To appear in: Astronomicheskii. Zhurnal, v.73, N1, pp.24-35, 1996.

Observational Determination of the Nature of Galactic Spiral Arms

V.V.Lyakhovich, A.M.Fridman, O.V.Khoruzhii

Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
48 Pyatnitskaya Str., 109017 Moscow, Russia

A test for the determination of the nature of the generation of spiral arms in galaxies is proposed. It is based on recent results of modelling and numerical experiments, which have revealed the generation of anticyclonic vortices simultaneous with that of spiral density arms. Studies of the dependence of the shape of spiral arms on the nature of the mechanism for their generation (gravitational or hydrodynamic) are currently lacking; as shown in this paper, the locations of vortices relative to the spiral arms, together with the observed rotation curve, may serve as a promising test to address this question.

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