A color-magnitude relation for spiral galaxies

Details A color-magnitude relation for spiral galaxies A color-magnitude relation for spiral galaxies

Jun 1982

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1982apj...257..527t&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1, vol. 257, June 15, 1982, p. 527-537.

Mathematics

Logic

138

Astronomical Photometry, Correlation Detection, Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, Infrared Spectra, Spectral Line Width, Spiral Galaxies, Abundance, Astrometry, Astronomical Models, Color-Magnitude Diagram, Galactic Evolution, Hubble Constant, Line Spectra, Luminosity, Star Formation Rate, Virgo Galactic Cluster

Scientific paper

Tight correlations are found between blue-to-IR colors and either the H I line profile widths (masses) or the intrinsic luminosities of spiral galaxies. Since colors are distance independent, the color-magnitude correlation can be used as a measuring stick. The tight relationships between color and mass or luminosity, essentially independent of galaxy type, suggest that the Hubble morphological sequence is predominantly dependent on a single parameter: total mass. The color-magnitude diagram can be qualitatively understood if the initial specific star formation rate in spirals decreases with decreasing mass, and at the same time, chemical abundances decrease and/or the initial mass function flattens with decreasing mass. It is suggested that a gas-rich galaxy will lie on the spiral branch at a location specified by its total mass, and, once its gas is depleted or lost, will rapidly evolve to a location on the lenticular branch that is specified by the total mass.

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