The dependence of disc galaxy properties on viewing angle: simulating the observations

Davies, Jonathan Ivor, Jones, H. and Trewhella, M. 1995. The dependence of disc galaxy properties on viewing angle: simulating the observations. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 273 (3) , pp. 699-710.

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Abstract

Recent inclination-dependent tests have indicated that galaxies may have high optical opacities at large distances from their centres. These results are difficult to reconcile with other measures of opacity that indicate very much lower values. In this paper we specifically consider work by Burstein, Haynes & Faber, to see if their result with regard to high opacities at large galactic distances is the correct interpretation of the data used. We start by constructing simulated samples of both optically thick and optically thin galaxies and show that they are in excellent correspondence with the observational data used by Burstein et al. The Burstein et al. method does appear to have overcome many of the selection effects inherent in other surface brightness inclination tests. The problem is that they now appear to have introduced yet another selection effect by requiring that all of the galaxies in their sample need a distance estimate. The redshift cut-off of their data renders their distance-based test totally inconclusive with regard to the opacity of galactic discs.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Uncontrolled Keywords:	galaxies:ISM
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0035-8711
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2017 04:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/38713

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