Structure in phase space associated with spiral and bar density waves in an N-body galactic disk

TL;DR

This study uses N-body simulations to analyze the complex velocity structures in a galactic disk, revealing how spiral arms, bars, and resonances shape local stellar velocity distributions and their implications for understanding the Milky Way.

Contribution

It demonstrates the coupling of multiple galactic patterns and their resonances, linking velocity distribution features to spiral arm structures and resonances in a simulated galaxy.

Findings

Multiple velocity clumps are common across different radii.

Gaps in velocity distributions relate to spiral arm kinks and Lindblad resonances.

Local velocity features resemble observed Milky Way structures.

Abstract

An N-body hybrid simulation, integrating both massive and tracer particles, of a Galactic disk is used to study the stellar phase space distribution or velocity distributions in different local neighborhoods. Pattern speeds identified in Fourier spectrograms suggest that two-armed and three-armed spiral density waves, a bar and a lopsided motion are coupled in this simulation, with resonances of one pattern lying near resonances of other patterns. We construct radial and tangential (uv) velocity distributions from particles in different local neighborhoods. More than one clump is common in these local velocity distributions regardless of the position in the disk. Features in the velocity distribution observed at one galactic radius are also seen in nearby neighborhoods (at larger and smaller radii) but with shifted mean v values. This is expected if the v velocity component of a clump sets the mean orbital galactic radius of its stars. We find that gaps in the velocity distribution are associated with the radii of kinks or discontinuities in the spiral arms. These gaps also seem to be associated with Lindblad resonances with spiral density waves and so denote boundaries between different dominant patterns in the disk. We discuss implications for interpretations of the Milky Way disk based on local velocity distributions. Velocity distributions created from regions just outside the bar's Outer Lindblad resonance and with the bar oriented at 45 degrees from the Sun-Galactic center line more closely resemble that seen in the solar neighborhood (triangular in shape at lower uv and with a Hercules like stream) when there is a strong nearby spiral arm, consistent with the observed Centaurus Arm tangent, just interior to the solar neighborhood.