Uncovering the truth about M101, NGC 3938, and their significant others through radiative transfer

ABSTRACT Solving the inverse problem in spiral galaxies, that allows the derivation of the spatial distribution of dust, gas, and stars, together with their associated physical properties, directly from panchromatic imaging observations, is one of the main goals of this work. To this end, we used radiative transfer models to decode the spatial and spectral distributions of the nearby face-on galaxies M101 and NGC 3938. In both cases, we provide excellent fits to the surface-brightness distributions derived from GALEX, SDSS, 2MASS, Spitzer, and Herschel imaging observations. Together with previous results from M33, NGC 628, M51, and the Milky Way, we obtain a small statistical sample of modelled nearby galaxies that we analyse in this work. We find that in all cases Milky Way-type dust with Draine-like optical properties provide consistent and successful solutions. We do not find any ‘submm excess’, and no need for modified dust-grain properties. Intrinsic fundamental quantities like star-formation rates (SFR), specific SFR (sSFR), dust opacities, and attenuations are derived as a function of position in the galaxy and overall trends are discussed. In the SFR surface density versus stellar mass surface density space, we find a structurally resolved relation (SRR) for the morphological components of our galaxies, that is steeper than the main sequence (MS). Exception to this is for NGC 628, where the SRR is parallel to the MS.

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Publication Details

Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published
2024-12-23
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stae2809
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.66

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article

Uncovering the truth about M101, NGC 3938, and their significant others through radiative transfer

C. C. Popescu, R. Toma, C. Inman, M. T. Rushton et al.
2 citations
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
0.66
article

Uncovering the truth about M101, NGC 3938, and their significant others through radiative transfer

C. C. Popescu, R. Toma, C. Inman, M. T. Rushton, Damien M. Murphy, D. Pricopi
article en
2 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Solving the inverse problem in spiral galaxies, that allows the derivation of the spatial distribution of dust, gas, and stars, together with their associated physical properties, directly from panchromatic imaging observations, is one of the main goals of this work. To this end, we used radiative transfer models to decode the spatial and spectral distributions of the nearby face-on galaxies M101 and NGC 3938. In both cases, we provide excellent fits to the surface-brightness distributions derived from GALEX, SDSS, 2MASS, Spitzer, and Herschel imaging observations. Together with previous results from M33, NGC 628, M51, and the Milky Way, we obtain a small statistical sample of modelled nearby galaxies that we analyse in this work. We find that in all cases Milky Way-type dust with Draine-like optical properties provide consistent and successful solutions. We do not find any ‘submm excess’, and no need for modified dust-grain properties. Intrinsic fundamental quantities like star-formation rates (SFR), specific SFR (sSFR), dust opacities, and attenuations are derived as a function of position in the galaxy and overall trends are discussed. In the SFR surface density versus stellar mass surface density space, we find a structurally resolved relation (SRR) for the morphological components of our galaxies, that is steeper than the main sequence (MS). Exception to this is for NGC 628, where the SRR is parallel to the MS.

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVol. 537(1)
University of Lancashire (GB), Romanian Academy (RO)
National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Yale University, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Vanderbilt University, New York University, Ohio State University, California Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Utah, University of Washington, Johns Hopkins University, University of Arizona, University of Massachusetts, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Notre Dame, Pennsylvania State University, University of Virginia, University of Portsmouth, New Mexico State University, York University, University of Oxford, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, University of Tokyo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Office of Science, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Colorado Boulder, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
0.66
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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