Related papers: Why (inner) bars are important but not sufficient
For a long time, gravitational instability in the disk of planetesimals has been suspected to be the main engine responsible for the beginning of dust growth, its advantage being that it provides for rapid growth. Its real importance in…
The problem of how some disk galaxies avoid forming bars remains unsolved. Many galaxy models having reasonable properties continue to manifest vigorous instabilities that rapidly form strong bars and no widely-accepted idea has yet been…
With the prime aim of better probing and understanding the intimate link between star formation activity and the presence of bars, a representative sample of 32 non-interacting late-type galaxies with well-determined bar properties has been…
Bars are considered an efficient mechanism for transporting gas toward the central regions of galaxies, potentially enhancing nuclear activity. However, the extent to which bars influence active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and whether their…
We discuss the efficiency of stellar gravity torques as a mechanism to account for the feeding of the central engines of four low luminosity AGN: NGC4321, NGC4826, NGC4579 and NGC6951. These galaxies have been observed as part of the NUGA…
About one third of early-type barred galaxies host small-scale secondary bars. The formation and evolution of such double-barred galaxies remain far from being well understood. In order to understand the formation of such systems, we…
Recent advances in observational techniques and theoretical modelling of galaxy kinematics allow us to use more than just optical morphology to discern the structure and dynamics of galaxies. Here, we show for three barred galaxies (UGC…
Dynamical interactions between colliding spiral galaxies strongly affect the state and distribution of their interstellar gas. Observations indicate that interactions funnel gas toward the nuclei, fueling bursts of star formation and…
The central kpc of barred galaxies exhibits a wealth of morphological information on different components with clear dynamical consequences. These include nuclear rings, spirals, bars, and more. We argue that this morphology is driven by…
We report idealized simulations that mimic the growth of galaxy disks embedded in responsive halos and bulges. The disks manifested an almost overwhelming tendency to form strong bars that we found very difficult to prevent. We found that…
Using hydrodynamic simulations, we investigate the physical properties of gaseous substructures in barred galaxies and their relationships with the bar strength. The gaseous medium is assumed to be isothermal and unmagnetized. The bar…
The distribution of gravitational torques and bar strengths in the local Universe is derived from a detailed study of 163 galaxies observed in the near-infrared. The results are compared with numerical models for spiral galaxy evolution. It…
Galactic bars are the most important driver of secular evolution in galaxies. They can efficiently drive gas into the central kiloparsec of galaxies, thus feed circumnuclear starbursts, and possibly help to fuel AGN. The connection between…
I review some of the work on bars which is closely linked to the bar/bulge system in our Galaxy. Several independent studies, using totally independent methods, come to the same results about the 3D structure of a bar, i.e., that a bar is…
The high luminosity displayed by an active galactic nucleus (AGN) requires that gas be transported to the centre of the galaxy by some mechanism. Bar-driven processes are often pointed out in this context and a number of studies have…
Observations at multiple wavelengths are reviewed to search for evidence for fueling mechanisms in galaxies, both for nuclear starbursts and AGN activity. Although it is undisputed that dynamical perturbations such as bars or tidal…
We study the influence of the presence of a strong bar in disc galaxies which host an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and morphological classifications from the Galaxy Zoo 2 project, we create a…
Galaxy interactions/mergers, gravitational instabilities and density waves, such as bars, are frequently invoked to trigger starbursts. These mechanisms have been explored through numerical simulations, with the help of various star…
Most models of double-barred galaxies suggest that a molecular gas component is crucial for maintaining long-lived nuclear bars. We have undertaken a CO survey in an attempt to determine the gas content of these systems and to locate double…
Stellar bars are a common feature in massive disc galaxies. On a theoretical ground, the response of gas to a bar is generally thought to cause nuclear starbursts and, possibly, AGN activity once the perturbed gas reaches the central…