Far-infrared distributions in nearby spiral galaxies NGC2841 and NGC2976 observed with AKARI/FIS

TL;DR

This study uses AKARI/FIS far-infrared imaging to analyze dust structures and temperature variations in two nearby spiral galaxies, revealing differences related to galaxy type and environment.

Contribution

First detailed far-infrared imaging of NGC2841 and NGC2976 with AKARI/FIS, highlighting dust morphology and temperature differences linked to galaxy properties.

Findings

Both galaxies show dust rings with different temperatures.

NGC2841 has a cold dust ring and central warm dust component.

NGC2976 exhibits an extended, asymmetrical dust component.

Abstract

Far-infrared (IR) images of the nearby Sb galaxy NGC2841 and the Sc galaxy NGC2976 at wavelengths of 65, 90, 140, and 160 um have been obtained with the Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS) onboard AKARI. Both galaxies reveal similar morphologies of dust rings. They are, however, significantly different in the dust temperature: a cold (21 K) ring for NGC2841 and a warm (30 K) ring for NGC2976, which presumably reflects the difference in the origin of the ring structure for the different Hubble type of the galaxy. In addition to the dust ring structure, a warm dust component is detected from the central region of NGC2841, which may be attributed to the heating by its Low-Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Region nucleus. As for NGC2976, an extended dust component is observed along the minor axis, which shows a distribution somewhat asymmetrical to the galactic disk; this might be associated with the HI bridge in the M81/M82 group that NGC2976 belongs to. By taking advantage of a wealth of the far-IR bands of the FIS, it is demonstrated that the spectral energy distribution of NGC2841 is spatially more variable than that of NGC2976.