Cover Image

The fraction of dust mass in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on 10-50 pc scales in nearby galaxies

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a ubiquitous component of the interstellar medium (ISM) in z ∼ 0 massive, star-forming galaxies and play key roles in ISM energy balance, chemistry, and shielding. Wide field-of-view, high-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) images from JWST provide the ability...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sutter, Jessica (Author) , Sandstrom, Karin (Author) , Chastenet, Jérémy (Author) , Leroy, Adam K. (Author) , Koch, Eric W. (Author) , Williams, Thomas G. (Author) , Chown, Ryan (Author) , Belfiore, Francesco (Author) , Bigiel, Frank (Author) , Boquien, Médéric (Author) , Cao, Yixian (Author) , Chevance, Mélanie (Author) , Dale, Daniel A. (Author) , Egorov, Oleg (Author) , Glover, Simon (Author) , Groves, Brent (Author) , Klessen, Ralf S. (Author) , Kreckel, Kathryn (Author) , Larson, Kirsten L. (Author) , Oakes, Elias K. (Author) , Pathak, Debosmita (Author) , Ramambason, Lise (Author) , Rosolowsky, Erik (Author) , Watkins, Elizabeth J. (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2024 August 20
In: The astrophysical journal
Year: 2024, Volume: 971, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-31
ISSN:1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/ad54bd
Online Access:Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad54bd
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://dx.doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad54bd
Get full text
Author Notes:Jessica Sutter, Karin Sandstrom, Jérémy Chastenet, Adam K. Leroy, Eric W. Koch, Thomas G. Williams, Ryan Chown, Francesco Belfiore, Frank Bigiel, Médéric Boquien, Yixian Cao, Mélanie Chevance, Daniel A. Dale, Oleg V. Egorov, Simon C. O. Glover, Brent Groves, Ralf S. Klessen, Kathryn Kreckel, Kirsten L. Larson, Elias K. Oakes, Debosmita Pathak, Lise Ramambason, Erik Rosolowsky, and Elizabeth J. Watkins
Description
Summary:Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a ubiquitous component of the interstellar medium (ISM) in z ∼ 0 massive, star-forming galaxies and play key roles in ISM energy balance, chemistry, and shielding. Wide field-of-view, high-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) images from JWST provide the ability to map the fraction of dust in the form of PAHs and the properties of these key dust grains at 10-50 pc resolution in galaxies outside the Local Group. We use MIR JWST photometric observations of a sample of 19 nearby galaxies from the Physics at High Angular Resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) survey to investigate the variations of the PAH fraction. By comparison to lower-resolution far-infrared mapping, we show that a combination of the MIRI filters (R PAH = [F770W+F1130W]/F2100W) traces the fraction of dust by mass in the form of PAHs (i.e., the PAH fraction, or q PAH). Mapping R PAH across the 19 PHANGS galaxies, we find that the PAH fraction steeply decreases in H ii regions, revealing the destruction of these small grains in regions of ionized gas. Outside H ii regions, we find R PAH is constant across the PHANGS sample with an average value of 3.43 ± 0.98, which, for an illuminating radiation field of intensity 2-5 times that of the radiation field in the solar neighborhood, corresponds to q PAH values of 3%-6%.
Item Description:Gesehen am 03.06.2025
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/ad54bd

Similar Items