Related papers: A Council of Giants
We measure the intrinsic shapes and alignments of the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies of the Local Group. We find the dSphs of the Milky Way are intrinsically flatter (mean intrinsic ellipticity $\mu_E\sim0.6$) than those of M31…
We investigate the large-scale structure of the local galaxy distribution using the recently completed 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). First, we determine the K-band number counts over the 4000 sq.deg. APM survey area where evidence for a…
We report a detailed investigation of the bulk motions of the nearby Galactic stellar disk, based on three samples selected from the LSS-GAC DR2: a global sample containing 0.57 million FGK dwarfs out to $\sim$ 2 kpc, a local subset of the…
We investigate the dynamical effects of a molecular cloud complex with a mass of about 10**7 M_sun and a size of a few 100 pc on the vertical distribution of stars and atomic hydrogen gas in a spiral galactic disc. Such massive complexes…
The processes that form and shape galaxy clusters, such as infall, mergers and dynamical relaxation, tend to generate distinguishable differences between the distributions of a cluster's giant and dwarf galaxies. Thus the dynamics of dwarf…
Thermal images of cold dust in the Central Molecular Zone of the Milky Way, obtained with the far-infrared cameras on-board the Herschel satellite, reveal a 3x10^7 solar masses ring of dense and cold clouds orbiting the Galactic Center.…
To reveal small galaxy groups in the Local Supercluster, a new approach is suggested which allows for individual properties of galaxies. The criterion is based on the assumption of closed motions of companions around the dominating group…
We use the clump giants of the disk as standard candles calibrated from Hipparcos parallaxes in order to map their distribution with two new near-IR surveys of the Galactic plane: UKIDSS-GPS and VVV. We explore different selection cuts of…
We derive the stellar rotation curve of the Galaxy in the range of Galactocentric radii of R=4-16 kpc at different vertical heights from the Galactic plane of z between -2 and +2 kpc. We used the PPMXL survey, which contains the USNO-B1…
Compact groups (CGs) of galaxies are extreme environments for morphological transformations and the cessation of star formation. Though initially considered isolated, it is now recognised that many CGs are embedded in larger structures. We…
We propose a new model for the origin and evolution of the Local Group of Galaxies (LGG) which naturally explains the formation of the Magellanic Clouds and their large orbital angular momenta around the Galaxy. The basic idea is that an…
I construct a near-IR star count map of the LMC and demonstrate, using the viewing angles derived in Paper I, that the LMC is intrinsically elongated. I argue that this is due to the tidal force from the Milky Way. The near-IR data from the…
In the standard (LCDM) model of cosmology the universe has emerged out of an early homogeneous and isotropic phase. Structure formation is associated with the growth of density irregularities and peculiar velocities. Our Local Group is…
The confinement of most satellite galaxies in the Local Group to thin planes presents a challenge to the theory of hierarchical galaxy clustering. The PAndAS collaboration has identified a particularly thin configuration with kinematic…
Axisymmetric disks of high eccentricity, low mass bodies on near-Keplerian orbits are unstable to an out-of-plane buckling. This "inclination instability" exponentially grows the orbital inclinations, raises perihelia distances and clusters…
Using traditional morphological classifications of galaxies in 10 intermediate-redshift (z~0.5) clusters observed with WFPC-2 on the Hubble Space Telescope, we derive relations between morphology and local galaxy density similar to that…
The unprecedented sky coverage and photometric uniformity of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) provides a rich resource for investigating the galaxies populating the local Universe. A full characterization of the large-scale clustering…
We confirm, quantify, and provide a table of the coherent velocity substructure of the Milky Way disk within 2 kpc of the Sun towards the Galactic anticenter, with 0.2 kpc resolution. We use the radial velocities of ~340,000 F-type stars…
A randomly chosen star in today's Universe is most likely to live in a galaxy with a stellar mass between that of the Milky Way and Andromeda. Yet it remains uncertain how the structural evolution of these bulge-disk systems proceeded. Most…
To study systematically the evolution on the angular extents of the galaxy, ICM, and dark matter components in galaxy clusters, we compiled the optical and X-ray properties of a sample of 340 clusters with redshifts $<0.5$, based on all the…