Warped disks in spiral galaxies

We have analyzed the disk morphologies of 325 edge-on galaxies to derive the warp statistics in spiral galaxies using Digital Sky Survey. Galaxies were included in our study if their isophotal diameter (D25) satisfied log D25 > 1, and if their major-to-minor axis ratio was in the range a/b > 9.5. We found that 236 out of the 325 sample galaxies (73%) had warps: 165 S-shaped (51%) and 71 U-shaped (22%). We additionally found that the warp properties (warp angles, warp radius, and warp asymmetry) as well as the warp frequency did not depend on galaxy morphology. A quite tight anticorrelation was observed between warp radius and warp amplitude, and a positive correlation was found between warp asymmetry and warp amplitude. A detailed analysis of the relations between warp parameters and galaxy properties revealed that strong warps are mostly caused by tidal interactions, whereas weak warps are formed by a variety of mechanisms including gas accretion. The present results indicate that the fractional warp radius coupled with warp angles representing the warp amplitude and warp curvature provide useful diagnostic indicators of the origin of warps.