Tabatabaei, F. S. and Schinnerer, E. and Murphy, E. J. and Beck, R. and Groves, B. and Meidt, S. E. and Krause, M. and Rix, H.-W. and Sandstrom, K. and Crocker, A. F. and Galametz, M. and Helou, G. and Wilson, C. D. and Kennicutt, R. and Calzetti, D. and Draine, B. and Aniano, G. and Dale, D. and Dumas, G. and Engelbracht, C. W. and Gordon, K. D. and Hinz, J. and Kreckel, K. and Montiel, E. and Roussel, H. (2013) A detailed study of the radio-FIR correlation in NGC 6946 with Herschel-PACS/SPIRE from KINGFISH. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 552 . Art. No. A19. ISSN 0004-6361. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130619-083510282
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Abstract
We derive the distribution of the synchrotron spectral index across NGC 6946 and investigate the correlation between the radio continuum (synchrotron) and far-infrared (FIR) emission using the KINGFISH Herschel-PACS and SPIRE data. The radio-FIR correlation is studied as a function of star formation rate, magnetic field strength, radiation field strength, and the total gas surface density. The synchrotron emission follows both star-forming regions and the so-called magnetic arms present in the inter-arm regions. The synchrotron spectral index is steepest along the magnetic arms (α_n ~ 1), while it is flat in places of giant Hii regions and in the center of the galaxy (α_n ~ 0.6−0.7). The map of α_n provides observational evidence for aging and energy loss of cosmic ray electrons (CREs) propagating in the disk of the galaxy. Variations in the synchrotron-FIR correlation across the galaxy are shown to be a function of both star formation and magnetic field strength. We find that the synchrotron emission correlates better with cold rather than with warm dust emission, when the diffuse interstellar radiation field is the main heating source of dust. The synchrotron-FIR correlation suggests a coupling between the magnetic field and the gas density. NGC 6946 shows a power-law behavior between the total (turbulent) magnetic field strength B and the star formation rate surface density Σ_(SFR) with an index of 0.14 (0.16) ± 0.01. This indicates an efficient production of the turbulent magnetic field with the increasing gas turbulence expected in actively star forming regions. Moreover, it is suggested that the B-Σ_(SFR) power law index is similar for the turbulent and the total fields in normal galaxies. On the other hand, for galaxies interacting with the cluster environment this index is steeper for turbulent magnetic fields than it is for the total magnetic fields. The scale-by-scale analysis of the synchrotron-FIR correlation indicates that the ISM affects the propagation of old/diffused CREs, resulting in a diffusion coefficient of D_0 = 4.6 × 10^(28) cm^2 s^(-1) for 2.2 GeV CREs.
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Additional Information: | © 2013 ESO. Article published by EDP Sciences. Received: 17 August 2012. Accepted: 22 January 2013. Published online 15 March 2013. We are grateful to A. Ferguson for kindly providing us with the Hα data. The combined molecular and atomic gas data were kindly provided by F. Walter. F.S.T. acknowledges the support by the DFG via the grant TA 801/1-1. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group: | Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Subject Keywords: | galaxies: individual: NGC 6946; radio continuum: ISM; ISM: magnetic fields; infrared: ISM; galaxies: star formation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20130619-083510282 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20130619-083510282 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Official Citation: | A detailed study of the radio-FIR correlation in NGC 6946 with Herschel-PACS/SPIRE from KINGFISH F. S. Tabatabaei, E. Schinnerer, E. J. Murphy, R. Beck, B. Groves, S. Meidt, M. Krause, H.-W. Rix, K. Sandstrom, A. F. Crocker, M. Galametz, G. Helou, C. D. Wilson, R. Kennicutt, D. Calzetti, B. Draine, G. Aniano, D. Dale, G. Dumas, C. W. Engelbracht, K. D. Gordon, J. Hinz, K. Kreckel, E. Montiel and H. Roussel A&A 552 A19 (2013) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201220249 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ID Code: | 38978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposited By: | Ruth Sustaita | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Deposited On: | 19 Jun 2013 16:17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last Modified: | 09 Mar 2020 13:19 |
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