Related papers: The Galactic Bar
Gravitational Lensing is a UNIQUE tool to constrain the mass distribution of collapsed structures, this is particularly true for galaxies, either on a case by case basis using multiple images of background sources (such as quasars), or…
Strong gravitational lensing and stellar dynamics provide two complementary and orthogonal constraints on the density profiles of galaxies. Based on spherically symmetric, scale-free, mass models, it is shown that the combination of both…
We use Schwarzschild's orbit-superposition technique to construct self-consistent models of the Galactic bar. Using $\chi^2$ minimisation, we find that the best-fit Galactic bar model has a pattern speed $\Omega_{\rm p}=60 \rm{km s^{-1}…
Galactic disks lie at the heart of many of the most pressing astrophysical puzzles. There are sophisticated kinetic theories that describe some aspects of galaxy disk dynamics, but extracting quantitative predictions from those theories has…
This paper describes a method for quantitatively comparing an N-body model with a sample of discrete kinematic data. The comparison has two stages: (i) finding the optimum scaling and orientation of the model relative to the data; and (ii)…
A review of the present observational and theoretical status of elliptical galaxies is presented with the aim to clarify whether the monolithic or the hierarchical, is a more viable scenario for the origin of these structures. We describe…
We present a review on bar pattern speeds from preliminary results in the context of the Nuclei of Galaxies (NUGA) project. The large variety of molecular circumnuclear morphologies found in NUGA is a challenging result that implies the…
Context: The number of known strong gravitational lenses is expected to grow substantially in the next few years. The statistical combination of large samples of lenses has the potential of providing strong constraints on the inner…
The dynamical stability and evolution of disc galaxies with different disc thickness as well as various fraction and concentration of stellar counter-rotation is investigated with self-consistent numerical simulations. In particular,…
We select a sample of galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 (SDSS-DR7) where galaxies are classified, through visual inspection, as hosting strong bars, weak bars or as unbarred galaxies, and make use of HI mass and…
I review the properties of the Galaxy's stellar halo, specifically as traced by horizontal branch stars, but with reference to and in comparison with other stellar tracers. I discuss the halo density profile, the variation in horizontal…
MHD Turbulence is a critical component of the current paradigms of star formation, particle transport, magnetic reconnection and evolution of the ISM. Progress on this difficult subject is made via numerical simulations and observational…
One of the challenges related to stellar bars is to accurately determine the length of the bar in a disc galaxy. In the literature, a wide variety of methods have been employed to measure the extent of a bar. However, a systematic study on…
Galaxies represent the visible fabric of the Universe and there has been considerable progress recently in both observational and theoretical studies. The underlying goal is to understand the present-day diversity of galaxy forms, masses…
We study dynamics of bars in models of disk galaxies embeded in realistic dark matter halos. We find that disk thickness plays an important, if not dominant, role in the evolution and structure of the bars. We also make extensive numerical…
I set the stage for discussion of the stellar populations in interacting galaxies by looking back over the slow development of our understanding of these systems. From early anecdotal collections, to systematic cataloging, and finally to…
The Milky Way disc presents a warp, a flare, lopsidedness and other deviations from a purely axisymmetrical double exponential density component, both for the stellar and the gas component. Moreover, recent large-scale extended kinematics…
Recent progress in the dynamical analysis of elliptical galaxy kinematics is reviewed. Results reported briefly include (i) the surprisingly uniform anisotropy structure of luminous ellipticals, (ii) their nearly flat (to $\sim 2R_e$)…
Observations of circumstellar disks around stars as a function of stellar properties such as mass, metallicity, multiplicity, and age, provide constraints on theories concerning the formation and evolution of planetary systems. Utilizing…
We present evidence of bar-induced secular evolution in galactic discs using 3.6 ${\mu m}$ images of nearby galaxies from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G). We find that among massive galaxies ($M_{star}/M_{sun}>…