A New Method for Unveiling Box/Peanut Bulges in Face-On Galaxies

We measured the stellar kinematics of three face-on galaxies with the aim of searching for box/peanut-shaped (B/P) bulges. These observations test and confirm that face-on B/P bulges can be recognized by two minima in the radial profile of the fourth Gauss-Hermite moment h_4 of the line-of-sight velocity distribution measured along the bar major axis. In NGC 98, a clear double minimum in h_4 is present before the end of the bar, as predicted. In contrast, in NGC 600, which is also a barred galaxy but lacks a substantial bulge, we do not find any significant kinematic signature for a B/P bulge. In NGC 1703, which is an unbarred galaxy, we found no evidence of a B/P bulge.