Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jun 1991
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991a%26a...246...32v&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 246, no. 1, June 1991, p. 32-38.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
18
Accretion Disks, Elliptical Galaxies, H Ii Regions, Star Formation, Astronomical Photometry, Charge Coupled Devices, Color-Magnitude Diagram
Scientific paper
The discovery of blue condensations in the exceptionally gas-rich elliptical galaxy NGC 5173 is reported. The condensations represents about one percent of the total blue light of the galaxy and have luminosities, sizes, and colors typical of giant H II regions. They appear to be distributed in an off-centered disk that coincides with the neutral hydrogen disk rather than the optical light of the galaxy. The distribution is most suggestive of two tightly wound spiral arms with a radial extent of 3.5 to 9.5 kpc. This is the first time that giant blue condensations on such a large scale have been found in an elliptical galaxy. There are no optical traces of dust. It is shown that the conditions in NGC 5173 are close to the threshold required for the onset of large-scale gravitational instability of the gas. This may account for the observed star formation. The large surface density of gas required for gravitational instability presumably precludes similar star formation in most other early-type galaxies because they are less gas-rich. It is proposed that the gas in NGC 5173 is the remnant of an LMC-like galaxy accreted about 10 to the 9th yr ago.
Vader Patricia J.
Vigroux Laurant
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