A possible relationship between metal abundance and luminosity for disk galaxies

Near-infrared colors have been measured for a sample of 31 late-type galaxies in the Pegasus I and Pisces clusters; system luminosities in the sample cover the range of M(H) between -19 and -23.5. The color index (J - K) correlates strongly with the absolute H magnitude; lower-luminosity systems hav...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astronomical journal 1984-09, Vol.89, p.1300-1309
Main Authors: Bothun, G. D., Romanishin, W., Strom, S. E., Strom, K. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
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Summary:Near-infrared colors have been measured for a sample of 31 late-type galaxies in the Pegasus I and Pisces clusters; system luminosities in the sample cover the range of M(H) between -19 and -23.5. The color index (J - K) correlates strongly with the absolute H magnitude; lower-luminosity systems have bluer colors. These observations are consistent with the assumption that the mean metal abundance of the old disk population decreases systematically with luminosity. The systematic variation (B - H) with absolute H magnitude reported recently by Tully et al. (1982) derives in part from this proposed systematic change of metallicity with luminosity. However, a relative increase in the number of newly formed stars and/or a systematic smaller age for lower-luminosity disks must still be posited in order to fully explain the observed (B - H), H relation.
ISSN:0004-6256
DOI:10.1086/113628