The Young Outer Disk of M83

Abstract

Deep near-infrared images recorded with NICI on Gemini South are used to investigate the evolved stellar content in the outer regions of the south east quadrant of the spiral galaxy M83. A diffuse population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars is detected outside of the previously identified young and intermediate age star clusters in the outer disk. The brightest AGB stars have M_K > -8, and the AGB luminosity function (LF) is well-matched by model LFs that assume ages < 1 Gyr. The specific star formation rate (SFR) during the past few Gyr estimated from AGB star counts is consistent with that computed from mid-infrared observations of star clusters at similar radii, and it is concluded that the disruption timescale for star clusters in the outer disk is << 1 Gyr. The luminosity function and specific frequency of AGB stars varies with radius, in a manner that is indicative of lower luminosity-weighted ages at larger radii. Modest numbers of red supergiants are also found, indicating that there has been star formation during the past 100 Myr, while the ratio of C stars to M giants is consistent with that expected for a solar metallicity system that has experienced a constant SFR for the past few Gyrs.

Accepted for publication in ApJ

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• The Contribution of TP-AGB and RHeB Stars to the Near-IR Luminosity of Local Galaxies: Implications for Stellar Mass Measurements of High Redshift Galaxies
• Resolved Near-Infrared Stellar Populations in Nearby Galaxies
• The Red and Featureless Outer Disks of Nearby Spiral Galaxies
• Shaken, Not Stirred: The Disrupted Disk of the Starburst Galaxy NGC 253
• Stellar Populations in the Outer Disk and Halo of the Spiral Galaxy M101
• X-ray source population study of the starburst galaxy M83 with XMM-Newton
• Star-Forming Environments Throughout the M101 Group
• The Initial Mass Function in the Extended Ultraviolet Disk of M83
• Haffner 16: A Young Moving Group in the Making
• A pilot study using deep infrared imaging to constrain the star formation history of the XUV stellar populations in NGC 4625
• Galactic astronomy with AO: Nearby star clusters and moving groups