Other
Scientific paper
May 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006sptz.prop30562h&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #30562
Other
Scientific paper
The gaseous thick disks of spiral galaxies are thought to be created and supported by energetic feedback from massive stars. High resolution optical continuum images of edge-on spirals have revealed an extensive web of hundreds of dense, dusty clouds in the disk-halo interface of such galaxies. These clouds, seen in ground-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, are found at heights 0.4 < z < 1.5 kpc from the midplanes of half of all spirals in the nearby universe, and their presence in the thick disks of galaxies is likely the result of stellar feedback processes operating in the thin disks of these systems. Each of these clouds has >10^5 to 10^6 solar masses of gas. Given their large masses, these clouds may house regions of thick disk star formation in galaxies, as evidenced by the presence of extraplanar H II regions in several systems. H I and other tracers are known to extend to much larger heights, z~10 kpc and beyond, but optical searches are not sensitive to dust associated with gas above z>1.5 kpc. We propose to obtain deep Spitzer-MIPS maps of three edge-on spiral galaxies in the nearby universe - NGC 4013, NGC 4631, and NGC 5775 - to study the distribution of dust in the thick disks of these systems. We will use the proposed observations to: (1) determine the total vertical extent of dust in these galaxies, including cold dust that may exist at very large distances; (2) determine if the mixture of PAHs, very small grains, and classical large grains changes as a function of height, as predicted by models for creating thick gaseous disks in galaxies; and (3) determine the average gas-to-dust ratio of the thick interstellar disks by comparison with H I observations. We will use supplemental images acquired with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope and WFPC2 and ACS imagers on HST to better understand the nature of extraplanar dust and gas in galaxies.
Howk Jay Christopher
Lehner Nicolas
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