Deprojecting Edge-on Disk Galaxies

The results of a pilot study on the intrinsic 3D distribution of stars in edge-on disk galaxies are presented. The 3D disk structure of a sample of 12 edge-on galaxies has been reconstructed through a direct deprojection of the observed two-dimensional images. The deprojection method – which utilises the so called Fourier slice theorem and assumes axial symmetry – has been tested with a large set of artificial galaxy models seen under a variety of inclinations (i = 80–90°) and with different spatial dust and optical depths distributions.