Related papers: Uncovering Spiral Structure in Flocculent Galaxies

We present results from a wide-field imaging study of the globular cluster (GC) systems of a sample of edge-on, Sb-Sc spiral galaxies ~7-20 Mpc away. This study is part of a larger survey of the ensemble properties of the GC populations of…

Striking regularities are found in the northwestern arm of the M31 galaxy. Star complexes located in this arm are all spaced 1.2 kpc apart and have similar sizes of about 0.6 kpc. Within the same arm region Beck et al. (1989) detected a…

We present optical and IR surface photometry of M99 (NGC 4254) at g, r_S i, J and K'. We also present a K' image of M51 (NGC 5194) for comparison. Fourier decomposition of the disk light reveals that the radial distribution of power depends…

The generation of spiral arms and the mechanisms controlling their properties within a realistic cosmological framework - the complete understanding is still beyond our grasp. Using a statistically significant sample of Milky Way- and…

More than a dozen young stars host spiral arms in their surrounding protoplanetary disks. The excitation mechanisms of such arms are under debate. The two leading hypotheses -- companion-disk interaction and gravitational instability (GI)…

We have imaged a sample of 20 face-on spiral galaxies in H\alpha and in the near-IR K-band (2.2 microns), in order to determine the location and strength of star formation with respect to perturbations in the old stellar population. We…

Context: Several spiral galaxies, as beautifully exhibited by the case of NGC 6946, display a prominent large-scale spiral structure in their gaseous outer disk. Such structure is often thought to pose a dynamical puzzle, because…

Intermediate-scale spurs are common in spiral galaxies, but perhaps most distinctively evident in a recent HST image of M51 (Scoville & Rector 2001). We investigate, using time-dependent numerical MHD simulations, how such spurs could form…

Spiral arm structures seen in scattered light observations of protoplanetary disks can potentially serve as signposts of planetary companions. They can also lend unique insights into disk masses, which are critical in setting the mass…

We study three Arp' systems of peculiar galaxies: Arp 42 (NGC 5829), Arp 82 (NGC 2535/36) and Arp 58 (UGC 4457), using the long-slit spectral observations carried out at the 6m telescope BTA of Special Astrophysical Observatory. Arp 82 and…

The structure of spiral galaxies is essential to understanding the dynamics and evolution of disk galaxies; however, the precise nature of spiral arms remains uncertain. Two challenges in understanding the mechanisms driving spirals are how…

In 2008 it was reported that the stellar stream of the edge-on spiral NGC5907 loops twice around the galaxy, enveloping it in a giant corkscrew-like structure. Here we present imaging of this iconic object with the Dragonfly Telephoto…

Context: Because of our viewing point within the Galactic disc, it is extremely difficult to observe the spiral structure of the Milky Way. Aims: To clarify the structure of the Galaxy by re-examination of gas distributions and data from…

In this paper I describe numerical calculations of the motion of particles in a disk about a solar-mass object perturbed by a planet on a circular orbit with mass greater than 0.001 of the stellar mass. A simple algorithm for simulating…

We present a deep (50 hours exposed) image of the nearby spiral galaxy M 63 (NGC 5055), taken with a 0.14-m aperture telescope. The galaxy halo exhibits the known very faint system of stellar streams extending across 110 kpc. We found 5…

We have examined star formation in two very luminous (M_V=-22 to -23) Sc-type spiral galaxies, NGC 801 and UGC 2885, using ultra-deep Halpha images. We combine these with UBV and 2MASS JHK images and HI maps to explore the star formation…

Understanding the nature of spiral structure in disk galaxies is one of the main, and still unsolved questions in galactic astronomy. However, theoretical works are proposing new testable predictions whose detection is becoming feasible…

We present optical and IR surface photometry of M51 (NGC~5194) at B~V~R~I~J~K and CO$(2.3\mu )$. These data are used to establish whether K-band ($2.2\mu$) images of spiral galaxies provide reliable maps of stellar surface mass density…

Combining 3D smoothed-particle hydrodynamics and Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculations, we examine the morphology of spiral density waves induced by gravitational instability (GI) in protoplanetary disks, as they would appear in…

We investigate how the properties of spiral arms relate to other fundamental galaxy properties, including bars and disc breaks. We use previously published measurements of those properties, and our own measurements of arm and bar contrasts…