Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2009-07-28
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Accepted for publication in ApJ, 15 pages, 9 figures
Scientific paper
We have conducted a deep multi-wavelength analysis (0.15-160 mum) to study the outer region of the nearby galaxy M94. We show that the non-optical data support the idea that the outskirts of this galaxy is not formed by a closed stellar ring (as traditionally claimed in the literature) but by a spiral arm structure. In this sense, M94 is a good example of a Type III (anti-truncated) disk galaxy having a very bright outer disk. The outer disk of this galaxy contains ~23% of the total stellar mass budget of the galaxy and contributes ~10% of the new stars created showing that this region of the galaxy is active. In fact, the specific star formation rate of the outer disk (~0.012 Gyr^{-1}) is a factor of ~2 larger (i.e. the star formation is more efficient per unit stellar mass) than in the inner disk. We have explored different scenarios to explain the enhanced star formation in the outer disk. We find that the inner disk (if considered as an oval distortion) can dynamically create a spiral arm structure in the outer disk which triggers the observed relatively high star formation rate as well as an inner ring similar to what is found in this galaxy.
Gabany Jay R.
Martinez-Delgado David
Martinez-Valpuesta Inma
Penarrubia Jorge
Pohlen Michael
No associations
LandOfFree
Unveiling the nature of M94's (NGC4736) outer region: a panchromatic perspective does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Unveiling the nature of M94's (NGC4736) outer region: a panchromatic perspective, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Unveiling the nature of M94's (NGC4736) outer region: a panchromatic perspective will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-682066