Related papers: Creation of Spiral Galaxies
Polar Ring Galaxies, such as NGC4650A, are a class of galaxy which have two kinematically distinct components that are inclined by almost 90 degrees to each other. These striking galaxies challenge our understanding of how galaxies form;…
The causes of spiral structure in galaxies remain uncertain. Leaving aside the grand bisymmetric spirals with their own well-known complications, here we consider the possibility that multi-armed spiral features originate from density…
Polar ring galaxies are flattened stellar systems with an extended ring of gas and stars rotating in a plane almost perpendicular to the central galaxy. We show that their formation can occur naturally in a hierarchical universe where most…
Like many galaxies of its size, the Milky Way is a disk with prominent spiral arms rooted in a central bar, although our knowledge of its structure and origin is incomplete. Traditional attempts to understand the Galaxy's morphology assume…
The globular cluster (GC) systems of the Milky Way and of our neighboring spiral galaxy, M31, comprise 2 distinct entities, differing in 3 respects. 1. M31 has young GCs, ages from ~100 Myr to 5 Gyr old, as well as old globular clusters. No…
A new view on our Galaxy has recently emerged, with large consequences on its formation scenarios. Not only new dwarf satellites have been detected, still orbiting and tidally disrupting, but also a multitude of stellar streams or tidal…
The flatness of the rotation curve inside spiral galaxies is interpreted as the imprint of a halo of invisible matter. Using the deepest observations of distant galaxies, we have investigated how large disks could have been formed.…
Most of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group were probably formed via environmental processes like the tidal interaction with the Milky Way. We study this process via N-body simulations of dwarf galaxies evolving on seven different…
We use a series of high-resolution N-body simulations of a `Milky-Way' halo, coupled to semi-analytic techniques, to study the formation of our own Galaxy and of its stellar halo. Our model Milky Way galaxy is a relatively young system…
We present a map of the spiral structure of the Galaxy, as traced by molecular CS emission associated with IRAS sources which are believed to be compact HII regions. The CS line velocities are used to determine the kinematic distances of…
Nuclear Star Clusters are observed at the center of many galaxies. In particular in the center of the Milky Way the Nuclear Star Cluster coexists with a cen- tral supermassive black hole. The origin of these clusters is still unknown; a…
Current ideas on the formation of the Galaxy are reviewed. Many of the observed characteristics of our Milky Way System are consistent with a scenario in which the Galaxy formed inside out, with the inner part of it evolving by rapid…
The first mechanism invoked to explain the existence of the thick disk in the Milky Way Galaxy, were the spiral arms. Up-to-date work summon several other possibilities that together seem to better explain this component of our Galaxy. All…
The central regions of galaxies show the presence of massive black holes and/or dense stellar systems. The question about their modes of formation is still under debate. A likely explanation of the formation of the central dense stellar…
Nuclear spirals naturally form as a gas response to non-axisymmetry in the galactic potential, even if the degree of this asymmetry is very small. Linear wave theory well describes weak nuclear spirals, but spirals induced by stronger…
Cosmologists have often considered the Milky Way as a typical spiral galaxy, and its properties have considerably influenced the current scheme of galaxy formation. Here we compare the general properties of the Milky Way disk and halo with…
The spiral arms spanning disk galaxies are believed to be created by density waves that propagate through galactic disks. We present a novel method of finding the co-rotation radius where the spiral arm pattern speed matches the velocities…
Gravitational lensing studies suggest that the Universe may contain a population of dark galaxies; we investigate this intriguing possibility and propose a mechanism to explain their nature. In this mechanism a dark galaxy is formed with a…
The internal evolution of disk galaxies like the Milky Way are driven by non-axisymmetries (bars) and the implied angular momentum transfer of the matter; baryons are essentially driven inwards to build a more concentrated disk. This mass…
The Milky Way galaxy is a typical spiral galaxy which consists of a black hole in its centre, a barred bulge and a disk which contains spiral arms. The complex structure of the Galaxy makes it extremely difficult and challenging to model…