Related papers: Bulges or Bars from Secular Evolution?
Using high resolution N-body simulations of stellar disks embedded in cosmologically motivated dark matter halos, we study the evolution of bars and the transfer of angular momentum between halos and bars. We find that dynamical friction…
After presenting three ways of defining a bulge component in disc galaxies, we introduce the various types of bulges, namely the classical bulges, the boxy/peanut bulges and the disc-like bulges. We then discuss three specific topics linked…
Recent progress in the understanding of the role of bars and gravitational instabilities in galaxy disks is reviewed. It has been proposed that bars can produce mass transfer towards the center, and progressively metamorphose late-type…
We show by numerical simulations that a purely stellar dynamical model composed of an exponential disc, a cuspy bulge, and an NFW halo with parameters relevant to the Milky Way Galaxy is subject to bar formation. Taking into account the…
By using $N$-body and hydro simulations, we study the formation and evolution of bars in galaxies with significant gas content focusing on the phenomenon of the buckling instability. The galaxies are initially composed of a spherical dark…
We investigate the evolution of star-forming gas-rich disks, using a 3D chemodynamical model including a dark halo, stars, and a two-phase interstellar medium with feedback processes from the stars. We show that galaxy evolution proceeds…
This work examines the evolution of bar formation in disk galaxies over the last 6 giga-years by analyzing the barred galaxy fraction as a function of key structural parameters. A representative sample of local and distant field galaxies…
Most giant spiral galaxies have pseudo or disk-like bulges that are considered to be the result of purely secular processes. This may challenge the hierarchical scenario predicting about one major merger per massive galaxy ($>$$3\times…
This paper describes a framework for studying galaxy morphology, particularly bar strength, in a quantitative manner, and presents applications of this approach that reveal observational evidence for secular evolution in bar morphology. The…
The majority of disk galaxies manifest spirals and/or bars that are believed to result from dynamical instabilities. However, some galaxies have featureless disks, which are therefore inferred to be dynamically stable. Yet despite many…
The influence of central black holes on the dynamical evolution of bars in disk galaxies is examined. In particular, we use numerical simulation to estimate the minimum mass black hole (BH) needed to destroy a bar. Initially, bars form in…
We determine central values and radial trends in the stellar populations of the bulges of a sample of 28 edge-on S0-Sb disk galaxies, 22 of which are boxy/peanut-shaped (and therefore barred). Our principal findings are the following. (1)…
Observational and theoretical evidence that internal, slow ("secular") evolution reshapes galaxy disks is reviewed in Kormendy & Kennicutt (2004, ARAA, 42, 603). This update has three aims. First, I emphasize that this evolution is very…
The well-known bar instability of rotationally-supported disk galaxy models has been studied extensively since its first discovery over half a century ago. We were therefore very surprised to find cases of disks embedded in rigid halos,…
Several recent studies indicate that bulges are more complex than merely structureless relaxed stellar systems. We study the HST images of a sample of 130 nearby early type (S0-Sab) disc galaxies and detect pure structureless bulges with…
Dynamical evolution of spiral galaxies is strongly dependent on non-axisymmetric patterns that develop from gravitational instabilities, either spontaneously or externally triggered. Some evolutionary sequences are described through which a…
We have done a robust statistical analysis of UBV color profiles of 257 Sbc barred and unbarred galaxies. We found that there is an excess of barred galaxies among the objects with null or positive (bluish inward) color gradients, which…
Young stellar bars in disk galaxies experience a vertical buckling instability which terminates their growth and thickens them, resulting in a characteristic peanut/boxy shape when viewed edge on. Using N-body simulations of galactic disks…
We present line strengths in the bulges and inner disks of 38 galaxies in the local universe, including several galaxies whose bulges were previously identified as being disk-like in their colors or kinematics, to see if their spectral…
Recent observational constraints restrict the strict applicability of stellar dynamics in spirals to a few rotation periods. However, stellar dynamics concepts such as periodic orbits are invaluable for understanding the various dynamical…