Infrared Dust Emission in the Outer Disk of M51

Abstract

We examine faint infrared emission features detected in Spitzer Space Telescope images of M51, which are associated with atomic hydrogen in the outer disk and tidal tail at R ##IMG## [http://ej.iop.org/icons/Entities/gtrsim.gif] {gtrsim} R 25 (4 ##IMG## [http://ej.iop.org/icons/Entities/farcm.gif] {farcm} 9, ~14 kpc at d = 9.6 Mpc). The infrared colors of these features are consistent with the colors of dust associated with star formation in the bright disk. However, the star formation efficiency (as a ratio of star formation rate to neutral gas mass) implied in the outer disk is lower than that in the bright disk of M51 by an order of magnitude, assuming a similar relationship between infrared emission and star formation rate in the inner and outer disks.