Lopsided spiral galaxies

The light distribution in the disks of many galaxies is ‘lopsided’ with a spatial extent much larger along one half of a galaxy than the other, as seen in M101. Recent observations show that the stellar disk in a typical spiral galaxy is significantly lopsided, indicating asymmetry in the disk mass distribution. The mean amplitude of lopsidedness is 0.1, measured as the Fourier amplitude of the m=1$m=1$ component normalized to the average value. Thus, lopsidedness is common, and hence it is important to understand its origin and dynamics. This is a new and exciting area in galactic structure and dynamics, in contrast to the topic of bars and two-armed spirals (m=2)$(m=2)$ which has been extensively studied in the literature. Lopsidedness is ubiquitous and occurs in a variety of settings and tracers. It is seen in both stars and gas, in the outer disk and the central region, in the field and the group galaxies. The lopsided amplitude is higher by a factor of two for galaxies in a group.