H I synthesis observations of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4278

Details H I synthesis observations of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4278 H I synthesis observations of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4278

Jun 1981

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1981apj...246..708r&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 246, June 15, 1981, p. 708-721. Research supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

107

Elliptical Galaxies, Galactic Structure, Hydrogen Clouds, Radio Sources (Astronomy), Astronomical Models, Centimeter Waves, Galactic Radiation, Galactic Rotation, Gravitational Effects, Hydrogen Atoms, Interstellar Gas, Radio Telescopes, Spatial Distribution, Velocity Distribution

Scientific paper

The hydrogen-rich elliptical galaxy NGC 4278 has been mapped in 21 cm line radiation with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. The hydrogen is distributed in an irregular ring within the optical galaxy with a minimum diameter of 15 kpc. The velocity field of the gas is rather regular and indicates ordered rotation about the central galaxy. However, the kinematic major and minor axes deviate from perpendicularity by 15 deg, indicating that noncircular motions are present. The new data confirm previous conclusions that the rotation of the outer gaseous ring is not coplanar with the rotation of the inner optical galaxy. The apparent skewing of the kinematic major and minor axes is most easily accounted for by assuming that the gas moves in oval orbits in a barred potential field. However, because the outer gas does not rotate like the inner galaxy, the origin of such a bar is uncertain. Alternatively, it may be a transient, nonequilibrium configuration resulting from the recent capture of a gas cloud or a dwarf irregular galaxy. A warp model and a model based on a tidal perturbation are also considered but look less attractive at the present time.

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