Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Matthew Bershady

Publications and source records attributed to Matthew Bershady.

38 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Measuring Galaxy Disk Mass with the SparsePak Integral Field Unit on WIYN

We present first results from commissioning data of the SparsePak Integral Field Unit on the WIYN telescope. SparsePak is a bundle of 82 fibers, each 5 arcsec in diameter and arranged in a sparsely filled, 76x77 arcsec hexagonal grid. NGC 3982, a nearly face-on, blue and very high surface brightness galaxy, was mapped in three spectral regions; around 5130A (MgI), 6680A (H-alpha) and 8660A (CaII-triplet) with FWHM spectral resolutions of 24, 16 and 37 km/s respectively. At 3.5 disk scale lengths, the spectra of 18 fibers were averaged after deprojection of the rotation curve. Stellar velocity dispersions were determined in the CaII region by convolving the spectrum of a K0.5-III template star with a Gaussian of varying FWHM and finding the best match to the azimuthally avaraged galaxy spectra. A radial mass surface density profile has been derived for a variety of scale heights assuming an isothermal vertical density profile. At two disk scale lengths, the mass surface density of N3982 is ~3 times higher than that of the Milky Way in the solar neighborhood. Surprisingly, the stellar rotation curve of this compact and high surface brightness galaxy is substantially sub-maximum.

astro-ph↗

The Assembly and Evolution of Spiral Disks

We explore how the growth rate of spiral disks can be measured via analyses of the scatter in the Tully-Fisher (TF) relation of local and intermediate redshift galaxies. As an initial step, we show it is possible to construct a low-dispersion TF relation for nearly face-on, nearby spirals. We find these spiral disks are non-circular, (a mean ellipticity of 6%), which accounts for about 0.1 mag of the intrinsic scatter in the nearby TF relation of even the most ``normal'' looking spirals. If this ellipticity is induced by matter accretion, we expect to find greater disk ellipticity or disturbance in the past. We find evidence that more extreme outliers of the intermediate-redshift TF relation are more morphologically and kinematically disturbed. Whether this effect reflects a redshift trend or selection bias of local samples needs to be addressed.

astro-ph↗