On the curvature of dustlanes in galactic bars

Details On the curvature of dustlanes in galactic bars On the curvature of dustlanes in galactic bars

2009-10-30

arxiv.org/abs/0910.5843v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics

5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, Letters

Scientific paper

We test the theoretical prediction that the straightest dust lanes in bars are found in strongly barred galaxies, or more specifically, that the degree of curvature of the dust lanes is inversely proportional to the strength of the bar. The test used archival images of barred galaxies for which a reliable non-axisymmetric torque parameter (Qb) and the radius at which Qb has been measured (r(Qb)) have been published in the literature. Our results confirm the theoretical prediction but show a large spread that cannot be accounted for by measurement errors. We simulate 238 galaxies with different bar and bulge parameters in order to investigate the origin of the spread in the dust lane curvature versus Qb relation. From these simulations, we conclude that the spread is greatly reduced when describing the bar strength as a linear combination of the bar parameters Qb and the quotient of the major and minor axis of the bar, a/b. Thus we conclude that the dust lane curvature is predominantly determined by the parameters of the bar.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

On the curvature of dustlanes in galactic bars does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with On the curvature of dustlanes in galactic bars, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and On the curvature of dustlanes in galactic bars will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-89645