Lifting the Dusty Veil II: A Large-Scale Study of the Galactic Infrared Extinction Law

We combine near-infrared (2MASS) and mid-infrared (Spitzer-IRAC) photometry to characterize the IR extinction law (1.2-8 microns) over nearly 150 degrees of contiguous Milky Way midplane longitude. The relative extinctions in 5 passbands across these wavelength and longitude ranges are derived by calculating color excess ratios for G and K giant red clump stars in contiguous midplane regions and deriving the wavelength dependence of extinction in each one. Strong, monotonic variations in the extinction law shape are found as a function of angle from the Galactic center, symmetric on either side of it. These longitudinal variations persist even when dense interstellar regions, known a priori to have a shallower extinction curve, are removed. The increasingly steep extinction curves towards the outer Galaxy indicate a steady decrease in the absolute-to-selective extinction ratio (R_V) and in the mean dust grain size at greater Galactocentric angles. We note an increasing strength of the 8 micron extinction inflection at high Galactocentric angles and, using theoretical dust models, show that this behavior is consistent with the trend in R_V. Along several lines of sight where the solution is most feasible, A_lambda/A_Ks as a function of Galactic radius is estimated and shown to have a Galactic radial dependence. Our analyses suggest that the observed relationship between extinction curve shape and Galactic longitude is due to an intrinsic dependence of the extinction law on Galactocentric radius.
Comment: Accepted to ApJ