The dust and gas properties of M83

We examine the dust and gas properties of the nearby, barred galaxy M83, which is part of the Very Nearby Galaxy Survey. Using images from the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE) instruments of Herschel, we examine the dust temperature and dust mass surface density distribution. We find that the nuclear, bar and spiral arm regions exhibit higher dust temperatures and masses compared to interarm regions. However, the distributions of dust temperature and mass are not spatially coincident. Assuming a trailing spiral structure, the dust temperature peaks in the spiral arms lie ahead of the dust surface density peaks. The dust mass surface density correlates well with the distribution of molecular gas as traced by CO (J= 3→2) images (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope) and the star formation rate as traced by Hα with a correction for obscured star formation using 24‐μm emission. Using H i images from The H i Nearby Galaxy Survey (THINGS) to trace the atomic gas component, we make total gas mass surface density maps and calculate the gas‐to‐dust ratio. We find a mean gas‐to‐dust ratio of 84 ± 4 with higher values in the inner region assuming a constant CO‐to‐H2 conversion factor. We also examine the gas‐to‐dust ratio using CO‐to‐H2 conversion factor that varies with metallicity.