No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2017
The existence of variations from a smooth curve, in the form of waves, in the rotation curves of galaxies was pointed out earlier, and an interpretation was proposed based on the argument that the waves were the manifestation of the coexistence of different populations in a galaxy (see for example PişLmiş 1965, 1974). Observations in the past few years have shown that “undulations” in the rotation curve of spiral galaxies are rather common phenomena; maxima and minima occur roughly at arm and interarm regions, respectively. The velocity fields of the majority of the 23 galaxies compiled by Bosma (1978) exhibit well-defined waves. In particular the velocity field in the 21-cm HI line of M81 by Visser shows clearly the correlation of the waves with the spiral structure.