The Local Radio-IR Relation in M51
Abstract
We observed M51 at three frequencies, 1.4 GHz (20 cm), 4.9 GHz (6 cm), and 8.4 GHz (3.6 cm), with the Very Large Array and the Effelsberg 100 m telescope to obtain the highest quality radio continuum images of a nearby spiral galaxy. These radio data were combined with deconvolved Spitzer IRAC 8 μm and MIPS 24 μm images to search for and investigate local changes in the radio-IR correlation. Utilizing wavelet decomposition, we compare the distribution of the radio and IR emission on spatial scales between 200 pc and 30 kpc. We show that the radio-IR correlation is not uniform across the galactic disk. It presents a complex behavior with local extrema corresponding to various galactic structures, such as complexes of H II regions, spiral arms, and interarm filaments, indicating that the contribution of the thermal and non-thermal radio emission is a strong function of environment. In particular, the relation of the 24 μm and 20 cm emission presents a linear relation within the spiral arms and globally over the galaxy, while it deviates from linearity in the interarm and outer regions as well in the inner region, with two different behaviors: it is sublinear in the interarm and outer region and overlinear in the central 3.5 kpc. Our analysis suggests that the changes in the radio/IR correlation reflect variations of interstellar medium properties between spiral arms and interarm region. The good correlation in the spiral arms implies that 24 μm and 20 cm are tracing recent star formation, while a change in the dust opacity, "Cirrus" contribution to the IR emission and/or the relation between the magnetic field strength and the gas density can explain the different relations found in the interarm, outer, and inner regions.
Additional Information
© 2011 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2010 April 20; accepted 2010 November 13; published 2011 January 5. The authors thank Daniela Calzetti for providing the Hα image. We are also thankful to A. Fletcher, R. Kennicutt, and U. Lisenfeld for very fruitful discussions and to the anonymous referee for useful comments and suggestions that helped to improve this paper. This work is partly based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by NASA/JPL/Caltech, on observations with the 100 m telescope of the MPIfR (Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie) at Effelsberg and on observations made with the NRAO Very Large Array. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. G.D. was supported by DFG grants SCH 53614-1 and SCH 53614-2 as part of SPP 1177.Attached Files
Published - Dumas2011p12756Astron_J.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 22585
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20110301-113229118
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- SCH 53614-1
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
- SCH 53614-2
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
- Created
-
2011-03-03Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)