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




AuthorsZschaechner 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

PublisherIOP

Publication year2018

Journal: Astrophysical Journal

Article number111

Volume867

Issue2

Number of pages12

ISSN0004-637X

eISSN1538-4357

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aadf32

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/43703301


Abstract

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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