To be published in the ISO Special Issue of Space
Science Reviews: "ISO science legacy - a compact review of ISO major
achievements", Springer 2005.
For a PDF version of the article, click
here.
astro-ph/0506768
Abstract. Following on from IRAS, ISO has provided a huge advancement in our knowledge of the phenomenology of the infrared (IR) emission of normal galaxies and the underlying physical processes. Highlights include: the discovery of an extended cold dust emission component, present in all types of gas-rich galaxies and carrying the bulk of the dust luminosity; the definitive characterisation of the spectral energy distribution in the IR, revealing the channels through which stars power the IR light; the derivation of realistic geometries for stars and dust from ISO imaging; the discovery of cold dust associated with HI extending beyond the optical body of galaxies; the remarkable similarity of the near-IR (NIR)/ mid-IR (MIR) SEDs for spiral galaxies, revealing the importance of the photo-dissociation regions in the energy budget for that wavelength range; the importance of the emission from the central regions in shaping up the intensity and the colour of the global MIR luminosity; the discovery of the "hot" NIR continuum emission component of interstellar dust; the predominance of the diffuse cold neutral medium as the origin for the main interstellar cooling line, [CII] 158 µm, in normal galaxies.
Keywords galaxies: spiral, galaxies: dwarf, galaxies: ellipticals, galaxies: ISM
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
SPIRAL GALAXIES
Spatial distributions
Integrated properties
Quantitative interpretation of FIR SEDs
The gaseous ISM
DWARF GALAXIES
Cold dust surrounding dwarf galaxies
Infrared emission from within dwarf galaxies
EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES
CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK
REFERENCES
1 Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA. Back.
