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Register a new userNear-exponential surface densities as hydrostatic, nonequilibrium profiles in galaxy discs
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Curtis Struck
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Apparent exponential surface density profiles are nearly universal in galaxy discs across Hubble types, over a wide mass range, and a diversity of gravitational potential forms. Several processes have been found to produce exponential profiles, including the actions of bars and spirals, and clump scattering, with star scattering a common theme in these. Based on reasonable physical constraints, such as minimal entropy gradients, we propose steady state distribution functions for disc stars, applicable over a range of gravitational potentials. The resulting surface density profiles are generally a power-law term times a Sersic-type exponential. Over a modest range of Sersic index values, these profiles are often indistinguishable from Type I exponentials, except at the innermost radii. However, in certain parameter ranges these steady states can appear as broken, Type II or III profiles. The corresponding velocity dispersion profiles are low order power-laws. A chemical potential associated with scattering can help understand the effects of long range scattering. The steady profiles are found to persist through constant velocity expansions or contractions in evolving discs. The proposed distributions and profiles are simple and solve the stellar hydrodynamic equations. They may be especially relevant to thick discs, which have settled to a steady form via scattering.
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We present the reconstruction of hydrostatic mass profiles in 13 X-ray luminous galaxy clusters that have been mapped in their X-ray and SZ signal out to $R_{200}$ for the XMM-Newton Cluster Outskirts Project (X-COP). Using profiles of the gas temperature, density and pressure that have been spatially resolved out to (median value) 0.9 $R_{500}$, 1.8 $R_{500}$, and 2.3 $R_{500}$, respectively, we are able to recover the hydrostatic gravitating mass profile with several methods and using different mass models. The hydrostatic masses are recovered with a relative (statistical) median error of 3% at $R_{500}$ and 6% at $R_{200}$. By using several different methods to solve the equation of the hydrostatic equilibrium, we evaluate some of the systematic uncertainties to be of the order of 5% at both $R_{500}$ and $R_{200}$. A Navarro-Frenk-White profile provides the best-fit in nine cases out of 13, with the remaining four cases that do not show a statistically significant tension with it. The distribution of the mass concentration follows the correlations with the total mass predicted from numerical simulations with a scatter of 0.18 dex, with an intrinsic scatter on the hydrostatic masses of 0.15 dex. We compare them with the estimates of the total gravitational mass obtained through X-ray scaling relations applied to $Y_X$, gas fraction and $Y_{SZ}$, and from weak lensing and galaxy dynamics techniques, and measure a substantial agreement with the results from scaling laws, from WL at both $R_{500}$ and $R_{200}$ (with differences below 15%), from cluster velocity dispersions, but a significant tension with the caustic masses that tend to underestimate the hydrostatic masses by 40% at $R_{200}$. We also compare these measurements with predictions from alternative models to the Cold Dark Matter, like the Emergent Gravity and MOND scenarios.
We compare X-ray and caustic mass profiles for a sample of 16 massive galaxy clusters. We assume hydrostatic equilibrium in interpreting the X-ray data, and use large samples of cluster members with redshifts as a basis for applying the caustic technique. The hydrostatic and caustic masses agree to better than $approx20%$ on average across the radial range covered by both techniques $(sim[0.2-1.25]R_{500})$. The mass profiles were measured independently and do not assume a common functional form. Previous studies suggest that, at $R_{500}$, the hydrostatic and caustic masses are biased low and high respectively. We find that the ratio of hydrostatic to caustic mass at $R_{500}$ is $1.20^{+0.13}_{-0.11}$; thus it is larger than 0.9 at $approx3sigma$ and the combination of under- and over-estimation of the mass by these two techniques is $approx10%$ at most. There is no indication of any dependence of the mass ratio on the X-ray morphology of the clusters, indicating that the hydrostatic masses are not strongly systematically affected by the dynamical state of the clusters. Overall, our results favour a small value of the so-called hydrostatic bias due to non-thermal pressure sources.
We examine the relation between breaks in the surface brightness profiles and radial abundance gradients within the optical radius in the discs of 134 spiral galaxies from the CALIFA survey. The distribution of the radial abundance (in logarithmic scale) in each galaxy was fitted by simple and broken linear relations. The surface brightness profile was fitted assuming pure and broken exponents for the disc. We find that the maximum absolute difference between the abundances in a disc given by broken and pure linear relations is less than 0.05 dex in the majority of our galaxies and exceeds the scatter in abundances for 26 out of 134 galaxies considered. The scatter in abundances around the broken linear relation is close (within a few percent) to that around the pure linear relation. The breaks in the surface brightness profiles are more prominent. The scatter around the broken exponent in a number of galaxies is lower by a factor of two or more than that around the pure exponent. The shapes of the abundance gradients and surface brightness profiles within the optical radius in a galaxy may be different. A pure exponential surface brightness profile may be accompanied by a broken abundance gradient and vise versa. There is no correlation between the break radii of the abundance gradients and surface brightness profiles. Thus, a break in the surface brightness profile does not need to be accompanied by a break in the abundance gradient.
The radial profiles of stars in disc galaxies are observed to be either purely exponential (Type-I), truncated (Type-II) or anti-truncated (Type-III) exponentials. Controlled formation simulations of isolated galaxies can reproduce all of these profile types by varying a single parameter, the initial halo spin. In this paper we examine these simulations in more detail in an effort to identify the physical mechanism that leads to the formation of Type-III profiles. The stars in the anti-truncated outskirts of such discs are now on eccentric orbits, but were born on near-circular orbits at much smaller radii. We show that, and explain how, they were driven to the outskirts via non-linear interactions with a strong and long-lived central bar, which greatly boosted their semi-major axis but also their eccentricity. While bars have been known to cause radial heating and outward migration to stellar orbits, we link this effect to the formation of Type-III profiles. This predicts that the anti-truncated parts of galaxies have unusual kinematics for disc-like stellar configurations: high radial velocity dispersions and slow net rotation. Whether such discs exist in nature, can be tested by future observations.
Aims: The physics driving features such as breaks observed in galaxy surface brightness (SB) profiles remains contentious. Here, we assess the importance of stellar radial motions in shaping their characteristics. Methods: We use the simulated Milky Way-mass, cosmological discs, from the Ramses Disc Environment Study (RaDES) to characterise the radial redistribution of stars in galaxies displaying type I (pure exponentials), II (downbending), and III (upbending) SB profiles. We compare radial profiles of the mass fractions and the velocity dispersions of different sub-populations of stars according to their birth and current locations. Results: Radial redistribution of stars is important in all galaxies regardless of their light profiles. Type II breaks seem to be a consequence of the combined effects of outward-moving and accreted stars. The former produces shallower inner profiles (lack of stars in the inner disc) and accumulate material around the break radius and beyond, strengthening the break; the latter can weaken or even convert the break into a pure exponential. Further accretion from satellites can concentrate material in the outermost parts, leading to type III breaks that can coexist with type II breaks, but situated further out. Type III galaxies would be the result of an important radial redistribution of material throughout the entire disc, as well as a concentration of accreted material in the outskirts. In addition, type III galaxies display the most efficient radial redistribution and the largest number of accreted stars, followed by type I and II systems, suggesting that type I galaxies may be an intermediate case between types II and III. In general, the velocity dispersion profiles of all galaxies tend to flatten or even ncrease around the locations where the breaks are found. The age and metallicity profiles are also affected, exhibiting...[abridged]
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