arXiv subjects

P. A. Patsis

Publications and source records attributed to P. A. Patsis.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2003

On the 3D dynamics and morphology of inner rings

We argue that inner rings in barred spiral galaxies are associated with specific 2D and 3D families of periodic orbits located just beyond the end of the bar. These are families located between the inner radial ultraharmonic 4:1 resonance and corotation. They are found in the upper part of a type-2 gap of the x1 characteristic, and can account for the observed ring morphologies without any help from families of the x1-tree. Due to the evolution of the stability of all these families, the ring shapes that are favored are mainly ovals, as well as polygons with `corners' on the minor axis, on the sides of the bar. On the other hand pentagonal rings, or rings of the NGC 7020 type hexagon, should be less probable. The orbits that make the rings belong in their vast majority to 3D families of periodic orbits and orbits trapped around them.

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arXiv2003

Orbital dynamics of three-dimensional bars: IV. Boxy isophotes in face-on views

We study the conditions that favour boxiness of isodensities in the face-on views of orbital 3D models for barred galaxies. Using orbital weighted profiles we show that boxiness is in general a composite effect that appears when one considers stable orbits belonging to several families of periodic orbits. 3D orbits that are introduced due to vertical instabilities, play a crucial role in the face-on profiles and enhance their rectangularity. This happens because at the 4:1 radial resonance region we have several orbits with boxy face-on projections, instead of few rectangular-like x1 orbits, which, in a fair fraction of the models studied so far, are unstable at this region. Massive bars are characterized by rectangular-like orbits. However, we find that it is the pattern speed that affects most the elongation of the boxy feature, in the sense that fast bars are more elongated than slow ones. Boxiness in intermediate distances between the center of the model and the end of the bar can be attributed to x1v1 orbits, or to a combination of families related to the radial 3:1 resonance.

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arXiv2002

Edge-on boxy profiles in non-barred disc galaxies

Boxy edge-on profiles can be accounted for not only in models of barred galaxies, but also in models of normal (non-barred) galaxies. Thus, the presence of a bar is not a sine qua non condition for the appearance of this feature, as often assumed. We show that a `boxy' or a `peanut' structure in the central parts of a model is due to the presence of vertical resonances at which stable families of periodic orbits bifurcate from the planar x1 family. The orbits of these families reach in their projections on the equatorial plane a maximum distance from the center, beyond which they increase their mean radii by increasing only their deviations from the equatorial plane. The resulting orbital profiles are `stair-type' and constitute the backbone for the observed boxy structures in edge-on views of $N$-body models and, we believe, in edge-on views of disc galaxies. Since the existence of vertical resonances is independent of barred or spiral perturbations in the disc, `boxy' profiles may appear also in almost axisymmetric cases.

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arXiv2002

Orbital dynamics of three-dimensional bars: I. The backbone of 3D bars. A fiducial case

In this series of papers we investigate the orbital structure of 3D models representing barred galaxies. In the present introductory paper we use a fiducial case to describe all families of periodic orbits that may play a role in the morphology of three-dimensional bars. We show that, in a 3D bar, the backbone of the orbital structure is not just the x1 family, as in 2D models, but a tree of 2D and 3D families bifurcating from x1. Besides the main tree we have also found another group of families of lesser importance around the radial 3:1 resonance. The families of this group bifurcate from x1 and influence the dynamics of the system only locally. We also find that 3D orbits elongated along the bar minor axis can be formed by bifurcations of the planar x2 family. They can support 3D bar-like structures along the minor axis of the main bar. Banana-like orbits around the stable Lagrangian points build a forest of 2D and 3D families as well. The importance of the 3D x1-tree families at the outer parts of the bar depends critically on whether they are introduced in the system as bifurcations in $z$ or in $\dot{z}$.

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arXiv2002

Orbital dynamics of three-dimensional bars: II. Investigation of the parameter space

We investigate the orbital structure in a class of 3D models of barred galaxies. We consider different values of the pattern speed, of the strength of the bar and of the parameters of the central bulge of the galactic model. The morphology of the stable orbits in the bar region is associated with the degree of folding of the x1-characteristic. This folding is larger for lower values of the pattern speed. The elongation of rectangular-like orbits belonging to x1 and to x1-originated families depends mainly on the pattern speed. The detailed investigation of the trees of bifurcating families in the various models shows that major building blocks of 3D bars can be supplied by families initially introduced as unstable in the system, but becoming stable at another energy interval. In some models without radial and vertical 2:1 resonances we find, except for the x1 and x1-originated families, also families related to the z-axis orbits, which support the bar. Bifurcations of the x2 family can build a secondary 3D bar along the minor axis of the main bar. This is favoured in the slow rotating bar case.

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