Dust-induced reversal of the optical wavelength dependence of spiral-arm pitch angles

Abstract

The classical density-wave scenario predicts a blue-to-red age–colour gradient across the spiral arms of disc galaxies as a consequence of shock-induced star formation. However, observations of spiral-arm pitch angles at different wavelengths sometimes suggest the opposite trend, namely a red-to-blue “colour jump”. The origin of this apparent contradiction remains unclear. In this work, we investigate the effects of dust attenuation on post-shock stellar emission, together with the streamline motions of gas and stellar populations. We find that dust attenuation in regions with relatively high optical depths, $\hat{\tau }_{V} \gtrsim 0.2$, can produce an apparent red-to-blue spatial sequence, with respect to the shock location, by reversing the relative positions of the flux maxima of stellar populations observed in different bands. Moreover, streamline motions confine post-shock stellar populations near the spiral arms for longer than in a circular-orbit model, thereby modifying the spatial distribution of the emitted light. We conclude that the apparent red-to-blue colour jump does not necessarily contradict the classical density-wave scenario. Instead, it can arise from the same post-shock stellar populations that intrinsically produce a blue-to-red age–colour gradient if their emission is modified by dust attenuation.