The physical characteristics of the gas in the disk of centaurus a using the Herschel Space Observatory

Parkin, T. J., Wilson, C. D., Schirm, M. R. P., Baes, M., Boquien, M., Boselli, A., Cormier, D., Galametz, M., Karczewski, O. ?., Lebouteiller, V., De Looze, I., Madden, S. C., Roussel, H., Smith, Matthew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3532-6970 and Spinoglio, L. 2014. The physical characteristics of the gas in the disk of centaurus a using the Herschel Space Observatory. Astrophysical Journal 787 (1) , 16. 10.1088/0004-637X/787/1/16

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Abstract

We search for variations in the disk of Centaurus A of the emission from atomic fine structure lines using Herschel PACS and SPIRE spectroscopy. In particular, we observe the [C II](158 μm), [N II](122 and 205 μm), [O I](63 and 145 μm), and [O III](88 μm) lines, which all play an important role in cooling the gas in photo-ionized and photodissociation regions (PDRs). We determine that the ([C II]+[O I]63)/F TIR line ratio, a proxy for the heating efficiency of the gas, shows no significant radial trend across the observed region, in contrast to observations of other nearby galaxies. We determine that 10%-20% of the observed [C II] emission originates in ionized gas. Comparison between our observations and a PDR model shows that the strength of the far-ultraviolet radiation field, G 0, varies between 101.75 and 102.75 and the hydrogen nucleus density varies between 102.75 and 103.75 cm–3, with no significant radial trend in either property. In the context of the emission line properties of the grand-design spiral galaxy M51 and the elliptical galaxy NGC 4125, the gas in Cen A appears more characteristic of that in typical disk galaxies rather than elliptical galaxies.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Publisher:	American Astronomical Society
ISSN:	0004-637X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	6 December 2017
Date of Acceptance:	1 April 2014
Last Modified:	05 May 2023 18:33
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/107363

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