3,260 research outputs found
Observing Conditions for Submillimeter Astronomy
Consistently superb observing conditions are crucial for achieving the
scientific objectives of a telescope. Submillimeter astronomy is possible only
at a few exceptionally dry sites, notably Mauna Kea, the Antarctic plateau, and
the Chajnantor region in the high Andes east of San Pedro de Atacama in
northern Chile. Long term measurements of 225 GHz and 350 \mu m atmospheric
transparency demonstrate all three locations enjoy significant periods of
excellent observing conditions. Conditions on the Chajnantor plateau and at the
South Pole are better more often than on Mauna Kea. Conditions are better
during winter and at night. Near the summit of Cerro Chajnantor, conditions are
better than on the Chajnantor plateau
Submillimeter Atmospheric Transparency at Maunakea, at the South Pole, and at Chajnantor
For a systematic assessment of submillimeter observing conditions at
different sites, we constructed tipping radiometers to measure the broad band
atmospheric transparency in the window around 350 m wavelength. The
tippers were deployed on Maunakea, Hawaii, at the South Pole, and in the
vicinity of Cerro Chajnantor in northern Chile. Identical instruments permit
direct comparison of these sites. Observing conditions at the South Pole and in
the Chajnantor area are better than on Maunakea. Simultaneous measurements with
two tippers demonstrate conditions at the summit of Cerro Chajnantor are
significantly better than on the Chajnantor plateau.Comment: Accepted by PAS
CO excitation in four IR luminous galaxies
The correlation between the CO and far infrared luminosities of spiral galaxies is well established. The luminosity ration, L sub FIR/L sub CO in IR luminous active galaxies is, however, systematically five to ten times higher than in ordinary spirals and molecular clouds in our Galaxy. Furthermore, the masses of molecular hydrogen in luminous galaxies are large, M (H2) approx. equals 10(exp 10) solar magnitude, which indicates the observed luminosity ratios are due to an excess of infrared output, rather than a deficiency of molecular gas. These large amounts of molecular gas may fuel luminous galaxies through either star formation or nuclear activity. This interpretation rests on applying the M (H2)/L sub CO ratio calibrated in our Galaxy to galaxies with strikingly different luminosity ratios. But are the physical conditions of the molecular gas different in galaxies with different luminosity ratios. And, if so, does the proportionality between CO and H2 also vary among galaxies. To investigate these questions researchers observed CO (2 to 1) and (1 to 0) emission from four luminous galaxies with the Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter range (IRAM) 30 m telescope. Researchers conclude that most of the CO emission from these Arp 193, Arp 220, and Mrk 231 arises in regions with moderate ambient densities similar to the clouds in the Milky Way molecular ring. The emission is neither from dense hot cloud cores nor from the cold low density gas characteristic of the envelopes of dark clouds
Molecular gas in extreme star-forming environments: the starbursts Arp220 and NGC6240 as case studies
We report single-dish multi-transition measurements of the 12^CO, HCN, and
HCO^+ molecular line emission as well as HNC J=1-0 and HNCO in the two
ultraluminous infra-red galaxies Arp220 and NGC6240. Using this new molecular
line inventory, in conjunction with existing data in the literature, we
compiled the most extensive molecular line data sets to date for such galaxies.
The many rotational transitions, with their different excitation requirements,
allow the study of the molecular gas over a wide range of different densities
and temperatures with significant redundancy, and thus allow good constraints
on the properties of the dense gas in these two systems. The mass (~(1-2) x
10^10 Msun) of dense gas (>10^5-6 cm^-3) found accounts for the bulk of their
molecular gas mass, and is consistent with most of their IR luminosities
powered by intense star bursts while self-regulated by O,B star cluster
radiative pressure onto the star-forming dense molecular gas. The highly
excited HCN transitions trace a gas phase ~(10-100)x denser than that of the
sub-thermally excited HCO^+ lines (for both galaxies). These two phases are
consistent with an underlying density-size power law found for Galactic GMCs
(but with a steeper exponent), with HCN lines tracing denser and more compact
regions than HCO^+. Whether this is true in IR-luminous, star forming galaxies
in general remains to be seen, and underlines the need for observations of
molecular transitions with high critical densities for a sample of bright
(U)LIRGs in the local Universe -- a task for which the HI-FI instrument on
board Herschel is ideally suited to do.Comment: 38 pages (preprint ApJ style), 3 figures, accepted for Ap
The scaler magnetic intensity at 1100 kilometers in middle and low latitudes
Satellite borne magnetometer for measuring scalar magnetic intensities in middle and low latitudes at 1100 km altitud
The Molecular Interstellar Medium in Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies
We present CO observations of a large sample of ultraluminous IR galaxies out
to z = 0.3. Most of the galaxies are interacting, but not completed mergers.
All but one have high CO(1-0) luminosities, log(Lco [K-km/s-pc^2]) = 9.92 +/-
0.12. The dispersion in Lco is only 30%, less than that in the FIR luminosity.
The integrated CO intensity correlates Strongly with the 100 micron flux
density, as expected for a black body model in which the mid and far IR
radiation are optically thick. We use this model to derive sizes of the FIR and
CO emitting regions and the enclosed dynamical masses. Both the IR and CO
emission originate in regions a few hundred parsecs in radius. The median value
of Lfir/Lco = 160 Lsun/(K-km/s-pc^2), within a factor of two of the black body
limit for the observed FIR temperatures. The entire ISM is a scaled up version
of a normal galactic disk with densities a factor of 100 higher, making even
the intercloud medium a molecular region. Using three different techniques of
H2 mass estimation, we conclude that the ratio of gas mass to Lco is about a
factor of four lower than for Galactic molecular clouds, but that the gas mass
is a large fraction of the dynamical mass. Our analysis of CO emission reduces
the H2 mass from previous estimates of 2-5e10 Msun to 0.4-1.5e10 Msun, which is
in the range found for molecular gas rich spiral galaxies. A collision
involving a molecular gas rich spiral could lead to an ultraluminous galaxy
powered by central starbursts triggered by the compression of infalling
preexisting GMC's.Comment: 34 pages LaTeX with aasms.sty, 14 Postscript figures, submitted to
ApJ Higher quality versions of Figs 2a-f and 7a-c available by anonymous FTP
from ftp://sbast1.ess.sunysb.edu/solomon/
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