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Isolated barred galaxies evolve by redistributing their angular momentum, which, emitted by material in the inner disc at resonance with the bar, can be absorbed by resonant material in the outer disc, or in the halo. The amount of angular momentum that can be emitted/absorbed at a given resonance depends on the distribution function of the emitting/absorbing material. It thus depends not only on the amount of material on resonant orbits, but also on the velocity dispersion of that material. As it loses angular momentum, the bar becomes stronger and it also rotates slower. Thus the strength of the bar and the decrease of its pattern speed with time are set by the amount of angular momentum exchanged within the galaxy, which, in turn, is regulated by the mass distribution and the velocity dispersion of the material in the disc and spheroidal components. Correlations between the pattern speed of the bar, its strength and the angular momentum absorbed by the spheroid (halo plus bulge) argue strongly that it is the amount of angular momentum exchanged that determines the strength and the slowdown rate of the bar. The decrease of the bar pattern speed with time should not be used to set constraints on the halo‐to‐disc mass ratio, since it depends also on the velocity dispersion of the halo and disc material.

We discuss the morphology, photometry and kinematics of the bars which have formed in three N‐body simulations. These have initially the same disc and the same halo‐to‐disc mass ratio, but their haloes have very different central concentrations. The third model includes a bulge. The bar in the model with the centrally concentrated halo (model MH) is much stronger, longer and thinner than the bar in the model with the less centrally concentrated halo (model MD). Its shape, when viewed side‐on, evolves from boxy to peanut and then to ‘X’‐shaped, as opposed to that of model MD, which stays boxy. The projected density profiles obtained from cuts along the bar major axis, for both the face‐on and the edge‐on views, show a flat part, as opposed to those of model MD which are falling rapidly. A Fourier analysis of the face‐on density distribution of model MH shows very large m=2, 4, 6 and 8 components. Contrary to this, for model MD the components m=6 and 8 are negligible. The velocity field of model MH shows strong deviations from axial symmetry, and in particular has wavy isovelocities near the end of the bar when viewed along the bar minor axis. When viewed edge‐on, it shows cylindrical rotation, which the MD model does not. The properties of the bar of the model with a bulge and a non‐centrally concentrated halo (MDB) are intermediate between those of the bars of the other two models. All three models exhibit a lot of inflow of the disc material during their evolution, so that by the end of the simulations the disc dominates over the halo in the inner parts, even for model MH, for which the halo and disc contributions were initially comparable in that region.

Objects designated as bulges in disc galaxies do not form a homogeneous class. I distinguish three types: the classical bulges, the properties of which are similar to those of ellipticals and which form by collapse or merging; boxy and peanut bulges, which are seen in near‐edge‐on galaxies and which are in fact just a part of the bar seen edge‐on; and, finally, disc‐like bulges, which result from the inflow of (mainly) gas to the centre‐most parts, and subsequent star formation. I make a detailed comparison of the properties of boxy and peanut bulges with those of N‐body bars seen edge‐on, and answer previously voiced objections about the links between the two. I also present and analyse simulations where a boxy/peanut feature is present at the same time as a classical spheroidal bulge, and compare them with observations. Finally, I propose a nomenclature that can help to distinguish between the three types of bulges and avoid considerable confusion.

We present an updated and improved M bh -σ diagram containing 64 galaxies for which M bh measurements (not just upper limits) are available. Because of new and increased black hole masses at the high-mass end, and a better representation of barred galaxies at the low-mass end, the 'classical' (all morphological type) M bh -σ relation for predicting black hole masses is log (M bh /M ) = (8.13 ± 0.05) + (5.13 ± 0.34)log [σ /200 km s −1 ], with an rms scatter of 0.43 dex. Modifying the regression analysis to correct for a hitherto overlooked sample bias in which black holes with masses <10 6 M are not (yet) detectable, the relation steepens further to give log (M bh /M ) = (8.15 ± 0.06) + (5.95 ± 0.44)log [σ /200 km s −1 ]. We have also updated the 'barless' and 'elliptical-only' M bh -σ relations introduced by Graham and Hu in 2008 due to the offset nature of barred galaxies. These relations have a total scatter as low as 0.34 dex and currently define the upper envelope of points in the M bh -σ diagram. They also have a slope consistent with a value 5, in agreement with the prediction by Silk & Rees based on feedback from massive black holes in bulges built by monolithic collapse.Using updated virial products and velocity dispersions from 28 active galactic nuclei, we determine that the optimal scaling factor f -which brings their virial products in line with the 64 directly measured black hole masses -is 2.8 +0.7 −0.5 . This is roughly half the value reported by Onken et al. and Woo et al., and consequently halves the mass estimates of most high-redshift quasars. Given that barred galaxies are, on average, located ∼0.5 dex below the 'barless' and 'elliptical-only' M bh -σ relations, we have explored the results after separating the samples into barred and non-barred galaxies, and we have also developed a preliminary corrective term to the velocity dispersion based on bar dynamics. In addition, given the recently recognized coexistence of massive black holes and nuclear star clusters, we present the first ever (M bh + M nc )-σ diagram and begin to explore how galaxies shift from their former location in the M bh -σ diagram.

We present the metallicity results from the ARGOS spectroscopic survey of the Galactic bulge. Our aim is to understand the formation of the Galactic bulge: did it form via mergers, as expected from ΛCDM theory, or from disk instabilities, as suggested by its boxy/peanut shape, or both? Our stars are mostly red clump giants, which have a well defined absolute magnitude from which distances can be determined. We have obtained spectra for 28,000 stars at a spectral resolution of R = 11,000. From these spectra, we have determined stellar parameters and distances to an accuracy of < 1.5 kpc. The stars in the inner Galaxy span a large range in [Fe/H], -2.8 [Fe/H] +0.6. From the spatial distribution of the red clump stars as a function of [Fe/H] (Ness et al. 2012a), we propose that the stars with [Fe/H] > −0.5 are part of the boxy/peanut bar/bulge. We associate the lower metallicity stars ([Fe/H] < −0.5) with the thick disk, which may be puffed up in the inner region, and with the inner regions of the metal-weak thick disk and inner halo. For the bulge stars with [Fe/H] > −0.5, we find two discrete populations; (i) stars with [Fe/H] ≈ −0.25 which provide a roughly constant fraction of the stars in the latitude interval b = −5 • to −10 • , and (ii) a kinematically colder, more metal-rich population with mean [Fe/H] ≈ +0.15 which is more prominent closer to the plane. The changing ratio of these components with latitude appears as a vertical abundance gradient of the bulge. We attribute both of these bulge components to instability-driven bar/bulge formation from the thin disk. We associate the thicker component with the stars of the early less metal-rich thin disk, and associate the more metal-rich population concentrated to the plane with the colder more metal-rich stars of the early thin disk, similar to the colder and younger more metal-rich stars seen in the thin disk in the solar neighborhood today. We do not exclude a weak underlying classical merger-generated bulge component, but see no obvious kinematic association of any of our bulge stars with such a classical bulge component. The clear spatial and kinematic separation of the two bulge populations (i) and (ii) makes it unlikely that any significant merger event could have affected the inner regions of the Galaxy since the time when the bulge-forming instabilities occurred.

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ABSTRACT. The Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S 4 G) is an Exploration Science Legacy Program approved for the Spitzer post-cryogenic mission. It is a volume-, magnitude-, and size-limited (d < 40 Mpc, jbj > 30°, m Bcorr < 15:5, and D 25 > 1 0 ) survey of 2331 galaxies using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. Each galaxy is observed for 240 s and mapped to ≥1:5 × D 25 . The final mosaicked images have a typical 1σ rms noise level of 0.0072 and 0:0093 MJy sr À1 at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, respectively. Our azimuthally averaged surface brightness profile typically traces isophotes at μ 3:6μm ðABÞð1σÞ ∼ 27 mag arcsec À2 , equivalent to a stellar mass surface density of ∼1 M ⊙ pc À2 . S 4 G thus provides an unprecedented data set for the study of the distribution of mass and stellar structures in the local universe. This large, unbiased, and extremely deep sample of all Hubble types from dwarfs to spirals to ellipticals will allow for detailed structural studies, not only as a function of stellar mass, but also as a function of the local environment. The data from this survey will serve as a vital testbed for cosmological simulations predicting the stellar mass properties of present-day galaxies. This article introduces the survey and describes the sample selection, the significance of the 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands for this study, and the data collection and survey strategies. We describe the S 4 G data analysis pipeline and present measurements for a first set of galaxies, observed in both the cryogenic and warm mission phases of Spitzer. For every galaxy we tabulate the galaxy diameter, position angle, axial ratio, inclination at μ 3:6μm ðABÞ ¼ 25:5, and 26:5 mag arcsec À2 (equivalent to ≈μ B ðABÞ ¼ 27:2 and 28:2 mag arcsec À2 , respectively). These measurements will form the initial S 4 G catalog of galaxy properties. We also measure the total magnitude and the azimuthally averaged radial profiles of ellipticity, position angle, surface brightness, and color. Finally, using the galaxy-fitting code GALFIT, we deconstruct each galaxy into its main constituent stellar components: the bulge/spheroid, disk, bar, and nuclear point source, where necessary. Together, these data products will provide a comprehensive and definitive catalog of stellar structures, mass, and properties of galaxies in the nearby universe and will enable a variety of scientific investigations, some of which are highlighted in this introductory S 4 G survey paper.