Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992s%26t....83..515l&link_type=abstract
Sky and Telescope (ISSN 0037-6604), vol. 83, May 1992, p. 515-520.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Astrodynamics, Computerized Simulation, Elliptical Galaxies, Galactic Evolution, Galactic Structure, Spiral Galaxies, Astronomical Models, Big Bang Cosmology, Celestial Mechanics, Milky Way Galaxy
Scientific paper
The classic 'tuning-fork' classification scheme developed by Hubble is examined and the causes for the diversity in galaxies that produced the Hubble sequence are examined. Special attention is given to the question of why the dense ellipticals like NGC 4697 rotate considerably slower than the much more diffuse spirals like the NGC 2841 galaxy. Results of a computer simulation of galaxy formation showed that two systems with the same spin could be turned either into a diffuse rapidly rotating spiral or into a compact slowly rotating elliptical, due to differences in the initial conditions. If the collapse is smooth, then all the particles settle into a spiral disk, but if lumps are formed on small scales, they rattle around and transfer their spin outward to the dark matter; what is left is a slow-turning elliptical galaxy. Thus, the physical parameter that produced the Hubble sequence is believed to be the presence or absence of a small-scale structure during the collapse of a protogalaxy.
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