Detection of the 13CO J = 6→ 5 transition in the Starburst Galaxy NGC 253

Hailey-Dunsheath, S., Nikola, T., Stacey, G. J., Oberst, T. E., Parshley, S. C., Bradford, C. M., Ade, Peter A.R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5127-0401 and Tucker, Carole Elizabeth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1851-3918 2008. Detection of the 13CO J = 6→ 5 transition in the Starburst Galaxy NGC 253. Astrophysical Journal 689 (2) , L109. 10.1086/595840

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Abstract

We report the detection of 13CO J = 6→ 5 emission from the nucleus of the starburst galaxy NGC 253 with the redshift (z) and Early Universe Spectrometer (ZEUS), a new submillimeter grating spectrometer. This is the first extragalactic detection of the 13CO J = 6→ 5 transition, which traces warm, dense molecular gas. We employ a multiline LVG analysis and find 35%-60% of the molecular interstellar medium is both warm (T ~ 110 K) and dense (nH2 ~ 104 cm−3). We analyze the potential heat sources and conclude that ultraviolet and X-ray photons are unlikely to be energetically important. Instead, the molecular gas is most likely heated by an elevated density of cosmic rays or by the decay of supersonic turbulence through shocks. If the cosmic rays and turbulence are created by stellar feedback within the starburst, then our analysis suggests the starburst may be self-limiting.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Physics and Astronomy
Subjects:	Q Science > QB Astronomy
Uncontrolled Keywords:	galaxies: individual (NGC 253); galaxies: ISM; galaxies: nuclei; galaxies: starburst; ISM: molecules; submillimeter
Publisher:	Institute of Physics
ISSN:	0004-637X
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2022 09:25
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/31923

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