Stellar bars are important internal drivers of secular evolution in disk galaxies. Using a sample of nearby spiral galaxies with weak and strong bars, we explore the relationships between the star formation feature and stellar bars in galaxies. We find that galaxies with weak bars tend to be coincide with low concentrical star formation activity, while those with strong bars show a large scatter in the distribution of star formation activity. We find enhanced star formation activity in bulges towards stronger bars, although not predominantly, consistent with previous studies. Our results suggest that different stages of the secular process and many other factors may contribute to the complexity of the secular evolution. In addition, barred galaxies with intense star formation in bars tend to have active star formation in their bulges and disks, and bulges have higher star formation densities than bars and disks, indicating the evolutionary effects of bars. We then derived a possible criterion to quantify the different stages of bar-driven physical process, while future work is needed because of the uncertainties.
(Abridged) We study the incidence, as well as the nature, of composite bulges in a sample of 10 face-on barred galaxies to constrain the formation and evolutionary processes of the central regions of disk galaxies. We analyze the morphological, photometric, and kinematic properties of each bulge. Then, by using a case-by-case analysis we identify composite bulges and classify every component into a classical or pseudobulge. In addition, bar-related boxy/peanut (B/P) structures were also identified and characterised. We find only three galaxies hosting a single-component bulge (two pseudobulges…
We present the results of two-component (disc+bar) and three-component (disc+bar+bulge) multiwavelength 2D photometric decompositions of barred galaxies in five SDSS bands ($ugriz$). This sample of $\sim$3,500 nearby ($z<0.06$) galaxies with strong bars selected from the Galaxy Zoo citizen science project is the largest sample of barred galaxies to be studied using photometric decompositions which include a bar component. With detailed structural analysis we obtain physical quantities such as the bar- and bulge-to-total luminosity ratios, effective radii, Sérsic indices and colours of the indi…
We present gravitational N-body simulations of the secular morphological evolution of disk galaxies induced by density wave modes. In particular, we address the demands collective effects place on the choice of simulation parameters, and show that the common practice of the use of a large gravity softening parameter was responsible for the failure of past simulations to correctly model the secular evolution process in galaxies, even for those simulations where the choice of basic state allows an unstable mode to emerge, a prerequisite for obtaining the coordinated radial mass flow pattern need…
The manifold theory of barred-spiral structure provides a dynamical mechanism explaining how spiral arms beyond the ends of galactic bars can be supported by chaotic flows extending beyond the bar's co-rotation zone. We discuss its applicability to N-body simulations of secularly evolving barred galaxies. In these simulations, we observe consecutive `incidents' of spiral activity, leading to a time-varying disc morphology. Besides disc self-excitations, we provide evidence of a newly noted excitation mechanism related to the `off-centering' effect: particles ejected in elongated orbits at majo…
We use 3.6 $μ$m photometry from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S$^{4}$G) to trace the stellar distribution in nearby disk galaxies ($z\approx0$) with total stellar masses $10^{8.5}\lesssim M_{\ast}/M_{\odot}\lesssim10^{11}$ and mid-IR Hubble types $-3 \le T \le 10$, and to provide observational constraints for galaxy formation models to be checked against. For 1154 galaxies with disk inclinations lower than $65^{\circ}$, we Fourier decompose and rescale their images to a common frame determined (i) by the size in physical units, (ii) by their disk scalelength, and for 748…
We address the effects of bar-driven secular evolution in discs by comparing their properties in a sample of nearly 700 unbarred and barred (42 +- 3 per cent of the population) massive disc galaxies (M* > 10^10 Msun). We make use of accurate structural parameters derived from i-band bulge/disc/bar decompositions to show that, as a population, barred discs tend to have fainter central surface brightness (Delta mu_0 ~ 0.25 mag), and disc scale lengths that are ~15 per cent larger than those of unbarred galaxies of the same stellar mass. The corresponding distributions of mu_0 and h are statistic…
Bar driven secular evolution plays a key role in changing the morphology and kinematics of disk galaxies, leading to the formation of rapidly rotating boxy/peanut bulges. If these disk galaxies also hosted a preexisting classical bulge, how would the secular evolution influence the classical bulge, and also the observational properties. We first study the co-evolution of a bar and a preexisting non-rotating low-mass classical bulge such as might be present in galaxies like the Milky Way. It is shown with N-body simulations that during the secular evolution, such a bulge can gain significant an…
We make use of z = 0 samples of strongly barred and unbarred disc galaxies from the TNG100 and TNG50 cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to assess the performance of the simple disc instability criterion proposed by Efstathiou, Lake & Negroponte (1982) (ELN-criterion). We find that strongly barred galaxies generally assemble earlier, are more star-dominated in their central regions, and have more massive and more compact discs than unbarred galaxies. The ELN-criterion successfully identifies ~75% and ~80% of the strongly barred and the unbarred galaxies, respectively. Strongly barred galax…
The existence of a classical bulge in disk galaxies holds important clue to the assembly history of galaxies. Finding observational evidence of very low mass classical bulges particularly in barred galaxies including our Milky Way, is a challenging task as the bar driven secular evolution might bring significant dynamical change to these bulges alongside the stellar disk. Using high-resolution N-body simulation, we show that if a cool stellar disk is assembled around a non-rotating low-mass classical bulge, the disk rapidly grows a strong bar within a few rotation time scales. Later, the bar d…
The lenticular galaxy IC 676 is a barred galaxy with double nuclei and active star formation in the central region. In this work we present the long-slit spectroscopy and archival multi-wavelength images to investigate the nature and origin of the double nuclei in IC 676. Through photometric 1D brightness profiles and 2D image decomposition, we show that this galaxy consists of a stellar bar with the length of $\sim$ 2.5 kpc and two Sérsic disks both of which with Sérsic index $\it n \sim$ 1.3. There is probably little or no bulge component assembled in IC 676. The luminosities of the double n…
We track the angular momentum transfer in n-body simulations of barred galaxies by measuring torques to understand the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the evolution of the bar-disc-dark matter halo system. We find evidence for three distinct phases of barred galaxy evolution: assembly, secular growth, and steady-state equilibrium. Using a decomposition of the disc into orbital families, we track bar mass and angular momentum through time and correlate the quantities with the phases of evolution. We follow the angular momentum transfer between particles and identify the dominant torque cha…
We present here a thorough photometric analysis of double-barred galaxies, consisting of i) two-dimensional photometric decompositions including a bulge, inner bar, outer bar, and (truncated) disc; and ii) three-dimensional statistical deprojections to derive the intrinsic shape of bulges, inner bars, and outer bars. This is the first time the combination of both techniques is applied to a sample of double-barred galaxies. It represents a step forward with respect to previous works, which are based on properties of the integrated light through ellipse fitting and unsharp masking. In this first…
We present a quantification of the properties of bars in two N-body+SPH cosmological simulations of spiral galaxies, named GA and AqC. The initial conditions were obtained using the zoom-in technique and represent two dark matter (DM) halos of $2-3\times10^{12}\ {\rm M}_\odot$, available at two different resolutions. The resulting galaxies are presented in the companion paper of Murante et al. (2014). We find that the GA galaxy has a bar of length $8.8$ kpc, present at the two resolution levels even though with a slightly different strength. Classical bar signatures (e.g. pattern of streaming …
We interpret simulations of secularly-evolving disc galaxies through orbit morphology. Using a new algorithm that measures the volume of orbits in real space using a tessellation, we rapidly isolate commensurate (resonant) orbits. We identify phase-space regions occupied by different orbital families. Compared to spectral methods, the tessellation algorithm can identify resonant orbits within a few dynamical periods, crucial for understanding an evolving galaxy model. The flexible methodology accepts arbitrary potentials, enabling detailed descriptions of the orbital families. We apply the mac…
We calculate the star formation quenching timescales in green valley galaxies at intermediate redshifts ($z\sim0.5-1$) using stacked zCOSMOS spectra of different galaxy morphological types: spheroidal, disk-like, irregular and merger, dividing disk-like galaxies further into unbarred, weakly-barred and strongly-barred, assuming a simple exponentially-decaying star formation history model and based on the H$_δ$ absorption feature and the $4000$ Å~break. We find that different morphological types present different star formation quenching timescales, reinforcing the idea that the galaxy morpholo…
We present an implementation of the Schwarzschild orbit superposition method which can be used for constructing self-consistent equilibrium models of barred or non-barred disc galaxies, or of elliptical galaxies with figure rotation. This is a further development of the publicly available code SMILE; its main improvements include a new efficient representation of an arbitrary gravitational potential using two-dimensional spline interpolation of Fourier coefficients in the meridional plane, as well as the ability to deal with rotation of the density profile and with multicomponent mass models. …
Double bars are thought to be important features for secular evolution in the central regions of galaxies. However, observational evidence about their origin and evolution is still scarce. We report on the discovery of the first Box-Peanut (B/P) structure in an inner bar detected in the face-on galaxy NGC 1291. We use the integral field data obtained from the MUSE spectrograph within the TIMER project. The B/P structure is detected as bi-symmetric minima of the $h_4$ moment of the line-of-sight velocity distribution along the major axis of the inner bar, as expected from numerical simulations.…
Properties of Barred Galaxies with the Environment: II. The case of the Cosmic Web around the Virgo cluster
Universidad de La Serena（拉塞雷纳大学）；Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias（加那利天体物理研究所）；Universidad de La Laguna（拉古纳大学）；Universidad de Atacama（阿塔卡马大学）；Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Maria（费德里科·圣玛丽亚理工大学）；Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón (CEFCA)（阿拉贡宇宙物理研究中心）；CSIC（西班牙国家科学研究委员会）
We model and analyse the secular evolution of stellar bars in spinning dark matter (DM) haloes with the cosmological spin lambda ~ 0 -- 0.09. Using high-resolution stellar and DM numerical simulations, we focus on angular momentum exchange between stellar discs and DM haloes of various axisymmetric shapes --- spherical, oblate and prolate. We find that stellar bars experience a diverse evolution which is guided by the ability of parent haloes to absorb angular momentum lost by the disc through the action of gravitational torques, resonant and non-resonant. We confirm the previous claim that dy…
We use 3.6 $μ$m imaging from the S$^{4}$G survey to characterize the typical stellar density profiles ($Σ_{\ast}$) and bars as a function of fundamental galaxy parameters (e.g. the total stellar mass $M_{\ast}$), providing observational constraints for galaxy simulation models to be compared with. We rescale galaxy images to a common frame determined by the size in physical units, by their disk scalelength, or by their bar size and orientation. We stack the resized images to obtain statistically representative average stellar disks and bars. For a given $M_{\ast}$ bin ($\ge 10^{9}M_{\odot}$), …
Classical bulges in spiral galaxies are known to rotate but the origin of this observed rotational motion is not well understood. It has been shown recently that a low-mass classical bulge (ClB) in a barred galaxy can acquire rotation from absorbing a significant fraction of the angular momentum emitted by the bar. Our aim here is to investigate whether bars can spin up also more massive ClBs during the secular evolution of the bar, and to study the kinematics and dynamics of these ClBs. We use a set of self-consistent N-body simulations to study the interaction of ClBs with a bar that forms s…
Based on a high quality $N$-body simulation of a double bar galaxy model, we investigate the evolution of the bar properties, including their size, strength and instantaneous pattern speed derived by using three distinct methods: the Fourier, Jacobi integral, and moment of inertia methods. The interaction of the two bars, which rotate at distinct speeds, primarily affects the size, strength and pattern speed of the inner bar. When the two bars are perpendicular to each other, the size and the pattern speed of the inner bar decrease and its strength increases. The emergence of a strong Fourier …
In this letter we investigate the effect of boxy/peanut (b/p) bulges on bar-induced gas inflow to the central kiloparsec, which plays a crucial role on the evolution of disc galaxies. We carry out hydrodynamic gas response simulations in realistic barred galaxy potentials, including or not the geometry of a b/p bulge, to investigate the amount of gas inflow induced in the different models. We find that b/p bulges can reduce the gas inflow rate to the central kiloparsec by more than an order of magnitude, which leads to a reduction in the amount of gas available in the central regions. We also …
Bar-induced gas inflows towards the galaxy centres are recognized as a key agent for the secular evolution of galaxies. One immediate consequence is the accumulation of gas in the centre of galaxies where it can form stars and alter the chemical and physical properties. We use a sample of nearby face--on disc galaxies with available SDSS spectra to study whether the properties of the ionised gas in the central parts (radii <~0.6-2.1 kpc) of barred galaxies are altered by the presence of a bar, and whether the bar effect is related to bar and/or parent galaxy properties. The distributions of al…
Almost two-thirds of disk galaxies in the local universe host bars, which serve as important drivers of secular evolutionary processes. While cosmological simulations are powerful tools to study the formation and evolution of galaxies, they have often struggled to generate reasonable bar populations. We measure the fraction, size, and strength of bars in 3866 disk galaxies from the TNG100 run of the advanced cosmological simulation IllustrisTNG. Consistent with observations, about 55% of disk galaxies with stellar mass $M_* \approx 10^{10.6}\, M_\odot$ are barred, and the relation between bar …
In this work we analyse the structural and photometric properties of 21 barred simulated galaxies from the Auriga Project. These consist of Milky Way-mass magneto-hydrodynamical simulations in a $Λ$CDM cosmological context. In order to compare with observations, we generate synthetic SDSS-like broad-band images from the numerical data at z = 0 with different inclinations (from face-on to edge-on). Ellipse fits are used to determine the bar lengths, and 2D bulge/disc/bar decompositions with galfit are also performed, modelling the bar component with the modified Ferrer profile. We find a wide r…
We present evidence of bar-induced secular evolution in galactic discs using 3.6 ${μm}$ images of nearby galaxies from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G). We find that among massive galaxies ($M_{star}/M_{sun}> 10^{10}$), longer bars tend to reside in inner discs having a flatter radial profile. Such galaxies show a light deficit in the disc surrounding the bar, within the bar radius and often show a $Θ$-shaped morphology. We quantify this deficit and find that among all galaxies explored in this study (with $10^{9}<M_{star}/M_{sun}< 10^{11}$), galaxies with a stronger b…
The central regions of disc galaxies hold clues to the processes that dominate their formation and evolution. The TIMER project has obtained high signal-to-noise and spatial resolution integral-field spectroscopy data of the inner few kpc of 21 nearby massive barred galaxies, allowing studies of the stellar kinematics with unprecedented spatial resolution. We confirm theoretical predictions of the effects of bars on stellar kinematics, and identify box/peanuts through kinematic signatures in mildly and moderately inclined galaxies, finding a lower limit to the fraction of massive barred galaxi…
We study barred galaxies selected from the Illustris cosmological simulation, focusing on tidally induced bars formed from flyby interactions. To guarantee high enough resolution we focus on high mass disc galaxies ($M_*>8.3 \times 10^{10} M_{\odot}$). We find that the fraction of barred galaxies among those (21% at redshift $z=0$) is lower in Illustris than observed in the local Universe, and the fraction grows slightly with redshift. The bar fraction also increases with the stellar mass and decreases with the amount of gas in the disc. Only very few bars at redshift $z=0$ are formed in secul…
We present near--infrared (NIR) imaging of FBQS J164442.5+261913, one of the few $γ$--ray emitting Narrow Line Seyfert 1 ($γ-$NLSy1) galaxies detected at high significance level by $Fermi$--LAT. This study is the first morphological analysis performed of this source and the third performed of this class of objects. Conducting a detailed two--dimensional modeling of its surface brightness distribution and analysing its $J-K_s$ colour gradients, we find that FBQS J164442.5+261913 is statistically most likely hosted by a barred lenticular galaxy (SB0). We find evidence that the bulge in the host …
Machine learning technique for morphological classification of galaxies from SDSS. IV. Visual inspection vs CNN for merging, irregular, edge-on, barred, ringed, and with dust lanes galaxies at 0.02<z<0.1
Main Astronomical Observatory of the NAS of Ukraine（乌克兰国家科学院主天文台）
Discovery of a Barred-Spiral Galaxy at $z_{spec}$ = 3.16 I: Bar Identification and Properties
University of Pittsburgh（匹兹堡大学）；University of Massachusetts Amherst（马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特分校）；Department of Astronomy, University of Washington（华盛顿大学天文系）；Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校天文系）；Cosmic Frontier Center, The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校宇宙前沿中心）；Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA（天体生物学中心（CAB），西班牙国家研究委员会-西班牙航空航天技术研究所）；Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison（威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校天文系）；MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research（麻省理工学院卡弗里天体物理与空间研究所）
We have carried out an initial study of a small sample of nearby spiral and barred galaxies with a broad distribution of Hubble types in order to have a first estimate of the magnitude of their secular mass accretion/excretion rates in the context of bulge building and morphological evolution along the Hubble sequence. The stellar surface density maps of the sample galaxies were derived from the archival data of SINGS and SDSS. The corresponding molecular and atomic surface densities were derived from archival CO(1-0) and HI interferometric observations of the BIMA SONG, THINGS, and VIVA surve…
We study the orbital structure in a series of self-consistent $N$-body configurations simulating rotating barred galaxies with spiral and ring structures. We perform frequency analysis in order to measure the angular and the radial frequencies of the orbits at two different time snapshots during the evolution of each $N$-body system. The analysis is done separately for the regular and the chaotic orbits. We thereby identify the various types of orbits, determine the shape and percentages of the orbits supporting the bar and the ring/spiral structures, and study how the latter quantities change…
The complex relationships between AGN, bars and bulges
Masaryk University（马萨里克大学）；Lancaster University（兰卡斯特大学）；University of Minnesota（明尼苏达大学）；University of Toronto（多伦多大学）；University of Oxford（牛津大学）；European Space Agency (ESA)（欧洲空间局）
We use data from the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), recently commissioned at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), to study the kinematics and stellar population content of NGC 4371, an early-type massive barred galaxy in the core of the Virgo cluster. We integrate this study with a detailed structural analysis using imaging data from the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, which allows us to perform a thorough investigation of the physical properties of the galaxy. We show that the rotationally supported inner components in NGC 4371, an inner disc and a nuclear ring - which, according t…
The centres of disc galaxies host a variety of structures built via both internal and external processes. In this study, we constrain the formation and evolution of these central structures, in particular nuclear rings and nuclear discs, by deriving maps of mean stellar ages, metallicities and [$α$/Fe] abundances. We use observations obtained with the MUSE integral-field spectrograph for the TIMER sample of 21 massive barred galaxies. Our results indicate that nuclear discs and nuclear rings are part of the same physical component, with nuclear rings constituting the outer edge of nuclear disc…
Observations show a clear vertical metallicity gradient in the Galactic bulge, which is often taken as a signature of dissipative processes in the formation of a classical bulge. Various evidence shows, however, that the Milky Way is a barred galaxy with a boxy bulge representing the inner three-dimensional part of the bar. Here we show with a secular evolution N-body model that a boxy bulge formed through bar and buckling instabilities can show vertical metallicity gradients similar to the observed gradient, if the initial axisymmetric disk had a comparable radial metallicity gradient. In thi…
It has been known for some time that the Milky Way is a barred disk galaxy. More recently several studies inferred from starcount observations that the Galaxy must contain a separate, new, flat long bar component, twisted relative to the barred bulge. Here we use a simulation with a boxy bulge and bar to suggest that these observations can be reproduced with a single structure. In this simulation a stellar bar evolved from the disk, and the boxy bulge originated from it through secular evolution and the buckling instability. We calculate starcount distributions for this model at different long…
We analyse two-dimensional maps and radial profiles of EW(H$α$), EW(H$δ_A$), and D$_n$(4000) of low-redshift galaxies using integral field spectroscopy from the MaNGA survey. Out of $\approx1400$ nearly face-on late-type galaxies with a redshift $z<0.05$, we identify 121 "turnover" galaxies that each have a central upturn in EW(H$α$), EW(H$δ_A$) and/or a central drop in D$_n$(4000), indicative of ongoing/recent star formation. The turnover features are found mostly in galaxies with a stellar mass above $\sim$10$^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$ and NUV-$r$ colour less than $\approx5$. The majority of the tur…
Exploring the Relationship Between Bars, Star Formation Activity, and Host Galaxy Properties from $\mathbf{z \sim 0}$ to $\mathbf{z \sim 2}$
The University of Texas at Austin（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校）；NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心）；Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias（加那利天体物理研究所）；Universidad de La Laguna（拉古纳大学）
Bulges in spiral galaxies have been supposed to be classified into two types: classical bulges or pseudobulges. Classical bulges are thought to form by galactic merger with bursty star formation, whereas pseudobulges are suggested to form by secular evolution due to spiral arms and a barred structure funneling gas into the galactic centre. Noguchi (1998,1999) suggested another bulge formation scenario, `clump-origin bulge'. He demonstrated using a numerical simulation that a galactic disc suffers dynamical instability to form clumpy structures in the early stage of disc formation since the pre…
Bar-driven secular evolution largely complete in a disk galaxy 7.6 billion years ago
Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (WPI), The University of Tokyo（东京大学宇宙粒子天体物理研究所）；Astronomical Institute, Tohoku University（东北大学天文研究所）；Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院天文学系）；Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University（北京大学科维理天文与天体物理研究所）；Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学天文与天体物理研究学院）；Sydney Institute for Astronomy, The University of Sydney（悉尼大学悉尼天文研究所）；Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI)（综合研究大学院大学）；National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences（日本国立自然科学研究所国立天文台）；Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology（斯威本科技大学天体物理与超级计算中心）
A steep mass transition for bar-driven ISM structuring revealed by PHANGS-JWST
European Southern Observatory（欧洲南方天文台）；Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon1, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon UMR5574（里昂大学、里昂第一大学、巴黎高等师范学校里昂分校、法国国家科学研究中心、里昂天体物理研究中心）；Whitman College（惠特曼学院）；Algoma University（阿尔戈马大学）；Ohio State University（俄亥俄州立大学）；Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics（宇宙学与高能物理中心）；California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院）；Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie（马克斯·普朗克天文学研究所）；The University of Manchester（曼彻斯特大学）；University of California, San Diego（加利福尼亚大学圣地亚哥分校）
Bars are common galactic structures in the local universe that play an important role in the secular evolution of galaxies, including the Milky Way. In particular, the velocity distribution of individual stars in our galaxy is useful to shed light on stellar dynamics, and provides information complementary to that inferred from the integrated light of external galaxies. However, since a wide variety of models reproduce the distribution of velocity and the velocity dispersion observed in the Milky Way, we look for signatures of the bar on higher-order moments of the line-of-sight velocity ($V_{…
