Galactic Astronomy

by Binney, James; Merrifield, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780691004020
• ISBN10: 0691004021
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-09-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

This is the definitive treatment of the phenomenology of galaxies--a clear and comprehensive volume that takes full account of the extraordinary recent advances in the field. The book supersedes the classic text Galactic Astronomy that James Binney wrote with Dimitri Mihalas, and complements Galactic Dynamics by Binney and Scott Tremaine. It will be invaluable to researchers and is accessible to any student who has a background in undergraduate physics. The book draws on observations both of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and of external galaxies. The two sources are complementary, since the former tends to be highly detailed but difficult to interpret, while the latter is typically poorer in quality but conceptually simpler to understand. Binney and Merrifield introduce all astronomical concepts necessary to understand the properties of galaxies, including coordinate systems, magnitudes and colors, the phenomenology of stars, the theory of stellar and chemical evolution, and the measurement of astronomical distances. The book's core covers the phenomenology of external galaxies, star clusters in the Milky Way, the interstellar media of external galaxies, gas in the Milky Way, the structure and kinematics of the stellar components of the Milky Way, and the kinematics of external galaxies. Throughout, the book emphasizes the observational basis for current understanding of galactic astronomy, with references to the original literature. Offering both new information and a comprehensive view of its subject, it will be an indispensable source for professionals, as well as for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.

Table of Contents

Preface	xii
1 Galaxies: an overview	1	(25)
1.1 Introduction	1	(1)
1.2 A brief history of galactic astronomy	2	(24)
Photometric models of the Milky Way	5	(5)
The nature of the spiral nebulae	10	(5)
Kinematic models of the Milky Way	15	(5)
Stellar populations	20	(1)
More recent developments	21	(5)
2 Astronomical Measurements	26	(50)
2.1 Positions, motions and coordinate systems	27	(11)
The equatorial system	27	(3)
Galactic coordinates	30	(1)
Parallax	31	(3)
Proper motions	34	(1)
Precession and nutation	35	(2)
Astrometric systems	37	(1)
2.2 Distances determined from velocities	38	(8)
Radial velocities	39	(1)
Distances from the moving-cluster method	40	(2)
Secular parallaxes	42	(3)
Statistical parallaxes	45	(1)
2.3 Magnitudes and colors	46	(16)
Apparent magnitudes	47	(5)
Colors	52	(4)
Absolute magnitudes	56	(2)
Absolute energy distributions and bolometric magnitudes	58	(2)
Mass-to-light ratios	60	(1)
Surface brightness and isophotal radii	61	(1)
2.4 Gravitational lensing	62	(5)
2.5 Archival data and catalogs	67	(7)
On-line resources	71	(3)
Problems	74	(2)
3 The Properties of Stars	76	(69)
3.1 The masses of stars	76	(6)
The Mass of the Sun	77	(1)
Masses of binary stars	78	(1)
Visual binaries	78	(1)
Spectroscopic binaries	79	(3)
3.2 The radii of stars	82	(5)
Phase interferometry	82	(1)
Intensity interferometry	83	(1)
Speckle interferometry	83	(1)
Lunar occultations	84	(1)
Eclipsing binaries	84	(2)
Astrophysical estimates	86	(1)
3.3 Classification of stars	87	(7)
Novae	87	(1)
Pulsars	87	(1)
Classification of stellar spectra	88	(2)
The MK System	90	(4)
3.4 Physical interpretation of stellar spectra	94	(8)
3.5 Color-magnitude diagrams	102	(7)
Observed CM-diagrams	103	(1)
Luminosity and color as functions of spectral class	104	(5)
The physical properties of stars on the MS and RGB	109	(1)
3.6 The stellar luminosity function	109	(22)
Malmquist bias	111	(4)
Lutz-Kelkar Bias	115	(4)
The general luminosity function	119	(1)
Cluster luminosity functions	119	(1)
Photometrically complete surveys	119	(1)
Proper-motion selected surveys	120	(7)
The luminosity function of a given MK spectral class	127	(3)
Catalogs of the nearby stars	130	(1)
3.7 Interstellar dust	131	(12)
Extinction and reddening	133	(5)
Reddening-free indices	138	(2)
Polarization of starlight by dust	140	(1)
Extinction of sight-lines out of the Galaxy	140	(3)
Problems	143	(2)
4 Morphology of Galaxies	145	(113)
4.1 Morphological classification of galaxies	146	(26)
The Hubble sequence	149	(8)
Effects of environment	157	(5)
The galaxy luminosity function	162	(1)
The field galaxy luminosity function	162	(3)
The cluster galaxy luminosity function	165	(2)
The luminosity function divided by morphological type	167	(2)
The Local Group	169	(3)
4.2 Surface Photometry of Galaxies	172	(13)
The night sky	173	(3)
Effect of seeing	176	(3)
Deprojecting galaxy images	179	(6)
4.3 Photometry of Elliptical Galaxies	185	(25)
Radial surface-brightness profiles of elliptical galaxies	185	(1)
cD galaxies	186	(4)
Dwarf elliptical galaxies	190	(1)
Centers of elliptical galaxies	191	(2)
Color and line-strength gradients in elliptical galaxies	193	(1)
Shapes of elliptical galaxies	194	(1)
Ellipticity	194	(5)
Deviations from ellipses	199	(2)
Fine structure	201	(3)
Correlations among global parameters of elliptical galaxies	204	(5)
The D(n) - theta (0) correlation	209	(1)
Dwarf elliptical galaxies	209	(1)
4.4 Photometry of Disk Galaxies	210	(25)
Photometric effects of dust	211	(1)
Overall shapes of disk galaxies	212	(2)
Bulge-disk decomposition	214	(8)
Shapes of bulges	222	(1)
Color and metallicity gradients in disk galaxies	223	(1)
Spiral structure in disk galaxies	224	(4)
Barried galaxies	228	(3)
Vertical structure of bars	231	(2)
Rings in SB galaxies	233	(1)
Dust lanes in SB galaxies	234	(1)
Lop-sidedness in SB galaxies	234	(1)
4.5 Globular cluster systems	235	(6)
Globular cluster luminosity function	236	(1)
Specific frequency of globular clusters	237	(1)
Radial density profiles and shapes	238	(1)
Color distributions	239	(2)
4.6 Abnormal galaxies	241	(14)
Starbursting systems	241	(3)
Systems with active galactic nuclei	244	(6)
Host galaxies of AGN	250	(1)
The unified model of AGN	251	(4)
Problems	255	(3)
5 Evolution of Stars and Stellar Populations	258	(69)
5.1 Stellar evolution and the CM diagram	259	(37)
Placing models in the CM diagram	262	(1)
Features in the CM diagram	263	(4)
Characteristic initial masses	267	(7)
Bounding curves in the CM diagram	274	(2)
Dependence of CM diagrams upon metallicity	276	(3)
The cosmic helium abundance	279	(1)
Simple numerical relations	279	(2)
Star formation	281	(2)
The initial mass function	283	(4)
Pulsating stars	287	(2)
Classical Cepheid variables	289	(3)
Mira variables	292	(1)
W Virginis stars	293	(1)
RR Lyrae stars	293	(3)
5.2 Synthesis of the chemical elements	296	(10)
Basic nuclear physics	296	(5)
Metal production at M(i) is less than M(up)	301	(1)
Supernovate	302	(1)
Metal production by core-collapse supernovae	303	(2)
Metal production by type Ia supernovae	305	(1)
5.3 Models of chemical enrichment	306	(8)
The closed-box model	306	(2)
The leaky-box model	308	(5)
The accreting-box model	313	(1)
5.4 Evolution of stellar populations	314	(10)
Analytical results	315	(2)
Numerical models of populations evolution	317	(7)
Problems	324	(3)
6 Star clusters	327	(67)
6.1 Globular clusters	327	(50)
Globular cluster steller photometry	332	(2)
Color-magnitude diagrams	334	(1)
The main sequence and subgiant branch	335	(2)
The horizontal branch	337	(2)
Comparison with Theoretical CM diagrams	339	(5)
Globular cluster ages	344	(1)
Turnoff point ages	344	(1)
Isochrone fitting	345	(1)
The delta V method	346	(1)
The Delta (B - V) method	347	(1)
Comparison with the age of the Universe	348	(1)
Variations in age	349	(1)
Metallicities of globular clusters	350	(1)
Omega cen	351	(1)
The third parameter problem	352	(1)
Variations in helium abundance	353	(1)
Variations in other element abundances	353	(1)
Other candidates	354	(1)
Luminosity functions	354	(5)
Binary stars	359	(2)
Stellar remnants	361	(1)
White dwarfs	361	(1)
Neutron stars	362	(1)
Radial profiles	363	(2)
Large-scale properties	365	(2)
Luminosity segregation	367	(2)
Central cusps	369	(2)
Kinematics	371	(3)
Velocities of individual stars	371	(3)
Integrated-light kinematics	374	(1)
Proper motions	375	(2)
6.2 Open clusters	377	(15)
Color-magnitude diagrams	381	(3)
The ages and demise of open clusters	384	(2)
Structure and kinematics	386	(3)
Luminosity function	389	(3)
Problems	392	(2)
7 The Cosmic Distance Scale	394	(57)
7.1 An introduction to cosmology	396	(3)
7.2 Absolute distance estimators	399	(15)
The Baade-Wesselink method	399	(3)
Application to supernovae	402	(1)
The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect	403	(2)
Distances from time delays	405	(1)
The ring around Supernova 1987A	406	(1)
Gravitational lens time delays	407	(3)
Water-master proper-motions by VLBI	410	(4)
7.3 Relative distance estimators	414	(15)
Luminosities of variable stars	415	(1)
Luminosity functions	415	(1)
Globular clusters	416	(1)
Planetary nebulae	417	(2)
Novae and supernovae	419	(1)
Novae	419	(1)
Type Ia supernovae	420	(2)
Distances from galaxy kinematics	422	(1)
Spiral galaxies	422	(3)
Elliptical galaxies	425	(1)
Surface brightness fluctuations	426	(3)
7.4 Results	429	(20)
Distance within the Local Group	432	(1)
Distance to the Galactic center	432	(2)
Distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud	434	(1)
Distance to M31	435	(2)
Distance beyond the Local Group	437	(1)
Distance to the Virgo Cluster	437	(2)
Peculiar velocity field	439	(2)
The asymptotic Hubble constant	441	(3)
The deceleration parameter and cosmic density	444	(1)
Standard candles and rulers	444	(3)
Peculiar velocity field	447	(2)
Problems	449	(2)
8 The Interstellar Media of Galaxies	451	(84)
8.1 How interstellar matter is detected	452	(36)
Absorption of starlight	452	(7)
Extreme UV and X-ray observations	459	(4)
Optical emission lines	463	(1)
Hydrogen lines	463	(1)
Metal lines	464	(4)
Radio observations	468	(3)
The 21-cm line of atomic hydrogen	471	(3)
Rotation transitions of heteronuclear molecules	474	(4)
Synchrotron radiation	478	(2)
Radio-frequency bremsstrahlung and recombination lines	480	(1)
Dispersion and Rotation Measures	481	(1)
Gamma-ray emission	482	(1)
Radiation by dust	483	(5)
8.2 The ISM in Disk Galaxies	488	(37)
Global measures	493	(1)
HI and H(2) in disk galaxies	493	(3)
Radio-continuum and IR luminosities	496	(2)
Radial density profiles	498	(2)
Azimuthal distributions	500	(1)
Bars and oval distortions	500	(1)
Spiral structure	500	(2)
Lop-sidedness	502	(3)
Velocity fields of disks	505	(2)
Circular-speed curves	507	(3)
Kinematic warps	510	(2)
Oval distortions	512	(1)
So galaxies	513	(3)
Metallicities of disk galaxies	516	(4)
Magnetic fields	520	(2)
Star formation in disk galaxies	522	(3)
8.3 The ISM in elliptical galaxies	525	(5)
X-ray emitting plasma	525	(2)
Cool gas in ellipticals	527	(5)
8.4 Intergalactic gas	530	(3)
The Magellanic Stream	530	(3)
Problems	533	(2)
9 The Milky Way's ISM	535	(71)
9.1 The kinematics of differential rotation	536	(13)
The naive (l,v) plot	536	(4)
Radii and distances from the (l,v) plot	540	(1)
Non-circular motion and the (l,v) plot	541	(1)
Axisymmetric expansion	541	(1)
Oval distortions	542	(2)
Spiral structure	544	(2)
Random motions	546	(3)
9.2 The large-scale distribution of HI and CO	549	(21)
The 21-cm line in emission	549	(4)
Measuring the spin temperature	553	(1)
CO lines in emission	554	(1)
The Milky Way's circular-speed curve	555	(4)
Radial distributions of HI and CO	559	(2)
Evidence for spiral structure	561	(1)
Vertical distributions of HI and CO	562	(1)
The middle disk	563	(2)
The outer disk	565	(5)
9.3 Other tracers of the ISM	570	(10)
Diffuse infrared emission	570	(4)
Pulsars and the Galactic magnetic field	574	(2)
Diffuse H Alpha radiation	576	(1)
Diffuse synchrotron and Gamma-radiations	577	(2)
Diffuse X-rays	579	(1)
9.4 The central disk	580	(14)
21-cm observations	580	(6)
Observations in lines of CO and CS	586	(2)
A dynamical model of the central disk	588	(6)
9.5 The nucleus	594	(3)
9.6 Small-scale structure of the ISM	597	(6)
Molecular gas in the Galaxy	598	(3)
X from virial masses	601	(1)
X from Gamma-rays	601	(1)
X from A(V)	602	(1)
Problems	603	(3)
10 Components of the Milky Way	606	(87)
10.1 Gross Structure from Surface Photometry	609	(7)
The Galaxy at optical wavelengths	614	(2)
10.2 The bulge	616	(8)
Integrated surface photometry	616	(3)
Evidence for a bar from individual stars	619	(2)
Age and metallicity of the bulge	621	(1)
Bulge kinematics	622	(2)
10.3 Kinematics of stars near the Sun	624	(19)
The solar motion	624	(5)
Random velocities of stars	629	(1)
Vertex deviation	630	(2)
The Schwarzchild distribution	632	(2)
Star streams	634	(2)
Causes of vertex deviation	636	(1)
The Oort constants	637	(4)
Estimating the Oort constants	641	(2)
10.4 The structure of the stellar disk	643	(23)
Ages and metallicities of nearby stars	643	(1)
Correlations between abundances	643	(1)
Correlations between age and abundance	644	(7)
The old disk clusters	651	(1)
Stars counts and the thick disk	651	(3)
The thick disk	654	(2)
The local mass density of the disk	656	(8)
Distribution of the youngest stars	664	(2)
10.5 The halo	666	(12)
The globular cluster system	666	(4)
Field halo stars	670	(3)
Kinematically selected samples	673	(5)
10.6 Galaxy models	678	(6)
The local circular speed	679	(1)
Mass models	680	(2)
Starcount models	682	(1)
Kinematic models	683	(1)
Dynamical models	683	(1)
10.7 Formation and evolution of the Milky Way	684	(6)
Formation scenarios	684	(4)
Models of the chemical evolution of the Milky Way	688	(1)
Chemical evolution of the halo	688	(1)
Pre-enrichment	688	(2)
Problems	690	(3)
11 Stellar Kinematics in External Galaxies	693	(39)
11.1 Measuring the kinematics of external galaxies	694	(13)
Mean velocities and velocity dispersion	697	(3)
Analysis of line profiles	700	(5)
Position-velocity diagrams and data cubes	705	(2)
11.2 The stellar kinematics of elliptical galaxies	707	(15)
Large-scale properties	707	(1)
Major-axis kinematics	707	(5)
Detection of dark halos	712	(1)
Kinematic mapping	713	(3)
Core properties	716	(1)
Decoupled cores	716	(1)
Detection of central black holes	717	(5)
11.3 The stellar kinematics of disk galaxies	722	(8)
Bulge kinematics	723	(1)
Disk kinematics	724	(1)
Rotational motion	725	(2)
Random motions	727	(3)
Problems	730	(2)
Appendices	732	(13)
A Gravitational deflection of light	732	(4)
B Important astronomical catalogs	736	(7)
C Richardson-Lucy deconvolution	743	(1)
D Useful numbers	744	(1)
References	745	(32)
Index	777