Related papers: Andromeda chained to the Box -- Dynamical Models f…
We test the evolution of the correlation between black hole mass and bulge velocity dispersion (M$_{\rm BH}-\sigma$), using a carefully selected sample of 14 Seyfert 1 galaxies at $z=0.36\pm0.01$. We measure velocity dispersion from stellar…
The correlation between the maximum rotational velocity of the disk (v_m) and the central stellar velocity dispersion of the bulge (sigma) offers insights into the relationship between the halo and the bulge. We have assembled integrated H…
In the most prominent current scenario of galaxy formation, galaxies form hierarchically through the merger of smaller systems. Such mergers could leave behind dynamical signatures which may linger long after the event. In particular, the…
We investigate the clustering of early-type stars younger than 300 Myr on galactic scales in M31. Based on the stellar photometric catalogs of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury program that also provides stellar parameters derived…
As part of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) multi-cycle program, we observed a 12' \times 6.5' area of the bulge of M31 with the WFC3/UVIS filters F275W and F336W. From these data we have assembled a sample of \sim4000…
We present stellar dynamical models of the lopsided, double-peaked nucleus of M31, derived from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) photometry. A Schwarzscild-type method, in conjunction with Richardson-Lucy deconvolution, was employed to…
We confirm our earlier tentative detection of M31* in X-rays and measure its light-curve and spectrum. Observations in 2004-2005 find M31* rather quiescent in the X-ray and radio. However, X-ray observations in 2006-2007 and radio…
Deep interferometric observations of CO and dust continuum emission are obtained with the Sub-Millimeter Array (SMA) at 230 GHz to investigate the physical nature of the giant molecular cloud (GMC) population in the Andromeda galaxy (M31).…
We study the two main constituent galaxies of a constrained simulation of the Local Group as candidates for the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31). We focus on the formation of the stellar discs and its relation to the formation of the…
I discuss several aspects of secular evolution linked to bars and to boxy/peanut bulges, based on a very large number of high resolution, fully self-consistent $N$-body simulations. When the bar forms, it is as thin as the disc. Its…
The majority of massive disk galaxies, including our own, have stellar bars with vertically thick inner regions -- so-called "boxy/peanut-shaped" (B/P) bulges. The most commonly suggested mechanism for the formation of B/P bulges is a…
We construct orbit-based axisymmetric dynamical models for the globular cluster M15 which fit groundbased line-of-sight velocities and Hubble Space Telescope line-of-sight velocities and proper motions. This allows us to constrain the…
We have obtained Herschel images at five wavelengths from 100 to 500 micron of a ~5.5x2.5 degree area centred on the local galaxy M31 (Andromeda), our nearest neighbour spiral galaxy, as part of the Herschel guaranteed time project "HELGA".…
The Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey is a survey of $>400$ square degrees centered on the Andromeda (M31) and Triangulum (M33) galaxies that has provided the most extensive panorama of a $L_\star$ galaxy group to large projected…
By exploiting two ACS/HST datasets separated by a temporal baseline of ~7 years, we have determined the relative stellar proper motions (providing membership) and the absolute proper motion of the Galactic globular cluster M71. The absolute…
According to our current knowledge about physical and dynamical properties of the Milky Way-M31 system, it seems likely that these two galaxies will collide and eventually merge in a time very sensitive to initial conditions. Using the…
An outstanding question is whether the $\alpha$/Fe bimodality exists in disk galaxies other than in the Milky Way. Here we present a bimodality using our state-of-the-art galactic chemical evolution models that can explain various…
We present a systematic observational study of the relationship between bars and boxy/peanut-shaped (B/PS) bulges. We first review and discuss proposed mechanisms for their formation, focussing on accretion and bar-buckling scenarios. Using…
The class `bulges' contains objects with very different formation and evolution paths and very different properties. I review two types of `bulges', the boxy/peanut bulges (B/Ps) and the discy bulges. The former are parts of bars seen…
The results of a spectroscopic and photometric investigation of the central region of M 31 are presented. An analysis of absorption-index radial profiles involving magnesium, calcium, and iron lines has shown that the unresolved nucleus of…