Abstract Extended ultraviolet (XUV) emission in nearby disk galaxies supports the inside-out growth scenario through low-efficiency star formation in their outer regions. However, such detections have largely been limited to the local Universe (z ∼ 0) due to the need for deep, high-resolution UV imaging. We report the detection of a clumpy XUV disk in a massive, isolated spiral galaxy (log (M*/M⊙) ≈ 11.04) at z = 0.67, observed with AstroSat/UVIT. The intrinsic rest frame FUV surface brightness profile, corrected for the instrument PSF, shows a more extended disk than its optical and IR counterparts. The XUV disk reaches nearly twice the optical radius and includes a large UV-bright low surface brightness (LSB) region (SLSB/SK80 ≈ 15, μFUV − μK ≈ 0.8), consistent with the Type II XUV definition. Additionally, the detection of UV clumps without optical counterparts supports a Type I classification, suggesting gravitational instabilities and recent star formation. These features point to recent cold gas accretion onto the outer disk. From the asymmetric light profile, we estimate a gas accretion rate of ∼11 M⊙ yr−1, providing evidence of active disk growth at intermediate redshift.
Pandey et al. (Wed,) studied this question.