Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Dec 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7989c&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #7989
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Hst Proposal Id #7989 Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Many physical processes are involved in the formation/evolution of one of the fundamental building-blocks of the Hubble sequence: the bulges. Detailed observations support theoretical predictions which attribute an important role to bar-driven infall of dissipative material toward the galaxy center. Under appropriate initial/physical conditions, nuclear activity can be a natural component of the general bulge formation process which fuels the center, and forms new bulge stellar populations. In turn, the growth and/or fueling of a central engine can drive strong secular evolution in the host bulges. The goal of our proposal is to use archival WFPC2/NICMOS photometry for 54 active Sa-Sc galaxies to: {1} determine the structural properties of their bulges, {2} study the connection between bulge properties and nuclear structure, and {3} compare the properties of ``active bulges'' with those of bulges of non-active galaxies of similar luminosities and Hubble types {available from our previous HST study}. Independent efforts are focussing on searches for circumnuclear structure, e.g., single/nested bars, to understand the mechanisms that fuel the central engines. These other studies will not provide the physical properties of the host bulges {e.g., shapes of light-profiles/isophotes, scale- lengths, nuclear cusps, densities}. Our study will fill this gap by establishing the properties of bulges as a function of activity, and will pave the road to a clearer understanding of the role of nuclear activity in the formation/evolution of bulges.
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