A mass-velocity anisotropy relation in galactic stellar disks

TL;DR

This study models the velocity ellipsoid in galactic disks using stellar dispersion data, revealing diverse orbital structures, a correlation with galaxy luminosity, and questioning the applicability of epicycle theory in galaxy dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a method to measure the azimuthal-to-radial velocity ellipsoid ratio in disks and uncovers a new correlation with galaxy luminosity, challenging existing theoretical assumptions.

Findings

Disks show diverse orbital anisotropies from tangential to radial.

More luminous disks tend to have more radial stellar orbits.

Epicycle theory fails to explain the observed anisotropy diversity.

Abstract

The ellipsoid of stellar random motions is a fundamental ingredient of galaxy dynamics. Yet it has long been difficult to constrain this component in disks others than the Milky Way. This article presents the modeling of the azimuthal-to-radial axis ratio of the velocity ellipsoid of galactic disks from stellar dispersion maps using integral field spectroscopy data of the CALIFA survey. The measured azimuthal anisotropy is shown to be not strongly dependent on the assumed vertical-to-radial dispersion ratio of the ellipsoid. The anisotropy distribution shows a large diversity in the orbital structure of disk galaxies from tangential to radial stellar orbits. Globally, the orbits are isotropic in inner disk regions and become more radial as a function of radius, although this picture tends to depend on galaxy morphology and luminosity. The Milky Way orbital anisotropy profile measured from the Second Gaia Data Release is consistent with those of CALIFA galaxies. A new correlation is evidenced, linking the absolute magnitude or stellar mass of the disks to the azimuthal anisotropy. More luminous disks have more radial orbits and less luminous disks have isotropic and somewhat tangential orbits. This correlation is consistent with the picture in galaxy evolution in which orbits become more radial as the mass grows and is redistributed as a function of time. With the help of circular velocity curves, it is also shown that the epicycle theory fails to reproduce the diversity of the azimuthal anisotropy of stellar random motions, as it predicts only nearly radial orbits in the presence of flat curves. The origin of this conflict is yet to be identified. It also questions the validity of the vertical-to-radial axis ratio of the velocity ellipsoid derived by many studies in the framework of the epicyclic approximation.