Other
Scientific paper
Jul 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993apj...412..111m&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 412, no. 1, p. 111-126.
Other
91
Astronomical Models, Astronomical Photometry, Astronomical Spectroscopy, Galactic Nuclei, Starburst Galaxies, Cosmic Dust, Emission Spectra, Galactic Rotation, Interstellar Extinction, Interstellar Gas, Stellar Temperature, Supernovae
Scientific paper
We present new near-IR observations of the starburst galaxy M82, including high-resolution J, H, and K imagery, 1-5 micron spectrophotometry and photometry, and 1.05-1.35 micron spectroscopy. These measurements are used to examine the stellar population in the galaxy and conditions in the interstellar medium. We combine our observations with results from the literature to derive a new set of constraints for starburst models. Our measurements of Paschen line fluxes in combination with the strengths of other recombination lines allow study of the reddening in M82. We find that a uniform foreground screen model for the dust geometry cannot explain the relative line strengths. A variety of other models can fit the data reasonably well, such as a nonuniform foreground screen or a homogeneous mix of dust and gas. The derived properties of the galaxy are not strongly dependent on which of these models is selected; we derive an ionizing flux of about 10 exp 54/s and an absolute magnitude of the starburst region of less than -22.5. Depending on the reddening model, the visual extinction to the nucleus lies between A(V) = 12 and A(V) = 27; we show that the nucleus does not coincide with any feature that is bright at visual wavelengths.
Kelly Douglas M.
McLeod Kim K.
Rieke George H.
Rieke Marcia J.
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