Evidence in favour of density wave theory through star formation history maps and spatially resolved stellar clusters

Abstract

Stationary Density Wave Theory predicts the existence of an age gradient across the spiral arms with a phase crossing at the co-rotation radius. Using star formation history (SFH) maps of 12 nearby spiral galaxies derived from \textsc{LIGHTNING} \citep{Eufracio:2017}, a spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting procedure, and by using \textsc{Spirality} \citep{Shield:2015} a \textsc{MATLAB}-based code which plots synthetic spiral arms over \textsc{FITS} images, we have found a gradual decrement in pitch angles with increasing age, thus providing us with evidence in favour of the Stationary Density Wave Theory. We have also used azimuthal offsets of spatially resolved stellar clusters in 3 LEGUS galaxies to observe age trends.

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• Colour jumps across the spiral arms of Hubble Ultra Deep Field galaxies
• Lightning: An X-ray to Submillimeter Galaxy SED-Fitting Code With Physically-Motivated Stellar, Dust, and AGN Models
• The Environments of Fast Radio Bursts Viewed Using Adaptive Optics
• Probing the Low-mass End of the Black Hole Mass Function via a Study of Faint Local Spiral Galaxies
• Molecular clouds in M51 from high-resolution extinction mapping
• Identification of Intermediate-mass Black Hole Candidates Among a Sample of Sd Galaxies
• A Comprehensive Analysis on the Nature of the Spiral Arms in NGC 3686, NGC 4321, and NGC 2403
• A Dynamic Galaxy: Stellar Age Patterns Across the Disk of M101