Submillimetre imaging of NGC 3079

Submillimetre mapping observations of the active edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 3079 are presented. These maps at 850 and 450 μm were made with the Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT).
The source structure at these wavelengths consists of a central unresolved source embedded in diffuse disc emission, similar to that displayed at 1.2 mm. The disc emission is fitted with two optically thin, isothermal dust models which give temperatures of 12 and 31 K, similar to those derived previously by Braine et al. The core component is well described by a single-temperature fit (∼32 K). The combined dust mass from these observations, using the same mass absorption coefficient as Devereux & Young (1990) is 3.5×10⁸ M_⊙, of which ∼90 per cent resides in the cold component of the galactic disc. The effect of the cold dust component detected by SCUBA is thus to reduce the global gas-to-dust mass ratio from ∼1400 found in the above study to 85, very similar to the Galactic level. Calculations using the models of Draine & Lee and/or alternative molecular gas mass estimates yield gas-to-dust mass ratios in the range 60–190.
The data presented here, together with previously published 1.2-mm mapping observations and IRAS data, are inconsistent with detections made with the Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ). In particular, the latter give an excess of flux at 200 and 180 μm relative to that predicted by our simple model fits (approximately a factor of 2–3).     

The optical polarization of spiral galaxies

Scattering of starlight by dust, molecules and electrons in spiral galaxies will produce a modification of the direct intensity and a polarization in the observed light. We treat the case where the distribution of scatterers can be considered to be optically thin, and derive semi-analytic expressions for the resolved intensity and polarized intensity for Thomson, Rayleigh, and more general scattering mechanisms. These expressions are applied to a parametric model for spiral galaxies. It is further shown that in the case of Thomson and Rayleigh scattering, and when scatterers and stars are distributed with rotational symmetry, the total polarized flux depends on the inclination, i , of the galactic axis to the line of sight according to a simple sin²  i law. This generalizes the well-known result for point-like and spherical light sources. By using a method based on spherical harmonics, we generalize this law for more general mechanisms, and show that to good approximation, the sin²  i law still holds for the class of models considered.     

Some statistical properties of spiral galaxies along the Hubble sequence

A statistical study has been made for the variations along the Hubble sequence, os such parameters as the degree of tightness of winding of spiral arm λ, the pitch angle μ, the flatness of the disk H/D₂₅ and the thickness H along the Hubble sequence for 365 spiral galaxies published in A&Ap Supplement Series. The mean values of these quantities for the various Hubble types have been obtained for the first time. The results of the statistics show clearly 1) that the Hubble classification of spiral galaxies is one which has only a qualitative and statistical significance, and 2) that the dispersion relation in the density wave theory is valid for most spiral galaxies, i.e., the arms of most spiral galaxies satisfy the requirements of being tightly wound.     

高阶引力理论及其在星系旋转 曲线中应用的可能性

介绍了建立高阶引力理论（该理论用以修正爱因斯坦广义相对论）的物理背景,并讨论了暗物质问题。对几种主要高阶引力理论及其解作了评述,并尝试在不必假定暗物质存在的情况下,用高阶引力理论解决有关星系旋转曲线的困难。但令人遗憾的是,至今还没有一个理论取得完全的成功。指出了解决这一问题面临的困难,并建议寻找新的高阶引力理论。     

Vorontsov-Velyaminov rows: Straight segments in the spiral arms of galaxies

The phenomenon of rows—straight features in the spiral patterns of galaxies, which was discovered by Vorontsov-Velyaminov, is investigated. The rows are not artifacts; in several cases, they outline regular spiral arms almost over their entire lengths. The galaxies M 101, M 51, and a number of more distant spirals are used as examples to demonstrate major geometrical and physical properties of these structures. It is shown that the row lengths increase nearly linearly with distance from the disk center, and that the angle between adjacent rows is almost always close to 2π/3. The galaxies with rows generally belong to moderate-luminosity Sbc-Sc systems with low rotational velocities, regular spiral patterns (Grand Design), and an H I content normal for these types of galaxies. Two types of rows are shown to exist, which differ in thickness and appear to be evolutionarily related. The formation mechanism of the rows should probably be sought in the peculiar behavior of the gas-compression wave in spiral density waves.     

X线选射电噪活动星系核的多波段性质

基于被ROSAT全天区巡天观测和射电4．85GHz巡天观测同时探测到的活动星系核的大样本,研究了X射线选的射电噪活动星系核的多波段性质．通过分析该样本中的活动星系核的宽波段能量分布,确认了来自射电、光学和X射线波段的辐射光度之间的显著相关性．这种相关性对于类星体、赛弗特、蝎虎座天体和射电星系是有区别的．同时,探讨了从光学到X射线波段之间的谱指数与红移以及5000A和4．85GHz处的单色光度的相关性．     

旋涡星系随Hubble序列的一些统计性质

对发表在Ａ＆ＡｐＳｕｐｐｌｅｍｅｎｔ Ｓｅｒｉｅｓ上３６５个旋涡星系的一些参数（如表示旋臂缠卷松紧程度的参数Λ、切向角ｕ、盘的扁度Ｈ／Ｄ２５以及厚度等）随Ｈｕｂｂｌｅ序列变化的关系进行了统计研究。首次得到这些参量的平均值;并且从统计结果可以明显地看到Ｈｕｂｂｌｅ对旋涡星系的分类只是一种定性的、只有统计意义上的分类;另外,从我们的统计结果看,密度波理论的色散关系对大多数旋涡星系是成立的,即大多数旋涡     

The cosmological dependence of galactic specific angular momenta

Hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy formation in spatially flat cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies with and without a cosmological constant (Λ) are described. A simple star formation algorithm is employed and radiative cooling is allowed only after redshift z =1 so that enough hot gas is available to form large, rapidly rotating stellar discs if angular momentum is approximately conserved during collapse. The specific angular momenta of the final galaxies are found to be sensitive to the assumed background cosmology. This dependence arises from the different angular momenta contained in the haloes at the epoch when the gas begins to collapse and the inhomogeneity of the subsequent halo evolution. In the Λ-dominated cosmology, the ratio of stellar specific angular momentum to that of the dark matter halo (measured at the virial radius) has a median value of ∼0.24 at z =0. The corresponding quantity for the Λ=0 cosmology is over three times lower. It is concluded that the observed frequency and angular momenta of disc galaxies pose significant problems for spatially flat CDM models with Λ=0 but may be consistent with a Λ-dominated CDM universe.     

The line-of-sight velocity distributions of simulated merger remnants

We use Gauss–Hermite functions to study the line-of-sight velocity distributions in simulated merger remnants. Our sample contains 16 remnants; eight produced by mergers between disc galaxies of equal mass, and eight produced by mergers between disc galaxies with mass ratios of 3:1. The equal-mass mergers display a wide range of kinematic features, including counterrotation at large radii, orthogonally rotating cores and misaligned rotational axes. Most of the unequal-mass remnants exhibit fairly regular disc-like kinematics, although two have kinematics more typical of the equal-mass remnants. Our results may be compared with observations of early-type objects, including ellipticals with misaligned kinematic axes, counterrotating systems and S0 galaxies.