Related papers: Near-exponential surface densities as hydrostatic,…
Previously, we showed that surface density profiles of the form of a power-law times a Sersic function satisfy the hydrostatic Jeans equations, a variety of observational constraints, and the condition of a minimal radial entropy profile in…
We show, using the N-body code GADGET-2, that stellar scattering by massive clumps can produce exponential discs, and the effectiveness of the process depends on the mass of scattering centres, as well as the stability of the galactic disc.…
Previous models have shown that stochastic scattering of stars in a two-dimensional galaxy disc can generate a time-independent surface density distribution that is an exponential divided by radius when a constant inward scattering bias is…
Stellar scattering off of orbiting or transient clumps is shown to lead to the formation of exponential profiles in both surface density and velocity dispersion in a two-dimensional non-self gravitating stellar disk with a fixed halo…
We show that the stellar surface-brightness profiles in disc galaxies---observed to be approximately exponential---can be explained if radial migration efficiently scrambles the individual stars' angular momenta while conserving the…
Stellar scattering off irregularities in a galaxy disk has been shown to make an exponential radial profile, but no fundamental reason for this has been suggested. Here we show that exponentials are mathematically expected from random…
Holes and clumps in the interstellar gas of dwarf irregular galaxies are gravitational scattering centers that heat field stars and change their radial and vertical distributions. Because the gas structures are extended and each stellar…
Scattering of stars by interstellar clouds or massive clumps increases the stellar velocity dispersion and promotes a radial disk profile that is exponential. Here we show that such scattering reaches a steady-state distribution function of…
We use a disk galaxy evolution model to investigate whether galaxies with exponential surface brightness profiles can be produced in a cosmologically motivated framework for disk galaxy formation. Our model follows the accretion, cooling,…
The stellar surface mass density profiles at the centers of typical ~L* and lower-mass spheroids exhibit power law 'cusps' with $\Sigma \propto R^(-n)$, where 0.5<n<1 for radii ~1-100 pc. Observations and theory support models in which…
Viscous redistribution of mass in Milky Way-type galactic disks is an appealing way of generating an exponential stellar profile over many scale lengths, almost independent of initial conditions, requiring only that the viscous timescale…
We present the results of a simple numerical model with phenomenological cloud growth and explosive disruption processes, and with fountain launched ballistic motions of disrupted cloud fragments out of the disk. These processes generate an…
The radial density profiles of stellar galaxy discs can be well approximated as an exponential. Compared to this canonical form, however, the profiles in the majority of disc galaxies show downward or upward breaks at large radii.…
The disk components of galaxies generally show an exponential profile extending over several scale lengths, both in mass and star-formation rate, but the physical origin is not well understood. We explore a physical model in which the…
We investigate the stellar disk properties of a sample of 19 nearby spiral galaxies with low inclination and late Hubble type (Scd or later). We combine our high-resolution HST I-band observations with existing ground-based optical images…
Using imaging data from the SDSS survey, we present the g' and r' radial stellar light distribution of a complete sample of ~90 face-on to intermediate inclined, nearby, late-type (Sb-Sdm) spiral galaxies. The surface brightness profiles…
Star formation in galaxies is triggered by a combination of processes, including gravitational instabilities, spiral wave shocks, stellar compression, and turbulence compression. Some of these persist in the far outer regions where the…
Based on sensitive CO measurements from HERACLES and HI data from THINGS, we show that the azimuthally averaged radial distribution of the neutral gas surface density (Sigma_HI + Sigma_H2) in 33 nearby spiral galaxies exhibits a…
The Lin and Pringle model (1987) of galactic disk formation postulates that if star formation proceeds on the same timescale as the viscous redistribution of mass and angular momentum in disk galaxies, then the stars attain an exponential…
We suggest and verify a new photometric method enabling derivation of relative thickness of a galactic disk from two-dimensional surface-brightness distribution of the galaxy in the plane of the sky. The method is applied to images of 45…