Gas Metallicities in the Extended Disks of NGC 1512 and NGC 3621. Chemical Signatures of Metal Mixing or Enriched Gas Accretion?

TL;DR

This study measures metallicity in the outer disks of two spiral galaxies, finding unexpectedly high and homogeneous metal content, suggesting metal transport or accretion processes influence these regions.

Contribution

It provides detailed spectroscopic analysis of HII regions in extended galaxy disks, revealing high metallicity levels and challenging the assumption of low metallicity in outer galactic regions.

Findings

Outer disk metallicity is higher than previously thought.

Metallicity gradient flattens beyond the isophotal radius.

Homogeneous metal distribution suggests efficient metal transport or accretion.

Abstract

(Abridged) We have obtained spectra of 135 HII regions located in the inner and extended disks of the spiral galaxies NGC 1512 and NGC 3621, spanning the range of galactocentric distances 0.2-2 x R25 (from 2-3 kpc to 18-25 kpc). We find that the excitation properties of nebulae in the outer (R>R25) disks are similar to those of the inner disks, but on average younger HII regions tend to be selected in the bright inner disks. Reddening by dust is not negligible in the outer disks, and subject to significant large-scale spatial variations. For both galaxies the radial abundance gradient flattens to a constant value outside of the isophotal radius. The outer disk O/H abundance ratio is highly homogeneous, with a scatter of only ~0.06 dex. Based on the excitation and chemical (N/O ratio) analysis we find no compelling evidence for variations in the upper initial mass function of the ionizing clusters of extended disks. The O/H abundance in the outer disks of the target galaxies corresponds to 35% of the solar value (or higher, depending on the metallicity diagnostic). This conflicts with the notion that metallicities in extended disks of spiral galaxies are necessarily low. The observed metal enrichment cannot be produced with the current level of star formation. We discuss the possibility that metal transport mechanisms from the inner disks lead to metal pollution of the outer disks. Gas accretion from the intergalactic medium, enriched by outflows, offers an alternative solution.