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Articles 181 - 207 of 207

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Outer-Disk Populations In Ngc 7793 : Evidence For Stellar Radial Migration., David J. Radburn-Smith, Rok Roskar, Victor P. Debattista, Julianne J. Dalcanton, David Streich, Roelof S. De Jong, Marija Vlajic, Benne W. Holwerda, Chris W. Purcell, Andrew E. Dolphin, Daniel B. Zucker Jul 2012

Outer-Disk Populations In Ngc 7793 : Evidence For Stellar Radial Migration., David J. Radburn-Smith, Rok Roskar, Victor P. Debattista, Julianne J. Dalcanton, David Streich, Roelof S. De Jong, Marija Vlajic, Benne W. Holwerda, Chris W. Purcell, Andrew E. Dolphin, Daniel B. Zucker

Faculty Scholarship

We analyzed the radial surface brightness profile of the spiral galaxy NGC 7793 using HST/ACS images from the GHOSTS survey and a new HST/WFC3 image across the disk break. We used the photometry of resolved stars to select distinct populations covering a wide range of stellar ages. We found breaks in the radial profiles of all stellar populations at 280 (∼5.1 kpc). Beyond this disk break, the profiles become steeper for younger populations. This same trend is seen in numerical simulations where the outer disk is formed almost entirely by radial migration. We also found that the older stars of …


Evolution In The Dust Lane Fraction Of Edge-On L*V Spiral Galaxies Since Z = 0.8., Benne W. Holwerda, J. J. Dalcanton, D. Radburn-Smith, R. S. De Jong, P. Guhathakurta, A. Koekemoer, R. J. Allen, T. Boker Jul 2012

Evolution In The Dust Lane Fraction Of Edge-On L*V Spiral Galaxies Since Z = 0.8., Benne W. Holwerda, J. J. Dalcanton, D. Radburn-Smith, R. S. De Jong, P. Guhathakurta, A. Koekemoer, R. J. Allen, T. Boker

Faculty Scholarship

The presence of a well-defined and narrow dust lane in an edge-on spiral galaxy is the observational signature of a thin and dense molecular disk, in which gravitational collapse has overcome turbulence. Using a sample of galaxies out to z ∼ 1 extracted from the COSMOS survey, we identify the fraction of massive (L∗ V ) disks that display a dust lane. Our goal is to explore the evolution in the stability of the molecular interstellar medium (ISM) disks in spiral galaxies over a cosmic timescale. We check the reliability of our morphological classifications against changes in rest-frame wavelength, resolution, …


Herschel/Spire Observations Of The Dusty Disk Of Ngc 4244., Benne W. Holwerda, S. Bianchi, T. Boker, D. Radburn-Smith, R. S. De Jong, M. Baes, P. C. Van Der Kruit, M. Xilouris, K. D. Gordon, J. J. Dalcanton May 2012

Herschel/Spire Observations Of The Dusty Disk Of Ngc 4244., Benne W. Holwerda, S. Bianchi, T. Boker, D. Radburn-Smith, R. S. De Jong, M. Baes, P. C. Van Der Kruit, M. Xilouris, K. D. Gordon, J. J. Dalcanton

Faculty Scholarship

We present Herschel/SPIRE images at 250, 350, and 500 μm of NGC 4244, a typical low-mass, disk-only and edge-on spiral galaxy. The dust disk is clumpy and shows signs of truncation at the break radius of the stellar disk. This disk coincides with the densest part of the Hi disk. We compare the spectral energy distribution (SED), including the new SPIRE fluxes, to 3D radiative transfer models; a smooth model disk and a clumpy model with embedded heating. Each model requires a very high value for the dust scale-length (hd = 2−5 h∗), higher dust masses than previous models of …


The S4g Perspective On Circumstellar Dust Extinction Of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars In M100., Sharon Meidt, Eva Schinnerer, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Benne W. Holwerda, Luis C. Ho, Barry F. Madore, Johan H. Knapen, Albert Bosma, E. Athanassoula, Joannah L. Hinz, Kartik Sheth, Michael Regan, Armando Gil De Paz, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, Trisha Mizusawa, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Jarkko Laine, Sebastien Comeron Apr 2012

The S4g Perspective On Circumstellar Dust Extinction Of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars In M100., Sharon Meidt, Eva Schinnerer, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Benne W. Holwerda, Luis C. Ho, Barry F. Madore, Johan H. Knapen, Albert Bosma, E. Athanassoula, Joannah L. Hinz, Kartik Sheth, Michael Regan, Armando Gil De Paz, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, Trisha Mizusawa, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Jarkko Laine, Sebastien Comeron

Faculty Scholarship

We examine the effect of circumstellar dust extinction on the near-IR (NIR) contribution of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in intermediate-age clusters throughout the disk of M100. For our sample of 17 AGB-dominated clusters we extract optical-to-mid-IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and find that NIR brightness is coupled to the mid-IR dust emission in such a way that a significant reduction of AGB light, of up to 1 mag in the K band, follows from extinction by the dust shell formed during this stage. Since the dust optical depth varies with AGB chemistry (C-rich or O-rich), our results suggest that …


Thick Disks Of Edge-On Galaxies Seen Through The Spitzer Survey Of Stellar Structure In Galaxies (S4g) : Lair Of Missing Baryons?, Sebastien Comeron, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Johan H. Knapen, Heikki Salo, Eija Laurikainen, Jarkko Laine, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Kartik Sheth, Michael W. Regan, Joannah L. Hinz, Armando Gil De Paz, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Trisha Mizusawa, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, Debra M. Elmegreen, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Luis C. Ho, Benne W. Holwerda, Jani Lappalainen, Eva Schinnerer, Ramin Skibba Nov 2011

Thick Disks Of Edge-On Galaxies Seen Through The Spitzer Survey Of Stellar Structure In Galaxies (S4g) : Lair Of Missing Baryons?, Sebastien Comeron, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Johan H. Knapen, Heikki Salo, Eija Laurikainen, Jarkko Laine, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Kartik Sheth, Michael W. Regan, Joannah L. Hinz, Armando Gil De Paz, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Trisha Mizusawa, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, Debra M. Elmegreen, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Luis C. Ho, Benne W. Holwerda, Jani Lappalainen, Eva Schinnerer, Ramin Skibba

Faculty Scholarship

Most, if not all, disk galaxies have a thin (classical) disk and a thick disk. In most models thick disks are thought to be a necessary consequence of the disk formation and/or evolution of the galaxy. We present the results of a study of the thick disk properties in a sample of carefully selected edge-on galaxies with types ranging from T = 3 to T = 8. We fitted one-dimensional luminosity profiles with physically motivated functions—the solutions of two stellar and one gaseous isothermal coupled disks in equilibrium—which are likely to yield more accurate results than other functions used in …


Quantified H I Morphology – Iii. Merger Visibility Times From H I In Galaxy Simulations., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, T. J. Cox, W. J. G. De Blok, J. Weniger, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden Oct 2011

Quantified H I Morphology – Iii. Merger Visibility Times From H I In Galaxy Simulations., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, T. J. Cox, W. J. G. De Blok, J. Weniger, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden

Faculty Scholarship

Major mergers of disc galaxies are thought to be a substantial driver in galaxy evolution. To trace the fraction and rate of galaxy mergers over cosmic times, several observational techniques have been developed over the last decade, including parametrized morphological selection. We apply this morphological selection of mergers to 21 cm radio emission line (H I) column density images of spiral galaxies in nearby surveys. In this paper, we investigate how long a 1:1 merger is visible in H I from N-body simulations. We evaluate the merger visibility times for selection criteria based on four parameters: Concentration, Asymmetry, M20 and …


Quantified H I Morphology – Iv. The Merger Fraction And Rate In Whisp., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden Oct 2011

Quantified H I Morphology – Iv. The Merger Fraction And Rate In Whisp., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden

Faculty Scholarship

The morphology of the atomic hydrogen (H I) disc of a spiral galaxy is the first component to be disturbed by a gravitational interaction such as a merger between two galaxies. We use a simple parametrization of the morphology of H I column density maps of the Westerbork observations of neutral Hydrogen in Irregular and SPiral galaxies (WHISP) project to select those galaxies that are likely undergoing a significant interaction. Merging galaxies occupy a particular part of parameter space defined by Asymmetry (A), the relative contribution of the 20 per cent brightest pixels to the second-order moment of the column …


Quantified H I Morphology – I. Multi-Wavelength Analysis Of The Things Galaxies., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden, E. C. Elson Oct 2011

Quantified H I Morphology – I. Multi-Wavelength Analysis Of The Things Galaxies., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden, E. C. Elson

Faculty Scholarship

Galaxy evolution is driven to a large extent by interactions and mergers with other galaxies and the gas in galaxies is extremely sensitive to the interactions. One method to measure such interactions uses the quantified morphology of galaxy images. Well-established parameters are Concentration, Asymmetry, Smoothness, Gini and M20 of a galaxy image. Thus far, the application of this technique has mostly been restricted to rest-frame ultraviolet and optical images. However, with the new radio observatories being commissioned [South African Karoo Array Telescope (MeerKAT), Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP), Extended Very Large Array (EVLA), Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope/APERture Tile In Focus instrument …


Quantified H I Morphology – Ii. Lopsidedness And Interaction In Whisp Column Density Maps., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden, E. C. Elson Oct 2011

Quantified H I Morphology – Ii. Lopsidedness And Interaction In Whisp Column Density Maps., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, A. Bouchard, S. -L. Blyth, K. J. Van Der Heyden, E. C. Elson

Faculty Scholarship

Lopsidedness of the gaseous disc of spiral galaxies is a common phenomenon in disc morphology, profile and kinematics. Simultaneously, the asymmetry of a galaxy’s stellar disc, in combination with other morphological parameters, has seen extensive use as an indication of recent merger or interaction in galaxy samples. Quantified morphology of stellar spiral discs is one avenue to determine the merger rate over much of the age of the Universe. In this paper, we measure the quantitative morphology parameters for the H I column density maps from the Westerbork observations of neutral Hydrogen in Irregular and SPiral galaxies (WHISP). These are …


Quantified H I Morphology – V. H I Discs In The Virgo Cluster., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, W. Van Driel Oct 2011

Quantified H I Morphology – V. H I Discs In The Virgo Cluster., Benne W. Holwerda, N. Pirzkal, W. J. G. De Blok, W. Van Driel

Faculty Scholarship

We explore the quantified morphology of atomic hydrogen (H i) discs in the Virgo cluster. These galaxies display a wealth of phenomena in their H i morphology, e.g., tails, truncation and warps. These morphological disturbances are related to the ram pressure stripping and tidal interaction that galaxies undergo in this dense cluster environment. To quantify the morphological transformation of the H i discs, we compute the morphological parameters of Concentration, Asymmetry, Smoothness, Gini and M20 and our own GM for 51 galaxies in 48 H i column density maps from the VLA Imaging of Virgo spirals in Atomic gas (VIVA) …


The Unusual Vertical Mass Distribution Of Ngc 4013 Seen Through The Spitzer Survey Of Stellar Structure In Galaxies (S4g)., Sebastien Comeron, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Johan H. Knapen, Kartik Sheth, Joannah L. Hinz, Michael W. Regan, Armando Gil De Paz, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, Trisha Mizusawa, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Jarkko Laine, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Ronald J. Buta, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Luis C. Ho, Benne W. Holwerda, Eva Schinnerer, Dennis Zaritsky Sep 2011

The Unusual Vertical Mass Distribution Of Ngc 4013 Seen Through The Spitzer Survey Of Stellar Structure In Galaxies (S4g)., Sebastien Comeron, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Johan H. Knapen, Kartik Sheth, Joannah L. Hinz, Michael W. Regan, Armando Gil De Paz, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, Trisha Mizusawa, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Jarkko Laine, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Ronald J. Buta, Dimitri A. Gadotti, Luis C. Ho, Benne W. Holwerda, Eva Schinnerer, Dennis Zaritsky

Faculty Scholarship

NGC 4013 is a nearby Sb edge-on galaxy known for its “prodigious” H i warp and its “giant” tidal stream. Previous work on this unusual object shows that it cannot be fitted satisfactorily by a canonical thin+thick disk structure. We have produced a new decomposition of NGC 4013, considering three stellar flattened components (thin+thick disk plus an extra and more extended component) and one gaseous disk. All four components are considered to be gravitationally coupled and isothermal. To do so, we have used the 3.6μm images from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies. We find evidence for NGC …


The Ghosts Survey. I. Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera For Surveys Data., D. J. Radburn-Smith, R. S. De Jong, A. C. Seth, J. Bailin, E. F. Bell, T. M. Brown, J. S. Bullock, S. Courteau, J. J. Dalcanton, H. C. Ferguson, P. Goudfrooij, S. Holfeltz, Benne W. Holwerda, C. Purcell, J. Sick, D. Streich, M. Vlajic, D. B. Zucker Aug 2011

The Ghosts Survey. I. Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera For Surveys Data., D. J. Radburn-Smith, R. S. De Jong, A. C. Seth, J. Bailin, E. F. Bell, T. M. Brown, J. S. Bullock, S. Courteau, J. J. Dalcanton, H. C. Ferguson, P. Goudfrooij, S. Holfeltz, Benne W. Holwerda, C. Purcell, J. Sick, D. Streich, M. Vlajic, D. B. Zucker

Faculty Scholarship

We present an overview of the GHOSTS survey, the largest study to date of the resolved stellar populations in the outskirts of disk galaxies. The sample consists of 14 disk galaxies within 17 Mpc, whose outer disks and halos are imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). In the first paper of this series, we describe the sample, explore the benefits of using resolved stellar populations, and discuss our ACS F606W and F814W photometry. We use artificial star tests to assess completeness and use overlapping regions to estimate photometric uncertainties. The median depth of the survey …


The Thick Disk In The Galaxy Ngc 4244 From S4g Imaging., Sebastien Comeron, Johan H. Knapen, Kartik Sheth, Michael Regan, Joannah L. Hinz, Armando Gil De Paz, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Ronald J. Buta, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Luis C. Ho, Benne W. Holwerda, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Eva Schinnerer Mar 2011

The Thick Disk In The Galaxy Ngc 4244 From S4g Imaging., Sebastien Comeron, Johan H. Knapen, Kartik Sheth, Michael Regan, Joannah L. Hinz, Armando Gil De Paz, Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Mark Seibert, Taehyun Kim, E. Athanassoula, Albert Bosma, Ronald J. Buta, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Luis C. Ho, Benne W. Holwerda, Eija Laurikainen, Heikki Salo, Eva Schinnerer

Faculty Scholarship

If thick disks are ubiquitous and a natural product of disk galaxy formation and/or evolution processes, all undisturbed galaxies that have evolved during a significant fraction of a Hubble time should have a thick disk. The late-type spiral galaxy NGC 4244 has been reported as the only nearby edge-on galaxy without a confirmed thick disk. Using data from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G) we have identified signs of two disk components in this galaxy. The asymmetries between the light profiles on both sides of the mid-plane of NGC 4244 can be explained by a combination of …


The Onset Of Warps In Spitzer Observations Of Edge-On Spiral Galaxies., Kanak Saha, Roelof De Jong, Benne W. Holwerda Jun 2009

The Onset Of Warps In Spitzer Observations Of Edge-On Spiral Galaxies., Kanak Saha, Roelof De Jong, Benne W. Holwerda

Faculty Scholarship

We analyse warps in the nearby edge-on spiral galaxies observed in the Spitzer/Infrared Array Camera (IRAC )4.5-μm band. In our sample of 24 galaxies, we find evidence of warp in 14 galaxies. We estimate the observed onset radii for the warps in a subsample of 10 galaxies. The dark matter distribution in each of these galaxies are calculated using the mass distribution derived from the observed light distribution and the observed rotation curves. The theoretical predictions of the onset radii for the warps are then derived by applying a self-consistent linear response theory to the obtained mass models for six …


Spectrophotometrically Identified Stars In The Pears-N And Pears-S Fields., N. Pirzkal, A. J. Burgasser, S. Malhotra, Benne W. Holwerda, K. C. Sahu, J. E. Rhoads, C. Xu, J. J. Bochanski, J. R. Walsh, R. A. Windhorst, N. P. Hathi, S. H. Cohen Apr 2009

Spectrophotometrically Identified Stars In The Pears-N And Pears-S Fields., N. Pirzkal, A. J. Burgasser, S. Malhotra, Benne W. Holwerda, K. C. Sahu, J. E. Rhoads, C. Xu, J. J. Bochanski, J. R. Walsh, R. A. Windhorst, N. P. Hathi, S. H. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

Deep ACS slitless grism observations and identification of stellar sources are presented within the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North and South fields which were obtained in the Probing Evolution And Reionization Spectroscopically (PEARS) program. It is demonstrated that even low-resolution spectra can be a very powerful means of identifying stars in the field, especially low-mass stars with stellar types M0 and later. The PEARS fields lay within the larger GOODS fields, and we used new, deeper images to further refine the selection of stars in the PEARS field, down to a magnitude of z850 = 25 using a newly …


An Extended Dust Disk In A Spiral Galaxy : An Occulting Galaxy Pair In The Acs Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury., Benne W. Holwerda, W. C. Keel, B. Williams, J. J. Dalcanton, R. S. De Jong Feb 2009

An Extended Dust Disk In A Spiral Galaxy : An Occulting Galaxy Pair In The Acs Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury., Benne W. Holwerda, W. C. Keel, B. Williams, J. J. Dalcanton, R. S. De Jong

Faculty Scholarship

We present an analysis of an occulting galaxy pair, serendipitously discovered in the ACS Nearby Galaxy Survey Treasury observations of NGC 253 taken with the Hubble Space Telescope’s (HST) Advanced Camera for Surveys in F475W, F606W, and F814W (SDSS − g, broad V, and I). The foreground disk system (at z 0.06) shows a dusty disk much more extended than the starlight, with spiral lanes seen in extinction out to 1.5 R25, approximately 6 half-light radii. This pair is the first where extinction can be mapped reliably out to this distance from the center. The spiral arms of the extended …


Host Galaxy Extinction Of Type Ia Supernovae : Co-Evolution Of Interstellar Medium Structure And The Extinction Law With Star Formation., Benne W. Holwerda May 2008

Host Galaxy Extinction Of Type Ia Supernovae : Co-Evolution Of Interstellar Medium Structure And The Extinction Law With Star Formation., Benne W. Holwerda

Faculty Scholarship

This paper presents a mechanism that may modify the extinction law for Type Ia supernovae (SNeIa) observed at higher redshift. Starting from the observations that (i) SNeIa occur predominantly in spiral galaxies, (ii) star formation ejects interstellar medium (ISM) out of the plane of spirals, (iii) star formation alters the extinction properties of the dust in the ISM, and (iv) there is substantially more star formation at higher redshift, I propose that spiral galaxies have a dustier halo in the past than they do now. The ejected material’s lower value of RV will lead to a lower average value (R¯ …


The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Viii. Structure Of The Cold Ism., Benne W. Holwerda, B. Draine, K. D. Gordon, R. A. Gonzalez, D. Calzetti, M. Thornley, B. Buckalew, Ronald J. Allen, P C. Van Der Kruit Dec 2007

The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Viii. Structure Of The Cold Ism., Benne W. Holwerda, B. Draine, K. D. Gordon, R. A. Gonzalez, D. Calzetti, M. Thornley, B. Buckalew, Ronald J. Allen, P C. Van Der Kruit

Faculty Scholarship

The quantity of dust in a spiral disk can be estimated using the dust’s typical emission or the extinction of a known source. In this paper we compare two techniques, one based on emission and one on absorption, applied to sections of 14 disk galaxies. The two measurements reflect, respectively, the average and apparent optical depth of a disk section. Hence, they depend differently on the average number and optical depth of ISM structures in the disk. The small-scale geometry of the cold ISM is critical for accurate models of the overall energy budget of spiral disks. ISM geometry, relative …


Spiral Disk Opacity From Occulting Galaxy Pairs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey., Benne W. Holwerda, W. C. Keel, A. Bolton Dec 2007

Spiral Disk Opacity From Occulting Galaxy Pairs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey., Benne W. Holwerda, W. C. Keel, A. Bolton

Faculty Scholarship

A spiral galaxy partially overlapping a more distant elliptical offers a unique opportunity to measure the dust extinction in the foreground spiral. From the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR4 spectroscopic sample, we selected 83 occulting galaxy pairs and measured disk opacity over the redshift range z ¼ 0:0Y0:2 with the goal of determining the recent evolution of disk dust opacity. The enrichment of the ISM changes over the lifetime of a disk, and it is reasonable to expect the dust extinction properties of spiral disks as a whole to change over their lifetime. When they do, the change will …


Gaps In The Cloud Cover? : Comparing Extinction Measures In Spiral Disks., Benne W. Holwerda, M. Meyer, M. W. Regan, D. Calzetti, K. D. Gordon, J. D. Smith, D. Dale, C. W. Engelbracht, T. Jarrett, M. Thornley, C. Bot, B. Buckalew, R. C. Kennicutt, R. A. Gonzalez Oct 2007

Gaps In The Cloud Cover? : Comparing Extinction Measures In Spiral Disks., Benne W. Holwerda, M. Meyer, M. W. Regan, D. Calzetti, K. D. Gordon, J. D. Smith, D. Dale, C. W. Engelbracht, T. Jarrett, M. Thornley, C. Bot, B. Buckalew, R. C. Kennicutt, R. A. Gonzalez

Faculty Scholarship

Dust in galaxies can be mapped either by the FIR/submillimeter emission, the optical or infrared reddening of starlight, or the extinction of a known background source. We compare two dust extinction measurements for a set of 15 sections in 13 nearby galaxies to determine the scale of the dusty interstellar medium ( ISM ) responsible for disk opacity: one using stellar reddening and the other a known background source. In our earlier papers, we presented extinction measurements of 29 galaxies, based on calibrated counts of distant background objects identified though foreground disks in Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images. For the …


Stellar Populations Across The Ngc 4244 Truncated Galactic Disk., Roelof De Jong, A. C. Seth, D. Radburn-Smith, E. F. Bell, T. M. Brown, J. S. Bullock, S. Courteau, J. J. Dalcanton, H. C. Ferguson, P. Goudfrooij, S. Holfeltz, Benne W. Holwerda, C. Purcell, J. Sick, D. B. Zucker Sep 2007

Stellar Populations Across The Ngc 4244 Truncated Galactic Disk., Roelof De Jong, A. C. Seth, D. Radburn-Smith, E. F. Bell, T. M. Brown, J. S. Bullock, S. Courteau, J. J. Dalcanton, H. C. Ferguson, P. Goudfrooij, S. Holfeltz, Benne W. Holwerda, C. Purcell, J. Sick, D. B. Zucker

Faculty Scholarship

We use the Hubble Space Telescope ACS to study the resolved stellar populations of the nearby, nearly edgeon galaxy NGC 4244 across its outer disk surface density break. The stellar photometry allows us to study the distribution of different stellar populations and reach very low equivalent surface brightnesses. We find that the break occurs at the same radius for young, intermediate-age, and old stars. The stellar density beyond the break drops sharply by a factor of at least 600 in 5 kpc. The break occurs at the same radius independent of height above the disk, but is sharpest in the …


A Dust Component ~2 Kpc Above The Plane In Ngc 891., P. Kamphuis, Benne W. Holwerda, R. J. Allen, R. F. Peletier, P. C. Van Der Kruit Aug 2007

A Dust Component ~2 Kpc Above The Plane In Ngc 891., P. Kamphuis, Benne W. Holwerda, R. J. Allen, R. F. Peletier, P. C. Van Der Kruit

Faculty Scholarship

Context.The halo of NGC 891 has been the subject of studies for more than a decade. One of its most striking features is the large asymmetry in H emission. In this letter, we will take a quantitative look at this asymmetry at different wavelengths for the first time.
Aims.We suggest that NGC 891 is intrinsically almost symmetric and the large asymmetry in H emission is mostly due to dust attenuation. We will quantify the additional optical depth needed to cause the observed asymmetry in this model.
Methods.By comparing large strips on the North East side of the …


The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Vi. Extinction, Stellar Light And Color., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, P. C. Van Der Kruit, R. J. Allen Dec 2005

The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Vi. Extinction, Stellar Light And Color., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, P. C. Van Der Kruit, R. J. Allen

Faculty Scholarship

In this paper we explore the relation between dust extinction and stellar light distribution in disks of spiral galaxies. Extinction influences our dynamical and photometric perception of disks, since it can distort our measurement of the contribution of the stellar component. To characterize the total extinction by a foreground disk, González et al. (1998, ApJ, 506, 152) proposed the "Synthetic Field Method" (SFM), which uses the calibrated number of distant galaxies seen through the foreground disk as a direct indication of extinction. The method is described in González et al. (1998, ApJ, 506, 152) and Holwerda et al. (2005a, AJ, …


The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. V. Dust Opacity, Hi Distributions And Sub-Mm Emission., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit Dec 2005

The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. V. Dust Opacity, Hi Distributions And Sub-Mm Emission., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit

Faculty Scholarship

The opacity of spiral galaxy disks, from counts of distant galaxies, is compared to HI column densities. The opacity measurements are calibrated using the “Synthetic Field Method” from González et al. (1998, ApJ, 506, 152), Holwerda et al. (2005a, AJ, 129, 1381). When compared for individual disks, the HI column density and dust opacity do not seem to be correlated as HI and opacity follow different radial profiles. To improve statistics, an average radial opacity profile is compared to an average HI profile. Compared to dust-to-HI estimates from the literature, more extinction is found in this profile. This difference may …


The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks Vii. The Accuracy Of Galaxy Counts As An Extinction Probe., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit Dec 2005

The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks Vii. The Accuracy Of Galaxy Counts As An Extinction Probe., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit

Faculty Scholarship

The "Synthetic Field Method" (SFM) was introduced by González et al. (1998, ApJ, 506, 152) to calibrate numbers of distant galaxies as a probe of extinction in a foreground spiral disk. González et al. (2003, AJ, 125, 1182) studied the effect of the foreground disk on these numbers using simulations of current and future instruments for fields in the LMC, M 31 and NGC 4536, a galaxy in Virgo. They concluded that: (1) the brighter centers of disks were unsuitable; (2) the granularity of the disk at a fixed surface brightness is the limiting factor in the detection of distant …


The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Iv. Radial Extinction Profiles From Counts Of Distant Galaxies Seen Through Foreground Disks., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit Mar 2005

The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Iv. Radial Extinction Profiles From Counts Of Distant Galaxies Seen Through Foreground Disks., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit

Faculty Scholarship

Dust extinction can be determined from the number of distant field galaxies seen through a spiral disk. To calibrate this number for the crowding and confusion introduced by the foreground image, Gonzalez et al. and Holwerda et al. developed the Synthetic Field Method (SFM ), which analyzes synthetic fields constructed by adding various deep exposures of unobstructed background fields to the candidate foreground galaxy field. The advantage of the SFM is that it gives the average opacity for the area of a galaxy disk without making assumptions about either the distribution of absorbers or of the disk starlight. However, it …


The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Iii. Automating The Synthetic Field Method., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit Mar 2005

The Opacity Of Spiral Galaxy Disks. Iii. Automating The Synthetic Field Method., Benne W. Holwerda, R. A. Gonzalez, Ronald J. Allen, P. C. Van Der Kruit

Faculty Scholarship

Dust extinction in spiral disks can be estimated from the counts of background field galaxies, provided the deleterious effects of confusion introduced by structure in the image of the foreground spiral disk can be calibrated. Gonzalez et al. developed a method for this calibration, the Synthetic Field Method (SFM), and applied this concept to a Hubble Space Telescope (HST )/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 image of NGC 4536. The SFM estimates the total extinction through the disk without requiring assumptions about the distribution of absorbers or disk light. The poor statistics, however, result in large errors in individual measurements. We …