Bibcode
DOI
Erwin, Peter; Sparke, Linda S.
Referencia bibliográfica
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 124, Issue 1, pp. 65-77.
Fecha de publicación:
7
2002
Número de citas
173
Número de citas referidas
139
Descripción
We present results from a survey of an unbiased sample of 38 early-type
(S0-Sa), low-inclination, optically barred galaxies in the field, using
images both from the ground and from space. Our goal was to find and
characterize central stellar and gaseous structures: secondary bars,
inner disks, and nuclear rings. We find that bars inside bars are
surprisingly common: at least one-quarter of the sample galaxies
(possibly as many as 40%) are double barred, with no preference for
Hubble type or the strength of the primary bar. A typical secondary bar
is ~12% of the size of its primary bar and extends to 240-750 pc in
radius. Secondary bars are not systematically either parallel or
perpendicular to the primary; we see cases where they lead the primary
bar in rotation and others where they trail, which supports the
hypothesis that the two bars of a double-bar system rotate
independently. We see no significant effect of secondary bars on nuclear
activity: our double-barred galaxies are no more likely to harbor a
Seyfert or LINER nucleus than our single-barred galaxies. We find
kiloparsec-scale inner disks in at least 20% of our sample; they occur
almost exclusively in S0 galaxies. These disks are on average 20% the
size of their host bar and show a wider range of relative sizes than do
secondary bars. Nuclear rings are present in about a third of our
sample. Most of these rings are dusty, sites of current or recent star
formation, or both; such rings are preferentially found in Sa galaxies.
Three S0 galaxies (8% of the sample, but 15% of the S0's) appear to have
purely stellar nuclear rings, with no evidence for dust or recent star
formation. The fact that these central stellar structures are so common
indicates that the inner regions of early-type barred galaxies typically
contain dynamically cool and disklike structures. This is especially
true for S0 galaxies, where secondary bars, inner disks, and/or stellar
nuclear rings are present at least two-thirds of the time. If we
interpret nuclear rings, secondary bars, and (possibly) inner disks and
nuclear spirals as signs of inner Lindblad resonances (ILRs), then
between one and two-thirds of barred S0-Sa galaxies show evidence for
ILRs.