paper

Corrugations in the Disk of the Edge-On Spiral Galaxy IC2233

arXiv:0807.3560 · doi:10.1086/592086

Abstract

We recently reported the discovery of a regular corrugation pattern in the HI disk of the isolated, edge-on spiral galaxy IC2233. Here we present measurements of the vertical structure of this galaxy at several additional wavelengths, ranging from the far ultraviolet to the far infrared. We find that undular patterns with amplitude ~5''(~250 pc) are visible in a variety of Population I tracers in IC2233, including the young-to-intermediate age stars, the HII regions, and the dust. However, the vertical excursions become less pronounced in the older stellar populations traced by the mid-infrared light. This suggests that the process leading to the vertical displacements may be linked with the regulation of star formation in the galaxy. We have also identified a relationship between the locations of the density corrugations and small-amplitude (~5 km/s) velocity undulations in the HI rotation curve. We are able to exclude several possible mechanisms for the origin of the observed corrugations, including tidal interaction from a companion, Parker instabilities, or a galactic bore. Global gravitational instabilities appear to be the most likely explanation, although local perturbations may also be important.

accepted to ApJ; Table 2 is available in its entirely at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~lmatthew/tab2.tex

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