The bulge of M 104 - Stellar content and kinematics

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

21

Galactic Bulge, Kinematics, Spiral Galaxies, Absorption Spectra, Astronomical Photometry, Astronomical Spectroscopy, Galactic Rotation, Infrared Photometry, Metallicity, Radial Velocity

Scientific paper

Optical and NIR surface photometry of the bulge of M 104, the Sombrero Galaxy, is presented. From these data we have determined the radial variations of colors along the minor axis. We also present absorption line strength gradients of a number of metal lines and molecular bands. The bulge of M 104 is getting bluer with increasing radius in all colors and the strength of all measured absorption lines is decreasing. These results are consistent with metallicity (Fe/H) of the stars in the bulge being higher than solar in the center, (Fe/H) roughly 0.4, and decreasing outwards at a rate of roughly 0.3 per decade in radius. We find that the nuclear regions of M 104 show emission lines and the presence of dust. Stellar radial velocity profiles along the major and minor axis of the galaxy are presented. We confirm the presence of rotation along the minor axis. As an explanation we suggest that the rapidly rotating inner disk in this galaxy is tilted with respect to the equatorial plane. Both the major and minor axis velocity curves are found to be asymmetric with respect to the photometric center. Finally it is argued that the presented data support the similarity of the bulge of M 104 with giant elliptical galaxies.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

The bulge of M 104 - Stellar content and kinematics 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 The bulge of M 104 - Stellar content and kinematics, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The bulge of M 104 - Stellar content and kinematics will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1271778

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.