Mixing and Transfer of Elements by Triaxiality

Abstract

Various large-scale processes induced by triaxial potentials and able to alter stellar and gaseous abundance profiles are reviewed. In particular, strong bars can quickly and efficiently blend stars through chaotic mixing, and entail intricate inflows/outflows of gas. Bar-generated abundance features include flattenings, breaks, and plateaus in radial gradients as well as box- or peanut-like morphologies.

8 pages with 8 figures. To be published in the proceedings of "Abundance Profiles: Diagnostic Tools for Galaxy History", ed. D. Friedli, M.G. Edmunds, C. Robert, L. Drissen, ASP Conf. Ser