Barred spiral galaxy

NGC 1300, viewed nearly face-on. Hubble Space Telescope image.

The Sculptor Galaxy, a barred spiral starburst galaxy, (2MASS).

A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. Bars are found in approximately half of all spiral galaxies^[1]. Bars generally affect both the motions of stars and interstellar gas within spiral galaxies and can affect spiral arms as well^[1].

Edwin Hubble classified these types of spiral galaxies as "SB" (Spiral, Barred) in his Hubble sequence, and arranged them into three sub-categories based on how open the arms of the spiral are. SBa types feature tightly bound arms, while SBc types are at the other extreme and have loosely bound arms. SBb type galaxies lie in between. A fourth type, SBm, was subsequently created to describe somewhat irregular barred spirals, such as the Magellanic Cloud galaxies, which were once classified as irregular galaxies, but have since been found to contain barred spiral structures.

In 2005, observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope backed up previously collected evidence that suggested the Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy. Observations by radio telescopes had for years suggested our galaxy to be barred, but Spitzer's vision in the infrared region of the spectrum has provided a more definite calculation.

The bars

Barred spiral galaxies are relatively common, with surveys showing that up to two-thirds of all spiral galaxies contain a bar.^[2] The current hypothesis is that the bar structure acts as a type of stellar nursery, fueling star birth at their centers. The bar is thought to act as a mechanism that channels gas inwards from the spiral arms through orbital resonance, in effect funneling the flow to create new stars.^[3] This process is also thought to explain why many barred spiral galaxies have active galactic nuclei, such as that seen in the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy.

The creation of the bar is generally thought to be the result of a density wave radiating from the center of the galaxy whose effects reshape the orbits of the inner stars. This effect builds over time to stars orbiting further out, which creates a self-perpetuating bar structure.^[4] Another possible cause of bar creation is gravitational disruptions between galaxies.^{[citation needed]}

Bars are thought to be a temporary phenomenon in the life of spiral galaxies, the bar structure decaying over time, transforming the galaxy from a barred spiral to a "regular" spiral pattern. Past a certain size the accumulated mass of the bar compromises the stability of the overall bar structure. Barred spiral galaxies with high mass accumulated in their center tend to have short, stubby bars. ^[5] Since so many spiral galaxies have a bar structure, it is likely that it is a recurring phenomenon in spiral galaxy development. The oscillating evolutionary cycle from spiral galaxy to barred spiral galaxy is thought to take on the average about two billion years.^[6]

Recent studies have confirmed the idea that bars are a sign of galaxies reaching full maturity as the "formative years" end. A team led by Kartik Sheth of the Spitzer Science Center at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena discovered that only 20 percent of the spiral galaxies in the distant past possessed bars, compared with nearly 70 percent of their modern counterparts.^[7]

The bulges

Studying the core of the Milky Way, scientists found out that the Milky Way's bulge was peanut-shaped. This led to the conclusion that all barred spiral galaxies have a peanut shaped bulge. When observing a distant spiral galaxy with a rotational axis perpendicular to the line of sight, or one that appears "edge-on" to the observer, the shape of the bulge can be easily observed, and therefore quickly classified as either a barred spiral or a regular spiral. Galaxy NGC 4565 has been tentatively classified as a barred spiral galaxy using this method.^[8]

Examples

See also

• Galaxy morphological classification
• Galaxy formation and evolution
• Lenticular galaxy
• Spiral galaxy
• Firehose instability

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Barred spiral galaxies

• Britt, Robert Roy. "Milky Way’s Central Structure Seen with Fresh Clarity." SPACE.com 16 August 2005.
  • An article about the Spitzer Space Telescope's Milky Way discovery
• Devitt, Terry. "Galactic survey reveals a new look for the Milky Way." 16 August 2005.
  • The original press release regarding the article above, from the Univ. of Wisconsin
• SPACE.com staff writers. "'Barred' Spiral Galaxy Pic Highlights Stellar Birth." SPACE.com 2 March 2001.
• Hastings, George and Jane Hastings. Classifying Galaxies: Barred Spirals, 1995.
• Buta, Ronald, D. A. Crocker, and G. G. Byrd. "Astronomers Find Multiple Generations of Star Formation in Central Starburst Ring of a Barred Spiral Galaxy." January 15, 2000.
  • A press release concerning NGC 1326
• Barred spirals come and go Sky & Telescope April 2002.
• "ESO Provides An Infrared Portrait of the Barred Spiral Galaxy Messier 83." November 29, 2001.
  • A press release from the European Southern Observatory.
• 04/03/07: Hubble: Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1672