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Cited by 182Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, PhenomenaStellar, planetary, and galactic studiesAstrophysical Phenomena and Observations

Sp i t zer MIPS Infrared Imaging of M31: Further Evidence for a Spiral-Ring Composite Structure

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Gordon, K. D., Bailin, J., Engelbracht, C. W., Rieke, G. H., Misselt, K. A., Latter, W. B., Young, E. T., Ashby, M. L. N. +11 more·2006·The Astrophysical Journal
DOI 10.1086/501046
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Abstract

New images of M31 at 24, 70, and 160 μm taken with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitz e r (MIPS) reveal the morphology of the dust in this galaxy. This morphology is well represented by a composite of two logarithmic spiral arms and a circular ring (radius ~10 kpc) of star formation offset from the nucleus. The two spiral arms appear to start at the ends of a bar in the nuclear region and extend beyond the star-forming ring. As has been found in previous work, the spiral arms are not continuous, but composed of spiral segments. The star-forming ring is very circular except for a region near M32 where it splits. The lack of well-defined spiral arms and the prominence of the nearly circular ring suggest that M31 has been distorted by interactions with its satellite galaxies. Using new dynamical simulations of M31 interacting with M32 and NGC 205, we find that, qualitatively, such interactions can produce an offset, split ring like that seen in the MIPS images.

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Crossref · 10.1086/501046

Cites

49 of 49 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The proper motion results are consistent with the earlier model of Gordon et al. (2006), which suggests M32's passage through M31's disk occurred 10 Myr ago.

    “These proper motion results (Fardal et al. 2026, in prep), are consistent with the earlier model of Gordon et al. (2006), which suggest M32's passage through M31's disk occurred 10 Myr ago.”

    From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Gordon et al. (2006)

    Section 4 (Dynamical Models) models M32 passing through M31’s disk, but dates the passage to 20 Myr ago in that model, not 10 Myr ago. The citing sentence attributes the 10 Myr timing to Gordon et al.; its statement about later proper-motion results is not a finding attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • The southern half of the M31 disk appears to be more perturbed by its merger history than the northern half.

    “Whether due specifically to M32 or otherwise, the southern half of the M31 disk appears to be more perturbed by its merger history than the northern half (Gordon et al. 2006; D'Souza & Bell 2018; Hammer et al. 2018).”

    From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Gordon et al. 2006

    Section 3 (Morphology; page not available) says M31’s infrared disk appears more disturbed on the southwest than the northeast side. Section 5 (Conclusions; page not available) suggests interactions may explain its disturbed features, but does not establish that the side-to-side difference resulted from a merger history. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The southern half of M31 has been more recently or more violently disturbed.

    “All of these features confirm the assertion that this half has been more recently or more violently disturbed (Gordon et al. 2006).”

    From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Gordon et al. 2006

    Section 3 (Morphology; page unavailable) says M31’s infrared disk appears more disturbed on the southwest side than on the northeast side. It does not establish that the southern half was disturbed more recently or more violently; Section 4’s recent-interaction model does not make that comparison between halves. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Much of M31's recent star formation is concentrated in the 10 kpc ring, which stands out particularly strongly in the north as a coherent, nearly continuous structure traced by active star-forming regions.

    “First, much of M31's recent star formation is concentrated in the”

    From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Gordon et al. 2006

    The Morphology section (page not supplied) says the infrared images are dominated by the ∼10 kpc ring, and the Conclusions describe it as an almost complete ring of star formation. The paper does not establish that the ring stands out particularly strongly in the north, nor does it quantify how much of M31’s recent star formation occurs there. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Published models span a range of encounter geometries and epochs, including scenarios with a disk passage ~200 Myr ago and alternatives that place the most recent strong interaction much more recently.

    “published models span a range of encounter geometries and epochs, including scenarios with a disk passage ∼ 200 Myr ago (Block et al. 2006) and alternatives that place the most recent strong interaction much more recently (Gordon et al. 2006).”

    From The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Southern Treasury (PHAST). II. The Spatially Resolved Recent Star Formation History in M31 (2026) · cites this paper as Gordon et al. 2006

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [36]36. Nieten, C., Neininger, N., Gue ´lin, M., Ungerechts, H., Lucas, R., Berkhuijsen, E. M., Beck, R., & Wielebinski, R. 2006, A&A, in press (astro-ph/0512563) · arXiv

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Authors
Gordon, K. D., Bailin, J., Engelbracht, C. W., Rieke, G. H., Misselt, K. A., Latter, W. B., Young, E. T., Ashby, M. L. N., Barmby, P., Gibson, B. K., Hines, D. C., Hinz, J., Krause, O., Levine, D. A., Marleau, F. R., Noriega-Crespo, A., Stolovy, S., Thilker, D. A., & Werner, M. W.
Affiliations
  • University of Arizona (US)
  • Swinburne University of Technology (AU)
  • California Institute of Technology (US)
  • Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
  • University of Lancashire (GB)
  • Space Science Institute (US)
  • Johns Hopkins University (US)
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
ORCID
Venue
The Astrophysical Journal
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
Published
2006-02-03
Volume
638
Issue
2
Pages
L87-L92
ISSN
  • 0004-637X (ISSN-L)
  • 1538-4357
DOI
10.1086/501046
OpenAlex
W2138001477
Cited by
182
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 16
FWCI
8.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Astrophysical Journal (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • CERN Document Server (European Organization for Nuclear Research) (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion)
  • Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
  • Swinburne figshare (Swinburne University of Technology)
Funders
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (1255094)
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory (1255094)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations
Keywords
M31, spiral arms, star-forming ring, galactic bars, galaxy interactions, M32, NGC 205, dust morphology, galaxy structure, dynamic simulation

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