2008ApJ...679L..73M

We present the results of high-resolution absorption-line spectroscopy of three face-on galaxies, NGC 98, NGC 600, and NGC 1703, with the aim of searching for box/peanut (B/P) shaped bulges. These observations test and confirm, for the first time, the prediction that face-on B/P-shaped bulges can be recognized by two minima in the profile along the bar's major axis of the fourth Gauss-Hermite moment h₄ of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD). In NGC 98, a clear double minimum in h₄ is present along the major axis of the bar and before the end of the bar, as predicted. In contrast, in NGC 600, which is also a barred galaxy but lacks a substantial bulge, we do not find any significant kinematic signature for a B/P-shaped bulge. In NGC 1703, which is an unbarred control galaxy, we found no evidence of a B/P bulge. We also show directly that the LOSVD is broader at the location of the h₄ minimum in NGC 98 than elsewhere. This more direct method avoids possible artifacts associated with the degeneracy between the measurement of LOSVD and h₄.