Properties of UIR bands in NGC 6946 based on mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy with infrared camera on board AKARI

Itsuki Sakon, Takashi Onaka, Takehiko Wada, Youichi Ohyama, Hideo Matsuhara, Hidehiro Kaneda, Yoshifusa Ita, Shinki Ohyabu, Hirokazu Kataza, Naofumi Fujishiro, Chiaki Ihara, Miho Ishigaki, Daisuke Ishihara, Woojung Kim, Yoko Okada, Toshinobu Takagi, Toshihiko Tanabé, Kazunori Uemizu, Munetaka Ueno, Fumihiko UsuiHidenori Watarai, Bon Chul Koo, Stephen Serjeant, Takao Nakagawa, Toshio Matsumoto, Hiroshi Murakami

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28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present results on mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of the nearby late-type spiral NGC 6946 with the Infrared Camera on board AKARI. Based on mid-infrared imaging with the S7 (7 μm) and S11(11 μm) bands, we found that the S7/S11 ratios have larger values in the arm region, containing many star-forming regions, than in the interarm. Slit spectra of an interarm and a star-forming region show a series of unidentified infrared (UIR) bands at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.2 μm. The strengths of the 6.2, 7.7, and 8.6 μm bands are larger relative to the 11.2 μm band in the star-forming region, than in the interarm, even if the interstellar extinction of AV = 3 mag towards the star-forming region is taken into account. The increase in the 6.2 μm and 7.7 μm features relative to the 11.2 μm feature is consistent with the ionization model of PAHs. The ratio of the UIR features to the plateau emission under the 7.7 μm and 8.6 μm features and/or the ratio of the 7.6 μm/7.8 μm components in the 7.7 μm feature increase in the star-forming region compared to the interarm. This variation can be accounted for by the hypothesis that the photo-evaporation of PAH clusters produce small free-flying PAHs in the star-forming region. The ratios of 6.2 μm/11.2 μm, 7.7 μm/11.2 μm, and 8.6 μm/11.2 μm may be tools to measure the star-formation activity in remote galaxies if these ratios and their variations are well examined and established for a large sample.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)S483-S495
JournalPublication of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Volume59
Issue numberSPEC. ISS. 2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007

Keywords

  • Dust, extinction
  • Galaxies: ISM
  • Galaxies: individual (NGC 6946)
  • Galaxies: spirals
  • Infrared: galaxies

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