Wednesday, November 9, 2011

1111.1852 (D. Paradis et al.)

Detection and characterization of a 500 mic dust emissivity excess in the Galactic Plane using Herschel/Hi-GAL observations    [PDF]

D. Paradis, R. Paladini, A. Noriega-Crespo, C. Mény, F. Piacentini, M. A. Thompson, D. J. Marshall, M. Veneziani, J. -P. Bernard, S. Molinari
Past and recent observations have revealed unexpected variations of the FIR-mm dust emissivity. In the Herschel spectral range, those are often referenced to as a 500 {\mu}m emission excess. Several dust emission models have been developed to interpret astrophysical data in the FIR-mm domain. However, these are commonly not able to fully reconcile theoretical predictions with observations. On the contrary, the recently revised Two Level System (TLS) model seems to provide a promising way to interpret the existing data. The newly available Herschel Hi-GAL data which covers most of the inner Milky-Way offers a unique opportunity to investigate possible variations in the dust emission properties both with wavelength and the environment. By combining the IRIS 100 {\mu}m with the Hi-GAL 160, 250, 350 and 500 {\mu}m data, we model the dust emission spectra in each pixel of the Hi-GAL maps, using both the TLS model and, for comparison, a single modified black-body fit. The effect of temperature mixing along the line of sight is investigated. We find a slight decrease in the dust temperature with distance from the Galactic center. We also report the detection of a significant 500 {\mu}m emissivity excess in the peripheral regions of the plane (35\circ<|l|<70\circ) of about 13-15% of the emissivity, that can reach up to 20% in some HII regions . The spatial distribution of the best-fit values for the two main parameters of the TLS model, i.e. the charge correlation length, lc, used to characterize the disordered charge distribution (DCD) part of the model, and the amplitude A of the TLS processes, with respect to the DCD effect, are shown. They highlight the plausible existence of an overall gradient with distance to the Galactic center. Comparison with previous findings in the solar neighborhood shows that the local value of the excess is less than expected from the Galactic gradient observed here.
View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1852

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