arXiv subjects

Chanda J. Jog

Publications and source records attributed to Chanda J. Jog.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2014

Suppression of gravitational instabilities by dominant dark matter halo in low surface brightness galaxies

The low surface brightness galaxies are gas-rich and yet have a low star formation rate, this is a well-known puzzle. The spiral features in these galaxies are weak and difficult to trace, although this aspect has not been studied much. These galaxies are known to be dominated by the dark matter halo from the innermost regions. Here we do a stability analysis for the galactic disc of UGC 7321, a low surface brightness, superthin galaxy, for which the various observational input parameters are available. We show that the disc is stable against local, linear axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric perturbations. The Toomre Q parameter values are found to be large (>> 1) mainly due to the low disc surface density and the high rotation velocity resulting due to the dominant dark matter halo, which could explain the observed low star formation rate. For the stars-alone case, the disc shows finite swing amplification but the addition of dark matter halo suppresses that amplification almost completely. Even the inclusion of the low-dispersion gas which constitutes a high disc mass fraction does not help in causing swing amplification. This can explain why these galaxies do not show strong spiral features. Thus the dynamical effect of a halo that is dominant from inner regions can naturally explain why star formation and spiral features are largely suppressed in low surface brightness galaxies, making these different from the high surface brightness galaxies.

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arXiv2013

Q criterion for disc stability modified by external tidal field

The standard Q criterion (with Q > 1) describes the local stability of a disc supported by rotation and random motion. Most astrophysical discs, however, are under the influence of an external gravitational field which can affect their stability. A typical example is a galactic disc embedded in a dark matter halo. Here we do a linear perturbation analysis for a disc in an external field, and obtain a generalized dispersion relation and a modified stability criterion. An external field has two effects on the disc dynamics: first, it contributes to the unperturbed rotational field, and second, it adds a tidal field term in the stability parameter. A typical disruptive tidal field results in a higher modified Q value and hence leads to a more stable disc. We apply these results to the Milky Way, and to a low surface brightness galaxy UGC 7321. We find that in each case the stellar disc by itself is barely stable and it is the dark matter halo that stabilizes the disc against local, axisymmetric gravitational instabilities. This result has been largely missed so far because in practice the value for Q for a galactic disc is obtained in a hybrid fashion using the observed rotational field that is set by both the disc and the halo, and hence is higher than for a pure disc.

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arXiv2013

Jeans instability criterion modified by external tidal field

The well-known Jeans criterion describes the onset of instabilities in an infinite, homogeneous, self-gravitating medium supported by pressure. Most realistic astrophysical systems, however, are not isolated - instead they are under the influence of an external field such as the tidal field due to a neighbour. Here we do a linear perturbation analysis for a system in an external field, and obtain a generalized dispersion relation that depends on the wavenumber, the sound speed, and also the magnitude of the tidal field. A typical, disruptive tidal field is shown to make the system more stable against perturbations, and results in a higher effective Jeans wavelength. The minimum mass that can become unstable is then higher (super-Jeans) than the usual Jeans mass. Conversely, in a compressive tidal field, perturbations can grow even when the mass is lower (sub-Jeans). This approach involving the inclusion of tidal field opens up a new way of looking at instabilities in gravitating systems. The treatment is general and the simple analytical form of the modified Jeans criterion obtained makes it easily accessible.

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arXiv2013

Dynamics of prolate spheroidal mass distributions with varying eccentricity

In this paper we calculate the potential for a prolate spheroidal distribution as in a dark matter halo with a radially varying eccentricity. This is obtained by summing up the shell-by-shell contributions of isodensity surfaces, which are taken to be concentric and with a common polar axis and with an axis ratio that varies with radius. Interestingly, the constancy of potential inside a shell is shown to be a good approximation even when the isodensity contours are dissimilar spheroids, as long as the radial variation in eccentricity is small as seen in realistic systems. We consider three cases where the isodensity contours are more prolate at large radii, or are less prolate, or have a constant eccentricity. Other relevant physical quantities like the rotation velocity, the net orbital and vertical frequency due to the halo and an exponential disc of finite thickness embedded in it are obtained. We apply this to the kinematical origin of Galactic warp, and show that a prolate shaped halo is not conducive to making long-lived warps - contrary to what has been proposed in the literature. The results for a prolate mass distribution with a variable axis ratio obtained are general, and can be applied to other astrophysical systems such as prolate bars, for a more realistic treatment.

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arXiv2012

Why are some galaxy disks extremely thin?

Some low surface brightness galaxies are known to have extremely thin stellar disks with the vertical to planar axes ratio 0.1 or less, often referred to as superthin disks. Although their existence is known for over three decades, the physical origin for the thin distribution is not understood. We model the stellar thickness for a two-component (gravitationally coupled stars and gas) disk embedded in a dark matter halo, for a superthin galaxy UGC 7321 which has a dense, compact halo, and compare with a typical dwarf galaxy HoII which has a non-compact halo. We show that while the presence of gas does constrain the disk thickness, it is the compact dark matter halo which plays the decisive role in determining the superthin disk distribution in low-mass disks. Thus the compact dark matter halo significantly affects the disk structure and this could be important for the early evolution of galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Progressively more prolate dark matter halo in the outer Galaxy as traced by flaring HI gas

A galactic disk in a spiral galaxy is generally believed to be embedded in an extended dark matter halo, which dominates its dynamics in the outer parts. However, the shape of the halo is not clearly understood. Here we show that the dark matter halo in the Milky Way Galaxy is prolate in shape. Further, it is increasingly more prolate at larger radii, with the vertical-to-planar axis ratio monotonically increasing to 2.0 at 24 kpc. This is obtained by modeling the observed steeply flaring atomic hydrogen gas layer in the outer Galactic disk, where the gas is supported by pressure against the net gravitational field of the disk and the halo. The resulting prolate-shaped halo can explain several long-standing puzzles in galactic dynamics, for example, it permits long-lived warps thus explaining their ubiquitous nature.

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arXiv2011

Theoretical determination of HI vertical scale heights in the dwarf galaxies: DDO 154, HoII, IC2574 & NGC2366

In this paper, we model dwarf galaxies as a two-component system of gravitationally coupled stars and atomic hydrogen gas in the external force field of a pseudo-isothermal dark matter halo, and numerically obtain the radial distribution of {H\,{\sc i}} vertical scale heights. This is done for a group of four dwarf galaxies (DDO\,154, Ho\,II, IC\,2574 and NGC\,2366) for which most necessary input parameters are available from observations. The formulation of the equations takes into account the rising rotation curves generally observed in dwarf galaxies. The inclusion of self-gravity of the gas into the model at par with that of the stars results in scale heights that are smaller than what was obtained by previous authors. This is important as the gas scale height is often used for deriving other physical quantities. The inclusion of gas self-gravity is particularly relevant in the case of dwarf galaxies where the gas cannot be considered a minor perturbation to the mass distribution of the stars. We find that three out of four galaxies studied show a flaring of their {H\,{\sc i}} disks with increasing radius, by a factor of a few within several disk scale lengths. The fourth galaxy has a thick {H\,{\sc i}} disk throughout. This arises as a result of the gas velocity dispersion remaining constant or decreasing only slightly while the disk mass distribution declines exponentially as a function of radius.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

Results from PAMELA, ATIC and FERMI : Pulsars or Dark Matter ?

It is well known that the dark matter dominates the dynamics of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Its constituents remain a mystery despite an assiduous search for them over the past three decades. Recent results from the satellite-based PAMELA experiment detect an excess in the positron fraction at energies between 10-100 GeV in the secondary cosmic ray spectrum. Other experiments namely ATIC, HESS and FERMI show an excess in the total electron (\ps + \el) spectrum for energies greater 100 GeV. These excesses in the positron fraction as well as the electron spectrum could arise in local astrophysical processes like pulsars, or can be attributed to the annihilation of the dark matter particles. The second possibility gives clues to the possible candidates for the dark matter in galaxies and other astrophysical systems. In this article, we give a report of these exciting developments.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2010

Response of a galactic disc to vertical perturbations : Strong dependence on density distribution

We study the self-consistent, linear response of a galactic disc to non-axisymmetric perturbations in the vertical direction as due to a tidal encounter, and show that the density distribution near the disc mid-plane has a strong impact on the radius beyond which distortions like warps develop. The self-gravity of the disc resists distortion in the inner parts. Applying this approach to a galactic disc with an exponential vertical profile, Saha & Jog showed that warps develop beyond 4-6 disc scalelengths, which could hence be only seen in HI. The real galactic discs, however, have less steep vertical density distributions that lie between a sech and an exponential profile. Here we calculate the disc response for such a general sech^(2/n) density distribution, and show that the warps develop from a smaller radius of 2-4 disc scalelengths. This naturally explains why most galaxies show stellar warps that start within the optical radius. Thus a qualitatively different picture of ubiquitous optical warps emerges for the observed less-steep density profiles. The surprisingly strong dependence on the density profile is due to the fact that the disc self-gravity depends crucially on its mass distribution close to the mid-plane. General results for the radius of onset of warps, obtained as a function of the disc scalelength and the vertical scaleheight, are presented as contour plots which can be applied to any galaxy.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

The slowing down of galaxy disks in dissipationless minor mergers

We have investigated the impact of dissipationless minor galaxy mergers on the angular momentum of the remnant. Our simulations cover a range of initial orbital characteristics and the system consists of a massive galaxy with a bulge and disk merging with a much less massive (one-tenth or one-twentieth) gasless companion which has a variety of morphologies (disk- or elliptical-like) and central baryonic mass concentrations. During the process of merging, the orbital angular momentum is redistributed into the internal angular momentum of the final system; the internal angular momentum of the primary galaxy can increase or decrease depending on the relative orientation of the orbital spin vectors (direct or retrograde), while the initially non-rotating dark matter halo always gains angular momentum. The specific angular momentum of the stellar component always decreases independent of the orbital parameters or morphology of the satellite, the decrease in the rotation velocity of the primary galaxy is accompanied by a change in the anisotropy of the orbits, and the ratio of rotation speed to velocity dispersion of the merger remnant is lower than the initial value, not only due to an increase in the dispersion but also to the slowing -down of the disk rotation. We briefly discuss several astrophysical implications of these results, suggesting that minor mergers do not cause a "random walk" process of the angular momentum of the stellar disk component of galaxies, but rather a steady decrease. Minor mergers may play a role in producing the large scatter observed in the Tully-Fisher relation for S0 galaxies, as well as in the increase of the velocity dispersion and the decrease in $v/σ$ at large radii as observed in S0 galaxies.

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arXiv2009

Dark matter dominance at all radii in the superthin galaxy UGC 7321

We model the shape and density profile of the dark matter halo of the low surface brightness, superthin galaxy UGC 7321, using the observed rotation curve and the HI scale height data as simultaneous constraints. We treat the galaxy as a gravitationally coupled system of stars and gas, responding to the gravitational potential of the dark matter halo. An isothermal halo of spherical shape with a core density in the range of 0.039 - 0.057 M_sun/pc^3 and a core radius between 2.5 - 2.9 kpc, gives the best fit to the observations for a range of realistic gas parameters assumed. We find that the best-fit core radius is only slightly higher than the stellar disc scale length (2.1 kpc), unlike the case of the high surface brightness galaxies where the halo core radius is typically 3-4 times the disc scale length of the stars. Thus our model shows that the dark matter halo dominates the dynamics of the low surface brightness, superthin galaxy UGC 7321 at all radii, including the inner parts of the galaxy.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2009

The Milky Way's dark matter halo appears to be lopsided

The atomic hydrogen gas (HI) disk in the outer region (beyond ~10 kpc from the centre) of Milky Way can provide valuable information about the structure of the dark matter halo. The recent 3-D thickness map of the outer HI disk from the all sky 21-cm line LAB survey, gives us a unique opportunity to investigate the structure of the dark matter halo of Milky Way in great detail. A striking feature of this new survey is the North-South asymmetry in the thickness map of the atomic hydrogen gas. Assuming vertical hydrostatic equilibrium under the total potential of the Galaxy, we derive the model thickness map of the HI gas. We show that simple axisymmetric halo models, such as softened isothermal halo (producing a flat rotation curve with V_c ~ 220 km/s) or any halo with density falling faster than the isothermal one, are not able to explain the observed radial variation of the gas thickness. We also show that such axisymmetric halos along with different HI velocity dispersion in the two halves, cannot explain the observed asymmetry in the thickness map. Amongst the non-axisymmetric models, it is shown that a purely lopsided (m=1, first harmonic) dark matter halo with reasonable HI velocity dispersion fails to explain the North-South asymmetry satisfactorily. However, we show that by superposing a second harmonic (m=2) out of phase onto a purely lopsided halo e.g. our best fit and more acceptable model A (with parameters ε_{h}^{1}=0.2, ε_{h}^{2}=0.18 and σ_{HI}=8.5 km/s) can provide an excellent fit to the observation and reproduce the North-South asymmetry naturally. The emerging picture of the asymmetric dark matter halo is supported by the ΛCDM halos formed in the cosmological N-body simulation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2008

Pattern Speed of Lopsidedness in Galactic Disks

The disks of spiral galaxies commonly show a lopsided mass distribution, with a typical fractional amplitude of 10 % for the Fourier component m=1. This is seen in both stars and gas, and the amplitude is higher by a factor of two for galaxies in a group. The study of lopsidedness is a new topic, in contrast to the extensively studied bars and two-armed spirals (m=2). Here, first a brief overview of the observations of disk lopsidedness is given, followed by a summary of the various mechanisms that have been proposed to explain its physical origin. These include tidal interactions, gas accretion, and a global instability. The pattern speed of lopsidedness in a real galaxy has not been measured so far, the various issues involved will be discussed. Theoretical studies have shown that the m=1 slow modes are long-lived, while the modes with a moderate pattern speed as triggered in interactions, last for only about a Gyr. Thus a measurement of the pattern speed of lopsided distribution will help identify the mechanism for its origin.

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arXiv2008

Lopsided Spiral Galaxies

The light distribution in the disks of many galaxies is non-axisymmetric or `lopsided' with a spatial extent much larger along one half of a galaxy than the other, as in M101. Recent near-IR observations show that lopsidedness is common. The stellar disks in nearly 30 % of galaxies have significant lopsidedness, greater than 10 % measured as the Fourier amplitude of the m=1 component normalized to the average value. This asymmetry is traced particularly well by the atomic hydrogen gas distribution lying in the outer parts. The lopsidedness also occurs in the nuclear regions, where the nucleus is offset with respect to the outer isophotes. The galaxies in a group environment show higher lopsidedness. The origin of lopsidedness could be due to the disk response to a tidally distorted halo, or via gas accretion. The lopsidedness has a large impact on the dynamics of the galaxy, its evolution, the star formation in it, and on the growth of the central black hole and on the nuclear fueling, merging of binary black holes etc. The disk lopsidedness can be used as a diagnostic to study the halo asymmetry. This is an emerging area in galactic structure and dynamics. In this review, the observations to measure the lopsided distribution, as well as the theoretical progress made so far to understand its origin and properties, and the related open problems will be discussed. (abridged).

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arXiv2008

The Flattened Dark Matter Halo of M31 as Deduced from the Observed HI Scale Heights

In this paper, we use the outer-galactic HI scale height data as well as the observed rotation curve as constraints to determine the halo density distribution of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). We model the galaxy as a gravitationally-coupled system of stars and gas, responding to the external force-field of a known Hernquist bulge and the dark matter halo, the density profile of the latter being characterized by four free parameters. The parameter space of the halo is optimized so as to match the observed HI thickness distribution as well as the rotation curve on an equal footing, unlike the previous studies of M31 which were based on rotation curves alone. We show that an oblate halo, with an isothermal density profile, provides the best fit to the observed data. This gives a central density of 0.011 M_sun /pc^3, a core radius of 21 kpc, and an axis ratio of 0.4. The main result from this work is the flattened dark matter halo for M31, which is required to match the outer galactic HI scale height data. Interestingly, such flattened halos lie at the most oblate end of the distribution of halo shapes found in recent cosmological simulations.

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arXiv2007

Multiple minor mergers: formation of elliptical galaxies and constraints for the growth of spiral disks

Multiple, sequential mergers are unavoidable in the hierarchical build-up picture of galaxies, in particular for the minor mergers that are frequent and highly likely to have occured several times for most present-day galaxies. However, the effect of repeated minor mergers on galactic structure and evolution has not been studied systematically so far. We present a numerical study of multiple, subsequent, minor galaxy mergers, with various mass ratios ranging from 4:1 to 50:1. The N-body simulations include gas dynamics and star formation. We study the morphological and kinematical properties of the remnants, and show that several so-called "minor" mergers can lead to the formation of elliptical-like galaxies that have global morphological and kinematical properties similar to that observed in real elliptical galaxies. The properties of these systems are compared with those of elliptical galaxies produced by the standard scenario of one single major merger. We thus show that repeated minor mergers can theoretically form elliptical galaxies without major mergers, and can be more frequent than major mergers, in particular at moderate redshift. This process must then have formed some elliptical galaxies seen today, and could in particular explain the high boxiness of massive ellipticals, and some fundamental relations observed in ellipticals. In addition, because repeated minor mergers, even at high mass ratios, destroy disks into spheroids, these results indicate that spiral galaxies cannot have grown only by a succession of minor mergers.

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arXiv2007

Lopsidedness and Sloshing in Centres of Advanced Mergers of Galaxies

We measure the non-axisymmetry in the luminosity distribution in the central few kpc of a sample of advanced mergers of galaxies, by analyzing their 2MASS images. All mergers show a high central asymmetry: the centres of isophotes show a striking sloshing pattern with a spatial variation of upto 30 % within the central 1 kpc; and the Fourier amplitude for lopsidedness (m=1) shows high values upto 0.2 within the central 5 kpc. The central asymmetry is estimated to be long-lived, lasting for ~ a few Gyr or ~ 100 local dynamical timescales. This will significantly affect the dynamical evolution of this region, by helping fuel the central active galactic nucleus, and also by causing the secular growth of the bulge driven by lopsidedness.

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arXiv2007

The origin of steep vertical stellar distribution in the Galactic disk

Over the past two decades observations have revealed that the vertical density distribution of stars in galaxies near the mid-plane is substantially steeper than the sech^2 function that is expected from an isothermal approximation. However, the physical origin for this has not been explained so far. Here we show that such steep profiles result naturally even within the isothermal regime, on taking into account the gravitational force due to the gas. Due to its low velocity dispersion the gas is concentrated closer to the galactic mid-plane than the stars, and hence it strongly affects the vertical stellar distribution even though its contribution to the total surface density is small. We apply a three-component galactic disk model consisting of gravitationally coupled stars and the HI and H_2 gas, embedded in the dark matter halo, and calculate the vertical density distribution of stars for the Galaxy. The resulting vertical density distribution of stars is shown to be steeper than the sech^2 function, and lies between the sech and an exponential function, in good agreement with observations of galaxies. We also show that a multi-component stellar disk consisting of coupled dwarfs and two populations of giants does not explain the observed steep stellar profiles.

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