Deep CCD Surface Photometry of the Edge-On Spiral NGC 4244

Abstract

We have obtained deep surface photometry of the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4244. Our data reliably reach 27.5 R magnitude arcsec −2, a significant improvement on our earlier deep CCD surface photometry of other galaxies. NGC 4244 is a nearby Scd galaxy whose total luminosity is approximately one magnitude fainter than the peak of the Sc luminosity function. We find that it has a simple structure: a single exponential disk, with a scale height hZ = 246 ± 2 pc, a scale length hR = 1.84 ± 0.02 kpc and a disk cutoff at a radius Rmax = 10.0 kpc (5.4 scale lengths). We confirm a strong cutoff in the stellar disk at Rmax, which happens over only 1 kpc. We do not see any statistically significant evidence for disk flaring with radius. Unlike the more luminous Sc galaxies NGC 5907 and M 33, NGC 4244 does not show any evidence for a second component, such as a thick disk or halo, at µR < 27.5 magnitude arcsec −2.