paper

Confirmation of a Kinematic Diagnostic for Face-On B/P Bulges

arXiv:0804.3589 · doi:10.1086/589541

Abstract

We present the results of high resolution absorption-line spectroscopy of 3 face-on galaxies, NGC 98, NGC 600, and NGC 1703 with the aim of searching for box/peanut (B/P)-shaped bulges. These observations test and confirm, for the first, time the prediction that face-on B/P-shaped bulges can be recognized by two minima in the profile along the bar's major axis of the fourth Gauss-Hermite moment h_4 of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD). In NGC 98, a clear double minimum in h_4 is present along the major axis of the bar and before the end of the bar, as predicted. In contrast, in NGC 600, which is also a barred galaxy but lacks a substantial bulge, we do not find any significant kinematic signature for a B/P-shaped bulge. In NGC 1703, which is an unbarred control galaxy, we found no evidence of a B/P bulge. We also show directly that the LOSVD is broader at the location of the h_4 minimum in NGC 98 than elsewhere. This more direct method avoids possible artifacts associated with the degeneracy between the measurement of line-of-sight velocity dispersion and h_4.

12 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in ApJL

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