Bibcode
Chan, S. J.; Beckman, J. E.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 553, id.A54, 11 pp.
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5
2013
Journal
Citations
2
Refereed citations
0
Description
Aims: We systematically study the relations between the Hα
luminosity and the near-IR luminosity and temperature of a set of
selected HII regions in the disc of M100.
Methods: By using the technique of cross-reference between the optical
Hα image (the catalogue of HII regions in M100)
and the Spitzer IRAC images, we locate the selected HII regions in the
IRAC image frames. By using the chi-squared non-linear fitting
technique, we estimate the IRAC-3-band colour temperature
Tcol(IRAC) of selected HII regions, and calculate their
near-IR luminosities. Results: The spectral fits allow us to
separate the PAH emission in the 3.6 μm band from the thermal dust
emission that dominates the other three bands, thereby assigning values
for the colour temperature of the dust. These values lie in the range
250 K to 350 K. There is a well defined linear relation between the
Hα luminosity and the derived IRAC luminosity for the HII regions,
but no apparent relation between the latter and the colour temperature.
While the range in Hα luminosity is almost two orders of
magnitude, the range in temperature is less than a factor two. We also
find that the colour temperature is independent of galactocentric
radius, in contrast to previous findings for electron temperatures in
HII regions. These results could be understood in scenarios where the OB
association pushes the surrounding dust and gas out to radii that are
larger for higher luminosity regions or, alternatively, where the dust
we are measuring consists of tiny stochastically heated grains.
Related projects
Kinematic, Structural and Composition Studies of the Interstellar and Intergalactic Media
The basic objective of the broject is to investigate the evolution of galaxies by deepening our understanding of the interaction between the insterstellar medium and the stars.The main technique which we use is the two-dimensional kinematic study of whole galaxies observed using our instrument:GHaFaS, a Fabry-Perot interferometer on the William
Prof.
John E. Beckman