Is Messier 74 a barred spiral galaxy?

Abstract

We have obtained ground-based I, J and K band images of the spiral galaxy, Messier 74 (NGC 628). This galaxy has been shown to possess a circumnuclear ring of star formation from both near-infrared spectroscopy of CO absorption and sub-millimetre imaging of CO emission. Circumnuclear rings of star formation are believed to exist only as a result of a bar potential. In this paper we show evidence for a weak oval distortion in the centre of M74. We use the results of Combes & Gerin (1985) to suggest that this weak oval potential is responsible for the circumnuclear ring of star formation observed in M74.

4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Late-type galaxies observed with SAURON. Two-dimensional stellar and emission-line kinematics of 18 spirals
• PPAK Wide-field Integral Field Spectroscopy of NGC 628: I. The largest spectroscopic mosaic on a single galaxy
• Constraining dark matter halo profiles and galaxy formation models using spiral arm morphology. I. Method outline
• PPAK Wide field Integral Field Spectroscopy of NGC 628 III. Stellar population properties
• Near-infrared constraints on the driving mechanisms for spiral structure
• Stellar Population Properties and Evolution Analysis of NGC 628 with the Panchromatic Photometry
• PHANGS-JWST First Results: A combined HST and JWST analysis of the nuclear star cluster in NGC 628
• Azimuthal propagation of star formation in nearby spiral galaxies: NGC 628, NGC 3726 and NGC 6946