Abstract
We have considered polar ring galaxy candidates, the images of which can be found in the SDSS survey. The sample of 78 galaxies includes the most reliable candidates from the SPRC and PRC catalogs, some of which already have kinematic confirmations. We analyze the distributions of studied objects by the angle between the polar ring and the central disk, and by the optical diameter of the outer ring structures. In the vast majority of cases, the outer structures lie in the plane close to polar (within 10°–20°) which indicates the stability of the corresponding orbits in the gravitational potential of the halo. Moderately inclined outer structures are observed only in about 6% of objects which probably indicates their short lifetime. In such an unstable configuration, the polar ring would often cross the disk of the galaxy, being smaller than it in the diameter. We show that the inner polar structures and outer large-scale polar rings form a single family in the distribution of diameters normalized to the optical size of the galaxy. At the same time, this distribution is bimodal, as the number of objects with d ring = (0.4–0.7) d disk is small. Such a shape of size distribution is most likely due to the fact that the stability of polar orbits in the inner regions of galaxies is maintained by the bulge or the bar, while in the outer regions it is provided by the spheroidal (or triaxial) halo.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. V. Moiseev, K. I. Smirnova, A. A. Smirnova, and V. P. Reshetnikov, Monthly Notices Roy. Astronom. Soc. 418, 244, (2011).
B.C. Whitmore, R.A. Lucas, D.B. McElroyet, et al., Astronom. J. 100, 1489 (1990).
F. Bournaud and F. Combes, Astronom. and Astrophys. 401, 817 (2003).
F. Combes, EAS Pub. Ser. 20, 97 (2006).
V. Reshetnikov and N. Sotnikova, Astronom. and Astrophys. 325, 933 (1997).
A. V. Maccio, B. Moore, and J. Stabel, Astronom. J. 636, 25 (2006).
C. B. Brook and F. Governato, Astronom. J. 689, 678 (2008).
M. Spavone, E. Iodice, M. Arnaboldi, et al., Astronom. J. 714, 1081 (2010).
B. C. Whitmore, in Warped Disks and Inclined Rings Around Galaxies, Ed. by S. Casertano, P. D. Sackett, and F. H. Briggs (Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 60.
S. Khoperskov, A. Moiseev, and A. Khoperskov, Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana Suppl. 25, 51 (2013).
S. A. Khoperskov et al., submitted to Monthly Notices Roy. Astronom. Soc.
E. Hubble, Astrophys. J. 64, 321 (1926).
A. V. Moiseev, Astrophysical Bulletin 63, 201 (2008).
L. S. Sparke, Monthly Notices Roy. Astronom. Soc. 219, 657 (1986).
A. Habe and S. Ikeuchi, Astrophys. J. 289, 540 (1985).
R. F. Peletier and D. M. Christodoulou, Astronom. J. 105, 1378 (1993).
M. Ideta, S. Hozumi, T. Tsuchiya, and M. Takizawa, Monthly Notices Roy. Astronom. Soc. 311, 733 (2000).
E. Iodice, F. Bournaud, F. Combes, et al., Astrophys. J. 585, 730 (2003).
G. I. G. Józsa, Astronom. and Astrophys. 494, 489 (2009).
G. D. Bothun, Ch. D. Impey, D. Malin, and J. R. Mould, Astronom. J. 94, 23 (1987).
K. K. Ghosh and M. Mapelli, Monthly Notices Roy. Astronom. Soc. 386, L38 (2008).
A. V. Moiseev, Astrophysical Bulletin 67, 147 (2012).
K. wakamatsu, Astronom. J. 105, 1745 (1993).
I. Yu. Katkov, A. V. Moiseev, and O. K Sil’chenko, Astrophys. J. 740, 83 (2011).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © K.I. Smirnova, A.V. Moiseev, 2013, published in Astrofizicheskii Byulleten, 2013, Vol. 68, No. 4, pp. 391–400.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smirnova, K.I., Moiseev, A.V. Are polar rings indeed polar?. Astrophys. Bull. 68, 371–380 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1990341313040019
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1990341313040019