Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T18:38:01.729Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Nuclear Ring in the Barred Spiral Galaxy IC 4933

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2013

Stuart D. Ryder*
Affiliation:
Anglo–Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping, NSW 1710
Samuel M. Illingworth
Affiliation:
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK
Robert G. Sharp
Affiliation:
Anglo–Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping, NSW 1710
Catherine L. Farage
Affiliation:
Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, ACT 2611
*
DCorresponding author. Email: sdr@aao.gov.au
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

We present infrared imaging from IRIS2 on the Anglo–Australian Telescope that shows the barred spiral galaxy IC 4933 has not just an inner ring encircling the bar, but also a star-forming nuclear ring 1.5 kpc in diameter. Imaging in the u′ band with GMOS on Gemini South confirms that this ring is not purely an artifact due to dust. Optical and near-infrared colours alone however cannot break the degeneracy between age, extinction, and burst duration that would allow the star formation history of the ring to be unraveled. Integral field spectroscopy with the GNIRS spectrograph on Gemini South shows the equivalent width of the Paβ line to peak in the north and south quadrants of the ring, indicative of a bipolar azimuthal age gradient around the ring. The youngest star-forming regions do not appear to correspond to where we expect to find the contact points between the offset dust lanes and the nuclear ring unless the nuclear ring is oval in shape, causing the contact points to lead the bar by more than 90°.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2010

References

Allard, E. L., Knapen, J. H., Peletier, R. F. & Sarzi, M., 2006, MNRAS, 371, 1087CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allington-Smith, J. R., Content, R., Dubbeldam, C. M., Robertson, D. J. & Preuss, W., 2006, MNRAS, 371, 380CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alonso-Herrero, A., Ryder, S. D. & Knapen, J. H., 2001, MNRAS, 322, 757Google Scholar
Athanassoula, E., 1992, MNRAS, 259, 345CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Athanassoula, E., Bosma, A., Creze, M. & Schwarz, M. P., 1982, A&A, 107, 101Google Scholar
Böker, T., Falcón-Barroso, J., Schinnerer, E., Knapen, J. H. & Ryder, S., 2008, AJ, 135, 479Google Scholar
Buta, R. J., 1995, ApJS, 96, 39CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buta, R. & Combes, F., 1996, FCPh, 17, 95Google Scholar
Buta, R. & Combes, F., 2000, in ASPC 197, Dynamics of Galaxies: from the Early Universe to the Present, Eds. Combes, F., Mamon, G. A. & Charmandaris, V. (San Francisco: ASP), 11Google Scholar
Cardelli, J. A., Clayton, G. C. & Mathis, J. S., 1989, ApJ, 345, 245CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Comerón, S., Knapen, J. H., Beckman, J. E., Laurikainen, E., Salo, H., Martínez-Valpuesta, I. & Buta, R. J., 2010, MNRAS, in press (arXiv:0908.0272)Google Scholar
Elias, J. H., Rodgers, B., Joyce, R. R., Lazo, M., Doppmann, G., Winge, C. & Rodriguez-Ardila, A., 2006, SPIE, 6269, 36Google Scholar
Elmegreen, B. G., 1997, RMxAC, 6, 165Google Scholar
Englmaier, P. & Shlosman, I., 2004, ApJ, 617, L115CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, J., Calzetti, D., Gallagher, J. S., Conselice, C. J. & Smith, D. A., 2001, AJ, 122, 3046CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heller, C. H. & Shlosman, I., 1996, ApJ, 471, 143Google Scholar
Heller, C. H., Shlosman, I. & Athanassoula, E., 2007, ApJ, 657, L65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hook, I., Jørgensen, I., Allington-Smith, J. R., Davies, R. L., Metcalfe, N., Murowinski, R. G. & Crampton, D., 2004, PASP, 116, 425Google Scholar
Jaffe, W., Ford, H., Ferrarese, L., van den Bosch, F. & O'Connell, R. W., 1996, ApJ, 460, 214Google Scholar
Knapen, J. H., 2005, A&A, 429, 141Google Scholar
Knapen, J. H., Sharp, R. G., Ryder, S. D., Falcón-Barroso, J., Fathi, K. & Gutiérrez, L., 2010, MNRAS, submittedGoogle Scholar
Laine, S., Kotilainen, J. K., Reunanen, J., Ryder, S. D. & Beck, R., 2006, AJ, 131, 701CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laine, S., Shlosman, I., Knapen, J. H. & Peletier, R. F., 2002, ApJ, 567, 97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lauberts, A. & Valentijn, E. A., 1989, The Surface Photometry Catalogue of the ESO-Uppsala Galaxies (Garching: ESO)Google Scholar
Leitherer, C. et al. , 1999, ApJS, 123, 3Google Scholar
Martini, P., Regan, M. W., Mulchaey, J. S. & Pogge, R. W., 2003, ApJS, 146, 353Google Scholar
Mazzuca, L. M., Knapen, J. H., Veilleux, S. & Regan, M. W., 2008, ApJS, 174, 337Google Scholar
Meyer, M. J. et al. , 2004, MNRAS, 350, 1195Google Scholar
Puxley, P. J., Doyon, R. & Ward, M. J., 1997, ApJ, 476, 120Google Scholar
Regan, M. W. & Teuben, P., 2003, ApJ, 582, 723Google Scholar
Ryder, S. D., 2007, AAO Newsletter, 111, 25Google Scholar
Ryder, S. D., Buta, R. J., Toledo, H., Shukla, H., Staveley-Smith, L. & Walsh, W., 1996, ApJ, 460, 665Google Scholar
Ryder, S. D. & Knapen, J. H., 1999, MNRAS, 302, L7Google Scholar
Ryder, S. D., Knapen, J. H. & Takamiya, M., 2001, MNRAS, 323, 663CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarzi, M., Allard, E. L., Knapen, J. H. & Mazzuca, L. M., 2007, MNRAS, 380, 949CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwarz, M. P., 1981, ApJ, 247, 77Google Scholar
Schlegel, D. J., Finkbeiner, D. A. & Davis, M., 1998, 500, 525Google Scholar
Skrutskie, M. F. et al. , 2006, AJ, 131, 998, 1163Google Scholar
Tinney, C. G. et al. , 2004, SPIE, 5492, 998Google Scholar
Vaduvescu, O. & McCall, M. L., 2004, PASP, 116, 640CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Marel, R. P. & van den Bosch, F. C., 1998, AJ, 116, 2220CrossRefGoogle Scholar