A Photometric Method for Quantifying Asymmetries in Disk Galaxies | Zendy

David A. Kornreich | Zendy; Martha P. Haynes | Zendy; R. V. E. Lovelace | Zendy

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A Photometric Method for Quantifying Asymmetries in Disk Galaxies

Author(s) -

David A. Kornreich,

Martha P. Haynes,

R. V. E. Lovelace

Publication year - 1998

Publication title -

the astronomical journal

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 2.61

H-Index - 271

eISSN - 1538-3881

pISSN - 0004-6256

DOI - 10.1086/300598

Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , asymmetry , galaxy , bulge , spiral galaxy , lenticular galaxy , sample (material) , elliptical galaxy , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics

A photometric method for quantifying deviations from axisymmetry in opticalimages of disk galaxies is applied to a sample of 32 face-on and nearly face-onspirals. The method involves comparing the relative fluxes contained withintrapezoidal sectors arranged symmetrically about the galaxy center of light,excluding the bulge and/or barred regions. Such a method has several advantagesover others, especially when quantifying asymmetry in flocculent galaxies.Specifically, the averaging of large regions improves the signal-to-noise inthe measurements; the method is not strongly affected by the presence of spiralarms; and it identifies the kinds of asymmetry that are likely to bedynamically important. Application of this "method of sectors" to R-band imagesof 32 disk galaxies indicates that about 30% of spirals show deviations fromaxisymmetry at the 5-sigma level.Comment: 17 pages, 2 tables and 6 figures, uses psfig and AAS LaTex; to appear in A

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