Related papers: The Stellar Kinematics of Extragalactic Bulges
We review current knowledge on the structure, properties and evolution of galactic bulges, considering particularly common preconceptions in the light of recent observational results.
Bulges are not just elliptical subgalaxies situated in the centers of large spirals. It might seem that way from their ages and chemistry, but bulge kinematics have been known to be different since the first long slit spectra were obtained.…
A historical review of our understanding of bulges is first presented, highlighting similarities and differences between bulges and ellipticals. Then, some topics of current interest are reviewed, bypassing stellar population questions and…
Historically, galactic bulges are thought to be elliptical galaxy-like objects sitting in the middle of a generally larger disk. There are, however, more and more claims that some bulges are much more similar to disks. John Kormendy has…
I briefly review early and recent progress concerning the dynamical properties of bulges. I also show results from a study on the kinematics of bulges and disks in edge-on galaxies, where the bulge rotation curve is obtained with little…
This is the summary chapter of a review book on galaxy bulges. Bulge properties and formation histories are more varied than those of ellipticals. I emphasize two advances: 1 - "Classical bulges" are observationally indistinguishable from…
The disks of galaxies are primarily stellar systems, and fundamentally dynamical entities. Thus, to fully understand galactic disks, we must study their stellar kinematics as well as their morphologies. Observational techniques have now…
This review summarizes the properties of the stellar population in bulges as observed in nearby or distant spiral galaxies. It gives a particular emphasis to the comparison with elliptical galaxies, when possible. The criteria of sample…
Our knowledge on the central components of disk galaxies has grown substantially in the past few decades, particularly so in the last. This frantic activity and the complexity of the subject promote confusion in the community. In these…
This review is focussed on the outer halos of elliptical galaxies. Its emphasis is on (i) planetary nebulae as test particles to trace the stellar kinematics at large radii, (ii) the observed angular momentum in elliptical galaxy halos and…
The structure, kinematics and dynamics of the Galactic stellar halo are reviewed including evidence of substructure in the spatial distribution and kinematics of halo stars. Implications for galaxy formation theory are subsequently…
Galactic globular clusters, which are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy, represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have taken place on time scales shorter than the age of the…
We present an overview of observational progress in the study of extragalactic globular cluster systems. Globular clusters turn out to be excellent tracers not only for the star-formation histories in galaxies, but also for kinematics at…
We model the evolution of the galactic bulge and of the bulges of a selected sample of external spiral galaxies, via the multiphase multizone evolution model. We address a few questions concerning the role of the bulges within galactic…
The knowledge of the intrinsic three-dimensional (3D) structure of galaxy components provides crucial information about the physical processes driving their formation and evolution. In this paper I discuss the main developments and results…
The last decade of research on elliptical galaxies has produced a wealth of new information concerning both their detailed structure and their global scaling relations. We review the old and new results about isophote shapes and…
Recent progress on the structure and dynamics of bulges is reviewed. Those aspects that link galaxy bulges either to oblate spheroids akin to elliptical galaxies or to rapidly-rotating, flattened systems more nearly resembling the products…
Until recently our knowledge of the Galactic Bulge stellar populations was based on the study of a few low extinction windows. Large photometric and spectroscopic surveys are now underway to map large areas of the bulge. They probe several…
Recent large scale surveys of galactic bulge stars allowed to build a detailed map of the bulge kinematics. The bulge exhibits cylindrical rotation consistent with a disky origin which evolved through bar driven secular evolution. However…
Galactic globular clusters are ancient building blocks of our Galaxy. They represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in which some fundamental dynamical processes have been taking place for more than 10 Gyr, but on time scales…