The Herschel Exploitation of Local Galaxy Andromeda (HELGA): VII. A SKIRT radiative transfer model and insights on dust heating⋆
Open accessAbstract
The radiation from stars heats dust grains in the diffuse interstellar medium and in star-forming regions in galaxies. Modelling this interaction provides information on dust in galaxies, a vital ingredient for their evolution. It is not straightforward to identify the stellar populations heating the dust, and to link attenuation to emission on a sub-galactic scale. Radiative transfer models are able to simulate this dust-starlight interaction in a realistic, three-dimensional setting. We investigate the dust heating mechanisms on a local and global galactic scale, using the Andromeda galaxy (M 31) as our laboratory. We have performed a series of panchromatic radiative transfer simulations of Andromeda with our code SKIRT. The high inclination angle of M 31 complicates the 3D modelling and causes projection effects. However, the observed morphology and flux density are reproduced fairly well from UV to sub-millimeter wavelengths. Our model reveals a realistic attenuation curve, compatible with previous, observational estimates. We find that the dust in M 31 is mainly (91% of the absorbed luminosity) heated by the evolved stellar populations. The bright bulge produces a strong radiation field and induces non-local heating up to the main star-forming ring at 10 kpc. The relative contribution of unevolved stellar populations to the dust heating varies strongly with wavelength and with galactocentric distance. The dust heating fraction of unevolved stellar populations correlates strongly with NUV−r colour and specific star formation rate. These two related parameters are promising probes for the dust heating sources at a local scale.
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At longer wavelengths, the bulk of the emission beyond ~160um is often dominated by heating from the diffuse old stellar population, with only a minority of the far-IR luminosity directly linked to current star formation.
“At longer wavelengths, Herschel studies show that the bulk of the emission beyond ∼ 160 , µ m is often dominated by heating from the diffuse old stellar population, with only a minority of the far-IR luminosity directly linked to current star formation (e.g., Smith et al. 2012; Viaene et al. 2017).”
From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Viaene et al. 2017
Section 6.2 reports that evolved stars heat almost 80% of Andromeda’s total dust emission, and describes their strong contribution at long wavelengths. But the paper does not establish that this dominance is often found across galaxies: its Introduction says young stars predominantly heat dust in starbursts and actively star-forming galaxies, while both populations contribute in many others. The roughly 160 µm cutoff is also not presented as a general boundary for evolved-star dominance. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn M31, evolved stars dominate the heating of dust over most of the disk at wavelengths greater than about 100um, with young stars becoming energetically important only in the star-forming ring.
“In M31 specifically, radiative-transfer modeling demonstrates that evolved stars dominate the heating of dust over most of the disk at λ ≳ 100 , µ m, with young stars becoming energetically important only in the star-forming ring (e.g., Viaene et al. 2017).”
From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Viaene et al. 2017
Section 6.2 reports that evolved stars dominate M31’s dust heating globally, including at wavelengths above 100 µm, while young stars contribute more in the rings, especially at short wavelengths. But §6.1 also finds enhanced young-star contributions in inner-disk structures and beyond the main star-forming ring, so ‘only in the star-forming ring’ is too restrictive. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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References 170 · Cited by 79
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [112]112. Saglia, R. P., Fabricius, M., Bender, R., et al. 2010, A&A, 509, A61 A64, page 17 of 22 A&A 599, A64 (2017)
- Authors
- Viaene, S., Baes, M., Tamm, A., Tempel, E., Bendo, G., Blommaert, J. A. D. L., Boquien, M., Boselli, A., Camps, P., Cooray, A., De Looze, I., De Vis, P., Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A., Fritz, J., Galametz, M., Gentile, G., Madden, S., Smith, M. W. L., Spinoglio, L., & Verstocken, S.
- Affiliations
- Ghent University (BE)
- Tartu Observatory (EE)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE)
- Universidad de Antofagasta (CL)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IT)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
- European Southern Observatory (DE)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- Cardiff University (GB)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Publisher
- EDP Sciences
- Published
- 2017-03
- Volume
- 599
- Pages
- A64
- ISSN
- 0004-6361 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-0746
- OpenAlex
- W3102815545
- Cited by
- 79
- References
- 170
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 7
- FWCI
- 4.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Astronomy and Astrophysics (publishedVersion)
- ORCA Online Research @Cardiff (Cardiff University) (acceptedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- VUBIR (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) (submittedVersion)
- arXiv (Cornell University)
- Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- California Institute of Technology
- UK Space Agency
- Imperial College London
- European Commission (IUT40-2, IUT26-2)
- Cardiff University
- Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
- Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Vlaamse regering
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/P000827/1, ST/J001562/1, ST/M001334/1)
- National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Fondo de Innovación para la Competitividad
- European Social Fund
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
- Keywords
- M31, dust heating, dust attenuation, radiative transfer modelling, skirts, stellar populations, evolved stellar populations, star-forming ring, interstellar dust, specific star formation rate, projection effects
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