IONIZED GAS IN SPIRAL AND IRREGULAR GALAXIES
IONIZED GAS IN SPIRAL AND IRREGULAR GALAXIES
复制标题
螺旋星系和不规则星系中的电离气体
DOI:
10.1086/147313
复制
发表时间:
1962
期刊:
影响因子:
--
通讯作者:
G. Burbidge
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
E. Burbidge;G. Burbidge
The distribution of ionized gas as deduced from the emission lines seen using the nebular spectrograph is described for more than 30 spiral and irregular galaxies. From the comparison of estimates of the relative intensities of H alpha and STAN/sub II! lambda 6583, with relative intensities computed by the usual techniques, it is concluded that the major regions of emission in the outer- parts of galaxies and in the spiral arms, where the H alpha /STANII! lambda 6583 ratio is --3, are similar to the extended H /sub II/ is regions in this galaxy. The investigation has substantiated the result that irregular galaxies have the highest propontion of ionized gas and that this decreases steadily through barred spirals of types SBc and SBb and normal spirals of types Sc, Sbc, Sb, and Sa. Throughout irregular galaxies and in the nuclear, as well as the spiral-arm, regions of SBc and SBb galaxies and some Sbc and Sc galaxies, there must be a considerable population of massive luminous stars. The nuclei of other Sc and Sbc galaxies and the nuclei in the majority of Sb galaxies contain less ionized gas than do the spiral-arm regions. The most striking observational result is thatmore » between the outer parts and the nuclear regions in many of the latter galaxies, the ratio of the strengths of H alpha and STAN/sub II/! lambda 6583 decreases from about 3 to --1 to 0.1. This reversal is most common in Sb and Sa galaxies having large prominent nuclei and well-developed nuclear bulges, but it appears in Sc galsxies having small nuclei. This can be explained either by a general deficiency of hydrogen in these regions or by supposing that radiative processes are comparatively unimportant in those nuclei where the light comes mainly from K giants, and that collisional ionization and excitation take place in the gas at an electron temperature of 20000 to 40000 deg , or having energies of a few electron volts, since such excitation may be non-thermal. These excitation conditions might arise through corpuscular radiation from stars. Whether such an explanation for the anomalous ratios is accepted depends on estimates of the energy supply required to maintain such a high electron temperature against cooling mainly by line emission. This requires absolute measurement of emission-line intensities. (auth)« less