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Journal Article•DOI•

A 12 co j = 6-5 map of m82: the significance of warm molecular gas

John Ward1, John Ward2, Jonas Zmuidzinas1, Andrew I. Harris3, K. G. Isaak4, K. G. Isaak3 •
California Institute of Technology1, Jet Propulsion Laboratory2, University of Maryland, College Park3, University of Cambridge4
10 Apr 2003-The Astrophysical Journal (IOP Publishing)-Vol. 587, Iss: 1, pp 171-185
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented a 12 CO J ¼ 6−5 map of the nuclear regions of the starburst galaxy M82 at a resolution of 14 00 taken at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO).
Abstract: We present a 12 CO J ¼ 6–5 map of the nuclear regions of the starburst galaxy M82 at a resolution of 14 00 taken at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). Hot spots were found on either side of the dynamical center. We compare our results with a high-resolution 12 CO J ¼ 2–1 interferometer map, and present a 12 CO J ¼ 6–5/ 12 CO J ¼ 2–1 line ratio map obtained using a novel deconvolution technique. This line ratio is highest at the two J ¼ 6–5 integrated intensity peaks, reaching 0.4 and 0.5 in the northeast and southwest peaks, respectively, and is typically 0.2 elsewhere in the nuclear region. We also present measurements of 12 CO J ¼ 4–3, 12 CO J ¼ 3–2, and 13 CO J ¼ 3–2, and an upper limit for 13 CO J ¼ 6–5. We analyze these observations in the context of a two-component large velocity gradient (LVG) excitation model. Likelihood density curves were calculated for each of the model parameters and a variety of related physical quantities for the northeast and southwest peaks based on the measured line intensities and their associated uncertainties. This approach reveals in an unbiased way how well various quantities can be constrained by the CO observations. We find that the beam-averaged 12 CO and 13 CO column densities, the isotopomer abundance ratio, and the area filling factors are among the best constrained quantities, while the cool component H2 density and pressure are less well constrained. The results of this analysis suggest that the warm gas is less dense than the cool gas, and that over half of the total molecular gas mass in these nuclear regions is warmer than 50 K. Subject headings: galaxies: individual (M82) — galaxies: ISM — galaxies: starburst — submillimeter

Summary (2 min read)

Jump to: [1. INTRODUCTION] – [2. OBSERVATIONS] – [3. RESULTS] and [4. CONCLUSIONS]

1. INTRODUCTION

  • M82, also known as NGC 3034, is a nearby irregular starburst galaxy in UrsaMajor, and is seen nearly edge-on.
  • The CO J ¼ 6–5 line was first detected toward M82 by Harris et al. (1991), who showed that molecular gas in starburst galaxies is substantially warmer than in typical disk clouds.
  • CO excitation analyses in the large velocity gradient (LVG) approximation can now be calculated in a few milliseconds on a typical modern desktop computer.
  • The authors have also calculated likelihood functions for a variety of physical quantities derived from these parameters, such as the pressure and the beamaveraged column density.
  • This technique uses all spatial and velocity information in both maps, and can calculate the line ratio at a higher spatial resolution than the numerator map.

2. OBSERVATIONS

  • All observations were performed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) in 1998 January and 1999 January using SIS receivers operating in double-sideband mode.
  • The use of a broadband tunerless receiver reduces calibration errors associated with receiver sideband imbalance.
  • A reference point was chosen where the line connecting the hot spots crossed the 200 km s 1 velocity contour.
  • The coordinates of the 12CO J ¼ 6–5 map were then adjusted to match the reference point to the coordinates of a point found the same way in the interferometer maps.
  • Zero-order baselines were subtracted from all reported measurements except 12CO J ¼ 4–3, which was corrected for a first-order baseline, and all reported results are given on a main beam brightness temperature scale (TMB).

3. RESULTS

  • Figure 2 shows two peaks in integrated intensity, the southwest hot spot being stronger than the northeast.
  • Likelihood curves of the free parameters are shown in Figure 7; the curves for derived quantities are shown in Figure 8.
  • The results from the two different cloud models differ in detail but do not change the basic results of this paper; the authors therefore summarize the differences rather than present figures and tables of the spherical model results.
  • These results suggest that the southwest lobe has higher beam-averaged 13CO column density and lower cool-component H2 density.
  • In part because of the nature of the model and the somewhat arbitrary distinction between ‘‘ warm ’’ and ‘‘ cool ’’ gas, the ratio of warm gas mass to cool gas mass is not well constrained.

4. CONCLUSIONS

  • Results of this model suggest that the nuclear region contains a large number of small, cool molecular clouds, and a small number of large, warm, low-density clouds.
  • The density of warm molecular gas in the nuclear region of M82 is low, with median likelihood estimates around 103 cm 3.
  • Furthermore, with this method, a Lagrange multiplier provides a natural way to adjust the resolution of the resulting ratio map.
  • To aid this selection, the authors also calculated residuals by finding the difference between the measured J ¼ 6–5 data and T6 5ðr; vÞ computed in equation (A1).

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Figures (14)

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A
12
CO J = 6–5 MAP OF M82: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WARM MOLECULAR GAS
John S. Ward
1
and Jonas Zmuidzinas
Department of Physics, 320-47, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125;
john.ward@jpl.nasa.gov, jonas@submm.caltech.edu
and
Andrew I. Harris and Kate G. Isaak
2
Astronomy Department, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742;
harris@astro.umd.edu, isaak@mrao.cam.ac.uk
Received 2001 November 17; accepted 2002 December 23
ABSTRACT
We present a
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 map of the nuclear regions of the starburst galaxy M82 at a resolution of 14
00
taken at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). Hot spots were found on either side of the dynamical
center. We compare our results with a high-resolution
12
CO J ¼ 2–1 interferometer map, and present a
12
CO
J ¼ 6–5/
12
CO J ¼ 2–1 line ratio map obtained using a novel deconvolution technique. This line ratio is
highest at the two J ¼ 6–5 integrated intensity peaks, reaching 0.4 and 0.5 in the northeast and southwest
peaks, respectively, and is typically 0.2 elsewhere in the nuclear region. We also present measurements of
12
CO
J ¼ 4–3,
12
CO J ¼ 3–2, and
13
CO J ¼ 3–2, and an upper limit for
13
CO J ¼ 6–5. We analyze these
observations in the context of a two-component large velocity gradient (LVG) excitation model. Likelihood
density curves were calculated for each of the model parameters and a variety of related physical quantities for
the northeast and southwest peaks based on the measured line intensities and their associated uncertainties.
This approach reveals in an unbiased way how well various quantities can be constrained by the CO observa-
tions. We find that the beam-averaged
12
CO and
13
CO column densities, the isotopomer abundance ratio, and
the area filling factors are among the best constrained quantities, while the cool component H
2
density and
pressure are less well constrained. The results of this analysis suggest that the warm gas is less dense than the
cool gas, and that over half of the total molecular gas mass in these nuclear regions is warmer than 50 K.
Subject headings: galaxies: individual (M82) — galaxies: ISM — galaxies: starburst — submillimeter
1. INTRODUCTION
M82, also known as NGC 3034, is a nearby irregular star-
burst galaxy in Ursa Major, and is seen nearly edge-on. Dust
obscures the nuclear region at optical wavelengths. M82 is
the brightest IR galaxy in the sky, and has a total IR
luminosity of 3:8 10
10
L
(Colbert et al. 1999). It is
believed that the starburst was triggered by a close encounter
with M81 about 10
8
yr ago (Yun, Ho, & Lo 1993). The bright
far-infrared (FIR) fine-structure lines seen in the inner kilo-
parsec of M82 imply a far-UV radiation field about 10
3
times
larger than the local solar value (Colbert et al. 1999). This
strong UV field is generated by a population of massive
young stars that also heat the dust which produces the large
IR luminosity. The nucleus has a large molecular gas mass, a
few 10
8
M
, giving rise to strong CO emission (Wild et al.
1992; Weiss et al. 2001). At an estimated current star forma-
tion rate of 1 M
yr
1
, this gas will be consumed in about
2 10
8
yr (Lord et al. 1996). Maps of both molecular line
emission and thermal dust continuum show a double-peaked
structure in the central kiloparsec (Neininger et al. 1998;
Hughes, Gear, & Robson 1994).
The CO J ¼ 6–5 line was first detected toward M82 by
Harris et al. (1991), who showed that molecular gas in star-
burst galaxies is substantially warmer than in typical disk
clouds. The CO J ¼ 6–5 transition probes higher excitation
temperatures (116 K above the ground state) than the more
accessible CO J ¼ 1–0 (5.5 K), CO J ¼ 2–1 (17 K), and CO
J ¼ 3–2 (33 K) trans itions. The higher J spectral lines thus
provide important information needed to understand the
large mass of T 100 K molecular gas that is heated by
massive young stars in a starburst galaxy. Recent improve-
ments in receiver techn ology now allow high-quality maps
to be made of the
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 and J ¼ 7–6 rotational lines
in nearby galaxies. Mao et al. (2000) recently mapped the
12
CO J ¼ 7–6 line. We present here a map of
12
CO J ¼ 6–5.
As improving receiver technology provides astronomers
with ever higher quality data, advances in digital computers
open up possibilities for analyzing observations in new and
better ways. For instance, CO excitation analyses in the
large velocity gradient (LVG) approximation can now be
calculated in a few milliseconds on a typic al modern desk-
top computer. This allows us to evaluate multicomponent
models with many parameters, examining huge volumes of
parameter space to find all combinations of the model
parameters consistent with the measured data rather than
only calculating some narrow range of possible solutions.
Using measured line intensities, we have calculated likeli-
hood density functions for each of the parameters of a two-
component LVG model for the northeast and southwest
CO emission peaks. We have also calculated likelihood
functions for a variety of physical quantities derived from
these parameters, such as the pressure and the beam-
averaged column density. These likelihood curves were used
to find median likelihood estimators and 95% confidence
intervals for the quantities of interest.
We have also developed a novel deconvolution
technique to compute line ratio maps when a high-quality,
1
Current address: Mail Stop 168-314, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800
Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099.
2
Current address: Cavendish Astrophysics, University of Cambridge,
Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
The Astrophysical Journal, 587:171–185, 2003 April 10
# 2003. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
171
high-resolution map is available for the denominator and
both maps are of the same species. This technique uses all
spatial and velocity information in both maps, and can
calculate the line ratio at a higher spatial resolution than the
numerator map. With this technique, information is not
thrown away, as with the common method of integrating
away the velocity information and smoothing the higher
resolution map before dividing.
2. OBSERVATIONS
All observations were performed at the Caltech Sub-
millimeter Observatory (CSO) in 1998 January and 1999
January using SIS receivers operating in double-sideband
mode. The
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 map was made in excellent
weather (
225 GHz
d0:04), with typical single-sideband
system temperatures (including the atmosphere) around
3000 K. The receiver consisted of a quasi-optical SIS mixer
with an integrated HEMT low noise amplifier (LNA); an
upgraded version of this receiver was described by Ward et
al. (2000). The use of a broadband tunerless receiver
reduces calibration errors associated with receiver sideband
imbalance. A pair of 1024 channel, 500 MHz acousto-
optical spectrometers were used as back ends. The chopping
secondary was switched at a 1 Hz rate with a 60
00
throw in
azimuth. Spectral intensities were calibrated on an ambient-
temperature chopper wheel and the sky periodically during
the observations. Beam maps of Saturn were used to deter-
mine the beam FWHP of approximately 14
00
, and the main
beam efficiency of 30%.
We do not have information about the error beam, which
would contain most of the missing power; as a result, we
are using a conservative estimate of 30% for the total
calibration uncertainty.
The map of M82 consists of 36 positions on 7>5 centers,
and covers 70
00
along the major axis of the galaxy and 50
00
along the minor axis (Fig. 1). At a distance of 3.6 Mpc
(Freedman et al. 1994), this corresponds to an area of
1200 880 pc mapped with a 250 pc FWHP beam. The
coordinates of the J ¼ 6–5 map were corrected for system-
atic pointing offsets by comparing line velocity structure to
12
CO J ¼ 2–1 and C
18
O J ¼ 1–0 Plateau de Bure Interfer-
ometer data cubes from Weiss et al. (2001), according to the
following procedure. A line connecting the antenna temper-
ature peaks of the bright hot spots on either side of the
dynamical center was found. This line was then drawn on
top of a contour map of line center velocity,
v
c
¼
R
T
A
vdv
R
T
A
dv
: ð1Þ
The contours of constant velocity crossed the line at nearly
right angles. A reference point was chosen where the line
connecting the hot spots crossed the 200 km s
1
velocity
contour. The coordinat es of the
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 map were
then adjusted to match the reference point to the coordi-
nates of a point found the same way in the interferometer
maps. The correction was 4>5 in right ascension and 7>2in
declination, for a total shift of about 0.6 of the FWHP
beam. This shift may have arisen because the telescope fixed
pointing offsets were not determined immediately preceding
the observations. The total pointing uncertainty is about 4
00
in each axis. Maps of integrated intensity and peak antenna
temperature are shown in Figures 2 and 3, respectively.
Position-velocity plots are shown in Figure 4.
Fig. 1.—Spectra of
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 in M82. The map has been rotated such that the horizontal offsets are approximately along the major axis. Offsets are in
arcsec from an arbitrary center. The vertical scale ranges from T
MB
of 1 to 4.5 K, and the horizontal scale ranges from 80 to 520 km s
1
.
172 WARD ET AL. Vol. 587
In addition to the
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 map, we have also
observed 17 positions of the
12
CO J ¼ 4–3 line, nine
positions of
12
CO J ¼ 3–2, and five positions of
13
CO
J ¼ 3–2, all with the CSO facility SIS receivers. Most of
these positions were observed as cuts along the major axis of
the galaxy. The beam sizes were 16>5, 24>4, and 25>5
FWHP at 461, 346, and 331 GHz, respectively, with corre-
sponding main beam efficiencies of 0.45, 0.50, and 0.50. The
CO J ¼ 3–2 observations were made with a 4 GHz wide-
band analog correlator spectrometer (WASP) similar to
that described by Harris & Zmuidzinas (2001). The
13
CO
J ¼ 3–2 spectra were scaled up by 14% to account for the
difference in atmospheric transmission in the two sidebands.
We also integrated on the
13
CO J ¼ 6–5 line for a single
Fig. 2.—Integrated intensity of
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 in M82. Contours are 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 K km s
1
.
Fig. 3.—Peak antenna temperature of
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 in M82. Contours are for T
MB
of 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 K.
No. 1, 2003
12
CO J = 6–5 MAP OF M82 173
pointing in 1998 January and 1999 January for a total of 96
minutes unde r conditions similar to those for the
12
CO
J ¼ 6–5 observations, but did not detect the line.
Zero-order baselines were subtracted from all reported
measurements except
12
CO J ¼ 4–3, which was corrected
for a first-order baseline, and all reported results (including
both the table s and the figures) are given on a main beam
brightness temperature scale (T
MB
).
3. RESULTS
Figure 2 shows two peaks in integrated intensity, the
southwest hot spot being stronger than the northeast. Com-
paring the integrated intensity to Figure 3, we see that the
two hot spots are much more distinct in peak antenna tem-
perature than in integrated intensity. This is due in part to a
spatial smearing effect caused by the antenna beam width
being comparable to the spacing between the hot spots, i.e.,
a14
00
FWHP beam compared to 19
00
peak separation in
Figure 3. The locations of the hot spots in the peak antenna
temperature plot are less affected by smearing, since the hot
spots differ in center velocity by 200 km s
1
.
Figure 5 shows the
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 integrated intensity
plotted over the
12
CO J ¼ 2–1 map from Weiss et al. (2001).
The hot spots in the CO J ¼ 6–5 map are closer together
than in the lower J map. This is consistent with the finding
of Mao et al. (2000) that the angular separation of the lobes
is smaller for a ‘‘ high CO excitation component ’’ than is
seen in the low-J CO lines. It can be seen in the figure that
the J ¼ 6–5 southwe st hot spot is located between the lower
J southwest and center hot spots. This suggests that the
southwest hot spot of the J ¼ 6–5 map includes unresolved
emission from both of these regions. The southwest hot spot
appears to be somewhat extended in the direction of the
minor axis in the J ¼ 6–5 map. It is unlikely that this shape
is real because it is not seen in any other published observa-
tions, including HCN J ¼ 1–0 (Brouillet & Schilke 1993)
and CO J ¼ 7–6 (Mao et al. 2000) maps. It is also unlikely
to be a calibration effect since the weather and receiver were
very stable during the observations. It is possible that the
telescope pointing drifted a few seconds of arc during the
observations, causing this artifact.
The total luminosity of the
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 line was found
to be 9:0 10
5
L
. This was calculated from the spatially
and spectrally integrated intensity of 2:8 10
5
Kkms
1
arcsec
2
after zeroth-order baseline subtraction, assuming
spherically symmetric emission and a distance of 3.6 Mpc.
The
13
CO J ¼ 6–5 line was not detected after 96 minutes
of integration time near the central pointing. The 3 upper
limit of the integrated intensity for a 14
00
beam calculated
from the rms channel noise is 7.9 K km s
1
. A reliable upper
limit may be somewhat larger, however, since uncertainties
in zeroth-order baseline subtraction and a small amount of
baseline ripple could dominate over the channel noise.
Nonetheless, with an implied J ¼ 6–5 antenna temperature
ratio of I(
12
CO)/I(
13
COÞe40, it is clear that
13
CO J ¼ 6–5
is very weak. Although
13
CO J ¼ 6–5 emission was not
detected, 450 lm continuum was observed at a level of
2:4 0:6Jybeam
1
. Thi s is consistent with the bolometer
value of 3.5 Jy beam
1
measured at the same location with a
narrower 9
00
FWHP beam by Hughes et al. (1994).
3.1. A
12
CO J ¼ 6 5/
12
CO J ¼ 2 1 Line Ratio Map
Figure 6 shows a map of the
12
CO J ¼ 6–5/
12
CO J ¼ 2–1
line ratio. The J ¼ 2–1 data were observed with the Plateau
de Bure Interferometer and include short-spa cing correc-
tions based on obs ervations with the IRAM 30 m telescope
(Weiss et al. 2001). The ratio map was calculated using a
Fig. 4.—Position-velocity diagram along the major axis of M82 for
12
CO J ¼ 4–3 and
12
CO J ¼ 6–5. The southwest hot spot peaks at different velocities in
the two transitions, and the overall velocity gradient is steeper in CO J ¼ 6–5. Note that the broad, lower intensity spectrum between the two hot spots explains
the difference in integrated intensity and peak temperature maps. The positions are offset from arbitrary centers along the major axis of the galaxy. Contours
are for T
MB
from 0.5 to 4 K in steps of 0.5 K.
174 WARD ET AL. Vol. 587
novel deconvolution technique that takes advantage of
velocity information in the J ¼ 6–5 map along with the high
spatial resolution of the J ¼ 2–1 map to improve the resolu-
tion and accuracy of the ratio map. A Lagrange multiplier
was used to set the relative weighting between minimizing
the resulting
2
and maximizing the smoothness of the
resulting ratio map. Details of the calculation are given in
the Appendix. It is immediately apparent that the brightness
temperature ratio is highest at the two integrated intensity
peaks, reaching 0.4 and 0.5 in the northeast and southwest
peaks, respectively, and is typically 0.2 elsewhere in the
nuclear region.
Fig. 5.—M82
12
CO J ¼ 6–5 integrated intensity contours superimposed on
12
CO J ¼ 2–1 integrated intensity from Weiss et al. (2001). Contours are 50,
100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, and 400 K km s
1
.
Fig. 6.—Deconvolved
12
CO J ¼ 6–5/
12
CO J ¼ 2–1 brightness temperature ratio map. Contours are from 0.1 to 0.45 by 0.05. The squares indicate the
locations of the J ¼ 6–5 intensity peaks, and the triangles the locations of the J ¼ 2–1 integrated intensity peaks.
No. 1, 2003
12
CO J = 6–5 MAP OF M82 175
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University of Colorado Boulder1, Jet Propulsion Laboratory2, McMaster University3, University of Manchester4, Ghent University5, Centre national de la recherche scientifique6, University of California, Irvine7, European Space Research and Technology Centre8, INAF9
30 Apr 2012-arXiv: Astrophysics of Galaxies
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used a radiative transfer code and Bayesian likelihood analysis to model the temperature, density, column density, and filling factor of multiple components of molecular gas traced by 12CO and 13CO, adding further evidence to the highJ lines tracing a much warmer (~ 500 K), less massive component than the low-J lines.
Abstract: We present new Herschel-SPIRE imaging spectroscopy (194-671 microns) of the bright starburst galaxy M82. Covering the CO ladder from J=4-3 to J=13-12, spectra were obtained at multiple positions for a fully sampled ~ 3 x 3 arcminute map, including a longer exposure at the central position. We present measurements of 12CO, 13CO, [CI], [NII], HCN, and HCO+ in emission, along with OH+, H2O+ and HF in absorption and H2O in both emission and absorption, with discussion. We use a radiative transfer code and Bayesian likelihood analysis to model the temperature, density, column density, and filling factor of multiple components of molecular gas traced by 12CO and 13CO, adding further evidence to the high-J lines tracing a much warmer (~ 500 K), less massive component than the low-J lines. The addition of 13CO (and [CI]) is new and indicates that [CI] may be tracing different gas than 12CO. No temperature/density gradients can be inferred from the map, indicating that the single-pointing spectrum is descriptive of the bulk properties of the galaxy. At such a high temperature, cooling is dominated by molecular hydrogen. Photon-dominated region (PDR) models require higher densities than those indicated by our Bayesian likelihood analysis in order to explain the high-J CO line ratios, though cosmic-ray enhanced PDR models can do a better job reproducing the emission at lower densities. Shocks and turbulent heating are likely required to explain the bright high-J emission.

64 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
ALMA view of a massive spheroid progenitor: a compact rotating core of molecular gas in an AGN host at z = 2.226

[...]

Margherita Talia1, Margherita Talia2, Francesca Pozzi2, Francesca Pozzi1, Livia Vallini3, Andrea Cimatti1, Andrea Cimatti2, Paolo Cassata4, Filippo Fraternali1, Filippo Fraternali5, Marcella Brusa2, Marcella Brusa1, Emanuele Daddi6, Ivan Delvecchio7, Edo Ibar4, Elisabetta Liuzzo2, C. Vignali1, Marcella Massardi2, G. Zamorani2, Carlotta Gruppioni2, Alvio Renzini2, M. Mignoli2, Lucia Pozzetti2, G. Rodighiero8 •
University of Bologna1, INAF2, Royal Institute of Technology3, Valparaiso University4, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute5, Paris Diderot University6, University of Zagreb7, University of Padua8
01 May 2018-Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented ALMA observations at 107.291 GHz (band 3) and 214.532 GHz(band 6) of GMASS 0953, a star-forming galaxy at z = 2.226 hosting an obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) that has been propo...
Abstract: We present ALMA observations at 107.291 GHz (band 3) and 214.532 GHz (band 6) of GMASS 0953, a star-forming galaxy at z = 2.226 hosting an obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) that has been propo ...

63 citations

References
More filters
Journal Article•DOI•
The relationship between carbon monoxide abundance and visual extinction in interstellar clouds.

[...]

Margaret A. Frerking, William D. Langer, Robert W. Wilson
15 Nov 1982-The Astrophysical Journal
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship of column density to extinction was established, and new determinations for (C-13)O column densities were given for a range of visual extinctions extended to beyond 20 mag.
Abstract: Carbon monoxide column densities are compared to visual extinctions toward field stars in the rho Oph and Taurus molecular cloud complexes. The relationship of C(0-18) column density to extinction is established, and new determinations for (C-13)O column densities are given for a range of visual extinctions extended to beyond 20 mag. A prescription for determining hydrogen column densities and masses of molecular clouds from observations of CO isotopes is presented and discussed critically. These measurements agree well with the predictions of gas phase chemistry models which include chemical fractionation and selective isotopic photodestruction. The functional dependence of the C(O-18) column density on extinction is characterized by two different regimes separated by a distinct transition observed to occur at 4 mag in both molecular cloud complexes, whereas the functional dependence of (C-13)O is quite different in the two regions. Some saturation is found to occur for C(O-18) emission at high visual extinction and use the rarer isotopic species C(O-17) and (C-13)(O-18) to correct for it.

1,072 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Far-Infrared and Submillimeter Emission from Galactic and Extragalactic Photodissociation Regions

[...]

Michael J. Kaufman1, Mark G. Wolfire2, David Hollenbach3, M. L. Luhman4•
San Jose State University1, University of Maryland, College Park2, Ames Research Center3, United States Naval Research Laboratory4
20 Dec 1999-The Astrophysical Journal
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of metallicity and cloud extinction on the predicted line intensities were examined for a wide range of physical conditions, from those appropriate to giant molecular clouds illuminated by the interstellar radiation field to the conditions experienced by circumstellar disks very close to hot massive stars.
Abstract: Photodissociation region (PDR) models are computed over a wide range of physical conditions, from those appropriate to giant molecular clouds illuminated by the interstellar radiation field to the conditions experienced by circumstellar disks very close to hot massive stars. These models use the most up-to-date values of atomic and molecular data, the most current chemical rate coefficients, and the newest grain photoelectric heating rates, which include treatments of small grains and large molecules. In addition, we examine the effects of metallicity and cloud extinction on the predicted line intensities. Results are presented for PDR models with densities over the range n = 101-107 cm-3 and for incident far-ultraviolet radiation fields over the range G0 = 10-0.5-106.5 (where G0 is the far-ultravioliet [FUV] flux in units of the local interstellar value), for metallicities Z = 1 and 0.1 times the local Galactic value, and for a range of PDR cloud sizes. We present line strength and/or line ratio plots for a variety of useful PDR diagnostics: [C II] 158 μm, [O I] 63 μm and 145 μm, [C I] 370 μm and 609 μm, CO J = 1-0, J = 2-1, J = 3-2, J = 6-5, and J = 15-14, as well as the strength of the far-infrared continuum. These plots will be useful for the interpretation of Galactic and extragalactic far-infrared and submillimeter spectra observable with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite, the Far Infrared and Submillimeter Telescope, and other orbital and suborbital platforms. As examples, we apply our results to ISO and ground-based observations of M82, NGC 278, and the Large Magellanic Cloud. Our comparison of the conditions in M82 and NGC 278 show that both the gas density and FUV flux are enhanced in the starburst nucleus of M82 compared with those in the normal spiral NGC 278. We model the high [C II]/CO ratio observed in the 30 Doradus region of the LMC and find that it can be explained either by lowering the average extinction through molecular clouds or by enhancing the density contrast between the atomic layers of PDRs and the CO-emitting cloud cores. The ratio L[CO]/M[H2] implied by the low extinction model gives cloud masses too high for gravitational stability. We therefore rule out low-extinction clouds as an explanation for the high [C II]/CO ratio and instead appeal to density contrast in AV = 10 clouds.

733 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
Far Infrared and Submillimeter Emission from Galactic and Extragalactic Photo-Dissociation Regions

[...]

Michael J. Kaufman, Mark G. Wolfire1, David Hollenbach2, M. L. Luhman3•
University of Maryland, College Park1, Ames Research Center2, United States Naval Research Laboratory3
19 Jul 1999-arXiv: Astrophysics
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of metallicity and cloud extinction on the predicted line intensities were examined for PDR models with densities over the range n=10^1-10^7 cm^-3.
Abstract: Photodissociation Region (PDR) models are computed over a wide range of physical conditions, from those appropriate to giant molecular clouds illuminated by the interstellar radiation field to the conditions experienced by circumstellar disks very close to hot massive stars. These models use the most up-to-date values of atomic and molecular data, the most current chemical rate coefficients, and the newest grain photoelectric heating rates which include treatments of small grains and large molecules. In addition, we examine the effects of metallicity and cloud extinction on the predicted line intensities. Results are presented for PDR models with densities over the range n=10^1-10^7 cm^-3 and for incident far-ultraviolet radiation fields over the range G_0=10^-0.5-10^6.5, for metallicities Z=1 and 0.1 times the local Galactic value, and for a range of PDR cloud sizes. We present line strength and/or line ratio plots for a variety of useful PDR diagnostics: [C II] 158 micron, [O I] 63 and 145 micron, [C I] 370 and 609 micron, CO J=1-0, J=2-1, J=3-2, J=6-5 and J=15-14, as well as the strength of the far-infrared continuum. These plots will be useful for the interpretation of Galactic and extragalactic far infrared and submillimeter spectra observable with ISO, SOFIA, SWAS, FIRST and other orbital and suborbital platforms. As examples, we apply our results to ISO and ground based observations of M82, NGC 278, and the Large Magellenic Cloud.

650 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
The Hubble Space Telescope Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project. 1: The discovery of Cepheids and a new distance to M81

[...]

Wendy L. Freedman, Shaun M. G. Hughes, Barry F. Madore, Jeremy Mould, Myung Gyoon Lee, Peter B. Stetson, Robert C. Kennicutt, Anne M. Turner, Laura Ferrarese, Holland C. Ford, John A. Graham, Robert S. Hill, John G. Hoessel, John P. Huchra, Garth D. Illingworth 
01 Jun 1994-The Astrophysical Journal
TL;DR: In this paper, the discovery of 30 new Cepheids in the nearby galaxy M81 based on observations using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was reported, based on 18 independent epochs using the HST wide-band F555W filter.
Abstract: We report on the discovery of 30 new Cepheids in the nearby galaxy M81 based on observations using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The periods of these Cepheids lie in the range of 10-55 days, based on 18 independent epochs using the HST wide-band F555W filter. The HST F555W and F785LP data have been transformed to the Cousins standard V and I magnitude system using a ground-based calibration. Apparent period-luminosity relations at V and I were constructed, from which apparent distance moduli were measured with respect to assumed values of mu(sub 0) = 18.50 mag and E(B - V) = 0.10 mag for the Large Magellanic Cloud. The difference in the apparent V and I moduli yields a measure of the difference in the total mean extinction between the M81 and the LMC Cepheid samples. A low total mean extinction to the M81 sample of E(B - V) = 0.03 +/- 0.05 mag is obtained. The true distance modulus to M81 is determined to be 27.80 +/- 0.20 mag, corresponding to a distance of 3.63 +/- 0.34 Mpc. These data illustrate that with an optimal (power-law) sampling strategy, the HST provides a powerful tool for the discovery of extragalactic Cepheids and their application to the distance scale. M81 is the first calibrating galaxy in the target sample of the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic Distance Scale, the ultimate aim of which is to provide a value of the Hubble constant to 10% accuracy.

606 citations

Journal Article•DOI•
The ratio of carbon monoxide to molecular hydrogen in interstellar dark clouds

[...]

Robert Laurence Dickman1•
The Aerospace Corporation1
01 Aug 1978-Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
TL;DR: In this paper, a roughly linear correlation is found between these two quantities for visual extinctions in the range from about 1.5 to 5 mag and it is argued that this correlation can be extended up to about 10 mag and that the standard gas-to-extinction ratio can be expected to remain valid in the sources studied.
Abstract: LTE (C-13)O column densities are compared with the corresponding values of beam-convolved visual extinction at more than 100 locations within 38 different interstellar dark clouds. A roughly linear correlation is found to exist between these two quantities for visual extinctions in the range from about 1.5 to 5 mag. It is argued that this correlation can be extended up to about 10 mag and that the standard gas-to-extinction ratio can be expected to remain valid in the sources studied. The correlation of LTE (C-13)O column density with visual extinction is used to obtain an equation for the H2 column density associated with a given (C-13)O column density. It is shown that if the clouds studied are assumed to be chemically homogeneous, the equation obtained implies that at least 12% of all gas-phase carbon is in the form of CO. Comparison of the observational data with various theories proposed for molecule formation in dark clouds indicates that Langer's (1977) ion-molecule scheme accounts well for the observations when the fractionation channel of Watson et al. (1976) is included.

439 citations

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01 Jun 2007-Astronomy and Astrophysics
F. F. S. van der Tak, F. F. S. van der Tak, John H. Black, Fredrik L. Schöier, D. J. Jansen, E. F. van Dishoeck 
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Diagnostics of irradiated dense gas in galaxy nuclei. II. A grid of XDR and PDR models

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01 Jan 2007-Astronomy and Astrophysics
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Frequently Asked Questions (1)
Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "A 12co j = 6–5 map of m82: the significance of warm molecular gas" ?

The authors present a 12CO J 1⁄4 6–5 map of the nuclear regions of the starburst galaxy M82 at a resolution of 1400 taken at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory ( CSO ). The authors compare their results with a high-resolution 12CO J 1⁄4 2–1 interferometer map, and present a 12CO J 1⁄4 6–5/12CO J 1⁄4 2–1 line ratio map obtained using a novel deconvolution technique. The authors also present measurements of 12CO J 1⁄4 4–3, 12CO J 1⁄4 3–2, and 13CO J 1⁄4 3–2, and an upper limit for 13CO J 1⁄4 6–5. The authors analyze these observations in the context of a two-component large velocity gradient ( LVG ) excitation model. The results of this analysis suggest that the warm gas is less dense than the cool gas, and that over half of the total molecular gasmass in these nuclear regions is warmer than 50K.