Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21932304s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #323.04
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Spiral arm pattern speeds are measured for a small sample of nearby spiral galaxies to determine if their patterns are rigidly rotating waves. The method for measuring the pattern speed consists of solving the Tremaine - Weinberg equations for a pattern speed that is allowed to vary with radius. To determine if a pattern is rigidly rotating, the goodness of fit for a solution using a constant pattern speed model is compared with the goodness of fit for solutions using alternative models that are functions of radius. The alternative models provide a better fitting solution in every case. Plots of the alternative models more closely resemble the speed of the material than they do the speed of a rigidly rotating wave. Plots of the alternative models also show that there are no clear indications of unique locations for wave resonances that are predicted by some theories. These results imply that spiral patterns are recurring transient features because this would explain the abundance of spiral patterns that are observed while avoiding the winding dilemma for material arms.
Speights Jason
Westpfahl David
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