A study of outer disk stellar populations of face-on star-forming galaxies in SDSS-IV MaNGA: causes of H$\alpha$ deficiency

TL;DR

This study investigates the causes of Hα deficiency in the outer disks of face-on star-forming galaxies, revealing that it correlates with dust extinction drops and suggests a mode of star formation lacking massive stars in HI-dominated regions.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the properties and origins of Hα deficiency in galaxy outer disks, linking it to dust extinction and star formation modes in quiescent, HI-rich environments.

Findings

Outer disks are older, more metal-poor, and less dusty.

Hα deficiency correlates with a sharp decrease in dust extinction.

A subset shows uniform star formation and regular gas kinematics.

Abstract

Integral field unit (IFU) spectra of face-on star-forming galaxies from the MaNGA survey are stacked in radial bins so as to reach a S/N high enough to measure emission lines and Lick indices out to 2.5-3 R_e. Two thirds of galaxies have stellar populations in the outer disks that are older, more metal poor and less dusty than in the inner disks. Recent bursts of star formation have occurred more frequently in the outer disk, but extinction-corrected Halpha equivalent widths are significantly lower at fixed D_n(4000) in these regions. I examine the properties of a subset of galaxies with the the most H$\alpha$ deficient outer disks. These regions contain young stellar populations that must have formed within the last 0.5 Gyr, but extinction-corrected Halpha values well below the values predicted for a standard Kroupa IMF. The Halpha deficient galaxies have flat D_n(4000) and Hdelta_A profiles with little radial fluctuation, indicating that star formation has occurred extremely uniformly across the entire disk. The H$\alpha$ line profiles indicate that the ionized gas kinematics is also very regular across the disk. The main clue to the origin of the Halpha deficiency is that it sets in at the same radius where the dust extinction abruptly decreases, suggesting a mode of star formation deficient in massive stars in quiescent, HI-dominated gas. Finally, I have carried out a search for galaxies with signatures of unusual Halpha kinematics and find that 15% of the sample exhibit evidence for significant ionized gas that is displaced from the systemic velocity of the disk.