No Arabic abstract
We present here a thorough photometric analysis of double-barred galaxies, consisting of i) two-dimensional photometric decompositions including a bulge, inner bar, outer bar, and (truncated) disc; and ii) three-dimensional statistical deprojections to derive the intrinsic shape of bulges, inner bars, and outer bars. This is the first time the combination of both techniques is applied to a sample of double-barred galaxies. It represents a step forward with respect to previous works, which are based on properties of the integrated light through ellipse fitting and unsharp masking. In this first paper of a series of two, we analyse the nature of the dominant bulges within double-barred systems by using several photometric diagnostics, namely Sersic index, Kormendy relation, colours, and the better suited intrinsic flattening. Our results indicate that almost all bulges in our sample are classical, whereas only 2 out of the 17 galaxies under study appear as potential candidates to host secularly-formed disc-like bulges. Such result poses the possibility that having a central hot structure may be a requirement for inner bar formation.
The intrinsic photometric properties of inner and outer stellar bars within 17 double-barred galaxies are thoroughly studied through a photometric analysis consisting of: i) two-dimensional multi-component photometric decompositions, and ii) three-dimensional statistical deprojections for measuring the thickening of bars, thus retrieving their 3D shape. The results are compared with previous measurements obtained with the widely used analysis of integrated light. Large-scale bars in single- and double-barred systems show similar sizes, and inner bars may be longer than outer bars in different galaxies. We find two distinct groups of inner bars attending to their in-plane length and ellipticity, resulting in a bimodal behaviour for the inner/outer bar length ratio. Such bimodality is related neither to the properties of the host galaxy nor the dominant bulge, and it does not show a counterpart in the dimension off the disc plane. The group of long inner bars lays at the lower end of the outer bar length vs. ellipticity correlation, whereas the short inner bars are out of that relation. We suggest that this behaviour could be due to either a different nature of the inner discs from which the inner bars are dynamically formed, or a different assembly stage for the inner bars. This last possibility would imply that the dynamical assembly of inner bars is a slow process taking several Gyr to happen. We have also explored whether all large-scale bars are prone to develop an inner bar at some stage of their lives, possibility we cannot fully confirm or discard.
We present detailed morphological, photometric, and stellar-kinematic analyses of the central regions of two massive, early-type barred galaxies with nearly identical large-scale morphologies. Both have large, strong bars with prominent inner photome
(Abridged) We study the incidence, as well as the nature, of composite bulges in a sample of 10 face-on barred galaxies to constrain the formation and evolutionary processes of the central regions of disk galaxies. We analyze the morphological, photometric, and kinematic properties of each bulge. Then, by using a case-by-case analysis we identify composite bulges and classify every component into a classical or pseudobulge. In addition, bar-related boxy/peanut (B/P) structures were also identified and characterised. We find only three galaxies hosting a single-component bulge (two pseudobulges and one classical bulge). We find evidence of composite bulges coming in two main types based on their formation: secular-built and merger- and secular-built. We call secular-built to composite bulges made of entirely by structures associated with secular processes such as pseudo bulges, central disks, or B/P bulges. We find four composite bulges of this kind in our sample. On the other hand, merger- and secular-built bulges are those where structures with different formation paths coexist within the same galaxy, i.e., a classical bulge coexisting with a secular-built structure (pseudobulge, central disk, or B/P). Three bulges of this kind were found in the sample. We remark on the importance of detecting kinematic structures such as sigma-drops to identify composite bulges. A large fraction (80%) of galaxies were found to host sigma-drops or sigma-plateaus in our sample revealing their high incidence in barred galaxies. The high frequency of composite bulges in barred galaxies points towards a complex formation and evolutionary scenario. Moreover, the evidence for coexisting merger- and secular-built bulges reinforce this idea. We discuss how the presence of different bulge types, with different formation histories and timescales, can constrain current models of bulge formation.
S0 galaxies are known to host classical bulges with a broad range of size and mass, while some such S0s are barred and some not. The origin of the bars has remained as a long-standing problem -- what made bar formation possible in certain S0s? By analysing a large sample of S0s with classical bulges observed by the Spitzer space telescope, we find that most of our barred S0s host comparatively low-mass classical bulges, typically with bulge-to-total ratio ($B/T$) less than $0.5$; whereas S0s with more massive classical bulges than these do not host any bar. Furthermore, we find that amongst the barred S0s, there is a trend for the longer and massive bars to be associated with comparatively bigger and massive classical bulges -- possibly suggesting bar growth being facilitated by these classical bulges. In addition, we find that the bulge effective radius is always less than the bar effective radius --indicating an interesting synergy between the host classical bulge and bars being maintained while bar growth occurred in these S0s.
We study nine S0-Sb galaxies with (photometric) bulges consisting of two distinct components. The outer component is a flattened, kinematically cool, disklike structure: a disky pseudobulge. Embedded inside is a rounder, kinematically hot spheroid: a classical bulge. This indicates that pseudobulges and classical bulges are not mutually exclusive: some galaxies have both. The disky pseudobulges almost always have an exponential disk (scale lengths = 125-870 pc, mean $sim 440$ pc) with disk-related subcomponents: nuclear rings, bars, and/or spiral arms. They constitute 11-59% of the galaxy stellar mass (mean PB/T = 0.33), with stellar masses $sim 7 times 10^{9}$-$9 times 10^{10} M_{odot}$. Classical-bulge components have Sersic indices of 0.9-2.2, effective radii of 25-430 pc and stellar masses of $5 times 10^{8}$-$3 times 10^{10} M_{odot}$ (usually < 10% of the galaxys stellar mass; mean B/T = 0.06). The classical bulges show rotation, but are kinematically hotter than the disky pseudobulges. Dynamical modeling of three systems indicates that velocity dispersions are isotropic in the classical bulges and equatorially biased in the disky pseudobulges. In the mass--radius and mass--stellar mass density planes, classical-bulge components follow sequences defined by ellipticals and (larger) classical bulges. Disky pseudobulges also fall on this sequence; they are more compact than similar-mass large-scale disks. Although some classical bulges are quite compact, they are distinct from nuclear star clusters in both size and mass, and coexist with nuclear clusters in at least two galaxies. Since almost all the galaxies in this study are barred, they probably also host boxy/peanut-shaped bulges (vertically thickened inner parts of bars). NGC 3368 shows evidence for such a zone outside its disky pseudobulge, making it a galaxy with all three types of bulge.