ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3

We exploit long baseline ALMA submillimeter observations of the lensed star-forming galaxy SDP 81 at z = 3.042 to investigate the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) on scales of 50–100 pc. The kinematics of the 12CO gas within this system are well described by a rotationally supported disk...

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Main Authors: Swinbank, A.M., Dye, S., Nightingale, J.W., Furlanetto, C., Smail, Ian, Cooray, A., Dannerbauer, H., Dunne, L., Eales, S., Gavazzi, R., Hunter, T., Ivison, R.J., Negrello, M., Oteo-Gomez, I., Smit, R., Werf, P. van der, Vlahakis, C.
Format: Article
Published: American Astronomical Society 2015
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42359/
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author Swinbank, A.M.
Dye, S.
Nightingale, J.W.
Furlanetto, C.
Smail, Ian
Cooray, A.
Dannerbauer, H.
Dunne, L.
Eales, S.
Gavazzi, R.
Hunter, T.
Ivison, R.J.
Negrello, M.
Oteo-Gomez, I.
Smit, R.
Werf, P. van der
Vlahakis, C.
author_facet Swinbank, A.M.
Dye, S.
Nightingale, J.W.
Furlanetto, C.
Smail, Ian
Cooray, A.
Dannerbauer, H.
Dunne, L.
Eales, S.
Gavazzi, R.
Hunter, T.
Ivison, R.J.
Negrello, M.
Oteo-Gomez, I.
Smit, R.
Werf, P. van der
Vlahakis, C.
author_sort Swinbank, A.M.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description We exploit long baseline ALMA submillimeter observations of the lensed star-forming galaxy SDP 81 at z = 3.042 to investigate the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) on scales of 50–100 pc. The kinematics of the 12CO gas within this system are well described by a rotationally supported disk with an inclination-corrected rotation speed, = 320 ± 20 km s−1, and a dynamical mass of = (3.5 ± 1.0)× 1010 within a radius of 1.5 kpc. The disk is gas-rich and unstable, with a Toomre parameter, Q = 0.30 ± 0.10, and so into star-forming regions with Jeans length 130 pc. We identify five star-forming regions within the ISM on these scales and show that their scaling relations between luminosity, line widths, and sizes are significantly offset from those typical of molecular clouds in local galaxies (Larson's relations). These offsets are likely to be caused by the high external hydrostatic pressure for the ISM, / × 107 K cm−3, which is ~104× higher than the typical ISM pressure in the Milky Way. The physical conditions of the star-forming ISM and giant molecular clouds appear to be similar to those found in the densest environments in the local universe, such as those in the Galactic center.
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spelling nottingham-423592020-05-04T17:11:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42359/ ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3 Swinbank, A.M. Dye, S. Nightingale, J.W. Furlanetto, C. Smail, Ian Cooray, A. Dannerbauer, H. Dunne, L. Eales, S. Gavazzi, R. Hunter, T. Ivison, R.J. Negrello, M. Oteo-Gomez, I. Smit, R. Werf, P. van der Vlahakis, C. We exploit long baseline ALMA submillimeter observations of the lensed star-forming galaxy SDP 81 at z = 3.042 to investigate the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM) on scales of 50–100 pc. The kinematics of the 12CO gas within this system are well described by a rotationally supported disk with an inclination-corrected rotation speed, = 320 ± 20 km s−1, and a dynamical mass of = (3.5 ± 1.0)× 1010 within a radius of 1.5 kpc. The disk is gas-rich and unstable, with a Toomre parameter, Q = 0.30 ± 0.10, and so into star-forming regions with Jeans length 130 pc. We identify five star-forming regions within the ISM on these scales and show that their scaling relations between luminosity, line widths, and sizes are significantly offset from those typical of molecular clouds in local galaxies (Larson's relations). These offsets are likely to be caused by the high external hydrostatic pressure for the ISM, / × 107 K cm−3, which is ~104× higher than the typical ISM pressure in the Milky Way. The physical conditions of the star-forming ISM and giant molecular clouds appear to be similar to those found in the densest environments in the local universe, such as those in the Galactic center. American Astronomical Society 2015-06-09 Article PeerReviewed Swinbank, A.M., Dye, S., Nightingale, J.W., Furlanetto, C., Smail, Ian, Cooray, A., Dannerbauer, H., Dunne, L., Eales, S., Gavazzi, R., Hunter, T., Ivison, R.J., Negrello, M., Oteo-Gomez, I., Smit, R., Werf, P. van der and Vlahakis, C. (2015) ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3. Astrophysical Journal Letters, 806 (1). L17/1-L17/5. ISSN 2041-8213 galaxies: evolution; galaxies: high-redshift; galaxies: starburst http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2041-8205/806/1/L17/meta doi:10.1088/2041-8205/806/1/L17 doi:10.1088/2041-8205/806/1/L17
spellingShingle galaxies: evolution; galaxies: high-redshift; galaxies: starburst
Swinbank, A.M.
Dye, S.
Nightingale, J.W.
Furlanetto, C.
Smail, Ian
Cooray, A.
Dannerbauer, H.
Dunne, L.
Eales, S.
Gavazzi, R.
Hunter, T.
Ivison, R.J.
Negrello, M.
Oteo-Gomez, I.
Smit, R.
Werf, P. van der
Vlahakis, C.
ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
title ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
title_full ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
title_fullStr ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
title_full_unstemmed ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
title_short ALMA resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
title_sort alma resolves the properties of star-forming regions in a dense gas disk at z ∼ 3
topic galaxies: evolution; galaxies: high-redshift; galaxies: starburst
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42359/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42359/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/42359/