Astronomy & Astrophysics

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 434, Number 3, May II 2005
Page(s)		867 - 885
Section		Extragalactic astronomy
DOI		10.1051/0004-6361:20042369

A&A 434, 867-885 (2005)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20042369

ISM properties in low-metallicity environments

III. The dust spectral energy distributions of II $\,$ Zw $\,$ 40, He $\,$ 2-10 and NGC $\,$ 1140

F. Galliano¹, S. C. Madden¹, A. P. Jones², C. D. Wilson³ and J.-P. Bernard⁴

¹ Service d'Astrophysique, CEA/Saclay, L'Orme des Merisiers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
e-mail: galliano@avak.gsfc.nasa.gov
² Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), Université de Paris XI, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1, Canada
⁴ Centre d'Étude Spatiale des Rayonnements (CESR), 31028 Toulouse, France

(Received 16 November 2004 / Accepted 28 January 2005 )

Abstract
We present new 450 and 850 $\,\mbox{$\mu$ m}$ SCUBA data and 1.3 $\,$ mm MAMBO data of the dwarf galaxies II $\,$ Zw $\,$ 40, He $\,$ 2-10 and NGC $\,$ 1140. Additional ISOCAM, IRAS as well as ground based data are used to construct the observed mid-infrared to millimeter spectral energy distribution of these galaxies. These spectral energy distributions are modeled in a self-consistent way, as was achieved with NGC $\,$ 1569 (Galliano et al. 2003, A&A, 407, 159), synthesizing both the global stellar radiation field and the dust emission, with further constraints provided by the photoionisation of the gas. Our study shows that low-metallicity galaxies have very different dust properties compared to the Galaxy. Our main results are: (i) a paucity of PAHs which are likely destroyed by the hard penetrating radiation field; (ii) a very small (~ $3{-}4\,\rm nm$ ) average size of grains, consistent with the fragmentation and erosion of dust particles by the numerous shocks; (iii) a significant millimetre excess in the dust spectral energy distribution which can be explained by the presence of ubiquitous very cold dust (T = 5-9 K) accounting for 40 to 80% of the total dust mass, probably distributed in small clumps. We derive a range of gas-to-dust mass ratios between 300 and 2000, larger than the Galactic values and dust-to-metals ratios of 1/30 to 1/2. The modeled dust size distributions are used to synthesize an extinction curve for each galaxy. The UV slopes of the extinction curves resemble that observed in some regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The 2175 Å bumps of the modeled extinction curves are weaker than that of the Galaxy, except in the case of II $\,$ Zw $\,$ 40 where we are unable to accurately constrain the 2175 Å bump carrier.

Key words: ISM: dust, extinction -- galaxies: dwarf -- galaxies: starburst -- infrared: galaxies -- submillimeter

SIMBAD Objects

What is OpenURL?

ISM properties in low-metallicity environments

III. The dust spectral energy distributions of IIZw40, He2-10 and NGC1140

III. The dust spectral energy distributions of II $\,$ Zw $\,$ 40, He $\,$ 2-10 and NGC $\,$ 1140