Central Mass Concentration and Bar Dissolution in Nearby Spiral Galaxies
Astrophysics
2009-11-07 v1
Abstract
We use data from the BIMA Survey of Nearby Galaxies (SONG) to investigate the relationship between ellipticity and central mass concentration in barred spirals. Existing simulations predict that bar ellipticity decreases as inflowing mass driven by the bar accumulates in the central regions, ultimately destroying the bar. Using the ratio of the bulge mass to the mass within the bar radius as an estimate of the central mass concentration, we obtain dynamical mass estimates from SONG CO 1-0 rotation curve data. We find an inverse correlation between bar ellipticity and central mass concentration, consistent with simulations of bar dissolution.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0208467,
title = {Central Mass Concentration and Bar Dissolution in Nearby Spiral Galaxies},
author = {Mousumi Das and Peter J. Teuben and Stuart N. Vogel and Michael W. Regan and Kartik Sheth and Andrew I. Harris and William H. Jefferys},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0208467},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
10 pages, 2 figures and 2 tables, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal