A DIRECT STELLAR METALLICITY DETERMINATION IN THE DISK OF THE MASER GALAXY NGC 4258

Abstract

We present the first direct determination of a stellar metallicity in the spiral galaxy NGC 4258 (D = 7.6 Mpc) based on the quantitative analysis of a low-resolution (~5 A) Keck Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph spectrum of a blue supergiant star located in its disk. A determination of stellar metallicity in this galaxy is important for the absolute calibration of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation as an anchor for the extragalactic distance scale and for a better characterization of its dependence as a function of abundance. We find a value 0.2 dex lower than solar metallicity at a galactocentric distance of 8.7 kpc, in agreement with recent H II region studies using the weak forbidden auroral oxygen line at 4363 A. We determine the effective stellar temperature, gravity, luminosity, and line-of-sight extinction of the blue supergiant being studied. We show that it fits well on the flux-weighted gravity-luminosity relation, strengthening the potential of this method as a new extragalactic distance indicator.