Bibcode
Scott, K. S.; Lupu, R. E.; Aguirre, J. E.; Auld, R.; Aussel, H.; Baker, A. J.; Beelen, A.; Bock, J.; Bradford, C. M.; Brisbin, D.; Burgarella, D.; Carpenter, J. M.; Chanial, P.; Chapman, S. C.; Clements, D. L.; Conley, A.; Cooray, A.; Cox, P.; Dowell, C. D.; Eales, S.; Farrah, D.; Franceschini, A.; Frayer, D. T.; Gavazzi, R.; Glenn, J.; Griffin, M.; Harris, A. I.; Ibar, E.; Ivison, R. J.; Kamenetzky, J.; Kim, S.; Krips, M.; Maloney, P. R.; Matsuhara, H.; Mortier, A. M. J.; Murphy, E. J.; Naylor, B. J.; Neri, R.; Nguyen, H. T.; Oliver, S. J.; Omont, A.; Page, M. J.; Papageorgiou, A.; Pearson, C. P.; Pérez-Fournon, I.; Pohlen, M.; Rawlings, J. I.; Raymond, G.; Riechers, D.; Rodighiero, G.; Roseboom, I. G.; Rowan-Robinson, M.; Scott, D.; Seymour, N.; Smith, A. J.; Symeonidis, M.; Tugwell, K. E.; Vaccari, M.; Vieira, J. D.; Vigroux, L.; Wang, L.; Wright, G.; Zmuidzinas, J.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 733, Issue 1, article id. 29 (2011).
Advertised on:
5
2011
Journal
Citations
47
Refereed citations
44
Description
We report on the redshift measurement and CO line excitation of HERMES
J105751.1+573027 (HLSW-01), a strongly lensed submillimeter galaxy
discovered in Herschel/SPIRE observations as part of the Herschel
Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES). HLSW-01 is an ultra-luminous
galaxy with an intrinsic far-infrared luminosity of L FIR =
1.4 × 1013 L sun, and is lensed by a massive
group of galaxies into at least four images with a total magnification
of μ = 10.9 ± 0.7. With the 100 GHz instantaneous bandwidth of
the Z-Spec instrument on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, we
robustly identify a redshift of z = 2.958 ± 0.007 for this
source, using the simultaneous detection of four CO emission lines (J =
7 → 6, J = 8 → 7, J = 9 → 8, and J = 10 → 9).
Combining the measured line fluxes for these high-J transitions with the
J = 1 → 0, J = 3 → 2, and J = 5 → 4 line fluxes measured
with the Green Bank Telescope, the Combined Array for Research in
Millimeter Astronomy, and the Plateau de Bure Interferometer,
respectively, we model the physical properties of the molecular gas in
this galaxy. We find that the full CO spectral line energy distribution
is described well by warm, moderate-density gas with T kin =
86-235 K and n_{{H}_2} = (1.1{--}3.5) imes 10^3 cm-3.
However, it is possible that the highest-J transitions are tracing a
small fraction of very dense gas in molecular cloud cores, and
two-component models that include a warm/dense molecular gas phase with
T kin ~ 200 K, n_{{H}_2} sim 10^5 cm-3 are also
consistent with these data. Higher signal-to-noise measurements of the J
up >= 7 transitions with high spectral resolution,
combined with high spatial resolution CO maps, are needed to improve our
understanding of the gas excitation, morphology, and dynamics of this
interesting high-redshift galaxy.
Related projects
Formation and Evolution of Galaxies: Observations in Infrared and other Wavelengths
This IAC research group carries out several extragalactic projects in different spectral ranges, using space as well as ground-based telescopes, to study the cosmological evolution of galaxies and the origin of nuclear activity in active galaxies. The group is a member of the international consortium which built the SPIRE instrument for the
Ismael
Pérez Fournon