Tidally-triggered disk thickening. II. Results and interpretations.
Abstract
We have reported in a previous paper (Paper I, Reshetnikov and Combes, 1996A&AS..116..417R) B,V and I band photometric data for a sample of 24 edge-on interacting spiral galaxies, together with a control sample of 7 edge-on isolated galaxies. We discuss here the main result found in this study: the ratio h/z_0_ of the radial exponential scalelength h to the constant scaleheight z_0_ is about twice smaller for interacting galaxies. This is found to be due both to a thickening of the plane, and to a radial stripping or shrinking of the stellar disk. If we believe that any galaxy experienced a tidal interaction in the past, we must conclude that continuous gas accretion and subsequent star formation can bring back the ratio h/z_0_ to higher values, in a time scale of 1Gyr.
- Publication:
-
Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- August 1997
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.astro-ph/9702023
- arXiv:
- arXiv:astro-ph/9702023
- Bibcode:
- 1997A&A...324...80R
- Keywords:
-
- GALAXIES: EVOLUTION;
- GENERAL;
- INTERACTIONS;
- PHOTOMETRY;
- PECULIAR;
- SPIRAL;
- Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 8 pages, 7 figures, latex. Accepted for publication in the Astronomy and Astrophysics