Stellar Bars in Counter-Rotating Dark Matter Halos: The Role of Halo Orbit Reversals

TL;DR

This study investigates how stellar bars evolve in retrograde dark matter halos, revealing unique dynamics such as orbit reversal that influence angular momentum transfer and differ significantly from prograde halo interactions.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of orbit reversal in retrograde halos and demonstrates its impact on bar evolution and angular momentum transfer, expanding understanding of galaxy-halo interactions.

Findings

Bar instability is delayed in retrograde halos.

Bars grow substantially over 10 Gyr in retrograde halos.

Orbit reversal enables retrograde orbits to become prograde, enhancing angular momentum transfer.

Abstract

Disk galaxies can exchange angular momentum and baryons with their host dark matter (DM) halos. These halos possess internal spin, `lambda', which is insignificant rotationally but does affect interactions between the baryonic and DM components. While statistics of prograde and retrograde spinning halos in galaxies is not available at present, the existence of such halos is important for galaxy evolution. In the previous works, we analyzed dynamical and secular evolution of stellar bars in prograde spinning halos and the DM response to the bar perturbation, and found that it is modified by the resonant interactions between the bar and the DM halo orbits. In the present work, we follow the evolution of stellar bars in retrograde halos. We find, that this evolution differs substantially from evolution in rigid unresponsive halos, discussed in the literature. First, we confirm that the bar instability is delayed progressively along the retrograde `lambda' sequence. Second, the bar evolution in the retrograde halos differs also from that in the prograde halos, in that the bars continue to grow substantially over the simulation time of 10 Gyr. The DM response is also substantially weaker compared to this response in the prograde halos. Third, using orbital spectral analysis of the DM orbital structure, we find a phenomenon we call the orbit reversal --- when retrograde DM orbits interact with the stellar bar, reverse their streaming and precession, and become prograde. This process dominates the inner halo region adjacent to the bar and allows these orbits to be trapped by the bar, thus increasing efficiency of angular momentum transfer by the Inner Lindblad Resonance. We demonstrate this reversal process explicitly in a number of examples.