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Using deep, narrowband imaging of the nearby spiral galaxy M101, we presentstellar age information across the full extent of the disk of M101. Ournarrowband filters measure age-sensitive absorption features such as the Balmerlines and the slope of the continuum between the Balmer break and 4000 \r{A}break. We interpret these features in the context of inside-out galaxyformation theories and dynamical models of spiral structure. We confirm thegalaxy's radial age gradient, with the mean stellar age decreasing with radius.In the relatively undisturbed main disk, we find that stellar ages getprogressively older with distance across a spiral arm, consistent with thelarge-scale shock scenario in a quasi-steady spiral wave pattern. Unexpectedly,we find the same pattern across spiral arms in the outer disk as well, beyondthe corotation radius of the main spiral pattern. We suggest that M101 has adynamic, or transient, spiral pattern with multiple pattern speeds joinedtogether via mode coupling to form coherent spiral structure. This scenarioconnects together the radial age gradient inherent to inside-out galaxyformation with the across-arm age gradients predicted by dynamic spiral armtheories across the full radial extent of the galaxy.

A Dynamic Galaxy: Stellar Age Patterns Across the Disk of M101