Context.
Molecular gas is a necessary fuel for star formation. The CO (1−0) transition is often used to deduce the total molecular hydrogen but is challenging to detect in low-metallicity galaxies in ...spite of the star formation taking place. In contrast, the C
II
λ
158
μ
m is relatively bright, highlighting a potentially important reservoir of H
2
that is not traced by CO (1−0) but is residing in the C
+
-emitting regions.
Aims.
Here we aim to explore a method to quantify the total H
2
mass (
M
H
2
) in galaxies and to decipher what parameters control the CO-dark reservoir.
Methods.
We present Cloudy grids of density, radiation field, and metallicity in terms of observed quantities, such as O
I
, C
I
, CO (1−0), C
II
,
L
TIR
, and the total
M
H
2
. We provide recipes based on these models to derive total
M
H
2
mass estimates from observations. We apply the models to the
Herschel
Dwarf Galaxy Survey, extracting the total
M
H
2
for each galaxy, and compare this to the H
2
determined from the observed CO (1−0) line. This allows us to quantify the reservoir of H
2
that is CO-dark and traced by the C
II
λ
158
μ
m.
Results.
We demonstrate that while the H
2
traced by CO (1−0) can be negligible, the C
II
λ
158
μ
m can trace the total H
2
. We find 70 to 100% of the total H
2
mass is not traced by CO (1−0) in the dwarf galaxies, but is well-traced by C
II
λ
158
μ
m. The CO-dark gas mass fraction correlates with the observed
L
C
II
/
L
CO(1−0)
ratio. A conversion factor for C
II
λ
158
μ
m to total H
2
and a new CO-to-total-
M
H
2
conversion factor as a function of metallicity are presented.
Conclusions.
While low-metallicity galaxies may have a feeble molecular reservoir as surmised from CO observations, the presence of an important reservoir of molecular gas that is not detected by CO can exist. We suggest a general recipe to quantify the total mass of H
2
in galaxies, taking into account the CO and C
II
observations. Accounting for this CO-dark H
2
gas, we find that the star-forming dwarf galaxies now fall on the Schmidt–Kennicutt relation. Their star-forming efficiency is rather normal because the reservoir from which they form stars is now more massive when introducing the C
II
measures of the total H
2
compared to the small amount of H
2
in the CO-emitting region.
Context. Analyzing the properties of dust and its evolution in the early phases of star formation is crucial to put constraints on the collapse and accretion processes as well as on the pristine ...properties of planet-forming seeds. Aims. In this paper, we aim to investigate the variations of the dust grain size in the envelopes of the youngest protostars. Methods. We analyzed Plateau de Bure interferometric observations at 1.3 and 3.2 mm for 12 Class 0 protostars obtained as part of the CALYPSO survey. We performed our analysis in the visibility domain and derived dust emissivity index (β1−3mm) profiles as a function of the envelope radius at 200–2000 au scales. Results. Most of the protostellar envelopes show low dust emissivity indices decreasing toward the central regions. The decreasing trend remains after correction of the (potentially optically thick) central region emission, with surprisingly low β1−3mm < 1 values across most of the envelope radii of NGC 1333-IRAS 4A, NGC 1333-IRAS 4B, SVS13B, and Serpens-SMM4. Conclusions. We discuss the various processes that could explain such low and varying dust emissivity indices at envelope radii 200–2000 au. Our observations of extremely low dust emissivity indices could trace the presence of large (millimeter-size) grains in Class 0 envelopes, in which case our results would point to a radial increase of the dust grain size toward the inner envelope regions. While it is expected that large grains in young protostellar envelopes could be built via grain growth and coagulation, we stress that the typical timescales required to build millimeter grains in current coagulation models are at odds with the youth of our Class 0 protostars. Additional variations in the dust composition could also partly contribute to the low β1−3mm we observe. We find that the steepness of the β1−3mm radial gradient depends strongly on the envelope mass, which might favor a scenario in which large grains are built in high-density protostellar disks and transported to the intermediate envelope radii, for example with the help of outflows and winds.
Aims. The goal of this paper is to analyse the behaviour of the gas-to-dust mass ratio (G/D) of local Universe galaxies over a wide metallicity range. We especially focus on the low-metallicity part ...of the G/D vs metallicity relation and investigate several explanations for the observed relation and scatter. Methods. We assembled a total of 126 galaxies, covering a 2 dex metallicity range and with 30% of the sample with 12 + log(O/H)≤ 8.0. We homogeneously determined the dust masses with a semi-empirical dust model including submm constraints. The atomic and molecular gas masses have been compiled from the literature. We used two XCO scenarios to estimate the molecular gas mass: the Galactic conversion factor, XCO,MW, and a XCO that depends on the metallicity XCO,Z (∝Z-2). We modelled the observed trend of the G/D with metallicity using two simple power laws (slope of –1 and free) and a broken power law. Correlations with morphological type, stellar masses, star formation rates, and specific star formation rates are also discussed. We then compared the observed evolution of the G/D with predictions from several chemical evolution models and explored different physical explanations for the observed scatter in the G/D values. Results. We find that out of the five tested galactic parameters, metallicity is the main physical property of the galaxy driving the observed G/D. The G/D versus metallicity relation cannot be represented by a single power law with a slope of –1 over the whole metallicity range. The observed trend is steeper for metallicities lower than ~8.0. A large scatter is observed in the G/D values for a given metallicity: in metallicity bins of ~0.1 dex, the dispersion around the mean value is ~0.37 dex. On average, the broken power law reproduces the observed G/D best compared to the two power laws (slope of –1 or free) and provides estimates of the G/D that are accurate to a factor of 1.6. The good agreement of observed values of the G/D and its scatter with respect to metallicity with the predicted values of the three tested chemical evolution models allows us to infer that the scatter in the relation is intrinsic to galactic properties, reflecting the different star formation histories, dust destruction efficiencies, dust grain size distributions, and chemical compositions across the sample. Conclusions. Our results show that the chemical evolution of low-metallicity galaxies, traced by their G/D, strongly depends on their local internal conditions and individual histories. The large scatter in the observed G/D at a given metallicity reflects the impact of various processes occurring during the evolution of a galaxy. Despite the numerous degeneracies affecting them, disentangling these various processes is now the next step.
Context.
Understanding the initial properties of star forming material and how they affect the star formation process is a key question. The infalling gas must redistribute most of its initial ...angular momentum inherited from prestellar cores before reaching the central stellar embryo. Disk formation has been naturally considered as a possible solution to this “angular momentum problem”. However, how the initial angular momentum of protostellar cores is distributed and evolves during the main accretion phase and the beginning of disk formation has largely remained unconstrained up to now.
Aims.
In the framework of the IRAM CALYPSO survey, we obtained observations of the dense gas kinematics that we used to quantify the amount and distribution of specific angular momentum at all scales in collapsing-rotating Class 0 protostellar envelopes.
Methods.
We used the high dynamic range C
18
O (2−1) and N
2
H
+
(1−0) datasets to produce centroid velocity maps and probe the rotational motions in the sample of 12 envelopes from scales ~50 to ~5000 au.
Results.
We identify differential rotation motions at scales ≲1600 au in 11 out of the 12 protostellar envelopes of our sample by measuring the velocity gradient along the equatorial axis, which we fit with a power-law model v ∝
r
α
. This suggests that coherent motions dominate the kinematics in the inner protostellar envelopes. The radial distributions of specific angular momentum in the CALYPSO sample suggest the following two distinct regimes within protostellar envelopes: the specific angular momentum decreases as
j
∝
r
1.6±0.2
down to ~1600 au and then tends to become relatively constant around ~6 × 10
−4
km s
−1
pc down to ~50 au.
Conclusions.
The values of specific angular momentum measured in the inner Class 0 envelopes suggest that material directly involved in the star formation process (<1600 au) has a specific angular momentum on the same order of magnitude as what is inferred in small T-Tauri disks. Thus, disk formation appears to be a direct consequence of angular momentum conservation during the collapse. Our analysis reveals a dispersion of the directions of velocity gradients at envelope scales >1600 au, suggesting that these gradients may not be directly related to rotational motions of the envelopes. We conclude that the specific angular momentum observed at these scales could find its origin in other mechanisms, such as core-forming motions (infall, turbulence), or trace an imprint of the initial conditions for the formation of protostellar cores.
Aims. The purpose of this work is the characterization of the radial distribution of dust, stars, gas, and star-formation rate (SFR) in a sub-sample of 18 face-on spiral galaxies extracted from the ...DustPedia sample. Methods. This study is performed by exploiting the multi-wavelength DustPedia database, from ultraviolet (UV) to sub-millimeter bands, in addition to molecular (12CO) and atomic (Hi) gas maps and metallicity abundance information available in the literature. We fitted the surface-brightness profiles of the tracers of dust and stars, the mass surface-density profiles of dust, stars, molecular gas, and total gas, and the SFR surface-density profiles with an exponential curve and derived their scale-lengths. We also developed a method to solve for the CO-to-H2 conversion factor (αCO) per galaxy by using dust- and gas-mass profiles. Results. Although each galaxy has its own peculiar behavior, we identified a common trend of the exponential scale-lengths versus wavelength. On average, the scale-lengths normalized to the B-band 25 mag/arcsec2 radius decrease from UV to 70 μm, from 0.4 to 0.2, and then increase back up to ~0.3 at 500 microns. The main result is that, on average, the dust-mass surface-density scale-length is about 1.8 times the stellar one derived from IRAC data and the 3.6 μm surface brightness, and close to that in the UV. We found a mild dependence of the scale-lengths on the Hubble stage T: the scale-lengths of the Herschel bands and the 3.6 μm scale-length tend to increase from earlier to later types, the scale-length at 70 μm tends to be smaller than that at longer sub-mm wavelength with ratios between longer sub-mm wavelengths and 70 μm that decrease with increasing T. The scale-length ratio of SFR and stars shows a weak increasing trend towards later types. Our αCO determinations are in the range (0.3−9) M⊙ pc-2 (K km s-1)-1, almost invariant by using a fixed dust-to-gas ratio mass (DGR) or a DGR depending on metallicity gradient.
We study the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the radio continuum (RC) emission from the Key Insight in Nearby Galaxies Emitting in Radio (KINGFISHER) sample of nearby galaxies to understand the ...energetics and origin of this emission. Effelsberg multi-wavelength observations at 1.4, 4.8, 8.4, and 10.5 GHz combined with archive data allow us, for the first time, to determine the mid-RC (1-10 GHz, MRC) bolometric luminosities and further present calibration relations versus the monochromatic radio luminosities. The 1-10 GHz radio SED is fitted using a Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique leading to measurements for the nonthermal spectral index ( ) and the thermal fraction ( ) with mean values of for the total spectral index) and = (10 9)% at 1.4 GHz. The MRC luminosity changes over ∼3 orders of magnitude in the sample, MRC . The thermal emission is responsible for ∼23% of the MRC on average. We also compare the extinction-corrected diagnostics of the star-formation rate (SFR) with the thermal and nonthermal radio tracers and derive the first star-formation calibration relations using the MRC radio luminosity. The nonthermal spectral index flattens with increasing SFR surface density, indicating the effect of the star-formation feedback on the cosmic-ray electron population in galaxies. Comparing the radio and IR SEDs, we find that the FIR-to-MRC ratio could decrease with SFR, due to the amplification of the magnetic fields in star-forming regions. This particularly implies a decrease in the ratio at high redshifts, where mostly luminous/star-forming galaxies are detected.
Aims. The DustPedia project is capitalising on the legacy of the Herschel Space Observatory, using cutting-edge modelling techniques to study dust in the 875 DustPedia galaxies – representing the ...vast majority of extended galaxies within 3000 km s-1 that were observed by Herschel. This work requires a database of multiwavelength imagery and photometry that greatly exceeds the scope (in terms of wavelength coverage and number of galaxies) of any previous local-Universe survey. Methods. We constructed a database containing our own custom Herschel reductions, along with standardised archival observations from GALEX, SDSS, DSS, 2MASS, WISE, Spitzer, and Planck. Using these data, we performed consistent aperture-matched photometry, which we combined with external supplementary photometry from IRAS and Planck. Results. We present our multiwavelength imagery and photometry across 42 UV-microwave bands for the 875 DustPedia galaxies. Our aperture-matched photometry, combined with the external supplementary photometry, represents a total of 21 857 photometric measurements. A typical DustPedia galaxy has multiwavelength photometry spanning 25 bands. We also present the Comprehensive & Adaptable Aperture Photometry Routine (CAAPR), the pipeline we developed to carry out our aperture-matched photometry. CAAPR is designed to produce consistent photometry for the enormous range of galaxy and observation types in our data. In particular, CAAPR is able to determine robust cross-compatible uncertainties, thanks to a novel method for reliably extrapolating the aperture noise for observations that cover a very limited amount of background. Our rich database of imagery and photometry is being made available to the community.
The C ii 158 m fine-structure line is the brightest emission line observed in local star-forming galaxies. As a major coolant of the gas-phase interstellar medium, C ii balances the heating, ...including that due to far-ultraviolet photons, which heat the gas via the photoelectric effect. However, the origin of C ii emission remains unclear because C+ can be found in multiple phases of the interstellar medium. Here we measure the fractions of C ii emission originating in the ionized and neutral gas phases of a sample of nearby galaxies. We use the N ii 205 m fine-structure line to trace the ionized medium, thereby eliminating the strong density dependence that exists in the ratio of C ii/N ii 122 m. Using the FIR C ii and N ii emission detected by the KINGFISH (Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: a Far- Infrared Survey with Herschel) and Beyond the Peak Herschel programs, we show that 60%-80% of C ii emission originates from neutral gas. We find that the fraction of C ii originating in the neutral medium has a weak dependence on dust temperature and the surface density of star formation, and has a stronger dependence on the gas-phase metallicity. In metal-rich environments, the relatively cooler ionized gas makes substantially larger contributions to total C ii emission than at low abundance, contrary to prior expectations. Approximate calibrations of this metallicity trend are provided.
Interstellar dust and starlight are modeled for the galaxies of the project "Key Insights on Nearby Galaxies: A Far-Infrared Survey with Herschel." The galaxies were observed by the Infrared Array ...Camera and the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer on Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer and the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver on Herschel Space Observatory. With data from 3.6 to 500 m, dust models are strongly constrained. Using a physical dust model, for each pixel in each galaxy we estimate (1) dust surface density, (2) dust mass fraction in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), (3) distribution of starlight intensities heating the dust, (4) total infrared (IR) luminosity emitted by the dust, and (5) IR luminosity originating in subregions with high starlight intensity. The dust models successfully reproduce the observed global and resolved spectral energy distributions. With the angular resolution of Herschel, we obtain well-resolved maps (available online) for the dust properties. As in previous studies, we find the PAH fraction to be an increasing function of metallicity, with a threshold oxygen abundance Z/Z 0.1, but we find the data to be fitted best with increasing linearly with above a threshold value of 0.15(O/H) . We obtain total dust masses for each galaxy by summing the dust mass over the individual map pixels; these "resolved" dust masses are consistent with the masses inferred from a model fit to the global photometry. The global dust-to-gas ratios obtained from this study are found to correlate with galaxy metallicities. Systems with Z/Z 0.5 have most of their refractory elements locked up in dust, whereas in systems with Z/Z 0.3 most of these elements tend to remain in the gas phase. Within galaxies, we find that is suppressed in regions with unusually warm dust with . With knowledge of one long-wavelength flux density ratio (e.g., f160/f500), the minimum starlight intensity heating the dust ( ) can be estimated to within ∼50%, despite a variation in of more than two orders of magnitude. For the adopted dust model, dust masses can be estimated to within ∼0.2 dex accuracy using the f160/f500 flux ratio and the integrated dust luminosity, and to ∼0.07 dex accuracy using the 500 m luminosity alone. There are additional systematic errors arising from the choice of dust model, but these are hard to estimate. These calibrated prescriptions for estimating starlight heating intensity and dust mass may be useful for studies of high-redshift galaxies.
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