1. AHerschel/PACS Far-infrared Line Emission Survey of Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies
- Author
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L. Barcos-Muñoz, Kirsten L. Larson, David B. Sanders, Lee Armus, Kazushi Iwasawa, Hanae Inami, Joseph M. Mazzarella, Sangeeta Malhotra, Aaron S. Evans, P. N. Appleton, S. Stierwalt, Nanyao Lu, G. Stacey, Steven D. Lord, Vassilis Charmandaris, Jason Surace, Tanio Díaz-Santos, George C. Privon, Justin Howell, P. van der Werf, Paul F. Goldsmith, Sean T. Linden, Eric J. Murphy, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Universitat de Barcelona
- Subjects
Electron density ,Infrared ,Star (game theory) ,FOS: Physical sciences ,galaxies: starburst ,Astrophysics ,01 natural sciences ,infrared: galaxies ,Luminosity ,Far infrared ,Infrared astronomy ,0103 physical sciences ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Astronomia infraroja ,Line (formation) ,Physics ,Luminous infrared galaxy ,010308 nuclear & particles physics ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies ,Galaxy ,Galaxies evolution ,[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] ,Space and Planetary Science ,Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ,Evolució de les galàxies ,galaxies: nuclei ,galaxies: evolution ,galaxies: ISM - Abstract
We present an analysis of [OI]63, [OIII]88, [NII]122 and [CII]158 far-infrared (FIR) fine-structure line observations obtained with Herschel/PACS, for ~240 local luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). We find pronounced declines -deficits- of line-to-FIR-continuum emission for [NII]122, [OI]63 and [CII]158 as a function of FIR color and infrared luminosity surface density, $\Sigma_{\rm IR}$. The median electron density of the ionized gas in LIRGs, based on the [NII]122/[NII]205 ratio, is $n_{\rm e}$ = 41 cm$^{-3}$. We find that the dispersion in the [CII]158 deficit of LIRGs is attributed to a varying fractional contribution of photo-dissociation-regions (PDRs) to the observed [CII]158 emission, f([CII]PDR) = [CII]PDR/[CII], which increases from ~60% to ~95% in the warmest LIRGs. The [OI]63/[CII]158PDR ratio is tightly correlated with the PDR gas kinetic temperature in sources where [OI]63 is not optically-thick or self-absorbed. For each galaxy, we derive the average PDR hydrogen density, $n_{\rm H}$, and intensity of the interstellar radiation field, in units of G$_0$, and find G$_0$/$n_{\rm H}$ ratios ~0.1-50 cm$^3$, with ULIRGs populating the upper end of the distribution. There is a relation between G$_0$/$n_{\rm H}$ and $\Sigma_{\rm IR}$, showing a critical break at $\Sigma_{\rm IR}^{\star}$ ~ 5 x 10$^{10}$ Lsun/kpc$^2$. Below $\Sigma_{\rm IR}^{\star}$, G$_0$/$n_{\rm H}$ remains constant, ~0.32 cm$^3$, and variations in $\Sigma_{\rm IR}$ are driven by the number density of star-forming regions within a galaxy, with no change in their PDR properties. Above $\Sigma_{\rm IR}^{\star}$, G$_0$/$n_{\rm H}$ increases rapidly with $\Sigma_{\rm IR}$, signaling a departure from the typical PDR conditions found in normal star-forming galaxies towards more intense/harder radiation fields and compact geometries typical of starbursting sources., Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to ApJ, including 2nd round of referee comments. Data tables can be found at: http://goals.ipac.caltech.edu/ and will also appear on the electronic version of the journal
- Published
- 2017