Interstellar Medium In Nearby Galaxies Research Articles

The Interstellar Dust Properties of Nearby Galaxies

This article gives an overview of the constitution, physical conditions, and observables of dust in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies. We first review the macroscopic, spatial distribution of dust in these objects and its consequences for our ability to study grain physics. We also discuss the possibility of using dust tracers as diagnostic tools. We then survey the current understanding of the microscopic, intrinsic properties of dust in different environments, derived from different observables: emission, extinction, polarization, and depletions, over the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Finally, we summarize the clues about grain evolution, evidenced either on local scales or over cosmic time. We put in perspective the different evolution scenarios. We attempt a comprehensive presentation of the main observational constraints, analysis methods, and modeling frameworks of the distinct processes. We discuss neither the dust properties of the Milky Way and distant galaxies, nor circumstellar or active galactic nucleus torus dust.

Early Science Results From the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Space Observatory

The Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared (HIFI) on the Herschel Space Observatory covers 480 to 1250 GHz and 1410 to 1910 GHz for high spectral resolution astronomical spectroscopy. Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009, and following cooldown and commissioning, HIFI has been used along with the other two focal plane instruments for a wide variety of astronomical observations. These have ranged from studies of the structure of the interstellar medium in nearby galaxies to detailed studies of the chemistry in star-forming regions of the Milky Way. Observations of the solar system have yielded new results about water in comets and its relationship to the Earth's oceans. In this paper, following a brief review of the instrument and its performance, we give an overview of the most important HIFI discoveries to date. This is necessarily very selective, but is intended to give a hint of the results obtained with this instrument that has really opened submillimeter wavelengths for high-sensitivity/high-resolution spectroscopy.

3D Spectroscopic Surveys of Late-Type Nearby Galaxies in the Optical

AbstractTwo classes of spectro-imagers are available, the first one, usually based on grisms, allows to cover intermediate fields of view and wide spectral ranges (decreasing when the spectral resolution increases) while the second one, usually based on tunable filters (like Fabry-Perot), is generally able to cover larger fields of view but on narrow spectral ranges (also depending on the spectral resolution). Both families of instrument have access to low or high spectral resolution and are used in seeing limited conditions for observing nearby galaxies. Spectro-imagers provide data cubes consisting of a spectrum for each spatial sample on the sky. From these spectra, using both emission and absorption lines, combined with the continuum emission, the history of the stars and the interstellar medium in nearby galaxies, encoded in different physical quantities, such as chemical abundances, kinematics properties, is deciphered. Only a few surveys of galaxies using spectro-imagers have been led up to now and mainly using 4-m class or smaller telescopes. This includes the case of nearby late-type galaxies surveyed in the optical. Two large surveys of some 600 galaxies each have just been launched, one on the Magellan 6m telescope (CGS) and the other one on the William Herschel 4.2m telescope (CALIFA). Surveys containing a smaller number of galaxies have been conducted elsewhere, for instance on the WIYN and Calar Alto 3.5m telescopes (the DiskMass survey, 146 galaxies); on the ESO and CFHT 3.6m telescopes (CIGALE, 269 galaxies); on the OHP 1.92m telescope (GHASP, 203 galaxies); on the mont Mégantic 1.6m telescope (107 galaxies) and on the San Pedro Mártir 2.1m telescope (79 galaxies). Other programs surveying less then 50 galaxies have been also led, like VENGA, SAURON, PINGS or GHaFaS. The scientific drivers of these surveys are broad, they span from the study of the structural properties, star formation histories, AGN content, to mass profiles and uncertainties in rotation-curve decompositions, nature and formation of bulges and disks components.

Design Overview and Performance of the WIYN11The WIYN Observatory is a joint facility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. High Resolution Infrared Camera (WHIRC)

ABSTRACTWe present the design overview and on-telescope performance of the WIYN High Resolution Infrared Camera (WHIRC). As a dedicated near-infrared (0.8–2.5 μm) camera on the WIYN Tip-Tilt Module (WTTM) port, WHIRC can provide near-diffraction-limited imaging with an FWHM of ∼0.25′′ at Ks with active WTTM correction and does deliver typical imaging with an FWHM of ∼0.6′′ without WTTM. WHIRC uses a 2048 × 2048 HgCdTe array from Raytheon’s VIRGO line, which has been developed for the VISTA project. The WHIRC filter complement includes J, H, Ks, and 10 narrowband filters. WHIRC’s compact design makes it the smallest near-infrared camera with this capability. We determine a gain of 3.3 ± 0.2 e- ADU-1 via a photon transfer analysis and a readout noise of ∼19 e-. A measured dark current of 0.13 e- s-1 indicates that the cryostat is extremely light tight. A plate scale of 0.099′′ × 0.10′′ pixel-1 results in a field of view (FOV) of 3.3′ × 3.4′, which is a compromise between the highest angular resolution achievable and the largest FOV correctable by WTTM. Measured throughput values (∼0.27 ± 0.02 in H band) are consistent with those predicted for WHIRC based on an analysis of individual optical elements and detector quantum efficiency (QE). WHIRC’s photometric quality is better than ∼0.02 magnitudes in all bands. WHIRC is a general use instrument at the WIYN telescope enabling high-definition near-infrared imaging studies of a wide range of astronomical phenomena including star formation regions, stellar populations, and interstellar medium in nearby galaxies, high- z galaxies, and transient phenomena.

High-resolution molecular line observations of active galaxies

The study of the content, distribution and kinematics of interstellar gas is a key to understand the origin and maintenance of both starburst and nuclear (AGN) activity in galaxies. The processes involved in AGN fueling encompass a wide range of scales, both spatial and temporal, which have to be studied. Probing the gas flow from the outer disk down to the central engine of an AGN host, requires the use of specific tracers of the interstellar medium adapted to follow the change of phase of the gas as a function of radius. Current mm-interferometers can provide a sharp view of the distribution and kinematics of molecular gas in the circumnuclear disks of galaxies through extensive CO line mapping. As such, CO maps are an essential tool to study AGN feeding mechanisms in the local universe. This is the scientific driver of the NUclei of GAlaxies (NUGA) survey, whose latest results are here reviewed. On the other hand, the use of specific molecular tracers of the dense gas phase can probe the feedback influence of activity on the chemistry and energy balance/redistribution in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies. Millimeter interferometers are able to unveil the strong chemical differentiation present in the molecular gas disks of nearby starbursts and AGNs. Nearby active galaxies can be used as local templates to address the study of more distant galaxies where both star formation and AGN activity are deeply embedded.

Probing the feeding and feedback of activity near and far

High-resolution CO maps are an essential tool to search for observational evidence of AGN fueling in galaxy nuclei. While their capabilities will be surpassed by ALMA, current mm-interferometers can already provide relevant information on scales which are critical for the process of angular momentum transfer in fueling the AGN. In this context we present the latest results issued from the NUclei of GAlaxies (NUGA) project, a high-resolution (0.5′′–1′′) CO survey of low luminosity AGNs conducted with the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer (PdBI). The use of more specific molecular tracers of dense gas can probe the feedback influence of activity on the chemistry and energy balance in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies, a prerequisite to understanding how feedback operate at higher redshift galaxies. We discuss the results obtained in an ongoing study devoted to probe the feedback of activity from nearby Seyferts to high-redshift QSO.

Observations of supershells in the interstellar medium of nearby galaxies

AbstractHI observations at sufficiently high spatial and velocity resolution have revealed a wealth of structures such as shells and bubbles in the ISM of late–type galaxies. These structures are filled with metal–enriched, coronal gas from SNe which, through overpressure, powers their expansion. Material swept up by these expanding shells can go “critical” and form subsequent (secondary or propagating) star formation. Shells that grow larger than the thickness of the gas layer will blow out of the disk, spilling enriched material into the halo (or in the case of violent starbursts, the Intergalactic Medium). We review what has been achieved to date and present some first results of a major project based on THINGS (The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey), which aims to extend studies of the ISM in galaxies to 34 nearby systems (<10 Mpc), all observed to the same exacting standards (resolution 6″ × 5 km s−1, or better; typical detection threshold of ~5 × 1019 atom cm−2).

Global physical conditions of the interstellar medium in nearby galaxies

Far-infrared spectra (43-197um) of 34 nearby galaxies obtained by the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) were analyzed to investigate the general properties of interstellar matter in galaxies. The line fluxes of [CII]158um and [NII]122um relative to the total far-infrared flux (FIR) decrease as the far-infrared color becomes bluer, while the ratio of the [OI]63um flux to FIR does not show a systematic trend with the color. The [OIII]88um to FIR ratio shows a large scatter with a weak trend of increase with the color. We estimate the physical conditions of photodissociation regions (PDRs) in the sample galaxies, such as the far-ultraviolet radiation field intensity Go and the gas density n by assuming that all the observed [OI]63um and far-infrared continuum emissions come from PDRs. The present analysis suggests that the decrease in [CII]158um/FIR with the far-infrared color may not be accounted for by the decrease in the photoelectric heating efficiency owing to the increase in positive charges of dust grains because a measure of the efficiency, Go/n, is found to stay constant with the far-infrared color. Instead the decrease can be interpreted in terms of either the increase in the collisional de-excitation of the [CII] transition due to the increase in the gas density or the decrease in the ionized component relative to the far-infrared intensity suggested by the decrease in [NII]122um/FIR. Based on the present analysis, we derive average relations of the far-infrared color with Go and n in galaxies, which can be applied to the investigation of interstellar matter in distant galaxies.