The Outer Structure of Galactic Disks: Connections Between Bars, Disks, and Environments

TL;DR

This paper investigates the relationship between surface-brightness profiles of galactic disks, bars, and environments, revealing correlations between profile types, bar presence, and galaxy environment, with implications for galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It identifies how disk profile types correlate with bars and environment, highlighting the influence of bars and cluster conditions on galaxy structure.

Findings

Type II profiles are more common in barred galaxies, especially related to the bar's Outer Lindblad Resonance.

Type III profiles are more frequent in unbarred galaxies and less common in strongly barred ones.

Environmental effects, like ram-pressure stripping, influence the prevalence of certain disk profiles.

Abstract

Surface-brightness profiles for early-type (S0-Sb) disks exhibit three main classes (Type I, II, and III). Type II profiles are more common in barred galaxies, and most of the time appear to be related to the bar's Outer Lindblad Resonance. Roughly half of barred galaxies in the field have Type II profiles, but almost none in the Virgo Cluster do; this might be related to ram-pressure stripping in clusters. A strong \textit{anti}correlation is found between Type III profiles ("antitruncations") and bars: Type III profiles are most common when there is no bar, and least common when there is a strong bar.