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Session 2 - Spiral, Irregular and Elliptical Galaxies.
Display session, Monday, June 09
South Main Hall,

[2.05] The Dusty Disk of the Large Magellanic Cloud revealed with Ultraviolet Imaging Polarimetry

We have obtained the first ultraviolet polarimetric images of the diffuse light of a galaxy, using the rocket-borne Wide-Field Imaging Survey Polarimeter (WISP). Images were obtained of a 1\fdg5 \times 4\fdg8 field on the west side of the LMC, obtaining intensities and linear polarizations at 2150 ÅThe dominant contributors to the UV flux are large star forming complexes (Lucke amp; Hodge 1970), individual supergiants (Sanduleak 1970), and young open clusters. The diffuse light is found to be polarized at the \approx5%--10% level, indicating a strong, unpolarized contribution from unresolved field stars. The H \small II complex N11 dominates the UV radiation field in our images; scattered light from this complex is the major contributor to the polarized flux. We have used a Monte Carlo code to model the distribution of UV scattered light and thermal dust emission, and used the results to map the 3-dimensional geometry of the LMC disk.

Program listing for Monday