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R. Buta (U. Alabama), D. L. Block (U. Witwatersrand)
The division of galaxies into barred (SB) and normal (S) spirals is a fundamental aspect of the Hubble galaxy classification system. This tuning fork view was revised by de Vaucouleurs, whose classification volume recognized apparent bar strength (SA, SAB, SB) as a continuous property of galaxies called the ``family.'' However, the SA, SAB, and SB families are purely visual judgments that can have little bearing on the actual bar strength in a given galaxy. Until recently, published bar judgments were based exclusively on blue light images, where internal extinction or star formation can completely mask a bar. Near-infrared camera arrays, which principally trace the old stellar population in both normal and barred galaxies, now facilitate a quantification of bar strength in terms of gravitational potentials and force fields. In this paper, we show that the maximum value of the ratio of the tangential force to the mean axisymmetric radial force is a quantitative measure of the strength of a bar that can be straightforwardly derived for many galaxies. We show that a wide range of true bar strengths characterizes the category SB, while category SAB corresponds to a narrower range of bar strengths. Based on the force ratio, we define seven classes of bar strength and incorporate these classes into a dust-penetrated classification system for spiral galaxies. This work was supported by NSF grant AST 9617154 and the Anglo-American Chairman's Fund, Mrs. M. Keeton, CEO.