[IPARCOS astro] Nov. 30th, 2023 - Molecular gas morphologies in nearby main sequence Galaxies

[IPARCOS astro-seminar] 30/11/2023
Sophia Stuber (Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, MPIA, Heidelberg, DE)
Title: Molecular gas morphologies in nearby main sequence Galaxies
Abstract: The morphology of a galaxy results from secular and environmental processes during its evolutionary history. As such, it is an important tracer of galaxy evolution.
In this talk, I present the first visual classification of morphologies based solely on the molecular gas distribution for a large sample of 79 nearby main-sequence galaxies, using 1" resolution CO(2-1) ALMA observations taken as part of the PHANGS survey.
We devised a morphology classification scheme for different types of bars, spiral arms (grand-design, flocculent, multi-arm and smooth), rings (central and non-central rings) similar to the well-established optical ones, and further introduced classes to describe the shape of bar lanes. I will present our results on spiral arms and stellar bars, and their (dis-)agreement with literature classifications based on the stellar distribution.
In addition, we find that more curved bar lanes show a shorter radial extend in molecular gas and have lower molecular to stellar mass ratios than those with straighter geometries.
Since these bar lanes consist of gas being efficiently funnelled to the centers of galaxies, I further highlight results on inflows to and outflows from the centres of PHANGs galaxies, as well as the central rings that can result from the funneling.