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arXiv · 0705.4651

CO+ in M 82: A Consequence of Irradiation by X-rays

M. Spaans·R. Meijerink
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Abstract

Based on its strong CO+ emission it is argued that the M 82 star-burst galaxy is exposed to a combination of FUV and X-ray radiation. The latter is likely to be the result of the star-burst superwind, which leads to diffuse thermal emission at ~0.7 keV, and a compact hard, 2-10 keV, source (but not an AGN). Although a photon-dominated region (FUV) component is clearly present in the nucleus of M 82, and capable of forming CO+, only X-ray irradiated gas of density 10^3-10^5 cm^-3 can reproduce the large, ~(1-4)x10^13 cm^-2, columns of CO+ that are observed toward the proto-typical star-burst M 82. The total X-ray luminosity produced by M 82 is weak, ~10^41 erg s^-1, but this is sufficient to drive the formation of CO+.

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M. Spaans, R. Meijerink. 2007-06-02. CO+ in M 82: A Consequence of Irradiation by X-rays. https://doi.org/10.1086/520535

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