Other
Scientific paper
Sep 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004sptz.prop.3454h&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #3454
Other
Scientific paper
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 these galaxies. These clouds, seen in gound-based and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, are found at heights 0.4 < z < 2.0 kpc from the midplanes of ~1/2 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. With masses >10^5 to 10^6 solar 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. We propose to obtain Spitzer-IRAC maps of four edge-on spiral galaxies in the nearby universe to study the distribution of dusty interstellar clouds and stars in the thick disks of these systems. With the planned GTO observations of several other galaxies, our proposed observations will complete a survey of all edge-on systems within 30 Mpc known to contain extraplanar dust. We will use these images to: (1) Determine the total vertical extent of small grains in galaxies, including a determination of the scale height of PAHs within these systems; (2) Search for massive star formation hidden from optical view in the dense thick disk clouds; and (3) Determine the scale heights and lengths of stellar light in these galaxies to determine the extent to which the thick disk dust affects such determinations in the optical. We will use supplemental images acquired with the WIYN 3.5-m telescope and WFPC2 imager on board the Hubble Space Telescope to better understand the nature of extraplanar dust and gas in galaxies.
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