Galaxies are embedded within massive dark matter haloes. The shape of these haloes is expected to be non-spherical (generally triaxial), as suggested by cosmological N-body simulations. The asymmetric gravitational potential influences the dynamics of the disk, which in turn affects the halo itself. With numerical simulations, we can study the role of bar formation in this interplay. By carrying out several high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations using Gadget-2, we are also able to consider the effects of gas in the disc. We find that discs with strong bars contribute to circularize their initially triaxial haloes.
- Athanassoula E, Machado R E G, Rodionov S A. Bar formation and evolution in disc galaxies with gas and a triaxial halo: morphology, bar strength and halo properties. MNRAS, 2013, 429, 1949.
- Machado R E G, Athanassoula E. Loss of halo triaxiality due to bar formation. MNRAS, 2010, 406, 2386.
For more details, see my Phd thesis or the defense presentation. This project was supported by FAPESP, CAPES and Bourses d'Excellence Eiffel.
