Some aspects of the galactic orientation within the Local Supercluster

Investigation of galactic alignment is very important for understanding the galaxy formation process. A method for investigating the galactic rotation axes in the Local Supercluster (LSC) is applied to a sample of 2227 galaxies chosen from the UGC and ESO catalogue to determine how the orientation d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 1994-11, Vol.271 (1), p.19-30
Main Author: Godlowski, Wlodzimierz
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cosmology: observations
galaxies: clustering
galaxies: formation
galaxies: fundamental parameters
large-scale structure of Universe
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Summary:Investigation of galactic alignment is very important for understanding the galaxy formation process. A method for investigating the galactic rotation axes in the Local Supercluster (LSC) is applied to a sample of 2227 galaxies chosen from the UGC and ESO catalogue to determine how the orientation depends on the supergalactic coordinates and radial velocity distance. The method takes into account both the galactic image position angle and the inclination of galaxy with respect to the observer's line of sight. Another independent sample of galaxies taken from Tully's Nearby Galaxy Catalog is also used. Statistical analysis of the distribution of galactic planes throughout the LSC reveals that the distribution is anisotropic. Throughout the Supercluster the planes tend to be oriented perpendicular to the LSC plane. The projection of galactic rotation axes on the LSC plane shows a tendency to point towards the Virgo cluster centre. This effect depends strongly on the supergalactic coordinate. Differences between spiral and non-spiral galaxies are observed, with a weaker alignment for spirals. Our results support the so-called ‘pancake’ or ‘hedgehog’ models as candidates for the galaxy formation scenario.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/271.1.19