Investigating the Clustering and Color of Galaxies in the COMBO-17 Chandra Deep Field South Survey and Possible Effects on Spiral Arm Pitch Angle

Davis, Benjamin L.; Berlanga Medina, J. E.; Shields, D. W.; Kennefick, J.; Kennefick, D.; Berrier, J.; Seigar, M. S.; Lacy, C. H. S.; AGES
Referencia bibliográfica

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #215, #435.17; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.382

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1
2010
Número de autores
9
Número de autores del IAC
0
Número de citas
0
Número de citas referidas
0
Descripción
Recent studies by the Arkansas Galaxy Evolution Survey (AGES) collaboration have shown that there is a strong correlation between the pitch angles of field spiral galaxies and the mass of the galaxy's supermassive black holes (SMBHs). For this reason, we are interested in the consistency of measures of average pitch angle across galaxies in different environments. Since galaxies in clusters are more susceptible to galaxy harassment and other effects, we are particularly interested in whether environmental pressures in clusters may have an effect on pitch angle. We have measured the pitch angles of 125 galaxies lying in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS). Upon cross-referencing this set with the larger COMBO-17 Survey, we identified several over-dense regions which have been identified as possible clusters in recent literature. Initial results show that when comparing the pitch angle of galaxies in and out of over-dense regions, there seems to be little to no difference on average, suggesting environmental effect of clusters on pitch angle may be limited. Additionally, there appears to be no appreciable difference between the pitch angles of red and blue galaxies at this point in our study. We also plan to look for evidence of variation of pitch angle with cluster age. This work is funded in part by a grant from NASA EPSCoR.