Structure and Evolution of the Opacity of Spiral Disks

TL;DR

This paper investigates the opacity of spiral disks caused by dust, using multiple observational techniques, and explores how this opacity evolves over cosmic time, with implications for distance measurements and galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It combines galaxy count and SED modeling techniques to measure disk opacity and presents first results on its evolution up to redshift 0.2, proposing future high-redshift studies.

Findings

Spiral disks are semi-transparent with more opaque arms.

Disk opacity shows little evolution since z=0.2.

Future high-redshift measurements can be done with HST imaging.

Abstract

The opacity of a spiral disk due to dust absorption influences every measurement we make of it in the UV and optical. Two separate techniques directly measure the total absorption by dust in the disk: calibrated distant galaxy counts and overlapping galaxy pairs. The main results from both so far are a semi-transparent disk with more opaque arms, and a relation between surface brightness and disk opacity. In the Spitzer era, SED models of spiral disks add a new perspective on the role of dust in spiral disks. Combined with the overall opacity from galaxy counts, they yield a typical optical depth of the dusty ISM clouds: 0.4 that implies a size of $\sim$ 60 pc. Work on galaxy counts is currently ongoing on the ACS fields of M51, M101 and M81. Occulting galaxies offer the possibility of probing the history of disk opacity from higher redshift pairs. Evolution in disk opacity could influence distance measurements (SN1a, Tully-Fisher relation). Here, we present first results from spectroscopically selected occulting pairs in the SDSS. The redshift range for this sample is limited, but does offer a first insight into disk opacity evolution as well as a reference for higher redshift measurements. Spiral disk opacity has not undergone significant evolution since z=0.2. HST imaging would help disentangle the effects of spiral arms in these pairs. Many more mixed-morphology types are being identified in SDSS by the GalaxyZoo project. The occulting galaxy technique can be pushed to a redshift of 1 using many pairs identified in the imaging campaigns with HST (DEEP2, GEMS, GOODS, COSMOS).