skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: The shock-induced star formation sequence resulting from a constant spiral pattern speed

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
;  [1]
  1. Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), Aptdo. Postal 51 y 216, 72000 Puebla, Puebla (Mexico)

We utilize a suite of multiwavelength data of nine nearby spirals to analyze the shock-induced star formation sequence that may result from a constant spiral pattern speed. The sequence involves tracers as the H I, CO 24 μm, and FUV, where the spiral arms were analyzed with Fourier techniques in order to obtain their azimuthal phases as a function of radius. It was found that only two of the objects, NGC 628 and NGC 5194, present coherent phases resembling the theoretical expectations, as indicated by the phase shifts of CO- 24 μm. The evidence is more clear for NGC 5194 and moderate for NGC 628. It was also found that the phase shifts are different for the two spiral arms. With the exception on NGC 3627, a two-dimensional Fourier analysis showed that the rest of the objects do not exhibit bi-symmetric spiral structures of stellar mass, i.e., grand-design spirals. A phase order inversion indicates a corotation radius of ∼89'' for NGC 628 and ∼202'' for NGC 5194. For these two objects, the CO-Hα phase shifts corroborate the CO-24 μm azimuthal offsets. Also for NGC 5194, the CO-70 μm, CO-140 μm, and CO-250 μm phase shifts indicate a corotation region.

OSTI ID:
22365499
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 790, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

ARM AND INTERARM STAR FORMATION IN SPIRAL GALAXIES
Journal Article · Fri Dec 10 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22365499

OBSERVATIONAL EVIDENCE AGAINST LONG-LIVED SPIRAL ARMS IN GALAXIES
Journal Article · Sun Jul 10 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22365499

Scaling relations of the properties for CO resolved structures in nearby spiral galaxies
Journal Article · Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22365499