2011/02/03 by Erik Zackrisson, E. Zackrisson, Zackrisson, E. +3
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.CO
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1102.0793
6 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of CRF2010, DESY Hamburg, Nov 9-12 2010
arxiv created 2011/02/03 · openalex publication_date 2011/02/03 · arxiv updated 2015/03/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Deep surface photometry of disk galaxies at optical and near-IR wavelengths have revealed faint halos with colours much too red to be reconciled with the resolved stellar populations detected in the halos of the Milky Way or M31. Alternative scenarios involving high metallicities, nebular emission or large amounts of dust in these halos are also disfavoured. Here, we argue that extinction of the optical extragalactic background light in the halos of these galaxies may possibly be responsible for the reported colour anomalies. We also discuss how an independent measurement of the optical extragalactic background light might be accomplished by combining direct star counts with surface photometry for a single nearby galaxy.