NGC 4313. II. Hubble Space Telescope I-Band Surface Photometry of the Nuclear Region
Benedict, G. F.; Franz, O. G.; Hemenway, P. D.; Jefferys, W. H.; McArthur, B.; Nelan, E.; Shelus, P. J.; Story, D.; Whipple, A. L.; Fredrick, L. W.; van Altena, Wm. F.; Higdon, J. L.; McCartney, J.; Duncombe, R.
United States
Abstract
We present a Hubble Space Telescope I-band Planetary Camera image of the nuclear region of NGC 4314. This is an anemic barred galaxy with recent star formation confined to a nuclear ring. These data resolve the nuclear ring into multiple sites of new star formation and resolve associated dust lanes into discrete clouds. Unsharp masking of a Lucy-Richardson deconvolved image reveals a strong spiral dust pattern. Deconvolution results in at least 0.13 arcsec resolution, as demonstrated by the de Vaucouleurs r^1/4^ law. Contrasted with similar studies of M87 and NGC 7457, we find no photometric evidence for an extreme concentration of stars in the center of NGC 4314. We identify an oval distortion of length 8 arcsec in the nuclear region, using ellipse-fitting routines and the unsharp masked frame. This nuclear bar has newer stars near its ends. We catalog 14 star clusters associated with H II regions in the nuclear ring. As an additional demonstration of the resolution achieved, the integral size distribution of these clusters is described by an exponential relationship which prevails down to 0.14 arcsec.