GALAXY EVOLUTION AND ORIGIN

A galaxy is a large group of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity. They come in a variety of
shapes and sizes.

Galaxies are vast groupings of billions of stars and other material gravitationally bound together. They tend to
be found in clusters of dozens to a few hundred members.

The Milky Way Galaxy. Our Sun (a star) and all the planets around it are part of a galaxy known as the
Milky Way Galaxy. A galaxy is a large group of stars, gas, and dust bound together by gravity. They come
in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Galaxies form out of immense clouds of gas that collapse and rotate. As they evolve, stars
form within them. Entire galaxies can collide, changing their appearance

Characteristics of Galaxies
Galaxies tend to have the following characteristics:

 Galaxies range in their numbers of stars from smaller galaxies with just a few hundred million
stars to massive galaxies with trillions of stars.
 Almost all galaxies contain a supermassive black hole at their centers; this excludes some tiny
dwarf galaxies. Black holes are regions of spacetime in which the gravitational well is so strong
that nothing can escape past a certain threshold known as the event horizon.
o Black holes prevent particles of matter or even electromagnetic radiation such as visible
light can emerge again, hence the name.
 Some galaxies have compacted centers surrounding their supermassive black holes with an
extremely high luminosity, called active galactic nuclei (AGN).
The main constituents of our Galaxy are the stars, the interstellar gas and dust, the magnetic field, the
cosmic rays, and the unseen matter.

The stars constitute the major portion of the total luminous* mass of the Galaxy and they are the
principal ‘actors’ of the highly interesting ‘galactic drama’.

The contribution of the gas to the total luminous mass may fairly be taken to be approximately 5 to 10
per cent.

The cosmic ray particles contribute only an insignificant mass but they have considerably large amount
of energy, comparable to the kinetic energy of the interstellar gas.

The shape of the Galaxy is that of a very flattened spheroid having a few open ring-like structures called
spiral arms.

The Sun lies very close to the equatorial plane of this system at an approximate distance of 10 kpc from
the centre (Fig. 16.2). From a more recent study it has been calculated that the Sun’s distance from the
galactic centre is 8.5 kpc. In order to maintain stars and gas in their orbits the Galaxy should possess a
very high rotation which develops the centrifugal force necessary to balance the gravitational attraction
exerted by the large mass of the central core.

A large number of globular clusters surround the Galaxy and are moving in elongated orbits around the
galactic centre.

Groups of stars and star clusters are born in the clouds of dark matter in this great conglomeration.
These newly born stars lie mostly close to the galactic equator where the parent material out of which
they form is concentrated.

The life-spans of these stars are different and depend on the rate of using their fuel which again depends
on their masses and chemical compositions.

During their life time hydrogen is converted into heavier elements in their inner parts while a part of the
matter from the surface layers is ejected into interstellar space in course of their evolution.

Thus the aspect of the Galaxy is changing during a time-scale short compared to the galactic life time.
Stars are born and they die continuously over this changing time-scale.

In every region of the Galaxy, viz. in the solar neighbourhood, in the globular clusters, in the nucleus and
in the spiral arms, stars which are less bright compared to the Sun are still in the main sequence.

The age of the Galaxy is also believed to be somewhat more than 10 billion years.
A Model of Galaxy Formation
We do not yet have a definitive model of how galaxies form. Indeed this is a lively and active area of debate
among astrophysicists. One of the many problems they face in trying to construct a useful model is the need to
match observations of galaxies in the current or nearby Universe with those and those in the early Universe with
theoretical simulations. Recent work on the role of dark matter in the early Universe has led to
the hierarchical or bottom-up model gaining wide acceptance.
In the bottom-up model, the Universe contains cold dark matter (CDM). The "cold" in this case refers to the
average speed of the dark matter particles, they are relatively slow compared to the speed of light. As yet This
CDM results in very slight differences in the density of the primordial Universe. These irregularities can be seen
as anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) as measured by the WMAP satellite and
other instruments. As the Universe expands these slight irregularities and the resultant gravitational instabilities
cause gas clouds to collapse, forming extremely high-mass stars. These are thought to be among the first structures
to form after the decoupling era. Gravity therefore plays the dominant role in galaxy formation.

Credit: Adapted from a diagram by J. Stanger. Background images from AAO, NASA (WMAP and HST).
These massive stars in turn form clusters of stars and gas some 106 × the mass of our Sun. These proto-galactic
structures then interact and merge into larger structures now known as galaxies. Present-day galaxies typically
have masses of 1011 solar masses so must have undergone numerous mergers. Interactions and mergers between
early galaxies also caused higher rates of star formation than we now observe in most nearby galaxies.
Where galaxy interactions are common successive mergers are thought to mop up gas not bound in stars and
smooth the shape. Large elliptical galaxies are the result. Examples of these in the nearby Universe show little or
no free gas and low rates or no star formation.
If a galaxy evolves in relative isolation with few interactions then a spiral galaxy is likely to be the result. these
still have gas in their spiral arms. We can observe star formation still taking place in the arms of spirals.
A Possible History of the Milky Way

1. Either one large spherical gas cloud, or a number of smaller gas clouds
started to form stars.
o Star formation took place through-out the whole cloud(s).
o The original cloud is mainly H and He.
2. If smaller clouds exist they merge with each other to form a larger cloud.
The whole system slowly begins to collapse.
o Any small rotation of the original cloud(s) is amplified during the
collapse due to angular momentum conservation.
o The slow gravitational collapse will tend to produce a region of
higher stellar density near the centre.
o The angular momentum will flatten the distribution of gas.
o The old stars left behind in the halo will have orbits similar to their
orbits before the collapse.
3. In the disk of gas which rotates rapidly, a second generation of stars can
form.

Galaxies)can)grow)in)2)simple)ways) – infall)of)gas)(rain)) –
merger)with)other)galaxiesJ)2)types)with)(wet))and)without)(dry))much)gas)) to)reJphrase))
• Galaxies)can)grow)in)mass)by)forming)new)stars)or)coalescence)(merging))of)preJ
exis.ng)bits) • Both)are)important) – its)much)easier)to)'see')the)mergers)
observa.onally)and)theore.callyJ)but)what)really)happens?

Hubble's Classification of the Galaxies

 Hubble created a classification system based on the
shape of the galaxy to describe the different types of
galaxies observed.
 Galaxies are classified as either: Spiral, Barred Spiral,
Elliptical, Lenticular or Irregular.
 Further subgroups exist within each type of
classification.

What are the 4 types of galaxy?

The smallest of galaxies contain a “mere” few hundred million stars while the largest galaxies
contain up to one hundred trillion stars! Scientists have been able to segment galaxies into 4
main types: spiral, elliptical, peculiar, and irregular.

Spiral Galaxy

have spiraling arms extending from their centers, giving them a pinwheel appearance. These galaxies have
most of their mass in a spherical-shaped denser region called a bulge, while the rest of their mass exists in
the arms of stars and dust spiraling on relatively the same plane. There are subcategories for spiral
galaxies, such as barred spiral and super-luminous spiral.

 Hubble classified the spiral galaxies based on the relative

brightness of the central bulge and the disk and on the
tightness of the spiral windings.
 All spiral galaxies are given the letter "S" and are
followed by the lower-case letter a, b, or c.
 Sa galaxies have the brightest central bulges and very
tightly wound arms which are often not very prominent.
 Sa galaxies have Ibulge/Idisk ~ 0.3
 Sb galaxies have less bright central bulges and more
prominent arms than Sa galaxies.
 Sc galaxies have the dimmest central bulges and have
loosly wound arms which are very prominent.
 Sc galaxies have Ibulge/Idisk ~ 0.05
 Galaxies which are intermediate between Sa and Sb are
labelled Sab. Similarly Sbc are between Sb and Sc.
Barred Spiral Galaxies
  The classification of barred spirals is similar to the
classification of regular spirals.
 Barred Spirals are denoted: SB followed by a, b, or c.
 SBa galaxies have the brightest nuclear bulges.
 SBc galaxies have the least bright nuclear bulges.
 In order of brightest nuclear bulge to least bright: SBa,
SBab, SBb, SBbc, SBc.

 About half of all spiral galaxies are barred spirals.

 All spirals (barred or regular) have young stars and signs
of star formation in the arms of the galaxy.
 The star formation makes the arms look sort of blue in
colour.
 The nuclear bulges typically have older stars which are
redder in colour.
Elliptical Galaxies

Elliptical galaxies range in how nearly spherical they appear from E0 to E7. Elliptical galaxies have
an elliptical appearance, lack structures like arms, and appear to have little interstellar matter such
as dark dust clouds. Additionally, these galaxies appear to have little star formation, and therefore
low amounts of heavier elements formed by stars. Elliptical galaxies may emerge as the result of two
or more galaxies merging.
 Ellipticals are classified by their shape.
 Ellipticals are denoted by: E followed by a number from
0 to 9
 The number is given by 10x(1-b/a) where
b = the apparent size of the short axis
a = the apparent size of the long axis

 It should be remembered that the shape which we see

may not be the true shape.
 A football shaped galaxy will look like a circle if viewed
from the right direction.

 Elliptical galaxies have much less gas and dust than

spiral galaxies.
  Elliptical galaxies have very few young stars.
 Most stars in ellipticals are old red stars.
 The stars in elliptical galaxies formed long ago, and there
has not been a new episode of star formation.
Lenticular Galaxies
 Lenticular galaxies are disk-like galaxies with no
obvious spiral structure.
 S0 denotes a regular lenticular.
 SB0 denotes a barred lenticular.

Irregular Galaxies

Irregular galaxies lack a distinct shape altogether. They lack a galactic nuclear bulge and lack spiral
arms.

 Any galaxy that isn't a spiral, barred spiral, elliptical or

lenticular is called irregular.
 Type I irregulars are denoted: Irr I and have a hint of
spiral structure.
 Type II irregulars are denoted: Irr II and correspond to
everything else.
 The irregular galaxies often show signs of star formation.
 The Large and Small Magellenic clouds are nearby
galaxies which orbit the Milky Way.
 The tides caused by the Milky Way might be deforming
the Magellenic clouds.
  The Magellenic clouds can be seen without a telescope
from the Southern hemisphere

Distances to the Galaxies

 Determinning distance to far away object
requires sequence of steps of using "standard sticks",
"standard candles" or established relation between
properties that depended on distance. We speak
about distance ladder For the Galaxies:
1. Determine distance to nearby stars using parallax.
2. Identify one which can serve as standard candles -
e.g variable stars
3. Calibrate period - luminosity relation for nearby
Cepheids and RR-Lyrae by establishing their
absolute luminosity, since distance have been
measured.
4. Use RR Lyrae to determine distance to globular
clusters
5. Use Cepheids (much rarer) to establish distance to
nearby galaxies
6. Having distance to nearby galaxies, calibrate Tully-
Fisher relation - proportionality between luminosity
of spiral Galaxies and how fast spiral galaxy rotates
 7. Measure rotation of far away spiral galaxies
(Doppler shift) and use Tully-Fisher relation to find
their absolute luminosity, and therefore the distance
from brightness.
8. Use theoretical knowledge of SNIa as standard
candles, calibrate luminosity - decay time based on
nearby (very rare) supernovae, and use SNIa to
measure very far distances.
 Errors in early steps propagate throughout the ladder. E.g
error in parallaxes of 10% means we will know all the
distances in the Universe only up to 10%.

Groups and Clusters of Galaxies

 Galaxies do not exist in isolation.
 The Milky Way has a number of small satellite galaxies (including the
Large and Small Magellenic Clouds) which orbit the Milky Way.
 Together with Andromeda galaxy (M31) and some small galaxies in
between it forms The Local Group
 groups of galaxies have several to several dozen members.
 Masses of groups are ~1013 MSun

NORMAL GALAXIES
  Most of the galaxies which we have looked at so far in
this course are normal galaxies.
 All of the galaxies in the Local Group (including the
Milky Way and Andromeda) are normal galaxies.
 Normal galaxies have total luminosities up to about
1011LSun.
 The spectrum of a galaxy is mainly the sum of the
spectra of all the stars (absorption spectrum) as well as
the dust and Hydrogen gas.
 The luminosity of a normal galaxy does not change much
over short periods of time.

ACTIVE GALAXIES

 Active Galaxies are typically more luminous than normal

galaxies. Typical luminosities range from 1011LSun to
1015LSun.
  The spectrum of an active galaxy includes features which
are usually not seen in the spectrum of stars including:
Hydrogen emission lines; radio synchrotron emission; x-
rays
 The active galaxies often have a nucleus which is much
brighter than the nucleus of a normal galaxy.
 The active galaxies often have gigantic jets pointing out
of the galaxy.
 The luminosity of an active galaxy can change by a
factor of 2 over a short period of time (such as a few
days).
 Some different types of active galaxies are: Radio
Galaxies, Seyfert Galaxies, BL Lac Objects (also known
as Blazars), and Quasars.

QUASARS

Quasars represent an early stage in galaxy formation when a lot of mass was being funneled
toward the central black hole. This constant supply of mass to very large supermassive black
holes allowed quasars to shine with the tremendous luminosities that render them visible all
the way across the universe. On the other hand, active galaxies probably have either smaller
supermassive black holes at their centers, or less mass to supply their accretion disks, or a
combination of both.

 Quasar is short for Quasi-Stellar Object also

abbreviated as QSO.
 These objects were first discovered in the 1960's and
looked like stars (point sources) on photographic plates.
 These objects emitted radio waves and had strong
emission lines, which is not a normal spectrum for a star.
 In 1963 Martin Schmidt identified the emission lines of
Hydrogen in the QSO named 3C 273 and showed that
they were redshifted.
  The redshift for 3C 273 is z = 0.158 which corresponds
to motion of the galaxy at a speed (with respect to us) of
16% the speed of light.
 At the time, this was the largest redshift ever recorded.
 Using Hubble's redshift law, we can find the distance to
3C 273.
 d = v/H0 = cz/H0
 c/H0 = 3 x 105 km/s / 70 km/s/Mpc = 4.3 x 109 pc
 The distance to an object with redshift z is then
 d = z x 4.3 x 109 pc
 This means that the distance to the Quasar 3C 273 is 680
Mpc.
 With this large distance, the luminosity of the quasar
must be very large.

Are active galaxies the same as quasars?

A quasar is an extremely active and luminous type of active galactic nucleus (AGN). All
quasars are AGNs, but not all AGNs are quasars.

Like quasars, active galaxies have very luminous central regions that emit prodigious
amounts of energy, particularly in the radio region of the spectrum. Both quasars and active
galaxies are powered by infalling material that forms an accretion disk around a central
supermassive black hole. Both quasars and active galaxies emit jets of mass and energy
perpendicular to the plane of the host galaxy’s disk.

Quasars are a subclass of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), extremely luminous galactic cores where gas and dust
falling into a supermassive black hole emit electromagnetic radiation across the entire electromagnetic
spectrum. The gas and dust become luminous as a result of the extreme gravitational and frictional forces
exerted on them as they fall into the black hole. Quasars are amongst the most luminous objects in the known
Universe, typically emitting thousands of times more light than the entire Milky Way. They are distinguished
from other AGNs by their enormous luminosity, and their enormous distances from Earth. As the speed of light
is finite, objects observed from Earth are seen as they were when the light we see left them. The nearest quasars
to Earth are still several hundred million light-years away, meaning that they are observed now as they were 600
million years ago. The absence of quasars closer to Earth does not mean that there were never quasars in our
region of the Universe, but instead means that quasars existed when the universe was younger. The study of
quasars provides fascinating insights into the evolution of the Universe.

GALACTIC ROTATION AND COORDINATES

Galactic rotation is the systematic, differential rotation of stars and interstellar matter in a galaxy about
an axis that passes through the galactic center. Spiral and lenticular galaxies have a well-defined
rotational structure whereas the individual stars in elliptical galaxies tend to move in random orbits

Rotation of the Galaxy has been referred to as the differential galactic rotation that produces a type of shearing
motion in the plane of the Galaxy.

velocities of the stars moving in circular orbits—concentric to that of the Sun (but viewed from different
directions from the Sun in the galactic plane) are affected. Stars located in the direction of the galactic centre
and in the direction just opposite to it (anticentre direction) have no relative motion toward or away from the
Sun. These stars have thus zero radial velocities. Stars on orbits situated very close to that of the Sun but at
galactic longitudes 90° and 270° respectively are also moving with approximately the same velocity as that of
the Sun and have no radial velocities. Positive radial velocities are observed in stars at 45° and 225° galactic
longitudes. In the first case, the stars are driven away from us owing to their faster velocities compared to that of
the Sun. In the second case, we are being pulled away with much faster velocities compared to the velocities of
those stars. Similarly, stars at 315° galactic longitudes are observed to be approaching towards us and we are
approaching towards those at 135° galactic longitudes. These stars are assumed to possess negative radial
velocities. A plot of the observed radial velocities of all stars lying on the galactic plane at a particular distance
from the Sun against various galactic longitudes yield a curve as shown in Fig. 16.4
What is the meaning of galactic rotation?
The systematic rotation of stars and gas about the centre of a galaxy. Rotation is most
obvious in spiral and lenticular galaxies, and is also seen in some (but not all) ellipticals and
irregulars. The rotation maintains the structure of the galaxy against further gravitational
collapse.
Galaxies exhibit differential rotation, the time taken for one revolution increasing with distance from the centre. The Sun
orbits the centre of our Galaxy about once every 230 million years, at a speed of 220 km/s
The radial velocity, VR, relative to the Sun, of a disk star in a circular orbit about the galactic
centre depends on its distance d from the Sun. For a given line of sight the radial velocity is a
maximum when the angle α is zero, d = Ro cosl.
What is the galactic rotation curve ?
The rotation curve tells us the overall distribution of matter in the Galaxy, because gravity
controls those orbital motions.
“Rotation Curve” of our Galaxy by plotting the velocity as a function of radial distance d
from the center
Rotation curve of the spiral galaxy M33 (yellow and blue points with error bars), and a predicted one from
distribution of the visible matter (gray line). The discrepancy between the two curves can be accounted for by
adding a dark matter halo surrounding the galaxy.

The red-shifts of spiral galaxies which are sufficiently `edge-on' to us vary across
the galactic disk (for example, NGC 5746), because the galaxies are rotating. As
the galaxies are held together by their own gravity, we can calculate how the
rotation velocity should vary with distance from the galactic centre, in the same
way as we calculate planetary motion around the sun. The results of such
calculations consistently differ from what is seen - observed `rotation curves' vary
much less, as shown below for our galaxy1; the approximate location of the sun (7
to 8 kpc from the galactic centre) is also shown.
The observed rotation curves imply that there is more mass than can be seen, and
that much of this `dark matter' is at large distances from the galactic centre: its
distribution is very different to that of the visible matter.

What is the galactic rotation curve problem?

The galaxy rotation problem is the discrepancy between observed galaxy rotation curves and
the theoretical prediction, assuming a centrally dominated mass associated with the observed
luminous material.

How long is a galactic rotation?

about 212 million years

The rotational period is about 212 million years at the radius of the Sun. The Milky Way as a whole is
moving at a velocity of approximately 600 km per second (372 miles per second) with respect to
extragalactic frames of reference.

What is the formula for galactic rotation?

A location at radius R in the galaxy will have a velocity v=−vc(R)(^R×^n) v = − v c ( R ) ( R
^ × n ^ ) , where ^R is the unit vector that points to the location from the galaxy's center and
^n is a unit vector normal to the disk plane.