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High-J CO Intensity Measurements for Galaxies Observed by the Herschel FTS

Part of: IAU Issue 315 - From Interstellar Clouds...

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2016

Julia Kamenetzky ,
Naseem Rangwala ,
Jason Glenn ,
Philip Maloney  and
Alex Conley
Julia Kamenetzky
Affiliation:
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S. email: jkamenetzky@as.arizona.edu
Naseem Rangwala
Affiliation:
NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, U.S.
Jason Glenn
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, U.S.
Philip Maloney
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, U.S.
Alex Conley
Affiliation:
Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, U.S.
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Abstract

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Molecular gas is the raw material for star formation and is commonly traced by the carbon monoxide (CO) molecule. The atmosphere blocks all but the lowest-J transitions of CO for observatories on the ground, but the launch of the Herschel Space Observatory revealed the CO emission of nearby galaxies from J = 4−3 to J = 13−12. Herschel showed that mid- and high-J CO lines in nearby galaxies are emitted from warm gas, accounting for approximately 10% of the molecular mass, but the majority of the CO luminosity. The energy budget of this warm, highly-excited gas is a significant window into the feedback interactions among molecular gas, star formation, and galaxy evolution. Likely, mechanical heating is required to explain the excitation. Such gas has also been observed in star forming regions within our galaxy.

We have examined all ~300 spectra of galaxies from the Herschel Fourier Transform Spectrometer and measured line fluxes or upper limits for the CO J = 4−3 to J = 13−12, [CI], and [NII] 205 micron lines in ~200 galaxies, taking systematic effects of the FTS into account. We will present our line fitting method, illustrate trends available so far in this large sample, and preview the full 2-component radiative transfer likelihood modeling of the CO emission using an illustrative sample of 20 galaxies, including comparisons to well-resolved galactic regions. This work is a comprehensive study of mid- and high-J CO emission among a variety of galaxy types, and can be used as a resource for future (sub)millimeter studies of galaxies with ground-based instruments.

Keywords

galaxies: ISM–ISM: molecules–submillimeter
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 11 , Symposium S315: From Interstellar Clouds to Star-Forming Galaxies: Universal Processes? , August 2015 , pp. 26 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016 

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