Dr Thomas Williams

Abstract:

The structure and chemistry of the dusty interstellar medium (ISM) are shaped by complex processes that depend on the local radiation field, gas composition, and dust grain properties. Of particular importance are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which emit strong vibrational bands in the mid-infrared, and play a key role in the ISM energy balance. We recently identified global correlations between PAH band and optical line ratios across three nearby galaxies, suggesting a connection between PAH heating and gas ionization throughout the ISM. In this work, we perform a census of the PAH heating–gas ionization connection using ∼700,000 independent pixels that probe scales of 40–150 pc in 19 nearby star-forming galaxies from the PHANGS survey. We find a universal relation between log PAH(11.3 μm/7.7 μm) and log ([S ii]/Hα) with a slope of ∼0.2 and a scatter of ∼0.025 dex. The only exception is a group of anomalous pixels that show unusually high (11.3 μm/7.7 μm) PAH ratios in regions with old stellar populations and high starlight-to-dust emission ratios. Their mid-infrared spectra resemble those of elliptical galaxies. Active galactic nucleus hosts show modestly steeper slopes, with a ∼​​​​​​10% increase in PAH(11.3 μm/7.7 μm) in the diffuse gas on kiloparsec scales. This universal relation implies an emerging simplicity in the complex ISM, with a sequence that is driven by a single varying property: the spectral shape of the interstellar radiation field. This suggests that other properties, such as gas-phase abundances, gas ionization parameter, and grain charge distribution, are relatively uniform in all but specific cases.

Abstract:

We present resolved 3.6–250 μm dust spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting for ∼800 nearby galaxies. We measure the distribution of radiation field intensities heating the dust, the dust mass surface density (Σd), and the fraction of dust in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; q PAH). We find that the average interstellar radiation field ( U¯ ) is correlated both with stellar mass surface density (Σ⋆) and star formation rate surface density (ΣSFR), while more intense radiation fields are only correlated with ΣSFR. We show that q PAH is a steeply decreasing function of ΣSFR, likely reflecting PAH destruction in H ii regions. Galaxy-integrated q PAH is strongly, negatively correlated with specific star formation rate (sSFR) and offset from the star-forming “main sequence” (ΔMS), suggesting that both metallicity and star formation intensity play a role in setting the global q PAH. We also find a nearly constant M d/M * ratio for galaxies on the main sequence, with a lower ratio for more quiescent galaxies, likely due to their lower gas fractions. From these results, we construct prescriptions to estimate the radiation field distribution in both integrated and resolved galaxies. We test these prescriptions by comparing our predicted U¯ to results of SED fitting for stacked “main-sequence” galaxies at 0 < z < 4 from M. Béthermin et al. and find sSFR is an accurate predictor of U¯ even at these high redshifts. Finally, we describe the public delivery of matched-resolution Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and Herschel maps along with the resolved dust SED-fitting results through the Infrared Science Archive.

Abstract:

Over the past decade, several millimeter interferometer programs have mapped the nearby star-forming galaxy M51 at a spatial resolution of ≤170 pc. This study combines observations from three major programs: the PdBI Arcsecond Whirlpool Survey, the SMA M51 large program, and the Surveying the Whirlpool at Arcseconds with NOEMA. The data set includes the (1–0) and (2–1) rotational transitions of 12CO, 13CO, and C18O isotopologues. The observations cover the r < 3 kpc region, including the center and part of the disk, thereby ensuring strong detections of the weaker 13CO and C18O lines. All observations are convolved in this analysis to an angular resolution of 4″, corresponding to a physical scale of 170 pc. We investigate empirical line ratio relations and quantitatively evaluate molecular gas conditions such as temperature, density, and the CO-to-H2 conversion factor (α CO). We employ two approaches to study the molecular gas conditions: (i) assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) to analytically determine the CO column density and α CO, and (ii) using non-LTE modeling with RADEX to fit physical conditions to observed CO isotopologue intensities. We find that the α CO values in the center and along the inner spiral arm are ∼0.5 dex (LTE) and 0.1 dex (non-LTE) below the Milky Way inner disk value. The average non-LTE α CO is 2.4 ± 0.5 M ⊙ pc−2 (K km s−1)−1. While both methods show dispersion due to underlying assumptions, the scatter is larger for LTE-derived values. This study underscores the necessity for robust CO line modeling to accurately constrain the molecular interstellar medium’s physical and chemical conditions in nearby galaxies.