[Abridged] The [CII] 158um line is an important tool for understanding the life cycle of interstellar matter. Ionized carbon is present in a variety of phases of the interstellar medium, including the diffuse ionized medium, warm and cold atomic clouds, clouds in transition from atomic to molecular, and dense and warm photon dominated regions (PDRs). The Galactic Observations of Terahertz C+ (GOTC+) project surveys the [CII] line over the entire Galactic disk with velocity-resolved observations using the Herschel/HIFI instrument. We present the first longitude-velocity maps of the [CII] emission for Galactic latitudes b=0deg, +-0.5deg, and +-1.0deg. [CII] emission is mostly associated with spiral arms, mainly emerging from Galactocentric distances between 4 and 10 kpc. We estimate that most of the observed [CII] emission is produced by dense PDRs (47%), with smaller contributions from CO-dark H2 gas (28%), cold atomic gas (21%), and ionized gas (4%). Atomic gas inside the Solar radius is mostly in the form of cold neutral medium (CNM), while the warm neutral medium (WNM) gas dominates the outer galaxy. The average fraction of CNM relative to total atomic gas is 43%. We find that the warm and diffuse CO-dark H2 is distributed over a larger range of Galactocentric distances (4-11 kpc) than the cold and dense H2 gas traced by 12CO and 13CO (4-8kpc). The fraction of CO-dark H2 to total H2 increases with Galactocentric distance, ranging from 20% at 4 kpc to 80% at 10 kpc. On average, CO-dark H2 accounts for 30% of the molecular mass of the Milky Way. When the CO-dark H2 component is included, the radial distribution of the CO-to-H2 conversion factor is steeper than that when only molecular gas traced by CO is considered. Most of the observed [CII] emission emerging from dense PDRs is associated with modest far-ultraviolet fields in the range chi0~1-30.

A Herschel [CII] Galactic plane survey I: the global distribution of ISM gas components

Context. The [C ii] 158 μ m line is an important tool for understanding the life cycle of interstellar matter. Ionized carbon is present in a variety of phases of the interstellar medium (ISM), including the diffuse ionized medium, warm and cold atomic clouds, clouds in transition from atomic to molecular, and dense and warm photon dominated regions.Aims. Velocity-resolved observations of [C ii] are the most powerful technique available to disentangle the emission produced by these components. These observations can also be used to trace CO-dark H2 gas and determine the total mass of the ISM. Methods. The Galactic Observations of Terahertz C+ (GOT C+) project surveys the [C ii] 158 μ m line over the entire Galactic disk with velocity-resolved observations using the Herschel /HIFI instrument. We present the first longitude-velocity maps of the [C ii] emission for Galactic latitudes b  = 0°, ±0.5°, and ±1.0°. We combine these maps with those of H i, 12 CO, and 13 CO to separate the different phases of the ISM and study their properties and distribution in the Galactic plane. Results. [C ii] emission is mostly associated with spiral arms, mainly emerging from Galactocentric distances between 4 and 10 kpc. It traces the envelopes of evolved clouds as well as clouds that are in the transition between atomic and molecular. We estimate that most of the observed [C ii] emission is produced by dense photon dominated regions (~47%), with smaller contributions from CO-dark H2 gas (~28%), cold atomic gas (~21%), and ionized gas (~4%). Atomic gas inside the Solar radius is mostly in the form of cold neutral medium (CNM), while the warm neutral medium gas dominates the outer galaxy. The average fraction of CNM relative to total atomic gas is ~43%. We find that the warm and diffuse CO-dark H2 is distributed over a larger range of Galactocentric distances (4−11 kpc) than the cold and dense H2 gas traced by 12 CO and 13 CO (4−8 kpc). The fraction of CO-dark H2 to total H2 increases with Galactocentric distance, ranging from ~20% at 4 kpc to ~80% at 10 kpc. On average, CO-dark H2 accounts for ~30% of the molecular mass of the Milky Way. When the CO-dark H2 component is included, the radial distribution of the CO-to-H2 conversion factor is steeper than that when only molecular gas traced by CO is considered. Most of the observed [C ii] emission emerging from dense photon dominated regions is associated with modest far-ultraviolet fields in the range χ 0  ≃ 1 − 30.

/pdf/a-herschel-c-ii-galactic-plane-survey-i-the-global-3yhj48cacc.pdf

A Herschel [C ii] Galactic plane survey - I. The global distribution of ISM gas components

Context. Water is a key tracer of dynamics and chemistry in low-mass star-forming regions, but spectrally resolved observations have so far been limited in sensitivity and angular resolution, and only data from the brightest low-mass protostars have been published. Aims. The first systematic survey of spectrally resolved water emission in 29 low-mass (L 10 km s(-1)). The water abundance in the outer cold envelope is low, greater than or similar to 10(-10). The different H2O profile components show a clear evolutionary trend: in the younger Class 0 sources the emission is dominated by outflow components originating inside an infalling envelope. When large-scale infall diminishes during the Class I phase, the outflow weakens and H2O emission all but disappears.

/pdf/water-in-star-forming-regions-with-herschel-wish-ii-13y1h7uvg9.pdf

Water in star-forming regions with Herschel (WISH). II. Evolution of 557 GHz 110-101 emission in low-mass protostars

Water is a crucial molecule in molecular astrophysics as it controls much of the gas/grain chemistry, including the formation and evolution of more complex organic molecules in ices. Pre-stellar cores provide the original reservoir of material from which future planetary systems are built, but few observational constraints exist on the formation of water and its partitioning between gas and ice in the densest cores. Thanks to the high sensitivity of the Herschel Space Observatory, we report on the first detection of water vapor at high spectral resolution toward a dense cloud on the verge of star formation, the pre-stellar core L1544. The line shows an inverse P-Cygni profile, characteristic of gravitational contraction. To reproduce the observations, water vapor has to be present in the cold and dense central few thousand AU of L1544, where species heavier than helium are expected to freeze out onto dust grains, and the ortho:para H2 ratio has to be around 1:1 or larger. The observed amount of water vapor within the core (about 1.5 × 10–6 M ☉) can be maintained by far-UV photons locally produced by the impact of galactic cosmic rays with H2 molecules. Such FUV photons irradiate the icy mantles, liberating water vapor in the core center. Our Herschel data, combined with radiative transfer and chemical/dynamical models, shed light on the interplay between gas and solids in dense interstellar clouds and provide the first measurement of the water vapor abundance profile across the parent cloud of a future solar-type star and its potential planetary system.

/pdf/first-detection-of-water-vapor-in-a-pre-stellar-core-12w5zv2c1d.pdf

First Detection of Water Vapor in a Pre-stellar Core

We present 50-210 {$μ$}m spectral scans of 30 Class 0/I protostellar sources, obtained with Herschel-PACS, and 0.5-1000 {$μ$}m spectral energy distributions, as part of the Dust, Ice, and Gas in Time Key Program. Some sources exhibit up to 75 H$_{2}$O lines ranging in excitation energy from 100 to 2000 K, 12 transitions of OH, and CO rotational lines ranging from J = 14 {
arr} 13 up to J = 40 {
arr} 39. [O I] is detected in all but one source in the entire sample; among the sources with detectable [O I] are two very low luminosity objects. The mean 63/145 {$μ$}m [O I] flux ratio is 17.2 {plusmn} 9.2. The [O I] 63 {$μ$}m line correlates with L $_{bol}$, but not with the time-averaged outflow rate derived from low-J CO maps. [C II] emission is in general not local to the source. The sample L $_{bol}$ increased by 1.25 (1.06) and T $_{bol}$ decreased to 0.96 (0.96) of mean (median) values with the inclusion of the Herschel data. Most CO rotational diagrams are characterized by two optically thin components (${$$ackslash$langle ${$ ${$N$}$$}$$ackslash$rangle$}$ = (0.70 +/- 1.12)${$${$$}$ $ackslash$times 10^{}${$49$}$$}$ total particles). ${$ ${$N$}$$}$_CO correlates strongly with L $_{bol}$, but neither T $_{rot}$ nor ${$ ${$N$}$$}$_CO(warm)/${$ ${$N$}$$}$_CO(hot) correlates with L $_{bol}$, suggesting that the total excited gas is related to the current source luminosity, but that the excitation is primarily determined by the physics of the interaction (e.g., UV-heating/shocks). Rotational temperatures for H$_{2}$O (${$$ackslash$langle ${$T_rot$}$$ackslash$rangle $}$ = 194 +/- 85 K) and OH (${$$ackslash$langle ${$T_rot$}$$ackslash$rangle $}$ =183 +/- 117 K) are generally lower than for CO, and much of the scatter in the observations about the best fit is attributed to differences in excitation conditions and optical depths among the detected lines. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

http://www.pas.rochester.edu/~joel/papers/Green_etal_2013b.pdf

Embedded protostars in the dust, ice, and gas in time (DIGIT) Herschel key program: continuum SEDs, and an inventory of characteristic far-infrared lines from PACs spectroscopy

Aims. In this paper the calibration and in-orbit performance of the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) is described. Methods. The calibration of HIFI is based on a combination of ground and in-flight tests. Dedicated ground tests to determine those instrument parameters that can only be measured accurately using controlled laboratory stimuli were carried out in the instrument level test (ILT) campaign. Special in-flight tests during the commissioning phase (CoP) and performance verification (PV) allowed the determination of the remaining instrument parameters. The various instrument observing modes, as specified in astronomical observation templates (AOTs), were validated in parallel during PV by observing selected celestial sources. Results. The initial calibration and in-orbit performance of HIFI has been established. A first estimate of the calibration budget is given. The overall in-flight instrument performance agrees with the original specification. Issues remain at only a few frequencies.

/pdf/in-orbit-performance-of-herschel-hifi-2ysigaysr5.pdf

J. Rector

Papers

In-orbit performance of Herschel-HIFI