Empirical distributions of galactic $λ$ spin parameters from the SDSS

dc.creatorHernandez, X.
dc.creatorPark, Changbom
dc.creatorCervantes-Sodi, B.
dc.creatorChoi, Yun-Young
dc.date2006-07-26
dc.date2006-11-10
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:23:22Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:23:22Z
dc.descriptionUsing simple dimensional arguments for both spiral and elliptical galaxies, we present formulas to derive an estimate of the halo spin parameter $λ$ for any real galaxy, in terms of common observational parameters. This allows a rough estimate of $λ$, which we apply to a large volume limited sample of galaxies taken from the SDSS data base. The large numbers involved (11,597) allow the derivation of reliable $λ$ distributions, as signal adds up significantly in spite of the errors in the inferences for particular galaxies. We find that if the observed distribution of $λ$ is modeled with a log-normal function, as often done for this distribution in dark matter halos that appear in cosmological simulations, we obtain parameters $λ_{0}=0.04 \pm 0.005$ and $σ_λ=0.51 \pm 0.05$, interestingly consistent with values derived from simulations. For spirals, we find a good correlation between empirical values of $λ$ and visually assigned Hubble types, highlighting the potential of this physical parameter as an objective classification tool.
dc.description8 pages, 6 figures, expanded final version, MNRAS (in press)
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0607605
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0607605
dc.identifierMon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.375:163-170,2007
dc.identifierdoi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11274.x
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/175804
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleEmpirical distributions of galactic $λ$ spin parameters from the SDSS
dc.typetext

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