Related papers: Dating Secular Evolution: Bar Ages from Stellar Ki…
We have done a detailed study on the structural and kinematical properties of lenticular and early- and late-type spiral galaxies with bars, aiming to explore the formation and evolution processes of stellar bars in galaxies, and their…
New observations in favour of a significant role of secular evolution are reviewed: central star formation boosted in pseudo-bulge barred galaxies, relations between bulge and disk, evidence for rejuvenated bulges. Numerical simulations…
Once galaxies settle their discs and become self-gravitating, stellar bars can form, driving the subsequent evolution of their host galaxy. Determining the ages of bars can therefore shed light on the epoch of the onset of secular…
Secular evolution gradually shapes galaxies by internal processes, in contrast to early cosmological evolution which is more rapid. An important driver of secular evolution is the flow of gas from the disk into the central regions, often…
In an effort to obtain further observational evidences for secular evolution processes in galaxies, as well as observational constraints to current theoretical models of secular evolution, we have used BVRI and Ks images of a sample of 18…
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…
In an effort to elevate to higher grounds our understanding on the impact of the formation and evolution of bars in the formation and evolution of galaxies, we have developed a diagnostic tool to distinguish between recently formed and…
Recent analysis of stellar populations in barred galaxies have focused on the spatial distribution of stellar population ages and metallicities. However, barred galaxies are complex objects where dynamical instabilities play a leading role…
Ages are key to truly understand a large plethora of astrophysical phenomena. On the other hand, stellar clusters are open windows to understand stellar evolution, specifically, the change with time and mass of different stellar properties.…
Much progress has been achieved in the age-dating of old stellar systems, and even of individual stars in the field, in the more than sixty years since the evolution of low-mass stars was first correctly described. In this paper, I provide…
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…
Stellar bars are important internal drivers of secular evolution in disk galaxies. Using a sample of nearby spiral galaxies with weak and strong bars, we explore the relationships between the star formation feature and stellar bars in…
The life of disk galaxies is likely punctuated with the birth (spontaneous or induced), the aging (quick or slow), and the death (sudden or progressive) of bars. These events are responsible for various major changes of the galaxy which…
Estimating ages for stars is difficult at best, but Galactic problems have their own requirements that go beyond those for other areas of astrophysics. As in other areas, asteroseismology is helping, and in this review I discuss some of the…
I present results from the modeling of stellar bars in nearly 300 barred galaxies in the local universe through parametric multi-component multi-band image fitting. The surface brightness radial profile of bars is described using a Sersic…
In order to perform a detailed study of the stellar kinematics in the vertical axis of bars, we obtained high signal-to-noise spectra along the major and minor axes of the bars in a sample of 14 face-on galaxies, and used them to determine…
I review both well established and more recent findings on the properties of bars, and their host galaxies, stemming from photometric and spectroscopic observations, and discuss how these findings can be understood in terms of a global…
Classical bulges and stellar bars are common features in disk galaxies and serve as key tracers of galactic evolution. Angular momentum exchange at bar resonances drives secular morphological changes throughout the disk, including bar…
We use high resolution collisionless $N$-body simulations to study the secular evolution of disk galaxies and in particular the final properties of disks that suffer a bar and perhaps a bar-buckling instability. Although we find that bars…
This is the first paper of a series aimed to understand the formation and evolution of bars in early-type spirals and their influence in the evolution of the galaxy. Optical long-slit spectra along the major axis of the bar of a sample of…