The 3-Dimensional Distribution of Dust in NGC 891

We produce three-dimensional Monte-Carlo radiative transfer models of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891, a fast-rotating galaxy thought to be an analogue to the Milky Way. The models contain realistic spiral arms and a fractal distribution of clumpy dust. We fit our models to Hubble Space Telescope images corresponding to the B and I bands, using shapelet analysis and a genetic algorithm to generate 30 statistically best-fitting models. These models have a strong preference for spirality and clumpiness, with average face-on attenuation decreasing from 0.24(0.16) to 0.03(0.03) mag in the B(I) band between 0.5 and 2 radial scale-lengths. Most of the attenuation comes from small high-density clumps with low (<10%) filling factors. The fraction of dust in clumps is broadly consistent with results from fitting NGC 891's spectral energy distribution. Because of scattering effects and the intermixed nature of the dust and starlight, attenuation is smaller and less wavelength-dependent than the integrated dust column-density. Our clumpy models typically have higher attenuation at low inclinations than previous radiative transfer models using smooth distributions of stars and dust, but similar attenuation at inclinations above 70 degrees. At all inclinations most clumpy models have less attenuation than expected from previous estimates based on minimizing scatter in the Tully-Fisher relation. Mass-to-light ratios are higher and the intrinsic scatter in the Tully-Fisher relation is larger than previously expected for galaxies similar to NGC 891. The attenuation curve changes as a function of inclination, with R_(B,B-I)=A_(B)/E(B-I) increasing by ~0.75 from face-on to near-edge-on orientations.Comment: 26 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

The 3-Dimensional Structure of NGC 891 and M51

We investigate the three-dimensional structure of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891 using 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer models, with realistic spiral structure and fractally clumped dust. Using the spiral and clumpiness parameters found from recently completed scattered light models we produce lower resolution SED models which reproduce the global UV-to-FIR SED of NGC 891. Our models contain a color gradient across the major axis of the galaxy - similar to what is seen in images of the NGC 891. With minor adjustment our SED models are able to match the majority of M51's SED, a similar galaxy at a near face-on different inclination.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the Conference Proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 284: The Spectral Energy Distribution of Galaxies, R.J. Tuffs & C.C. Popescu, ed

The DiskMass Survey. IV. The Dark-Matter-Dominated Galaxy UGC 463

We present a detailed and unique mass budget for the high-surface-brightness galaxy UGC 463, showing it is dominated by dark matter (DM) at radii beyond one scale length (h_R) and has a baryonic-to-DM mass ratio of approximately 1:3 within 4.2 h_R. Assuming a constant scale height (h_z, calculated via an empirical oblateness relation), we calculate dynamical disk mass surface densities from stellar kinematics, which provide vertical velocity dispersions after correcting for the shape of the stellar velocity ellipsoid (measured to have sigma_theta/sigma_R=1.04 +/- 0.22 and sigma_z/sigma_R=0.48 +/- 0.09). We isolate the stellar mass surface density by accounting for all gas mass components and find an average K-band mass-to-light ratio of 0.22 +/- 0.09 (ran) ^{+0.16}_{-0.15} (sys) M_{sun}/L_{sun}^{K}; Zibetti et al. and Bell et al. predict, respectively, 0.56 and 3.6 times our dynamical value based on stellar-population-synthesis modeling. The baryonic matter is submaximal by a factor of ~3 in mass and the baryonic-to-total circular-speed ratio is 0.61^{+0.07}_{-0.09} (ran) ^{+0.12}_{-0.18} (sys) at 2.2 h_R; however, the disk is globally stable with a multi-component stability that decreases asymptotically with radius to Q~2. We directly calculate the circular speed of the DM halo by subtracting the baryonic contribution to the total circular speed; the result is equally well described by either a Navarro-Frenk-White halo or a pseudo-isothermal sphere. The volume density is dominated by DM at heights of |z|>1.6 h_z for radii of R > h_R. As is shown in follow-up papers, UGC 463 is just one example among nearly all galaxies we have observed that contradict the hypothesis that high-surface-brightness spiral galaxies have maximal disks.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ (36 pages, 20 figures, 9 tables

A millisecond pulsar in a stellar triple system

Gravitationally bound three-body systems have been studied for hundreds of years and are common in our Galaxy. They show complex orbital interactions, which can constrain the compositions, masses, and interior structures of the bodies and test theories of gravity, if sufficiently precise measurements are available. A triple system containing a radio pulsar could provide such measurements, but the only previously known such system, B1620-26 (with a millisecond pulsar, a white dwarf, and a planetary-mass object in an orbit of several decades), shows only weak interactions. Here we report precision timing and multi-wavelength observations of PSR J0337+1715, a millisecond pulsar in a hierarchical triple system with two other stars. Strong gravitational interactions are apparent and provide the masses of the pulsar (1.4378(13) Msun, where Msun is the solar mass and the parentheses contain the uncertainty in the final decimal places) and the two white dwarf companions (0.19751(15) Msun and 0.4101(3) Msun), as well as the inclinations of the orbits (both approximately 39.2 degrees). The unexpectedly coplanar and nearly circular orbits indicate a complex and exotic evolutionary past that differs from those of known stellar systems. The gravitational field of the outer white dwarf strongly accelerates the inner binary containing the neutron star, and the system will thus provide an ideal laboratory in which to test the strong equivalence principle of general relativity.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Published online by Nature on 5 Jan 2014. Extremely minor differences with published version may exis

The Infrared Light Curve of SN 2011fe in M101 and the Distance to M101

We present near infra-red light curves of supernova (SN) 2011fe in M101, including 34 epochs in H band starting fourteen days before maximum brightness in the B-band. The light curve data were obtained with the WIYN High-Resolution Infrared Camera (WHIRC). When the data are calibrated using templates of other Type Ia SNe, we derive an apparent H-band magnitude at the epoch of B-band maximum of 10.85 \pm 0.04. This implies a distance modulus for M101 that ranges from 28.86 to 29.17 mag, depending on which absolute calibration for Type Ia SNe is used.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, emulateapj style, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa