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I. Barton (University of Illinois)
The apparently high mass-to-light ratios of most galaxies support the idea that the universe is dominated by dark matter. However, an important reason why the actual amount of dark matter remains uncertain is the lack of reliable estimates for expected mass-to-light ratios for comparison with observaions. Population synthesis offers a method to provide such estimates. Using multicolor surface photometry, population synthesis has been performed for the spiral galaxies M63 and M101. Radial profiles of the mass-to-light ratio of the stellar populations of these galaxies are presented, and the effects of observational uncertainties, interstellar extinction, and metallicity on total and dark matter determinations are discussed.