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Simulations of gas clouds in interacting galaxies
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Thomasson Sr., Magnus |
| Copyright Year | 1990 |
| Description | A companion can induce a variety of morphological changes in a galaxy. The author uses N-body simulations to study the effects of different kinds of perturbations on the dynamics of a disk galaxy. The model is two-dimensional, with a disk consisting of about 60,000 particles. Most of the particles (80%) represent the old stellar population with a high velocity dispersion, while the rest (20%) represent gas clouds with a low velocity dispersion. Initially, the velocity dispersion corresponds to Q = 1 for the star particles, and Q = O for the gas particles, where Q is Toomre's (1964) stability parameter. The gas clouds can collide inelastically. The disk is stabilized by a rigid halo potential, and by the random motions of the old star particles. To simulate the effect of an encounter on the disk, a companion galaxy, modelled as a point mass, can move in a co-planar orbit around the disk. A complete description of the N-body code is found in Thomasson (1989). The spiral structures caused by a companion in first a direct and then a retrograde (with respect to the rotation of the disk) parabolic orbit are presented. The associated velocity fields suggest a way to observationally distinguish between leading and trailing spiral arms. The stability of the gas component in a disk in which tidally triggered infall of gas to the center occurs is studied. Finally, the author shows how a ring of gas can form in a disk as a result of a co-planar encounter with another galaxy. |
| File Size | 415577 |
| Page Count | 5 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19910007648 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t6741pb42 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1990-11-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Astrophysics Interacting Galaxies Stability Populations Low Speed Cosmic Gases Stars Disk Galaxies Perturbation Velocity Distribution Halos Simulation Morphology Many Body Problem Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
