Dynamical resonances in PHANGS galaxies

Abstract

Bars are remarkable stellar structures that can transport gas toward centers and drive the secular evolution of galaxies. In this context, it is important to locate dynamical resonances associated with bars. For this study, we used Spitzer near-infrared images as a proxy for the stellar gravitational potential and the ALMA CO(J=2-1) gas distribution from the PHANGS survey to determine the position of the main dynamical resonances associated with the bars in the PHANGS sample of 74 nearby star-forming galaxies. We used the gravitational torque method to estimate the location of the bar corotation radius ($R_ CR $), where stars and gas rotate at the same angular velocity as the bar. Of the 46 barred galaxies in PHANGS, we have successfully determined the corotation (CR) for 38 of them. The mean ratio of the $R_ CR $ to the bar radius ($R_ bar $) is $ R = R_ CR /R_ bar = 1.12$, with a standard deviation of $0.39$. This is consistent with the average value expected from theory and suggests that bars are predominantly fast. We also compared our results with other bar CR measurements from the literature, which employ different methods, and find good agreement ($ = 0.64$). Finally, using rotation curves, we have estimated other relevant resonances such as the inner Lindblad resonance (ILR) and the outer Lindblad resonance (OLR), which are often associated with rings. This work provides a useful catalog of resonances for a large sample of nearby galaxies and emphasizes the clear connection between bar dynamics and morphology.