The Red Halo Phenomenon

• Optical and near-IR observations of the halos of disk galaxies and blue compact galaxies have revealed a very red spectral energy distribution that cannot easily be reconciled with a normal, metal-poor stellar population such as that in the stellar halo of the Milky Way. Here spectral evolutionary models are used to explore the consequences of these observations. We demonstrate that a stellar population of low to intermediate metallicity but with an extremely bottom-heavy initial mass function can explain the red halos around both types of objects. Other previously suggested explanations, such as nebular emission or very metal-rich stars, are shown to fail in this respect. This indicates that if the reported halo colors are correct, halo populations dominated by low-mass stars may be a phenomenon common to galaxies of very different Hubble types. Potential tests of this hypothesis are discussed, along with its implications for the baryonic dark matter content of galaxies.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Cosmology: Dark Matter

Galaxies: Evolution

Galaxies: Halos

Galaxies: Stellar Content

Physics

Fysik

Extragalactical astronomy

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