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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2017
One purpose for studying the gas flow in barred spiral galaxies is to use the observed distribution and kinematics of the gas as a tracer of the underlying gravitational field. By comparing model hydrodynamical calculations with observations of actual systems, one would like to define three basic properties of barred galaxies:
1) The bar strength. How significant is the deviation from axial symmetry in the region of the bar, measured by some parameter such as qt, maximum aximuthal force in terms of the mean radial force (Sanders and Tubbs, 1980).
2) The mean radial distribution of matter. Clearly in a system with large deviations from circular motion, the “rotation curve” gives no direct information on the radial mass distribution.
3) The angular velocity of the bar. Where is the co-rotation radius (or Lagrange points) with respect to the bar axes? Are other principal resonances present?