No Arabic abstract
We present the first 7.5x11.5 velocity-resolved map of the [CII]158um line toward the Orion molecular cloud-1 (OMC-1) taken with the Herschel/HIFI instrument. In combination with far-infrared (FIR) photometric images and velocity-resolved maps of the H41alpha hydrogen recombination and CO J=2-1 lines, this data set provides an unprecedented view of the intricate small-scale kinematics of the ionized/PDR/molecular gas interfaces and of the radiative feedback from massive stars. The main contribution to the [CII] luminosity (~85%) is from the extended, FUV-illuminated face of the cloud G_0>500, n_H>5x10^3 cm^-3) and from dense PDRs (G_0~10^4, n_H~10^5 cm^-3) at the interface between OMC-1 and the HII region surrounding the Trapezium cluster. Around 15% of the [CII] emission arises from a different gas component without CO counterpart. The [CII] excitation, PDR gas turbulence, line opacity (from [13CII]) and role of the geometry of the illuminating stars with respect to the cloud are investigated. We construct maps of the [CII]/FIR and FIR/M_Gas ratios and show that [CII]/FIR decreases from the extended cloud component (10^-2-10^-3) to the more opaque star-forming cores (10^-3-10^-4). The lowest values are reminiscent of the [CII] deficit seen in local ultra-luminous IR galaxies hosting vigorous star formation. Spatial correlation analysis shows that the decreasing [CII]/FIR ratio correlates better with the column density of dust through the molecular cloud than with FIR/M_Gas. We conclude that the [CII] emitting column relative to the total dust column along each line of sight is responsible for the observed [CII]/FIR variations through the cloud.
Context. The [CII] 158micron far-infrared fine-structure line is one of the dominant cooling lines of the star-forming interstellar medium (ISM). Hence [CII] emission originates in and thus can be used to trace a range of ISM processes. Velocity-resolved large-scale mapping of [CII] in star-forming regions provides a unique perspective of the kinematics of these regions and their interactions with the exciting source of radiation. Aims. We explore the scientific applications of large-scale mapping of velocity-resolved [CII] observations. With the [CII] observations, we investigate the effect of stellar feedback on the ISM. We present the details of observation, calibration, and data reduction using a heterodyne array receiver mounted on an airborne observatory. Results. A square-degree [CII] map with a spectral resolution of 0.3 km/s is presented. The scientific potential of this data is summarized with discussion of mechanical and radiative stellar feedback, filament tracing using [CII], [CII] opacity effects, [CII] and carbon recombination lines, and [CII] interaction with the large molecular cloud. The data quality and calibration is discussed in detail, and new techniques are presented to mitigate the effects of unavoidable instrument deficiencies (e.g. baseline stability) and thus to improve the data quality. A comparison with a smaller [CII] map taken with the Herschel/Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) spectrometer is presented.
The [CII] fine-structure transition at 158 micron is frequently the brightest far-infrared line in galaxies. Due to its low ionization potential, C+ can trace the ionized, atomic, and molecular phases of the ISM. We present velocity resolved [CII] and [NII] pointed observations from SOFIA/GREAT on ~500 pc scales in the nearby galaxies M101 and NGC 6946 and investigate the multi-phase origin of [CII] emission over a range of environments. We show that ionized gas makes a negligible contribution to the [CII] emission in these positions using [NII] observations. We spectrally decompose the [CII] emission into components associated with the molecular and atomic phases using existing CO(2-1) and HI data and show that a peak signal-to-noise ratio of 10-15 is necessary for a reliable decomposition. In general, we find that in our pointings greater than or equal to 50% of the [CII] emission arises from the atomic phase, with no strong dependence on star formation rate, metallicity, or galactocentric radius. We do find a difference between pointings in these two galaxies, where locations in NGC 6946 tend to have larger fractions of [CII] emission associated with the molecular phase than in M101. We also find a weak but consistent trend for fainter [CII] emission to exhibit a larger contribution from the atomic medium. We compute the thermal pressure of the cold neutral medium through the [CII] cooling function and find log(P_th/k)=3.8-4.6 [K cm^-3], a value slightly higher than similar determinations, likely because our observations are biased towards star-forming regions.
We present the first results of an observational programme undertaken to map the fine structure line emission of singly ionized carbon ([CII] 157.7409 micron) over extended regions using a Fabry Perot spectrometer newly installed at the focal plane of a 100cm balloon-borne far-infrared telescope. This new combination of instruments has a velocity resolution of ~200 km/s and an angular resolution of 1.5. During the first flight, an area of 30x15 in Orion A was mapped. The observed [CII] intensity distribution has been compared with the velocity-integrated intensity distributions of 13CO(1-0), CI(1-0) and CO(3-2) from the literature. The observed line intensities and ratios have been analyzed using the PDR models by Kaufman et al. 1999 to derive the incident UV flux and volume density at a few selected positions.
Observations towards L1630 in the Orion B molecular cloud, comprising the iconic Horsehead Nebula, allow us to study the interplay between stellar radiation and a molecular cloud under relatively benign conditions, that is, intermediate densities and an intermediate UV radiation field. Contrary to the well-studied Orion Molecular Cloud 1 (OMC1), which hosts much harsher conditions, L1630 has little star formation. We aim to relate the [CII] fine-structure line emission to the physical conditions predominant in L1630 and compare it to studies of OMC1. The [CII] $158,mumathrm{m}$ emission from an area of $12 times 17$ in L1630 was observed using the upGREAT instrument onboard SOFIA. Of the [CII] emission from the mapped area 95%, $13,L_{odot}$, originates from the molecular cloud; the adjacent HII region contributes only 5%, that is, $1,L_{odot}$. From comparison with other data (CO (1-0)-line emission, far-infrared (FIR) continuum studies, emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)), we infer a gas density of the molecular cloud of $n_{mathrm{H}}sim 3cdot 10^3,mathrm{cm^{-3}}$, with surface layers, including the Horsehead Nebula, having a density of up to $n_{mathrm{H}}sim 4cdot 10^4,mathrm{cm^{-3}}$. The temperature of the surface gas is $Tsim 100,mathrm{K}$. The average [CII] cooling efficiency within the molecular cloud is $1.3cdot 10^{-2}$. The fraction of the mass of the molecular cloud within the studied area that is traced by [CII] is only $8%$. Our PDR models are able to reproduce the FIR-[CII] correlations and also the CO (1-0)-[CII] correlations. Finally, we compare our results on the heating efficiency of the gas with theoretical studies of photoelectric heating by PAHs, clusters of PAHs, and very small grains, and find the heating efficiency to be lower than theoretically predicted, a continuation of the trend set by other observations.
We present new SOFIA [CII] and ALMA CO(J=1-0) observations of the nearby asymmetric barred spiral galaxy NGC 7479. The data, which cover the whole bar of the galaxy and the counter-arms visible in the radio continuum, are analyzed in conjunction with a wealth of existing visible, infrared, radio, and X-ray data. As in most normal galaxies, the [CII] emission is generally consistent with emission from cooling gas excited by photoelectric heating in photo-dissociation regions. However, anomalously high [CII]/CO ratios are seen at the two ends of the counter-arms. Both ends show shell-like structures, possibly bubbles, in H-alpha emission. In addition, the southern end has [CII] to infrared emission ratios inconsistent with normal star formation. Because there is little HI emission at this location, the [CII] emission probably originates in warm shocked molecular gas heated by the interaction of the radio jet forming the counter-arms with the interstellar medium in the galaxy. At two other locations, the high [CII]/CO ratios provide evidence for the existence of patches of CO-dark molecular gas. The [CII] and CO observations also reveal resolved velocity components along the bar. In particular, the CO emission can be separated into two components associated to gas along the leading edge of the bar and gas trailing the bar. The trailing gas component that amounts to approximately 40% of the gas around the bar region may be related to a minor merger.