We examine the morphology and luminosity distribution of a strongly warped spiral galaxy PGC 20348 by conducting a detailed BVI CCD surface photometry using BOAO 1.8m telescope. The radial surface brightness shows a break at warp radius rω with a shallow gradient in the inner disk and a steeper gradient in the outer disk. The luminosity of east side of the disk is ~0.5 mag fainter than the west side at r > rω. The reason for the asymmetric luminosity distribution is thought to be the asymmetric flarings that result in the formation of a large diffuse region at the edge of the east disk and a smaller diffuse region at the west disk. The vertical luminosity profiles show a thick disk component whose scale heights increase with increasing galactocentric distances. The warp of PGC 20348 seems to be made by the tidal interactions with the two massive companion galaxies since the flarings and radial increase of disk scale heights are thought to be general properties of tidally perturbed disks. According to the colors of the two clumps inside the diffuse region at the edge of the east disk, they seem to be sites of active star formation triggered by tidal forces from the companion galaxies.

Numerical simulations based on the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) is performed to investigate the dynamical properties of barred galaxies that have nuclear rings. The nuclear ring morphology depends on the relative strength of bar potentials. Nuclear rings form between the two ILRs and align perpendicular to the bars unless the bar potentials are strong enough to allow the x1 orbits near the ILRs. Shock dissipation plays a critical role in the formation of nuclear rings.

On the basis of observational constraints, particularly the relationship between metal abundance and cumulative stellar mass, a simple two-zone disk-halo model for the chemical evolution of our Galaxy was investigated, assuming different chemical processes in the disk and halo and the infall rates of the halo gas defined by the halo evolution. The main results of the present model calculations are: (i) The halo formation requires more than 80% of the initial galactic mass and it takes a period of 2 ∼ 3 × 10 9 yrs. (ii) The halo evolution is divided into two phases, a fast collapse phase ( t = 2 ∼ 3 × 10 8 yrs) during which period most of the halo stars ( ∼ 95 are formed and a later slow collapse phase which is characterized by the chemical enrichment due to the inflow of external matter to the halo. (iii) The disk evolution is also divided into two phases, an active disk formation phase with a time-dependent initial mass function (IMF) up to t ≈ 6 × 10 9 yrs and a later steady slow formation phase with a constant IMF. It is found that at the very early time t ≈ 5 × 10 8 yrs, the metal abundance in the disk is rapidly increased to ∼ 1 / 3 of the present value but the total stellar mass only to ∼ 10 of the present value, finally reaching about 80% of the present values toward the end of the active formation phase.