Related papers: The inner Galactic bulge: evidence for a nuclear b…

The intrinsic photometric properties of inner and outer stellar bars within 17 double-barred galaxies are thoroughly studied through a photometric analysis consisting of: i) two-dimensional multi-component photometric decompositions, and…

New observations in favour of a significant role of secular evolution are reviewed: central star formation boosted in pseudo-bulge barred galaxies, relations between bulge and disk, evidence for rejuvenated bulges. Numerical simulations…

Using simulations of box/peanut- (B/P-) shaped bulges, we explore the nature of the X-shape of the Milky Way's bulge. An X-shape can be associated with a B/P-shaped bulge driven by a bar. By comparing in detail the simulations and the…

Studies of the ages, abundances, and motions of individual stars in the Milky Way provide one of the best ways to study the evolution of disk galaxies over cosmic time. The formation of the Milky Way's barred inner region in particular is a…

We show that direct detection and measurement of the vertically thickened parts of bars (so-called "boxy" or "peanut-shaped" bulges) is possible not only for edge-on galaxies but also for galaxies with moderate inclinations (i < 70 deg),…

It has recently been discovered that the Galactic bulge is X-shaped, with the two southern arms of the X both crossing the lines of sight at l=0 and |b|>4, hence producing a double red clump (RC) in the bulge CMD. Dynamical models predict…

Kn-band imaging of a sample of 30 edge-on spiral galaxies with a boxy or peanut-shaped (B/PS) bulge is discussed. Galaxies with a B/PS bulge tend to have a more complex morphology than galaxies with other bulge types, unsharp-masked images…

We present a deep near-infrared wide-angle photometric analysis of the structure of the inner Galactic bar and central disk. The presence of a triaxial structure at the centre of the Galaxy is confirmed, consistent with a bar inclined at…

We analyzed the distribution of the RC stars throughout Galactic bulge using 2MASS data. We mapped the position of the red clump in 1 sq.deg. size fields within the area |l|<=8.5deg and $3.5deg<=|b|<=8.5deg, for a total of 170 sq.deg. The…

We comment on the recent paper by Martinez-Valpuesta & Gerhard (arXiv:1105.0928, 2011), who suggest, as an alternative to the bulge + long bar hypothesis in the inner 4 kpc of our Galaxy, a single boxy-bulge structure with a twisted major…

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 dynamical stability and evolution of disc galaxies with different disc thickness as well as various fraction and concentration of stellar counter-rotation is investigated with self-consistent numerical simulations. In particular,…

Formation process(es) of galactic bulges are not yet clarified although several mechanisms have been proposed. In a previous study, we suggested one possibility that galactic bulges have been formed from the cold gas inflowing through…

Galactic bars are unstable to a vertical buckling instability which heats the disk and in some cases forms a boxy/peanut shaped bulge. We analyze the buckling instability as an application of classical Euler buckling followed by nonlinear…

In this work, we study the formation and chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge with particular focus on the abundance pattern ([Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H]), metallicity and age distribution functions. We consider detailed chemical evolution…

We investigate the evolution of two bars formed in fully self-consistent hydrodynamic simulations of the formation of Milky Way-mass galaxies. One galaxy shows higher central mass concentration and has a longer and stronger bar than the…

Until now, observations have caught up only a handful of galaxies in ongoing buckling action. Interestingly, N-body simulations over the past several decades show that almost every bar buckles or vertically thickens as soon as it reaches…

We study the connection between the large-scale dynamics and the gas fueling toward a central black hole via the analysis of a Milky Way-like simulation at sub-parsec resolution. This allows us to follow a set of processes at various scales…

The presence of two red clumps (RCs) in high latitude fields of the Milky Way bulge is interpreted as evidence for an X-shaped structure originated from the bar instability. Here we show, however, that this double RC phenomenon is more…

Secular evolution gradually shapes galaxies by internal processes, in contrast to early cosmological evolution which is more rapid. An important driver of secular evolution is the flow of gas from the disk into the central regions, often…