Bibcode
Saha, Kanak; Martinez-Valpuesta, Inma; Gerhard, Ortwin
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 421, Issue 1, pp. 333-345.
Advertised on:
3
2012
Citations
111
Refereed citations
91
Description
Secular evolution is one of the key routes through which galaxies evolve
along the Hubble sequence. Not only does the disc undergo morphological
and kinematic changes, but a pre-existing classical bulge may also be
dynamically changed by the secular processes driven primarily by the
bar. We study the influence of a growing bar on the dynamical evolution
of a low-mass classical bulge that might be present in galaxies like the
Milky Way. Using self-consistent high-resolution N-body simulations, we
study how an initially isotropic non-rotating small classical bulge
absorbs angular momentum emitted by the bar. The basic mechanism of this
angular momentum exchange is through resonances and a considerable
fraction of the angular momentum is channelled through Lagrange point
(-1:1) and inner Lindblad resonance (ILR) (2:1) orbits. In the phase of
rapid dynamical growth, retrograde non-resonant orbits also absorb
significant angular momentum. As a result of this angular momentum gain,
the initially non-rotating classical bulge transforms into a fast
rotating, radially anisotropic and triaxial object, embedded in the
similarly fast rotating boxy bulge formed from the disc. Towards the end
of the evolution, the classical bulge develops cylindrical rotation. By
that time, its inner regions host a 'classical bulge-bar' whose distinct
kinematics could serve as direct observational evidence for the secular
evolution in the galaxy. Implications of these results are discussed in
brief.