Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20921104m&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #211.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The recent modification to the model-independent Tremaine-Weinberg (TW) method of pattern speed estimation (Merrifield, Rand & Meidt 2006) in which Ωp is allowed radial variation promises to be an invaluable resource for tests of theories of long-lived density waves and for understanding the connection, if any, between bar and spiral pattern speeds. Whereas the standard TW calculation poses a challenge for extracting multiple distinct or radially varying pattern speeds in that it associates information from a range of radii with a single, constant pattern speed, the modified calculation, discretized for numerical solution, provides radially binned estimates for Ωp (also from measurements of observables). The nature of the discretized calculation, however, presents numerical solutions that are highly susceptible to fluctuations as a result of compounded noise in the data. Here, we introduce regularization as a means of smoothing intrinsically noisy solutions, as well as in order to test model solutions of different radial dependence. We perform tests of the Modified Tremaine-Weinberg Method (TWR) with regularization on three simulated galaxy data sets (a spiral, a barred spiral and a double-barred spiral) and find that the TWR method is able to distinguish between constant, linear, and quadratically varying pattern speeds, and in all cases, can be used to extract solutions good to within 20% of the pattern speeds known to exist therein.
Debattista Victor P.
Meidt Sharon
Merrifield Michael R.
Rand Richard J.
Shen Janice
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