The thick disk in the galaxy NGC 4244 from S4G imaging.

Authors

Sebastien Comeron, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Johan H. Knapen, Universidad de La Laguna
Kartik Sheth, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Michael Regan, Space Telescope Science Institute
Joannah L. Hinz, University of Arizona
Armando Gil de Paz, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Karin Menendez-Delmestre, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
Juan Carlos Munoz-Mateos, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Mark Seibert, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
Taehyun Kim, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
E. Athanassoula, Aix Marseille Universite
Albert Bosma, Aix Marseille Universite
Ronald J. Buta, University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa
Bruce G. Elmegreen, T. J. Watson Research Center
Luis C. Ho, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington
Benne W. Holwerda, University of Louisville
Eija Laurikainen, University of Oulu
Heikki Salo, University of Oulu
Eva Schinnerer, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2011

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

If thick disks are ubiquitous and a natural product of disk galaxy formation and/or evolution processes, all undisturbed galaxies that have evolved during a significant fraction of a Hubble time should have a thick disk. The late-type spiral galaxy NGC 4244 has been reported as the only nearby edge-on galaxy without a confirmed thick disk. Using data from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S4G) we have identified signs of two disk components in this galaxy. The asymmetries between the light profiles on both sides of the mid-plane of NGC 4244 can be explained by a combination of the galaxy not being perfectly edge-on and a certain degree of opacity of the thin disk. We argue that the subtlety of the thick disk is a consequence of either a limited secular evolution in NGC 4244, a small fraction of stellar material in the fragments which built the galaxy, or a high amount of gaseous accretion after the formation of the galaxy.

Comments

Copyright 2011. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/729/1/18

Original Publication Information

Comeron, Sebastien, et al. "The Thick Disk in the Galaxy NGC 4244 from S4G Imaging." 2011. The Astrophysical Journal 729(1): 12 pp.

ThinkIR Citation

Comeron, Sebastien; Knapen, Johan H.; Sheth, Kartik; Regan, Michael; Hinz, Joannah L.; Gil de Paz, Armando; Menendez-Delmestre, Karin; Munoz-Mateos, Juan Carlos; Seibert, Mark; Kim, Taehyun; Athanassoula, E.; Bosma, Albert; Buta, Ronald J.; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Ho, Luis C.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Laurikainen, Eija; Salo, Heikki; and Schinnerer, Eva, "The thick disk in the galaxy NGC 4244 from S4G imaging." (2011). Faculty and Staff Scholarship. 242.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/242

DOI

10.1088/0004-637X/729/1/18