The Global Stability of M33 in MOND

Abstract

Abstract The dynamical stability of disk galaxies is sensitive to whether their anomalous rotation curves are caused by dark matter halos or Milgromian dynamics (MOND). We investigate this by setting up a MOND model of M33. We first simulate it in isolation for 6 Gyr, starting from an initial good match to the rotation curve (RC). Too large a bar and bulge form when the gas is too hot, but this is avoided by reducing the gas temperature. A strong bar still forms in 1 Gyr, but rapidly weakens and becomes consistent with the observed weak bar. Previous work showed this to be challenging in Newtonian models with a live dark matter halo, which developed strong bars. The bar pattern speed implies a realistic corotation radius of 3 kpc. However, the RC still rises too steeply, and the central line-of-sight velocity dispersion (LOSVD) is too high. We then add a constant external acceleration field of 8.4 × 10−12 m s−2 at 30° to the disk as a first-order estimate for the gravity exerted by M31. This suppresses buildup of material at the center, causing the RC to rise more slowly and reducing the central LOSVD. Overall, this simulation bears good resemblance to several global properties of M33, and highlights the importance of including even a weak external field on the stability and evolution of disk galaxies. Further simulations with a time-varying external field, modeling the full orbit of M33, will be needed to confirm its resemblance to observations.