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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOWSING, Dust Observations With SCUBA-2 In Nearby Galaxies: I. Dust in M 81

  • M Uzuner1
  • M W L Smith1
  • S Eales1
  • A Chung2
  • E J Chung3
  • D L Clements4
  • I De Looze5
  • D J Eden6,7
  • L Fanciullo8
  • L C Ho9,10
  • F Kemper11,12,13
  • K Pattle14
7 more authors
  • M Relaño15,16
  • A Saintonge17,18
  • X Tang19
  • S A Van Der Giessen20
  • J Wang21
  • T G Williams22
  • C D Wilson23
23 affiliations
  1. 1Cardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research, and Technology, School of Physics & Astronomy , Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, Cardiff CF24 3AA ,
  2. 2Yonsei University Department of Astronomy, , 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722 ,
  3. 3Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , 776 Daedeokdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34055 ,
  4. 4Blackett Lab, Imperial College London , Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ ,
  5. 5Universiteit Gent Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Proeftuinstraat 86 N3, B-9000 Ghent ,
  6. 6Global Banking School, Universal Square , Devonshire Street North, Manchester, M12 6JH ,
  7. 7Armagh Observatory and Planetarium , College Hill. Armagh, BT61 9DB ,
  8. 8Tamkang University , 151 Yingzhuan Rd., Tamsui Dist., New Taipei City 251301, Taiwan ,
  9. 9Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871 ,
  10. 10School of Physics Department of Astronomy, , Peking University, Beijing 100871 ,
  11. 11Institut de Ciéncies de l’Espai (ICE, CSIC) , Can Magrans, s/n, E-08193 Cerdanyola del Vallés, Barcelona ,
  12. 12ICREA , Pg. Lluís Companys 23, E-08010 Barcelona ,
  13. 13Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC) , E-08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona ,
  14. 14University College London Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT ,
  15. 15Granada Dept. Física Teórica y del Cosmos, E-18071 ,
  16. 16Instituto Universitario Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional , Universidad de Granada, 18071, Granada ,
  17. 17University College London Department of Physics & Astronomy, , London, WC1E 6BT ,
  18. 18Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy , Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn ,
  19. 19Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Urumqi 830011 ,
  20. 20Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité , CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette ,
  21. 21Xiamen University Department of Astronomy, , Xiamen, Fujian 361005 ,
  22. 22The University of Manchester UK ALMA Regional Centre Node, Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL ,
  23. 23McMaster University Department of Physics & Astronomy, , 1280 Main Street W, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4M1 ,
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Abstract

We present a resolved far-infrared/sub-millimetre study of dust in the nearby spiral galaxy M 81 using Herschel PACS/SPIRE and JCMT SCUBA-2 observations from 70 to 850 μm. We model the dust emission using both single-temperature modified blackbody (SMBB) fits and point process mapping (PPMAP), comparing pixel-by-pixel SED-fitting with image cubes of dust surface density as a function of position and temperature. For fixed β = 1.9 and a dust opacity of κ350μm = 1.92 cm2 g−1, SMBB gives an integrated dust mass of (1.77 ± 0.09) × 107M⊙, while PPMAP gives (2.65 ± 0.13) × 107M⊙. The higher PPMAP mass is expected because real lines of sight contain dust over a range of temperatures, whereas SMBB assumes a single effective temperature and can underestimate the dust mass. Both methods show enhanced dust surface densities along the spiral arms and a radially declining dust temperature, with the warmest dust in the central region. Variable-β fits indicate only moderate spatial variation in β for well-constrained pixels, but the strong T–β degeneracy motivates a fixed emissivity index for the main analysis. Combining the dust maps with H i data, we find a positive radial gas-to-dust ratio gradient, with dlog10(GDR)/dR = 0.065 dex kpc−1. Comparison with M 81’s metallicity gradient implies a declining dust-to-metals ratio, potentially consistent with more efficient grain growth in the inner disc. The star formation rate is modest, ~0.27 M⊙ yr−1, and is strongly concentrated along the spiral arms. These results suggest that the dust, gas, and star-forming structures of M 81 are strongly shaped by its spiral arms, while the central region hosts the warmest dust in the disc.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{uzuner2026dowsing,
  title = {{DOWSING, Dust Observations With SCUBA-2 In Nearby Galaxies: I. Dust in M 81}},
  author = {M Uzuner and M W L Smith and S Eales and A Chung and E J Chung and D L Clements and I De Looze and D J Eden and L Fanciullo and L C Ho and F Kemper and K Pattle and M Relaño and A Saintonge and X Tang and S A Van Der Giessen and J Wang and T G Williams and C D Wilson},
  journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1093/mnras/stag2127},
  url = {https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2127/9017888},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - DOWSING, Dust Observations With SCUBA-2 In Nearby Galaxies: I. Dust in M 81
AU  - M Uzuner
AU  - M W L Smith
AU  - S Eales
AU  - A Chung
AU  - E J Chung
AU  - D L Clements
AU  - I De Looze
AU  - D J Eden
AU  - L Fanciullo
AU  - L C Ho
AU  - F Kemper
AU  - K Pattle
AU  - M Relaño
AU  - A Saintonge
AU  - X Tang
AU  - S A Van Der Giessen
AU  - J Wang
AU  - T G Williams
AU  - C D Wilson
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/06
JO  - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
DO  - 10.1093/mnras/stag2127
UR  - https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stag2127/9017888
AB  - We present a resolved far-infrared/sub-millimetre study of dust in the nearby spiral galaxy M 81 using Herschel PACS/SPIRE and JCMT SCUBA-2 observations from 70 to 850 μm. We model the dust emission using both single-temperature modified blackbody (SMBB) fits and point process mapping (PPMAP), comparing pixel-by-pixel SED-fitting with image cubes of dust surface density as a function of position and temperature. For fixed β = 1.9 and a dust opacity of κ350μm = 1.92 cm2 g−1, SMBB gives an integrated dust mass of (1.77 ± 0.09) × 107M⊙, while PPMAP gives (2.65 ± 0.13) × 107M⊙. The higher PPMAP mass is expected because real lines of sight contain dust over a range of temperatures, whereas SMBB assumes a single effective temperature and can underestimate the dust mass. Both methods show enhanced dust surface densities along the spiral arms and a radially declining dust temperature, with the warmest dust in the central region. Variable-β fits indicate only moderate spatial variation in β for well-constrained pixels, but the strong T–β degeneracy motivates a fixed emissivity index for the main analysis. Combining the dust maps with H i data, we find a positive radial gas-to-dust ratio gradient, with dlog10(GDR)/dR = 0.065 dex kpc−1. Comparison with M 81’s metallicity gradient implies a declining dust-to-metals ratio, potentially consistent with more efficient grain growth in the inner disc. The star formation rate is modest, ~0.27 M⊙ yr−1, and is strongly concentrated along the spiral arms. These results suggest that the dust, gas, and star-forming structures of M 81 are strongly shaped by its spiral arms, while the central region hosts the warmest dust in the disc.
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
ER  -