An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra
Power spectra (PS) of high-resolution images of M51 (NGC 5194) taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have been examined for evidence of disk thickness in the form of a change in slope between large scales, which map two-dimensional correlated structures, and...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Bruce G. Elmegreen Daniela Calzetti Angela Adamo Karin Sandstrom Daniel Dale Varun Bajaj Martha L. Boyer Ana Duarte-Cabral Ryan Chown Matteo Correnti Julianne J. Dalcanton Bruce T. Draine Brandt Gaches John S. Gallagher III Kathryn Grasha Benjamin Gregg Leslie K. Hunt Kelsey E. Johnson Robert Kennicutt Jr. Ralf S. Klessen Adam K. Leroy Sean Linden Anna F. McLeod Matteo Messa Göran Östlin Mansi Padave Julia Roman-Duval J. D. Smith Fabian Walter Tony D. Weinbeck |
| author_facet | Bruce G. Elmegreen Daniela Calzetti Angela Adamo Karin Sandstrom Daniel Dale Varun Bajaj Martha L. Boyer Ana Duarte-Cabral Ryan Chown Matteo Correnti Julianne J. Dalcanton Bruce T. Draine Brandt Gaches John S. Gallagher III Kathryn Grasha Benjamin Gregg Leslie K. Hunt Kelsey E. Johnson Robert Kennicutt Jr. Ralf S. Klessen Adam K. Leroy Sean Linden Anna F. McLeod Matteo Messa Göran Östlin Mansi Padave Julia Roman-Duval J. D. Smith Fabian Walter Tony D. Weinbeck |
| author_sort | Bruce G. Elmegreen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Power spectra (PS) of high-resolution images of M51 (NGC 5194) taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have been examined for evidence of disk thickness in the form of a change in slope between large scales, which map two-dimensional correlated structures, and small scales, which map three-dimensional correlated structures. Such a slope change is observed here in H α , and possibly Pa α , using average PS of azimuthal intensity scans that avoid bright peaks. The physical scale of the slope change occurs at ∼120 pc and ∼170 pc for these two transitions, respectively. A radial dependence in the shape of the H α PS also suggests that the length scale drops from ∼180 pc at 5 kpc, to ∼90 pc at 2 kpc, to ∼25 pc in the central ∼kpc. We interpret these lengths as comparable to the thicknesses of the star-forming disk traced by H ii regions. The corresponding emission measure is ∼100 times larger than what is expected from the diffuse ionized gas. The PS of JWST Mid-IR Instrument images in eight passbands have more gradual changes in slope, making it difficult to determine a specific value of the thickness for this emission. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0052d78ac06b47248e8a1481f00fe7a0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-0052d78ac06b47248e8a1481f00fe7a02025-08-20T02:32:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198611310.3847/1538-4357/adcee6An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power SpectraBruce G. Elmegreen0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1723-6330Daniela Calzetti1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5189-8004Angela Adamo2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-8091Karin Sandstrom3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4378-8534Daniel Dale4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5782-9093Varun Bajaj5https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4009-3391Martha L. Boyer6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4850-9589Ana Duarte-Cabral7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5259-4774Ryan Chown8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8241-7704Matteo Correnti9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6464-3257Julianne J. Dalcanton10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1264-2006Bruce T. Draine11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0846-936XBrandt Gaches12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4224-6829John S. Gallagher III13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8608-0408Kathryn Grasha14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3247-5321Benjamin Gregg15https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4910-8939Leslie K. Hunt16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9162-2371Kelsey E. Johnson17https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8348-2671Robert Kennicutt Jr.18https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5448-1821Ralf S. Klessen19https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0560-3172Adam K. Leroy20https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2545-1700Sean Linden21https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1000-6081Anna F. McLeod22https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5456-523XMatteo Messa23https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1427-2456Göran Östlin24https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3005-1349Mansi Padave25https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3472-0490Julia Roman-Duval26https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6326-7069J. D. Smith27https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1545-5078Fabian Walter28https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4793-7880Tony D. Weinbeck29https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8923-558XKatonah , NY 10536, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003, USADepartment of Astronomy, The Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University , AlbaNova, SE-10691 Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming , Laramie, WY 82071, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USASchool of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University , The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UKDepartment of Astronomy, The Ohio State University , 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USAINAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma , Via Frascati 33, 00078, Monteporzio Catone, Rome, Italy; ASI-Space Science Data Center , Via del Politecnico, I-00133, Rome, ItalyAstronomy Department, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute , 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USADepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USADepartment of Space, Earth and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , Gothenburg SE-412 96, Sweden; Faculty of Physics, University of Duisburg-Essen , Lotharstraße 1, 47057 Duisburg, GermanyDepartment of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 475 North Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706, USAResearch School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University , Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , AustraliaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003, USAINAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri , Largo Enrico Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, ItalyDepartment of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 578 University Drive, College Station, TX 77843, USA; George P. and Cynthia W. Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics & Astronomy, Texas A&M University , 578 University Drive, College Station, TX 77843, USA; Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAUniversität Heidelberg , Zentrum für Astronomie, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Albert-Ueberle-Str. 2, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Universität Heidelberg , Interdisziplinäres Zentrum für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University , 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USADepartment of Astronomy, The Ohio State University , 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USADepartment of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USACentre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK; Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University , South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UKINAF-Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna , Via Gobetti 93/3, I-40129 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Astronomy, The Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University , AlbaNova, SE-10691 Stockholm, SwedenDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego , 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USARitter Astrophysical Research Center, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH 43606, USAMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, GermanyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming , Laramie, WY 82071, USAPower spectra (PS) of high-resolution images of M51 (NGC 5194) taken with the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have been examined for evidence of disk thickness in the form of a change in slope between large scales, which map two-dimensional correlated structures, and small scales, which map three-dimensional correlated structures. Such a slope change is observed here in H α , and possibly Pa α , using average PS of azimuthal intensity scans that avoid bright peaks. The physical scale of the slope change occurs at ∼120 pc and ∼170 pc for these two transitions, respectively. A radial dependence in the shape of the H α PS also suggests that the length scale drops from ∼180 pc at 5 kpc, to ∼90 pc at 2 kpc, to ∼25 pc in the central ∼kpc. We interpret these lengths as comparable to the thicknesses of the star-forming disk traced by H ii regions. The corresponding emission measure is ∼100 times larger than what is expected from the diffuse ionized gas. The PS of JWST Mid-IR Instrument images in eight passbands have more gradual changes in slope, making it difficult to determine a specific value of the thickness for this emission.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcee6Interstellar emissionsSpiral galaxiesInterstellar dynamics |
| spellingShingle | Bruce G. Elmegreen Daniela Calzetti Angela Adamo Karin Sandstrom Daniel Dale Varun Bajaj Martha L. Boyer Ana Duarte-Cabral Ryan Chown Matteo Correnti Julianne J. Dalcanton Bruce T. Draine Brandt Gaches John S. Gallagher III Kathryn Grasha Benjamin Gregg Leslie K. Hunt Kelsey E. Johnson Robert Kennicutt Jr. Ralf S. Klessen Adam K. Leroy Sean Linden Anna F. McLeod Matteo Messa Göran Östlin Mansi Padave Julia Roman-Duval J. D. Smith Fabian Walter Tony D. Weinbeck An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra The Astrophysical Journal Interstellar emissions Spiral galaxies Interstellar dynamics |
| title | An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra |
| title_full | An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra |
| title_fullStr | An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra |
| title_short | An Investigation of Disk Thickness in M51 from Hα, Paα, and Mid-infrared Power Spectra |
| title_sort | investigation of disk thickness in m51 from hα paα and mid infrared power spectra |
| topic | Interstellar emissions Spiral galaxies Interstellar dynamics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adcee6 |
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