The stratification of ISM properties in the edge-on galaxy NGC 891 revealed by NIKA2

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution millimeter observations of NGC 891 to analyze the distribution and properties of interstellar dust and gas, revealing variations in dust grain sizes and the influence of galactic outflows.

Contribution

It provides a detailed multiwavelength analysis of ISM properties in NGC 891, highlighting the distribution of dust and free-free emission using advanced Bayesian modeling.

Findings

Dust emission at 1 mm is purely from dust, with radio becoming more significant at longer wavelengths.

Small dust grains constitute about 9.5% of total dust mass, increasing to 20% in the halo.

An excess emission of 25% is observed in the outer disk regions at millimeter wavelengths.

Abstract

As the millimeter wavelength range remains a largely unexplored spectral region for galaxies, the IMEGIN large program aims to map the millimeter continuum emission of 22 nearby galaxies at 1.15 and 2 mm. Using the high-resolution maps produced by the NIKA2 camera, we explore the existence of very cold dust and take possible contamination by free-free and synchrotron emission into account. We study the IR-to-radio emission coming from different regions along the galactic plane and at large vertical distances. New observations of NGC 891, using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30m telescope, along with a suite of observations at other wavelengths were used to perform a multiwavelength study of the spectral energy distribution in the interstellar medium in this galaxy. This analysis was performed globally and locally, using the advanced hierarchical Bayesian fitting code, HerBIE, coupled with the THEMIS dust model. Our dust modeling is able to reproduce the near-IR to millimeter emission of NGC 891, with the exception of an excess at a level of 25% obtained by the NIKA2 observations in the outermost parts of the disk. The radio continuum and thermal dust emission are distributed differently in the disk and galaxy halo. Different dusty environments are also revealed by a multiwavelength investigation of the emission features. Our detailed decomposition at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths shows that emission at 1 mm is purely originated by dust. Radio components become progressively important with increasing wavelengths. Finally, we find that emission arising from small dust grains accounts for ~ 9.5% of the total dust mass, reaching up to 20% at large galactic latitudes. Shock waves in the outflows that shatter the dust grains might explain this higher fraction of small grains in the halo.