocity dispersion over the minimum level required to maintain the stability of the disk. This supports the hypothesis that the stellar disks of S0 galaxies were subject to strong gravitational perturbations. The relative thickness of the stellar disks in the S0 galaxies considered substantially exceed the typical disk thickness of spiral galaxies.     

Multicolor CCD photometry of six lenticular and spiral galaxies. Stellar population of the galaxies

The results of multicolor surface photometry of the S0 galaxies NGC 524, NGC 1138, and NGC 7280 and the spiral galaxies NGC 532, NGC 783, and NGC 1589 are analyzed. UBVRI observations were acquired with the 1.5-m telescope of the Maidanak Observatory (Uzbekistan), while JHK data were taken from the 2MASS catalog. The brightness and color distributions in the galaxies are analyzed. Extinction in dust lanes in three spiral galaxies is estimated. The contributions of the radiation of the spherical and disk components in different photometric bands are estimated. Two-color diagrams are used to estimate the composition of the stellar populations in various galaxy components. The variations of the color characteristics in the S0 galaxies is due mostly to radial metallicity gradients.     

Structure of the galaxies of the NGC 80 group: Two-tiered disks

Two-color photometric data obtained on the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory are used to analyze the structure of 13 large disk galaxies in the NGC 80 group. Nine of the 13 studied galaxies are classified as lenticular galaxies. The stellar populations in the galaxies are very diverse, from old stars with ages of T > 10 billion years (IC 1541) to relatively young stars with ages of T ∼ 1–3 billion years (IC 1548, NGC 85); in one case, star formation is ongoing (UCM 0018+2216). In most of the studied galaxies, more precisely in all of them brighter than M B ∼ −18, two-tiered stellar disks are detected, whose radial surface-brightness profiles can be described by two exponential segments with different characteristic scales—shorter near the center and longer at the periphery. All of the dwarf S0 galaxies with single-tiered disks are close companions to larger galaxies. Except for this fact, no dependence of the properties of S0 galaxies on distance from the center of the group is found. Morphological signs of a “minor merger” are found in the lenticular galaxy NGC 85. Based on these last two results, it is concluded that the most probable mechanism for their transformation of spiral into lenticular galaxies in groups is gravitational (minor mergers and tidal interactions).     

Polygonal structure of spiral galaxies

We have carried out numerical simulations of hydrodynamical processes occurring in the disks of spiral galaxies. The initial state of the disk is an equilibrium stellar-gaseous configuration. The spherical component is described by a standard analytical model for the gravitational potential. The behavior of the modeled disk in the presence of an external perturbation is analyzed. The results of numerical simulations of stellar-gaseous galactic disks aimed at studying the formation of polygonal structures in spiral galaxies are presented. The possible influence of spur-like formations on the appearance of polygonal structure is studied.     

Star-forming regions in the ring galaxies NGC 5585 and IC 1525

We use UBVRI CCD photometry to study star-forming regions (SFRs) in the galaxies NGC 5585 and IC 1525. The observations were acquired with the 1.5-m telescope of the Mt. Maidanak Observatory of the Astronomical Institute of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences (Uzbekistan), with seeing of 0.8″–1.8″. We identified 47 SFRs in NGC 5585 and 16 SFRs in IC 1525. We estimated the ages and internal extinctions of the SFRs using the PEGASE2 evolution models. The sizes of the SFRs were also determined. We discuss in detail the techniques applied to evaluate the SFR parameters from photometric analysis. The age range for the studied SFRs is (2–40) × 10⁶ yrs, and the internal extinctions are A(V ) ≤ 1.5m. The age distributions of the SFRs in both galaxies are typical of stellar systems with intense, extended star formation. The internal extinction in the SFRs decreases with distance from the galactic centers: A(V ) ∝ −r. For both galaxies, the scale length for the decrease of the dust surface density, estimated from the A(V )−r relation for SFRs, is close to the scale length for the disk brightness decrease in the V and R bands. Relatively larger and older SFRs are observed in the galaxies’ rings, while such SFRs are not found in the spiral arms. We detected different SFR parameters for different spiral arms of NGC 5585.     

Numerical simulations of a multi-arm gaseous configuration in a global two-arm spiral gravitational field

The results of numerical simulations of supersonic, gas-dynamical processes occurring in the disks of spiral galaxies are presented. Qualitative and quantitative pictures of morphological features in the structure formed by a two-armed gravitational potential are given. A gas-dynamical interpretation of a quasi-stationary configuration containing two shock fronts separated by a contact discontinuity is discussed. This type of supersonic configuration with three jumps can form and produce a spiral pattern with six arms displaying global two-fold symmetry. An economical method has been used to calculate the complex, non-stationary, supersonic gas flows using a fully conservative difference scheme to solve the appreciably divergent gas-dynamical equations in the Euler variables in an axially symmetric approximation.     

Do the galaxies NGC 936 and NGC 3198 possess massive spheroidal subsystems?

The condition for gravitational stability of the stellar disks of the galaxies NGC 936 and NGC 3198 makes maximum disk models unacceptable. We present mass estimates for these objects' spheroidal components. The mass of the dark halo of NGC 3198, within four disk radial scale lengths, exceeds its disk mass by a factor of 1.6 to 2. The masses of the disk and spheroidal subsystem (halo + bulge), within four radial scale lengths, are approximately the same for NGC 936.     

The role of close passages of galaxies and the asymmetry of their dark haloes in the formation of their spiral patterns

The influence of close passages of galaxies on the shapes of disk galaxies and the distribution of stars in them is studied for several types of interactions in the framework of the restricted N-body problem. Depending on the conditions adopted, either two spiral density waves or ring structures are formed in the stellar disk of the galaxy. These structures can generate star formation fronts with the corresponding shape, as are observed in disk galaxies. Our calculations can also be applied to study the influence of the passage of a nearby star on a protoplanetary disk. The formation of ring structures there could specify the type of planet formation in the outer regions of the planetary system and the distribution of semimajor axes for the planetary orbits. We use the same model to study the generation and evolution of spiral density waves in the stellar disks of galaxies as a result of the recently found asymmetry of the gravitational potential in the massive dark haloes in disk galaxies. The dipole component of the gravitational field of the halo can continuously permanently generate the spiral structure in disk galaxies.     

The stellar population and evolution of galaxies of the NGC 80 group

Seven early-type galaxies that are members of the massive X-ray group containing NGC 80 have been studied using two-dimensional spectroscopy with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory. We searched for evidence for the synchronous secular evolution of the galaxies in the group. The bulges of five of the seven galaxies appear to be old, with the average age of the bulge stars being 10–15 billion years. Signs of a relatively recent star-formation burst are observed in the small S0 galaxy IC 1548, whose average bulge age is 3 billion years and average core age is 1.5 billion years. A circumnuclear polar gas ring was also detected in this galaxy; in its outer regions, it makes a smooth transition to a gas disk that counter-rotates relative to the stars. IC 1548 probably underwent a close interaction, which resulted in its transformation from a spiral to a lenticular galaxy; the same interaction may also have induced the central burst of star formation. In the giant E0 galaxy NGC 83, a compact massive stellar-gas disk with a radius of about 2 kpc and very rapid rotation is observed, with ongoing star formation; the so-called “minor merger” is likely to have occurred there. We conclude that the NGC 80 group is in a state of formation, with the small NGC 83 subgroup “falling into” the large, old NGC 80 subgroup.     

Stellar subsystems of the galaxy NGC 2366

Hubble Space Telescope archive data are used to perform photometry of stars in seven fields at the center and periphery of the galaxy NGC 2366. The variation of the number density of stars of various ages with galactocentric radius and along the minor axis of the galaxy are determined. The boundaries of the thin and thick disks of the galaxy are found. The inferred sizes of the subsystems of NGC 2366 (Z _thin = 4 kpc and Z _thick = 8 kpc for the thin and thick disks, respectively) are more typical for spiral galaxies. Evidence for a stellar halo is found at the periphery of NGC 2366 beyond the thick disk of the galaxy.     

On the spiral structure of the Milky Way Galaxy

We consider a possible scheme of the overall spiral structure of the Galaxy using data on the distribution of neutral (atomic), molecular, and ionized hydrogen. Our analysis assumes that the spiral structure is symmetric, i.e., that the spiral arms are translated into each other via a rotation about the Galactic center by 180° (a two-arm pattern) or 90° (a four-arm pattern). In the inner region, the observations are best represented with a four-arm spiral pattern, associated with all-Galaxy spiral density waves. The initial position is that of the Carina arm, reliably determined from distances to HII regions and from HI and H₂ radial velocities. This pattern continues in quadrants III and IV with weak outer HI arms; from their morphology, the Galaxy should be considered an asymmetric multi-arm spiral. The knee-like shape of the outer arms, which consist of straight segments, may indicate that these arms are transient formations that appeared due to gravitational instability in the gaseous disk. The distances between HI superclouds in the two arms that are brightest in neutral hydrogen, the Carina and Cygnus (Outer) arms, are concentrated near two values, suggesting the presence of a regular magnetic field in these arms.     

Analysis of the structure of disk galaxies in the NGC 2300 group

Data from the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory obtained using the SCORPIO instrument in imaging mode are used to study member galaxies of the NGC 2300 group. Surface photometry has been carried out for the five largest galaxies in the group, whose isophotal parameters and the parameters of their large-scale structural components (disks and bulges) have been determined. The morphological type of the central galaxy in the group has been refined, and shown to be elliptical. Studies of structural features in non-central disk galaxies have revealed an enhanced percent of bars: bars were found in all disk galaxies of this group, with all of these being compact structures. The similarity of the structural features of the disks of the group galaxies suggests that these disksmay be being restructured in the process of the current merger of the two X-ray subgroups comprising NGC 2300: the group NGC 2300 itself and the group NGC 2276.     

On the Formation of Spiral Arms in Dwarf Galaxies

Astronomy Reports - Spiral structure (both flocculent and Grand Design types) is very rarely observed in dwarf galaxies because the formation of spiral arms requires special conditions. In this...     

Kinematics of disk galaxies with known masses of their supermassive black holes. Observations

This is the first paper in a project aimed at analyzing relations between the masses of supermassive black holes or nuclear clusters in galaxies and the kinematic features of the host galaxies. We present long-slit spectroscopic observations of galaxies obtained on the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory using the SCORPIO focal reducer. Radial profiles of the line-of-sight velocities and velocity dispersions of the stellar populations were obtained for seven galaxies with known masses of their supermassive black holes (Mkn 79, Mkn 279, NGC 2787, NGC 3245, NGC 3516, NGC 7457, and NGC 7469), and also for one galaxy with a nuclear cluster (NGC 428). Velocity profiles of the emitting gas were obtained for some of these galaxies as well. We present preliminary galactic rotation curves derived from these data.     

The motion of a star in the vicinity of a globular cluster in an elliptical galaxy

The spatial motion of a star in the vicinity of a globular cluster located in an inhomogeneous, rotating elliptical galaxy (EG) is considered. Perturbations due to the gravitation of the galaxy are taken into account, taking it to be a two-layer system together with its halo: an inner ellipsoid, representing the lumious part of the galaxy, and a homeoid, representing space filled with dark matter between inner and outer ellipsoidal boundaries. The ellipsoids are taken to be homothetic and to have a common center, with the boundary of the outer ellipsoid coincident with the boundary of the galactic halo. The luminous part of the EG and the homeoid have different densities. The motion of the star near a globular cluster occurs outside the luminous part of the EG, but inside the homeoid. The concept of the “vicinity of the globular cluster” is concretized using the concept of a “sphere of influence” (and the gravitational sphere and Hill gravitational sphere). Stellar motions inside and outside the sphere of influence of the globular cluster are considered, and the region of possible motions is determined. A quasi-integral and surfaces of minimum energy are found, which under certain conditions can be transformed into an analog of the Jacobi integral and surfaces of zero velocity. The Lyapunov stability of the stationary solutions obtained is established. The results are applied to model EGs whose parameters coincide with those of NGC 4472 (M49), NGC 4636, and NGC 4374, which contain a large number of globular clusters, and are presented in the form of figures and tables. Using these galaxies as examples, it is shown that studying stellar motions, and also determining the libration points and establishing their stability, requires use of an exact, rather than an approximate, expression for the potential of the luminous part of the elliptical galaxy.     

Steady-state solutions for the motion of a globular cluster in an inhomogeneous, rotating elliptical galaxy

Steady-state solutions for the motion of a passively gravitating globular cluster (GC) inside an inhomogeneous, rotating, ellipsoidal elliptical galaxy (EG) are considered. It is assumed that an EG with a halo is comprised of a triaxial ellipsoid consisting of two layers. The first is formed by an inner, uniform ellipsoid representing the luminous part of the galaxy, while the second corresponds to the space between an inner and outer ellipsoid, which is uniformly filled with dark matter. The triaxial ellipsoids are taken to be homothetic and to have a common center; the space between them is called a homeoid. The outer boundary of the homeoid is the boundary of the galaxy halo. The densities of the luminous part of the EG and the homeoid are different. This picture of an EG is in agreement with our current understanding of galactic structure. The motion of the GC occurs outside the luminous part of the EG, but inside the homeoid, which is treated like a perturbing body. Steady-state solutions (libration points) are found for the GC, and its Lyapunov stability determined. The elliptical galaxies NGC 4472 (M49), NGC 4636, and NGC 4374, which contain a large number of GCs, are used as examples. Analysis of these galaxies shows that the exact expression for the potential of the luminous part of the EG must be used to find the libration points and study their stability, rather than an approximate expression for this potential.     

A correlation between dark matter and neutral hydrogen in spiral galaxies

We test the hypothesis put forward by Bosma (1981) that the surface density of dark matter is proportional to the surface density of HI, using decompositions of the rotation curves of a number of galaxies according to the THINGS, along with data for the galaxy NGC 6822. The rotation curves of these galaxies can be explained by assuming the existence of a massive gaseous disk in the absence of a dark halo, although the proportionality factor ??_dark/??_HI between the surface densities of dark matter and HI is different for different galaxies. However, there emerges the problem of the gravitational stability of galaxies whose stellar-velocity dispersions have been estimated, if the thickness of the dark-matter disk is similar to or less than the thickness of the stellar disk. The proportionality between ?? _dark and ??_HI is probably due to the fact that the radial profiles of ??_HI for galaxies with flat rotational curves are close to the critical density of a gravitationally stable gaseous layer (??_HI ?? R ^?1), and ??_dark(R) for a pseudo-isothermal halo obeys the same law.     

Numerical modeling of transient structures in the disks of spiral galaxies

Nonstationary gas-dynamical processes occuring in the disks of spiral galaxies due to the external gravitational field have been studied using numerical simulations. A series of hydrodynamical discontinuities, including strong shock fronts and contact discontinuities, arises as a result of the nonlinear, supersonic interaction between emerging spiral formations and the flow of matter in the two-armed global morphology.