Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Feb 1991
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991stin...9119975k&link_type=abstract
Unknown
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Dust, H I Regions, H Ii Regions, High Resolution, Infrared Astronomy Satellite, Satellite Observation, Spiral Galaxies, Star Formation, Images, Infrared Radiation, Ionizing Radiation, Photodissociation, Photons, Star Formation Rate, Very Large Array (Vla)
Scientific paper
The H I, infrared, CO, H alpha and H beta band observations of M51, the prototypical grand-design spiral galaxy, are used to study the consequences of star formation for the distribution of H I and dust. Using the new Very Large Array (VLA) map of 21 cm emission, the Owens Valley Radio Observatory CO mosaic map, and an H alpha imate, new tests were performed with the idea of Tilanus and Allen that the H I is largely a photodissociation product in star-forming regions. It is confirmed that the H I spiral arms are generally coincident with the H II region arms, and offset downstream from the CO arms. The radial distributions of total gas, H alpha and H I surface density have a simple explanation in the dissociation picture. The distributions also demonstrate how the surface density of H I might be related to the star formation efficiency in molecule-rich galaxies. The large width of the H I regions along the arms compared to that of the giant H II regions can be understood in terms of a simple calculation of the expected size of an H I region associated with a typical giant H II region. The longer lifetime of the stars producing dissociating radiation vs. those producing ionizing radiation and the relatively long molecular formation timescale will also contribute to the greater width of the H I arms if stars are continuously forming on the arms. The lack of detailed coincidence of the H I and H II regions along the inner arms has a variety of possible explanations. Two simple tests were performed to probe the origins of the IRAS emission in M51. First, it was found that the infrared excess (IFE) of M51 is 24, suggesting that a substantial fraction of the infrared emission arises from dust heated by photons which do not originate in massive star-formaing regions. Second, radial cuts through the IRAS bands show that at 12, 25, and 60 microns, the arm-interarm contrast of the IRAS emission is substantially less than that of the H alpha emission, providing further evidence for the explanation and for the existence of a broadly distributed dust component. Deconvolved IRAS maps have improved resolution but do not change this finding.
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