A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Spatially Resolved 12CO(2-1)/12CO(1-0) in the Starburst Galaxy NGC 253: Assessing Optical Depth to Constrain the Molecular Mass Outflow Rate
Authors: Zschaechner Laura K., Bolatto Alberto D., Walter Fabian, Leroy Adam K., Herrera Cinthya, Krieger Nico, Kruijssen J. M. Diederik, Meier David S., Mills Elisabeth A. C., Ott Juergen, Veilleux Sylvain, Weiss Axel
Publisher: IOP
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Astrophysical Journal
Article number: 111
Volume: 867
Issue: 2
Number of pages: 12
ISSN: 0004-637X
eISSN: 1538-4357
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aadf32
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/43703301
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of 12CO(1-0) and 12CO(2-1) in the central 40″ (680 pc) of the nuclear starburst galaxy NGC 253, including its molecular outflow. We measure the ratio of brightness temperature for CO(2-1)/CO(1-0), r 21, in the central starburst and outflow-related features. We discuss how r 21 can be used to constrain the optical depth of the CO emission, which impacts the inferred mass of the outflow and consequently the molecular mass outflow rate. We find r 21 ≲ 1 throughout, consistent with a majority of the CO emission being optically thick in the outflow, as it is in the starburst. This suggests that the molecular outflow mass is 3-6 times larger than the lower limit reported for optically thin CO emission from warm molecular gas. The implied molecular mass outflow rate is 25-50 M ☉ yr-1, assuming that the conversion factor for the outflowing gas is similar to our best estimates for the bulk of the starburst. This is a factor of 9-19 times larger than the star formation rate in NGC 253. We see tentative evidence for an extended, diffuse CO(2-1) component.
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