A. V. Zasov

Minimum velocity dispersion in stable stellar disks. Numerical simulations

N-body dynamical simulations are used to analyze the conditions for the gravitational stability of a three-dimensional stellar disk in the gravitational field of two rigid spherical components—a bulge and halo whose central concentrations and relative masses vary over wide ranges. The number of point masses N in the simulations varies from 40 to 500 000 and the evolution of the simulated systems is followed over 10–20 rotation periods of the outer edge of the disk. The initially unstable disks are heated and, as a rule, reach a quasi-stationary equilibrium with a steady-state radial-velocity dispersion cr over five to eight turns. The radial behavior of the Toomre stability parameter QT(r) for the final state of the disk is estimated. Simple models are used to analyze the dependence of the gravitational stability of the disk on the relative masses of the spherical components, disk thickness, degree of differential rotation, and initial state of the disk. Formal application of existing, analytical, local criteria for marginal stability of the disk can lead to errors in cr of more than a factor of 1.5. It is suggested that the approximate constancy of QT⋍1.2–1.5 for r⋍(1–2)×L (where L is the radial scale of disk surface density), valid for a wide range of models, can be used to estimate upper limits for the mass and density of a disk based on the observed distributions of the rotational velocity of the gaseous component and of the stellar velocity dispersion.

The orientation parameters and rotation curves of 15 spiral galaxies

We analyzed ionized gas motion and disk orientation parameters for 15 spiral galaxies. Their velocity fields were measured with the Ha emission line by using the Fabry-Perot interferometer at the 6 m telescope of SAO RAS. Special attention is paid to the problem of estimating the position angle of the major axis (PA 0 ) and the inclination (i) of a disk, which strongly affect the derived circular rotation velocity. We discuss and compare different methods of obtaining these parameters from kinematic and photometric observations, taking into account the presence of regular velocity (brightness) perturbations caused by spiral density waves. It is shown that the commonly used method of tilted rings may lead to systematic errors in the estimation of orientation parameters (and hence of circular velocity) being applied to galaxies with an ordered spiral structure. Instead we recommend using an assumption of constancy of i and PA 0 along a radius, to estimate these parameters. For each galaxy of our sample we present monochromatic He- and continuum maps, velocity fields of ionized gas, and the mean rotation curves in the frame of a model of pure circular gas motion. Significant deviations from circular motion with amplitudes of several tens of km s -1 (or higher) are found in almost all galaxies. The character and possible nature of the non-circular motion are briefly discussed.

The peculiar rotation curve of NGC 157

We present the results of a new H i, optical, and Hα interferometric study of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 157. Our combined C- and D-array observations with the VLA show a large-scale, ring-like structure in the neutral hydrogen underlying the optical disc, together with an extended, low surface density component going out to nearly twice the Holmberg radius. Beginning just inside the edge of the star-forming disc, the line of nodes in the gas disc commences a 60° warp, while at the same time, the rotation velocity drops by almost half its peak value of 200 km s−1, before levelling off again in the outer parts. While a flat rotation curve in NGC 157 cannot be ruled out, supportive evidence for an abrupt decline comes from the ionized gas kinematics, the optical surface photometry, and the global H i profile. A standard ‘maximum-disc’ mass model predicts comparable amounts of dark and luminous matter within NGC 157. Alternatively, a model employing a disc truncated at 2 disc scalelengths could equally well account for the unusual form of the rotation curve in NGC 157.

Stellar velocity dispersion and mass estimation for galactic disks

Available velocity dispersion estimates for the old stellar population of galactic disks at galactocentric distances r⋍2L (where L is the photometric radial scale length of the disk) are used to determine the threshold local surface density of disks that are stable against gravitational perturbations. The mass of the disk Md calculated under the assumption of its marginal stability is compared with the total mass Mt and luminosity LB of the galaxy within r=4L. We corroborate the conclusion that a substantial fraction of the mass in galaxies is probably located in their dark halos. The ratio of the radial velocity dispersion to the circular velocity increases along the sequence of galactic color indices and decreases from the early to late morphological types. For most of the galaxies with large color indices (B–V)0>0.75, which mainly belong to the S0 type, the velocity dispersion exceeds significantly the threshold value required for the disk to be stable. The reverse situation is true for spiral galaxies: the ratios Md/LB for these agree well with those expected for evolving stellar systems with the observed color indices. This suggests that the disks of spiral galaxies underwent no significant dynamical heating after they reached a quasi-equilibrium stable state.

Relationship between the thickness of stellar disks and the relative mass of a dark galactic halo

We analyze the R-and Ks-band photometric profiles for two independent samples of edge-on galaxies. The thickness of old stellar disks is shown to be related to the relative masses of the spherical and disk components of galaxies. The radial-to-vertical scale length ratio for galactic disks increases (the disks become thinner) with increasing total mass-to-light ratio of the galaxies, which reflects the relative contribution of the dark halo to the total mass, and with decreasing central deprojected disk brightness (density). Our results are in good agreement with numerical models of collisionless disks that evolved to a marginally stable equilibrium state. This suggests that, in most galaxies, the vertical stellar-velocity dispersion, on which the equilibrium-disk thickness depends, is close to a minimum value that ensures disk stability. The thinnest edge-on disks appear to be low-brightness galaxies in which the dark-halo mass far exceeds the stellar-disk mass.

Restoring the full velocity field in the gaseous disk of the spiral galaxy NGC 157

We analyse the line-of-sight velocity field of ionized gas in the spiral galaxy NGC 157 which has been obtained in the H\alpha emission at the 6m telescope of SAO RAS. The existence of systematic deviations of the observed gas velocities from pure circular motion is shown. A detailed investigation of these deviations is undertaken by applying a Fourier analysis of the azimuthal distributions of the line-of-sight velocities at different distances from the galactic center. As a result of the analysis, all the main parameters of the wave spiral pattern are determined: the corotation radius, the amplitudes and phases of the gas velocity perturbations at different radii, and the velocity of circular rotation of the disk corrected for the velocity perturbations due to spiral arms. At a high confidence level, the presence of the two giant anticyclones in the reference frame rotating with the spiral pattern is shown; their sizes and the localization of their centers are consistent with the results of the analytic theory and of numerical simulations. Besides the anticyclones, the existence of cyclones in residual velocity fields of spiral galaxies is predicted. In the reference frame rotating with the spiral pattern these cyclones have to reveal themselves in galaxies where a radial gradient of azimuthal residual velocity is steeper than that of the rotation velocity (abridged).

NGC 6340: an old S0 galaxy with a young polar disc. Clues from morphology, internal kinematics and stellar populations

Context. Lenticular galaxies are believed to form by a combination of environmental effects and secular evolution. Aims. We study the nearby disc-dominated S0 galaxy NGC 6340 photometrically and spectroscopically to understand the mechanisms of S0 formation and evolution in groups. Methods. We use SDSS images to build colour maps and the light profile of NGC 6340, which we decompose using a three-component model including Sersic and two exponential profiles. We also use Spitzer Space Telescope archival near-infrared images to study the morphology of regions containing warm interstellar medium and dust. Then, we re-process and re-analyse deep long-slit spectroscopic data for NGC 6340, applying a novel sky subtraction technique and recover its stellar and gas kinematics, distribution of age and metallicity with the NBursts full spectral fitting. Results. We obtain the profiles of internal kinematics, age, and metallicity out to >2 half-light radii. The three structural components of NGC 6340 are found to have distinct kinematic and stellar population properties. We see a kinematic misalignment between inner and outer regions of the galaxy. We confirm the old metal-rich centre and a wrapped inner gaseous polar disc (r ∼ 1 kpc) having weak ongoing star formation, counter-rotating in projection with respect to the stars. The central compact pseudo-bulge of NGC 6340 looks very similar to compact elliptical galaxies. Conclusions. In accordance with the results of numerical simulations, we conclude that the properties of NGC 6340 can be explained as the result of a major merger of an early-type galaxy and a spiral galaxy that occurred about 12 Gyr ago. The intermediate exponential structure might be a triaxial pseudo-bulge formed by a past bar structure. The inner compact bulge could be the result of a nuclear starburst triggered by the merger. The inner polar disc appeared recently, 1/3-1/2 Gyr ago, as a result of another minor merger or cold gas accretion.

Gravitational Stability and Dynamical Overheating of Galactic Stellar Disks

Stellar velocity dispersion data at galactocentric distance of two disk radial scale lengths (R = 2h), available in the literature allowed us to determine the upper limits of disk local surface densities at a given R and (by extrapolation) total masses of disks proceeding from the marginal gravitational stability condition. A comparison of the obtained disk masses with the photometric estimates based on the stellar population models indicates the absence of strong dynamical overheating inmost spiral galaxies and hence the absence of significant major merging events, which were able to heat dynamically the inner parts of disks. The same conclusion is valid for some of S0 galaxies. However, a significant part of the latter possesses stellar velocity dispersion, which exceeds the threshold value needed for gravitational stability. Dynamically overheated disks occur both among paired and isolated galaxies. Disk to total mass ratios within R = 4h found for marginally stable disks in most cases lie in the range 0.5–0.8 with the absence of the clearly defined correlation of this ratio with color index or morphological type.

A complex stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution in the lenticular galaxy NGC 524

Abstract We present a detailed study of the stellar and gaseous kinematics in the luminous early-type galaxy NGC 524, derived from the long-slit spectroscopic observations obtained with the Russian 6 m telescope and the IFU data from the SAURON survey. The stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) of NGC 524 exhibits strong asymmetry. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the LOSVD using two complementary approaches by the nbursts full spectral fitting technique: (a) a non-parametric LOSVD recovery and (b) a parametric recovery of two Gaussian kinematical components having different stellar populations. We discuss the origin of the complex stellar LOSVD of NGC 524.

On the mass and density of the stellar disk of M33

The disk surface density of the nearby spiral galaxy M33 is estimated assuming that it is marginally stable against gravitational perturbations. For this purpose we used the radial profile of line-of-sight velocity dispersion of the disk planetary nebulae obtained by Ciardullo et al. (2004). The surface density profile we obtained is characterized by the radial scalelength which is close to the photometrical one and is in a good agreement with the rotation curve of M33 and with the mass-to-light ratio which follows from the stellar population model. However at the galactocentric distance r > 7 kpc the dynamical overheating of the disk remains quite possible. The thickness of the stellar disk of M33 should increase outwards from the center. The dark halo to total mass ratio is estimated as a function of r. The effective oxygen yield obtained in the frame of instantaneous recycling approximation using the disk surface density and the observed gradient of O/H increases with radius. It may indicate that the role of accretion of metalpoor gas in the chemical evolution of interstellar medium decreases outwards.