Uli Klein (Argelander-Institute for Astronomy, Bonn University, Germany)

Rotation Curves of Disk Galaxies: New Perspectives - Professor Uli Klein Colloquium

ATNF Marsfield Lecture Theatre

Abstract

I will first present recent results of our ongoing study of galaxy kinematics using rotation
curves, with which we explore the central density distributions of the dark halos. In the
second part of my talk I will then report on a project to investigate galaxy warps. We
have developed a new technique allowing a reliable parametrization of the warp
geometries using the HI data cubes. With these it is possible to find the rules which
warps 'obey to', and to shed light on the overall distribution of Dark Matter in galaxies.


The images below show the neutral hydrogen disk of the warped galaxy NGC5204. Panel 1: Optical image (magenta
and red), with the HI distribution (blue) superimposed. Panel 2: Configuration of adjacent
rings used in the analysis. Panel 3: Edge-on view of the HI disk. Panel 4: edge-on disk, illustrating the 3-D structure