Dynamics of barred galaxies

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Abstract
Some 30% of disc galaxies have a pronounced central bar features in the disc plane and many more have weaker features of a similar kind. Kinematic data indicate that the bar constitutes a major non-axisymmetric component of the mass distribution and that the bar pattern tumbles rapidly about the axis normal to the disc plane. The observed motions are consistent with material within the bar streaming along highly elongated orbits aligned with the rotating major axis. A barred galaxy may also contain a spheroidal bulge at its centre, spirals in the outer disc and, less commonly, other features such as a ring or lens. Mild asymmetries in both the light and kinematics are quite common. The authors review the main problems presented by these complicated dynamical systems and summarize the effort so far made towards their solution, emphasizing results which appear secure.
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