On the Nuclear Rotation Curve of M31

Abstract

The nuclear rotation curve of M31, as observed by the Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Camera Spectrograph, shows a significant disturbance coinciding with the off-center brightness peak, P1. This +/- 60 km/s feature is distinguished by a local velocity maximum centered on P1 and a local minimum approxmately 0.08" closer to P2. If the M31 double nucleus is an eccentric disk with an off-center density concentration, as suggested by Tremaine, then the self-gravity of the disk can produce just such a disturbance. The expected kinematic signature is calculated approximately by examining sequences of closed periodic orbits in a Kepler potential perturbed by a model disk potential that precesses at constant frequency. The perturbation forces a steep negative eccentricity gradient in the sequence of closed orbits through the densest part of the disk, which reverses the arrangement of periapsis and apoapsis with respect to the central mass. Stars making up the inner part of the density concentration are at apoapsis, while stars making up the outer part are at periapsis, producing a steep local velocity gradient. This result is independent of the details of the mass distribution. The projected rotation curve of the model is shown to closely resemble that of M31, giving strong support to the eccentric disk picture.