Renewal of Transient Spiral Modes in Disk Galaxies

Abstract

Spiral structure in disk galaxies could arise from transient modes that create conditions conducive for their regeneration; this is the proposal of Sellwood and Carlberg, based on simulations of stellar disks. The linear response of an axisymmetric stellar disk, to an adiabatic nonaxisymmetric transient mode, gives a final distribution function (DF) that is equal to the initial DF everywhere in phase space, except at the Lindblad and corotation resonances where the final DF is singular. We use the nonlinear theory of adiabatic capture into resonance to resolve the singularities and calculate the finite changes in the DF. These take the form of axisymmetric “scars” concentrated around resonances, whose DFs have simple general forms. Global changes in the physical properties are explored for a cool Mestel disk: we calculate the DFs of scars and estimate the changes in the disk angular momentum, surface density, and orbital frequencies leading to shifts in resonances. Resonant torques between disk stars and any new linear nonaxisymmetric mode are suppressed within a scar, as is epicyclic heating. Because all resonances of a linear mode with the same angular wavenumber and pattern speed as its precursor lie inside the scars of the precursor, it suffers less damping. Hence, scars filter the spectrum of noise-generated modes, promoting the renewal of a few select modes. Relic scars sustained by a galaxy disk, due to past tidal interaction with a passing companion, may still be active enablers of nonaxisymmetric modes, such as the two-armed “grand design” spiral patterns.