Disk mass and disk heating in the spiral galaxy NGC 3223
  We present the stellar and gaseous kinematics of an Sb galaxy, NGC 3223, with
the aim of determining the vertical and radial stellar velocity dispersion as a
function of radius, which can help to constrain disk heating theories. Together
with the observed NIR photometry, the vertical velocity dispersion is also used
to determine the stellar mass-to-light (M/L) ratio, typically one of the
largest uncertainties when deriving the dark matter distribution from the
observed rotation curve. We find a vertical-to-radial velocity dispersion ratio
of sigma_z/sigma_R=1.21+-0.14, significantly higher than expectations from
known correlations, and a weakly-constrained Ks-band stellar M/L ratio in the
range 0.5-1.7, at the high end of (but consistent with) the predictions of
stellar population synthesis models. Such a weak constraint on the stellar M/L
ratio, however, does not allow us to securely determine the dark matter density
distribution. To achieve this, either a statistical approach or additional data
(e.g. integral-field unit) are needed.
