arXiv subjects

G. Bertin

Publications and source records attributed to G. Bertin.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv1999

Analytical properties of the R^(1/m) luminosity law

In this paper we describe some analytical properties of the R^{1/m} law proposed by Sersic (1968) to categorize the photometric profiles of elliptical galaxies. In particular, we present the full asymptotic expansion for the dimensionless scale factor b(m) that is introduced when referring the profile to the standard effective radius. Surprisingly, our asymptotic analysis turns out to be useful even for values of m as low as unity, thus providing a unified analytical tool for observational and theoretical investigations based on the R^{1/m} law for the entire range of interesting photometric profiles, from spiral to elliptical galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

Analytical properties of the R^{1/m} law

In this paper we describe some analytical properties of the R^{1/m} law proposed by Sersic to categorize the photometric profiles of elliptical galaxies. In particular, we present the full asymptotic expansion for the dimensionless scale factor b(m) that is introduced when referring the profile to the standard effective radius. Surprisingly, our asymptotic analysis turns out to be useful even for values of m as low as unity, thus providing a unified analytical tool for observational and theoretical investigations based on the R^{1/m} law for the entire range of interesting photometric profiles, from spiral to elliptical galaxies.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

A class of self-gravitating accretion disks

We consider a class of steady-state self-gravitating accretion disks for which efficient cooling mechanisms are assumed to operate so that the disk is self-regulated at a condition of approximate marginal Jeans stability. In an earlier paper, this scenario had been shown to lead naturally, in the absence of a central point mass, to a self-similar solution characterized by a flat rotation curve. In this article we investigate the entire parameter space available for such self-regulated accretion disks and provide two non-trivial extensions of the model. The first extension is that of a bimodal disk, obtained by partially relaxing the self-regulation constraint, so that full matching with an inner "standard" Keplerian accretion disk takes place. The second extension is the construction of self-regulated accretion disks embedded in a diffuse spherical "halo". The analysis is further strengthened by a careful discussion of the vertical structure of the disk, in such a way that the transition from self-gravity dominated to non-gravitating disks is covered uniformly.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

The Properties of Field Elliptical Galaxies at Intermediate Redshift. I: Empirical Scaling Laws

We present measurements of the Fundamental Plane (FP) parameters (the effective radius, the mean effective surface brightness, and the central velocity dispersion) of six field elliptical galaxies at intermediate redshift. The imaging is taken from the Medium Deep Survey of the Hubble Space Telescope, while the kinematical data are obtained from long-slit spectroscopy using the 3.6-m ESO telescope. The Fundamental Plane appears well defined in the field even at redshift $\approx$ 0.3. The data show a shift in the FP zero point with respect to the local relation, possibly indicating modest evolution, consistent with the result found for intermediate redshift cluster samples. The FP slopes derived for our field data, plus other cluster ellipticals at intermediate redshift taken from the literature, differ from the local ones, but are still consistent with the interpretation of the FP as a result of homology, of the virial theorem and of the existence of a relation between luminosity and mass, $L \propto M^η$. We also derive the surface brightness vs. effective radius relation for nine galaxies with redshift up to $z \approx0.6$, and data from the literature; the evolution that can be inferred is consistent with what is found using the FP.

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arXiv1997

Self-regulated Accretion Disks

We consider a class of fully self-gravitating accretion disks, for which efficient cooling mechanisms are assumed to maintain the disk close to the margin of Jeans instability. For such self-regulated disks the equations become very simple in the outer regions, where the angular momentum convective transport approximately balances the viscous transport. These latter equations are shown to lead naturally to a self-similar solution with flat rotation curve, with circular velocity proportional to Mdot^(1/3) and essentially fixed opening angle.

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