2008/07/11 by Sharon E. Meidt, Richard J. Rand, Michael R. Merrifield +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy rotation curve #Position (finance) #Ray tracing (physics) #Rotation (mathematics) #Spiral (railway) #Spiral galaxy #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Tracing #Variation (astronomy) #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/591516
14 pages in emulateapj format, 12 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
arxiv created 2008/07/11 · openalex publication_date 2008/11/07 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The grand-design spiral galaxy M51 has long been a crucial target for theories of spiral structure. Studies of this iconic spiral can address the question of whether strong spiral structure is transient (e.g., interaction-driven) or long-lasting. As a clue to the origin of the structure in M51, we investigate evidence for radial variation in the spiral pattern speed using the radial Tremaine-Weinberg (TWR) method. We implement the method on CO observations tracing the ISM-dominant molecular component. Results from the method's numerical implementation—combined with regularization, which smooths intrinsically noisy solutions—indicate two distinct patterns speeds inside 4 kpc at our derived major axis P.A. = 170°, both ending at corotation and both significantly higher than the conventionally adopted global value. Inspection of the rotation curve suggests that the pattern speed interior to 2 kpc lacks an ILR, consistent with the leading structure seen in HST near-IR observations. We also find tentative evidence for a lower pattern speed between 4 and 5.3 kpc measured by extending the regularized zone. As with the original TW method, uncertainty in major axis position angle (P.A.) is the largest source of error in the calculation; in this study, where δ P.A. = ± 5° , a ~20% error is introduced to the parameters of the speeds at P.A. = 170°. Accessory to this standard uncertainty, solutions with P.A. = 175° (also admitted by the data) exhibit only one pattern speed inside 4 kpc, and we consider this circumstance under the semblance of a radially varying P.A.