Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Open Access Articles

The Frequency Of Dust Lanes In Edge-On Spiral Galaxies Identified By Galaxy Zoo In Kids Imaging Of Gama Targets, Benne W. Holwerda, Lee Kelvin, Ivan Baldry, Chris Lintott, Mehmet Alpaslan, Kevin A. Pimbblet, Jochen Liske, Thomas Kitching, Steven Bamford, Jelte De Jong, Maciej Bilicki, Andrew Hopkins, Joanna Bridge, R. Steele, A. Jacques, S. Goswami, S. Kusmic, W. Roemer, S. Kruk, C. C. Popescu, K. Kuijken, L. Wang, A. Wright

Faculty Scholarship

Dust lanes bisect the plane of a typical edge-on spiral galaxy as a dark optical absorption feature. Their appearance is linked to the gravitational stability of spiral disks; the fraction of edge-on galaxies that displays a dust lane is a direct indicator of the typical vertical balance between gravity and turbulence: a balance struck between the energy input from star formation and the gravitational pull into the plane of the disk. Based on morphological classifications by the Galaxy Zoo project on the Kilo Degree Survey (KiDS) imaging data in the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) fields, we explore the relation …

Go to article

Herschel Observations Of Edge-On Spirals (Heroes) I. Far-Infrared Morphology And Dust Mass Determination., J. Verstappen, J. Fritz, M. Baes, M. W. L. Smith, F. Allaert, S. Bianchi, J. A. D. L. Blommaert, G. De Geyter, I. De Looze, G. Gentile, K. D. Gordon, Benne W. Holwerda, S. Viaene, E. M. Xilouris

Faculty Scholarship

Context. Edge-on spiral galaxies with prominent dust lanes provide us with an excellent opportunity to study the distribution and properties of the dust within them. The HEROES project was set up to observe a sample of seven large edge-on galaxies across various wavelengths for this investigation. Aims. Within this first paper, we present the Herschel observations and perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis on them, and we derive some global properties of the far infrared and submillimetre emission. Methods. We determine horizontal and vertical profiles from the Herschel observations of the galaxies in the sample and describe the morphology. Modified …

Go to article

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, …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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¯ …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

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 …

Go to article

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Faculty Scholarship

Faculty Scholarship

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

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

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

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

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

Faculty Scholarship

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

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

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