arXiv subjects

J. A. Sellwood

Publications and source records attributed to J. A. Sellwood.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Velocity-space substructure from nearby RAVE and SDSS stars

We extract a sample of disc stars within 200 pc of the Sun from the RAVE and SDSS surveys. Distances are estimated photometrically and proper motions are from ground-based data. We show that the velocity-space substructure first revealed in the Geneva-Copenhagen sample is also present in this completely independent sample. We also evaluate action-angle variables for these stars and show that the Hyades stream stars in these data are again characteristic of having been scattered at a Lindblad resonance. Unfortunately, analysis of such local samples can determine neither whether it is an inner or an outer Lindblad resonance, nor the multiplicity of the pattern.

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arXiv2010

Spiral instabilities in N-body simulations

N-body simulations of disc galaxies that display recurrent transient spiral patterns are comparatively easy to construct, but are harder to understand. In this paper, I summarise the evidence from such experiments that the spiral patterns result from a recurrent spiral instability cycle. Each wave starts as rapidly growing, small-amplitude instability caused by a deficiency of particles at a particular angular momentum. The resulting large-amplitude wave creates, through resonant scattering, the conditions needed to precipitate a new instability.

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arXiv2010

The Lifetimes of Spiral Patterns in Disc Galaxies

The rate of internally-driven evolution of galaxy discs is strongly affected by the lifetimes of the spiral patterns they support. Evolution is much faster if the spiral patterns are recurrent short-lived transients rather than long-lived, quasi-steady features. As rival theories are still advocated based on these two distinct hypotheses, I review the evidence that bears on the question of the lifetimes of spiral patterns in galaxies. Observational evidence from external galaxies is frustratingly inconclusive, but the velocity distribution in the solar neighbourhood is more consistent with the transient picture. I present simulations of galaxy models that have been proposed to support quasi-steady, two-arm spiral modes that in fact evolve quickly due to multi-arm instabilities. I also show that all simulations to date manifest short-lived patterns, despite claims to the contrary. Thus the transient hypothesis is favoured by both numerical results and the velocity distribution in the solar neighbourhood.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

A Recent Lindblad Resonance in the Solar Neighbourhood

Stars in the solar neighbourhood do not have a smooth distribution of velocities. Instead, the distribution of velocity components in the Galactic plane manifests a great deal of kinematic substructure. Here I present an analysis in action-angle variables of the Geneva-Copenhagen survey of ~14,000 nearby F & G dwarfs with distances and full space motions. I show that stars in the so-called "Hyades stream" have both angle and action variables characteristic of their having been scattered at an inner Lindblad resonance of a rotating disturbance potential. This discovery seems to favour spiral patterns as recurrent, short-lived instabilities.

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arXiv2010

New Developments in Spiral Structure Theory

After a short review of the principal theories of spiral structure in galaxies, I describe two new developments. First, it now seems clear that linear theory cannot yield a full description for the development of spiral patterns because N-body simulations suggest that non-linear effects manifest themselves at a relative overdensity of ~2%, which is well below the believed spiral amplitudes in galaxies. Second, I summarize the evidence that some stars in the solar neighborhood have been scattered at an inner Lindblad resonance. This evidence strongly supports a picture of spirals as a recurring cycle of transient instabilities, each caused by resonant scattering by a previous wave.

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arXiv2009

Stochasticity in N-body Simulations of Disc Galaxies

We demonstrate that the chaotic nature of N-body systems can lead to macroscopic variations in the evolution of collisionless simulations containing rotationally supported discs. The unavoidable stochasticity that afflicts all simulations generally causes mild differences between the evolution of similar models but, in order to illustrate that this is not always true, we present a case that shows extreme bimodal divergence. The divergent behaviour occurs in two different types of code and is independent of all numerical parameters. We identify and give explicit illustrations of several sources of stochasticity, and also show that macroscopic variations in the evolution can originate from differences at the round-off error level. We obtain somewhat more consistent results from simulations in which the halo is set up with great care compared with those started from more approximate equilibria, but we have been unable to eliminate diverging behaviour entirely because the main sources of stochasticity are intrinsic to the disc. We show that the divergence is only temporary and that halo friction is merely delayed, for a substantial time in some cases. We argue that the delays are unlikely to arise in real galaxies, and that our results do not affect dynamical friction constraints on halo density. Stochastic variations in the evolution are inevitable in all simulations of disc-halo systems, irrespective of how they were created, although their effect is generally far less extreme than we find here. The possibility of divergent behaviour complicates comparison of results from different workers.

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arXiv2008

Halo density reduction by baryonic settling?

We test the proposal by El-Zant et al that the dark matter density of halos could be reduced through dynamical friction acting on heavy baryonic clumps in the early stages of galaxy formation. Using N-body simulations, we confirm that the inner halo density cusp is flattened to 0.2 of the halo break radius by the settling of a single clump of mass \ga 0.5% of the halo mass. We also find that an ensemble of 50 clumps each having masses \ga 0.2% can flatten the cusp to almost the halo break radius on a time scale of \sim9 Gyr, for an NFW halo of concentration 15. We summarize some of the difficulties that need to be overcome if this mechanism is to resolve the apparent conflict between the observed inner densities of galaxy halos and the predictions of LCDM.

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arXiv2008

Dark Stars: Dark Matter in the First Stars leads to a New Phase of Stellar Evolution

The first phase of stellar evolution in the history of the universe may be Dark Stars, powered by dark matter heating rather than by fusion. Weakly interacting massive particles, which are their own antiparticles, can annihilate and provide an important heat source for the first stars in the the universe. This talk presents the story of these Dark Stars. We make predictions that the first stars are very massive ($\sim 800 M_\odot$), cool (6000 K), bright ($\sim 10^6 L_\odot$), long-lived ($\sim 10^6$ years), and probable precursors to (otherwise unexplained) supermassive black holes. Later, once the initial DM fuel runs out and fusion sets in, DM annihilation can predominate again if the scattering cross section is strong enough, so that a Dark Star is born again.

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arXiv2008

Dark Matter Density in Disk Galaxies

I show that the predicted densities of the inner dark matter halos in LCDM models of structure formation appear to be higher than estimates from real galaxies and constraints from dynamical friction on bars. This inconsistency would not be a problem for the LCDM model if physical processes that are omitted in the collisionless collapse simulations were able to reduce the dark matter density in the inner halos. I review the mechanisms proposed to achieve the needed density reduction.

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arXiv2008

Dark Matter Densities during the Formation of the First Stars and in Dark Stars

The first stars in the universe form inside $\sim 10^6 M_\odot$ dark matter (DM) haloes whose initial density profiles are laid down by gravitational collapse in hierarchical structure formation scenarios. During the formation of the first stars in the universe, the baryonic infall compresses the dark matter further. The resultant dark matter density is presented here, using an algorithm originally developed by Young to calculate changes to the profile as the result of adiabatic infall in a spherical halo model; the Young prescription takes into account the non-circular motions of halo particles. The density profiles obtained in this way are found to be within a factor of two of those obtained using the simple adiabatic contraction prescription of Blumenthal et al. Our results hold regardless of the nature of the dark matter or its interactions and rely merely on gravity. If the dark matter consists of weakly interacting massive particles, which are their own antiparticles, their densities are high enough that their annihilation in the first protostars can indeed provide an important heat source and prevent the collapse all the way to fusion. In short, a ``Dark Star'' phase of stellar evolution, powered by DM annihilation, may indeed describe the first stars in the universe.

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arXiv2008

Dynamical Evolution of Disk Galaxies

Spiral patterns are important agents of galaxy evolution. In this review, I describe how the redistribution of angular momentum by recurrent transient spiral patterns causes the random speeds of stars to rise over time, metallicity gradients to be reduced, and drives large-scale turbulence in the disk, which could be important for galactic dynamos. I also outline a possible mechanism for the recurrence of spiral instabilities and supporting evidence from solar neighborhood kinematics. Finally, I confirm that cloud scattering alone would predict the local velocity ellipsoid to be flattened, contrary to long-held expectations.

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arXiv2008

Bar-Halo Friction in Galaxies III: Particle Number Requirements for Simulations

The question whether the dark matter halo density in the centers of galaxies could be changed through interactions with a rotating bar in the baryonic disk is of considerable current interest. While N-body simulations have been used to address this question, it has also been claimed that results from such simulations cannot be trusted. Based on a perturbative treatment of resonant exchanges between orbits and a rotating perturbation, Weinberg & Katz contend that N-body simulations of this process will not reveal the continuum result unless many more than the usual numbers of particles are employed. Here I report a study designed to examine their contention, finding results that show no dependence on the number of particles over the range usually employed up to that advocated by these authors. I show that my results are independent of all numerical parameters, and that field methods perform equally with grid methods in this respect. I also identify the reasons that the required particle number suggested by Weinberg & Katz is excessive.

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arXiv2008

Bar-Halo Friction in Galaxies III: Halo Density Changes

The predicted central densities of dark matter halos in LCDM models exceed those observed in some galaxies. Weinberg & Katz argue that angular momentum transfer from a rotating bar in the baryonic disk can lower the halo density, but they also contend that N-body simulations of this process will not reveal the true continuum result unless many more than the usual numbers of particles are employed. Adopting their simplified model of a rotating rigid bar in a live halo, I have been unable to find any evidence to support their contention. I find that both the angular momentum transferred and the halo density change are independent of the number of particles over the range usually employed up to that advocated by these authors. I show that my results do not depend on any numerical parameters, and that field methods perform equally with grid methods. I also identify the reasons that the required particle number suggested by Weinberg & Katz is excessive. I further show that when countervailing compression by baryonic settling is ignored, moderate bars can reduce the mean density of the inner halo by 20% - 30%. Long, massive, skinny bars can reduce the mean inner density by a factor ~10. The largest density reductions are achieved at the expense of removing most of the angular momentum likely to reside in the baryonic component. Compression of the halo by baryonic settling must reduce, and may even overwhelm, the density reduction achievable by bar friction.

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arXiv2007

Modeling the Gas Flow in the Bar of NGC 1365

We present new observations of the strongly-barred galaxy NGC 1365, including new photometric images and Fabry-Perot spectroscopy, as well as a detailed re-analysis of the neutral hydrogen observations from the VLA archive. We find the galaxy to be at once remarkably bi-symmetric in its I-band light distribution and strongly asymmetric in the distribution of dust and in the kinematics of the gas in the bar region. The velocity field mapped in the H-alpha line reveals bright HII regions with velocities that differ by 60 to 80 km/s from that of the surrounding gas, which may be due to remnants of infalling material. We have attempted hydrodynamic simulations of the bar flow to estimate the separate disk and halo masses, using two different dark matter halo models and covering a wide range of mass-to-light ratios (Upsilon) and bar pattern speeds (Omega_p). None of our models provides a compelling fit to the data, but they seem most nearly consistent with a fast bar, corotation at sim 1.2r_B, and Upsilon_I simeq 2.0 +- 1.0, implying a massive, but not fully maximal, disk. The fitted dark halos are unusually concentrated, a requirement driven by the declining outer rotation curve.

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arXiv2007

Modeling Non-Circular Motions in Disk Galaxies: A Bar in NGC 2976

We give a brief description of a new model for non-circular motions in disk galaxy velocity fields, that does not invoke epicycles. We assume non-circular motions to stem from a bar-like or oval distortion to the potential, as could arise from a triaxial halo or a bar in the mass distribution of the baryons. We apply our model to the high-quality CO and Halpha kinematics of NGC 2976 presented by Simon et al. 2003; it fits the data as well as their model with unrealistic radial flows, but yields a steeper rotation curve. Our analysis and other evidence suggests that NGC 2976 hosts a bar, implying a large baryonic contribution to the potential and thus limiting the allowed dark matter halo density.

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arXiv2007

Modeling Non-Circular Motions in Disk Galaxies: Application to NGC 2976

We present a new procedure to fit non-axisymmetric flow patterns to 2-D velocity maps of spiral galaxies. We concentrate on flows caused by bar-like or oval distortions to the total potential that may arise either from a non-axially symmetric halo or a bar in the luminous disk. We apply our method to high-quality CO and Halpha data for the nearby, low-mass spiral NGC 2976 previously obtained by Simon et al., and find that a bar-like model fits the data at least as well as their model with large radial flows. We find supporting evidence for the existence of a bar in the baryonic disk. Our model suggests that the azimuthally averaged central attraction in the inner part of this galaxy is larger than estimated by these authors. It is likely that the disk is also more massive, which will limit the increase to the allowed dark halo density. Allowance for bar-like distortions in other galaxies may either increase or decrease the estimated central attraction.

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arXiv2007

Photometric Decomposition of Barred Galaxies

We present a non-parametric method for decomposition of the light of disk galaxies into disk, bulge and bar components. We have developed and tested the method on a sample of 68 disk galaxies for which we have acquired I-band photometry. The separation of disk and bar light relies on the single assumption that the bar is a straight feature with a different ellipticity and position angle from that of the projected disk. We here present the basic method, but recognise that it can be significantly refined. We identify bars in only 47% of the more nearly face-on galaxies in our sample. The fraction of light in the bar has a broad range from 1.3% to 40% of the total galaxy light. If low-luminosity galaxies have more dominant halos, and if halos contribute to bar stability, the luminosity functions of barred and unbarred galaxies should differ markedly; while our sample is small, we find only a slight difference of low significance.

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arXiv2006

Dynamics of Barred Galaxies

Some 30% of disc galaxies have a pronounced central bar feature in the disc plane and many more have weaker features of a similar kind. Kinematic data indicate that the bar constitutes a major non-axisymmetric component of the mass distribution and that the bar pattern tumbles rapidly about the axis normal to the disc plane. The observed motions are consistent with material within the bar streaming along highly elongated orbits aligned with the rotating major axis. A barred galaxy may also contain a spheroidal bulge at its centre, spirals in the outer disc and, less commonly, other features such as a ring or lens. Mild asymmetries in both the light and kinematics are quite common. We review the main problems presented by these complicated dynamical systems and summarize the effort so far made towards their solution, emphasizing results which appear secure. (Truncated)

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