From kinematics to dynamics in thin galactic discs |
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| Authors: | A Mathieu M R Merrifield |
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| Institution: | University of Nottingham, School of Physics and Astronomy, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD |
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| Abstract: | We present a method for recovering the distribution functions of edge-on thin axisymmetric discs directly from their observable kinematic properties. The most generally observable properties of such a stellar system are the line-of-sight velocity distributions of the stars at different projected radii along the galaxy. If the gravitational potential is known, then the general two-integral distribution function can be reconstructed using the shapes of the high-velocity tails of these line-of-sight distributions. If the wrong gravitational potential is adopted, then a distribution function can still be constructed using this technique, but the low-velocity parts of the observed velocity distributions will not be reproduced by the derived dynamical model. Thus, the gravitational potential is also tightly constrained by the observed kinematics. |
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| Keywords: | galaxies: kinematics and dynamics galaxies: structure |
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