The Nucleus of M31: From Stratoscope to HST

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Scientific paper

An early and enduring contribution of Martin Schwarzschild to dynamical astronomy was the observation of the nucleus of M31 on the final flight of Stratoscope II. The data showed for the first time the asymmetry of the nuclear light distribution, and set the stage for later HST observations,which resolved the nucleus into two peaks. We briefly review dynamical studies of the M31 nucleus since Stratoscope. We then present new kinematic profiles derived from a 7-orbit spectrum taken with the HST/FOC f/48 long-slit spectrograph, with the slit across the double nucleus. The resulting rotation curve is strongly asymmetric, with the velocity extrema and center of rotation aligning with neither brightness peak, and total rotation amplitude more than 200 km/s on either side of the mean velocity. The velocity dispersion profile is also asymmetric, peaking near the negative rotation extremum, and significantly higher on the P2 side of the nucleus than the P1 side. We conclude with a preliminary discussion of the implications for dynamical models.

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