Bars and Boxy/Peanut-Shaped Bulges: An Observational Point of View
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Prompted by work on the buckling instability in barred spiral galaxies, much effort has been devoted lately to the study of boxy/peanut-shaped (B/PS) bulges. Here, we present new bar diagnostics for edge-on spiral galaxies based on periodic orbits calculations and hydrodynamical simulations. Both approaches provide reliable ways to identify bars and their orientations in edge-on systems. We also present the results of an observational search for bars in a large sample of edge-on spirals with and without B/PS bulges. We show that most B/PS bulges are due to the presence of a thick bar viewed edge-on while only a few may be due to accretion. This strongly supports the bar-buckling mechanism for the formation of B/PS bulges.
4 pages, 3 figures (LaTeX, cupconf.sty). To appear in the proceedings of the STScI workshop "When and How do Bulges Form and Evolve", eds. C. M. Carollo, H. C. Ferguson, and R. F. G. Wyse, Cambridge: CUP
4 pages, 3 figures (LaTeX, cupconf.sty). To appear in the proceedings of the STScI workshop "When and How do Bulges Form and Evolve", eds. C. M. Carollo, H. C. Ferguson, and R. F. G. Wyse, Cambridge: CUP