The Spatially-Resolved Recent Star Formation History of the M81 Disk

Abstract

The nearby M81 galaxy---a tidally interacting $L^*$ spiral disk---offers a unique perspective on the interplay of secular and external processes in shaping galaxy properties. We present the most detailed, panoramic map of M81's stellar populations to date, using archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS photometry from the ANGST survey spanning the full optical extent of its disk. From color-magnitude diagram fitting, we recover spatially-resolved star formation histories (SFHs) over the last $\sim180\,$Myr. M81's global SFH is remarkably steady in the last $\sim180\,$Myr with slight enhancements seen $\lesssim15\,$Myr ago. The average SFR surface density rises toward the center before falling off within the innermost $\sim4\,$kpc. The disk is also notably lopsided, with the eastern half having formed $\sim50\%$ more stars than the western half over the same area---a trend missed by FUV-based SFR indicators due to dust systematics. Finally, the long-term SFHs of both M81 and M82 point to a pericenter passage $\sim1\,$Gyr ago. By identifying M81-M82 analogs in the TNG50 cosmological simulation, we rule out the more recent pericenter times of $150-220\,$Myr predicted by some works, as such passages are inconsistent with M81's undisturbed SFH over the last $\sim180\,$Myr. With this work, M81 becomes only the third $L^*$ spiral---after M31 and NGC 6946---to have its SFH spatially resolved across large areas of its disk.