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Title: SMOOTHING ROTATION CURVES AND MASS PROFILES

Abstract

We show that spiral activity can erase pronounced features in disk galaxy rotation curves. We present simulations of growing disks, in which the added material has a physically motivated distribution, as well as other examples of physically less realistic accretion. In all cases, attempts to create unrealistic rotation curves were unsuccessful because spiral activity rapidly smoothed away features in the disk mass profile. The added material was redistributed radially by the spiral activity, which was itself provoked by the density feature. In the case of a ridge-like feature in the surface density profile, we show that two unstable spiral modes develop, and the associated angular momentum changes in horseshoe orbits remove particles from the ridge and spread them both inward and outward. This process rapidly erases the density feature from the disk. We also find that the lack of a feature when transitioning from disk to halo dominance in the rotation curves of disk galaxies, the so called ''disk-halo conspiracy'', could also be accounted for by this mechanism. We do not create perfectly exponential mass profiles in the disk, but suggest that this mechanism contributes to their creation.

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, 136 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22364299
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 799; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ANGULAR MOMENTUM; DENSITY; DIAGRAMS; GALAXIES; MASS; ORBITS; ROTATION

Citation Formats

Berrier, Joel C., and Sellwood, J. A. SMOOTHING ROTATION CURVES AND MASS PROFILES. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/213.
Berrier, Joel C., & Sellwood, J. A. SMOOTHING ROTATION CURVES AND MASS PROFILES. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/213
Berrier, Joel C., and Sellwood, J. A. 2015. "SMOOTHING ROTATION CURVES AND MASS PROFILES". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/213.
@article{osti_22364299,
title = {SMOOTHING ROTATION CURVES AND MASS PROFILES},
author = {Berrier, Joel C. and Sellwood, J. A.},
abstractNote = {We show that spiral activity can erase pronounced features in disk galaxy rotation curves. We present simulations of growing disks, in which the added material has a physically motivated distribution, as well as other examples of physically less realistic accretion. In all cases, attempts to create unrealistic rotation curves were unsuccessful because spiral activity rapidly smoothed away features in the disk mass profile. The added material was redistributed radially by the spiral activity, which was itself provoked by the density feature. In the case of a ridge-like feature in the surface density profile, we show that two unstable spiral modes develop, and the associated angular momentum changes in horseshoe orbits remove particles from the ridge and spread them both inward and outward. This process rapidly erases the density feature from the disk. We also find that the lack of a feature when transitioning from disk to halo dominance in the rotation curves of disk galaxies, the so called ''disk-halo conspiracy'', could also be accounted for by this mechanism. We do not create perfectly exponential mass profiles in the disk, but suggest that this mechanism contributes to their creation.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/799/2/213},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22364299}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 2,
volume = 799,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}