First extragalactic detection of submillimeter CH rotational lines from the Herschel space observatory
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, 1255 38th street, Boulder, CO 80303 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M1 (Canada)
- Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, INAF, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma (Italy)
We present the first extragalactic detections of several CH rotational transitions in the far-infrared in four nearby galaxies, NGC 1068, Arp 220, M82, and NGC 253, using the Herschel Space Observatory. The CH lines in all four galaxies are a factor of 2-4 brighter than the adjacent HCN and HCO{sup +} J = 6-5 lines (also detected in the same spectra). In the star-formation-dominated galaxies, M82, NGC 253, and Arp 220, the CH/CO abundance ratio is low (∼10{sup –5}), implying that the CH is primarily arising in diffuse and translucent gas where the chemistry is driven by UV radiation as found in the Milky Way interstellar matter. In NGC 1068, which has a luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN), the CH/CO ratio is an order of magnitude higher, suggesting that CH formation is driven by an X-ray-dominated region (XDR). Our XDR models show that both the CH and CO abundances in NGC 1068 can be explained by an XDR-driven chemistry for gas densities and molecular hydrogen column densities that are well constrained by the CO observations. We conclude that the CH/CO ratio may a good indicator of the presence of AGN in galaxies. We also discuss the feasibility of detecting CH in intermediate- to high-z galaxies with ALMA.
- OSTI ID:
- 22356575
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 788, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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