Dynamical Imprint of Dark Matter Halo and Interstellar Gas on Spiral Structure in Disk Galaxies

TL;DR

This thesis explores how dark matter halos suppress and interstellar gas promotes the longevity of spiral structures in disk galaxies through theoretical and numerical analysis.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical and numerical study of the contrasting effects of dark matter halos and interstellar gas on spiral arm formation and persistence in disk galaxies.

Findings

Dark matter halos suppress spiral instabilities in galaxy disks.

Interstellar gas extends the lifetime of spiral arms.

Dark matter dominates rotation curves in dwarf galaxies.

Abstract

This thesis investigates the dynamical effect of two structural components of disk galaxies, namely, the dark matter halo and the interstellar gas on the origin and persistence issue of spiral structure in disk galaxies through theoretical modeling and numerical calculations. These studies have been carried out under two well-known paradigm for generation of spiral arms, namely, the density wave theory and the small-scale material arm generated by swing amplification. The basic theoretical model of the galactic disk used involves gravitationally-coupled two-component system (stars and gas) embedded in a rigid and non-responsive dark matter halo. The first part of the thesis involves searching for the dynamical effect of dark matter halo on small-scale spiral structure in dwarf low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies and also some dwarf irregular galaxies which host an extended HI disk. In both cases, the rotation curves are found to be dominated by the contribution of the dark matter halo over a large radial distance, starting from the inner regions of the galaxies. The next part of the thesis deals with the investigation of the possible effect of the interstellar gas on the persistence issue and the pattern speeds of the spiral structure in the disk galaxies. The last part of the thesis involves in studying the dynamical effect of dark matter halo on large-scale spiral structure. As shown in this thesis, the dark matter halo and the interstellar have opposite dynamical effects on the origin and persistence issue of the spiral arms. The dark matter halo suppresses both small-scale and large-scale spiral instability in those disk galaxies which are dynamically dominated by dark matter halo from the very innermost regions. On the other hand, the interstellar gas helps the spiral arms to survive for a longer time-scale (several billion year).