Morphology of Galaxy

What is Galaxy Morphology?

Astronomers refer to the “morphology” of a
galaxy meaning its shape. Galaxies divide into
three main classes: Spiral (disk dominated),
Elliptical (spheroidal-looking) and Irregulars.
This classification system is called the “Hubble Classification of galaxy
Sequence” and was invented by Edwin Hubble Lenticular and peculiar are other
in 1928. classification of galaxy
Fig. 1) Classification of Galaxy

The three components of our galaxy (disk, halo

and bulge)

A spherical component with random motion –

halo

A flattened component with rotational motion

measured at 200 to 300 km/s near the sun – disk

A third component, also spherical, axists in the

center of the galaxy - bulge
Fig. 2) Halo, Disk and Bulge

Understanding the origin of galaxy morphologies is one of the leading challenges of

galaxy formation studies.

The assembly of a galaxy involves a complex combination of effects,

namely, gas accretion, radiative cooling, star formation, stellar feedback, metal
enrichment, etc. These are all non-linear processes that become intractable in an
analytic framework. Instead, the use of hydrodynamical numerical stimulations
opens up a path to study this problem.

For example, Fig. 3 shows several snapshots of the assembly of a disk galaxy at z=0.
We have used SPH simulations from the OWLS and GIMIC
projects to study the formation of galaxies like the one
shown in the right.

Clearly, galaxies do not always look they do at present

day, but their appearance evolve continuously.

As we move back in time, we can see that objects form

hierarchically by the aggregation of smaller galaxies.
These are the“progenitors” of the objects we observed
today and are fundamental units within the current
Fig. 3) Several snapshots during the
cosmological scenario.
formation of a simulated disk galaxy.
Red/yellow particles correspond to
gas/stars respectively.

Camille C. Angelo BEEd 4-2

 History of Galactic (& Extragalactic) Astronomy
A cluster of galaxies at z=0.81 in the
HSC Cosmos ultra deep field (composite)
An interacting galaxy in the HSC Cosmos
ultra deep field (composite)
Redshift (in km/s) distribution of galaxies in
the equatorial plane of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey
Molecular wind in CO from the nuclear region
of the starburst galaxy NGC 253
With modern facilities working at a large range
of wavelengths, and data gathered in large surveys
combined with state-of-the-art advances in theory and
modeling, we are developing a comprehensive picture
of the formation, evolution, and present-day
characteristics of galaxies.
Much of the department's observational work
on this problem has been carried out in the context of
surveys. We have played a leadership role in the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey(link is external), and have used the
data to explore and characterize the properties
and environments of galaxies and their evironments in
the present-day Universe (Greene, Gunn,
Lupton, Strauss) from their photometric
and spectroscopic properties as well as weak lensing to
learn about their masses. We are using data from
the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic
Program(link is external) to study the properties and
evolution of galaxies, and spectroscopy with
the Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph will allow us to
determine precise redshifts and study their physical
properties in detail. Clusters of galaxies are both
fascinating astrophysical laboratories in their
own right and powerful probes of cosmology (Bahcall,
Gunn, Strauss). The most massive galaxies in the
universe are particularly important probes of galaxy
evolution; the MASSIVE survey is designed to
study their supermassive black holes, dark matter
halos, and stellar populations (Greene).
We are also very interested in the evolution of
Active Galactic Nuclei and quasars (Strauss, Greene)
and their relationship with "ordinary" galaxies and the
demographics of black holes. We have discovered
some of the most distant quasars in the universe,
studied their demographics over cosmic time, and
explored the nature of obscured quasars. We are
carrying out a variety of studies of distant
galaxies using quasar absorption lines (Jenkins,
Bowen), very deep imaging and spectroscopy, and
strong gravitational lenses (Strauss).
Camille C. Angelo BEEd 4-2