Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-11-02
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.Lett.366:L17-L21,2006
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1745-3933.2005.00122.x
The lifetime of the structure in grand design spiral galaxies is observationally ill-determined, but is essentially set by how accurately the pattern's rotation can be characterized by a single angular pattern speed. This paper derives a generalized version of the Tremaine-Weinberg method for observationally determining pattern speeds, in which the pattern speed is allowed to vary arbitrarily with radius. The departures of the derived pattern speed from a constant then provides a simple metric of the lifetime of the spiral structure. Application of this method to CO observations of NGC 1068 reveal that the pattern speed of the spiral structure in this galaxy varies rapidly with radius, and that the lifetime of the spiral structure is correspondingly very short. If this result turns out to be common in grand-design spiral galaxies, then these features will have to be viewed as highly transient phenomena.
Meidt Sharon E.
Merrifield Michael R.
Rand Richard J.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Lifetime of Grand Design 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 Lifetime of Grand Design, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Lifetime of Grand Design will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-639367