Dense gas properties and star formation in M 82

Abstract

High-density molecular gas plays a vital role in supporting star formation within galaxies. However, traditional tracers of dense gas, such as the low-$J$ transitions of HCN and HCO$^+$, are predominantly optically thick. This characteristic presents a significant challenge in accurately estimating the column density of dense gas and mapping its spatial distribution. Optically-thin tracers, including HC$_3$N (10-9) and isotopologues of HCN, HCO$^+$, HNC (1-0), among others, emerge as better tracers, by enabling more precise measurements and analyses of the dense gas in galaxies. Here, we present the first high-resolution ($\sim$3.8$''$, corresponding to $\sim$65 pc) molecular line observations of the nearby starburst galaxy M~82 with IRAM Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA). Notably, HC$_3$N (10-9) and H$^{13}$CN (1-0) emission lines are brighter at the northeast part (NE lobe) than those at the southwest part (SW lobe) of M~82, suggesting a higher accumulation of dense gas at the NE lobe. The spatial distributions of H41$\alpha$ and 3-mm continuum emission indicate that starburst activity varies across the central starburst disk, with more intense star formation occurring at the SW lobe compared to the NE lobe. The average optical depths of HCN and HCO$^+$ (1-0) across the triple-peaked regions exhibit significant variation, with the highest values observed at the NE lobe. Our results suggest a potential evolutionary sequence in M~82, where the distributions of star formation and dense gas appear to be partially decoupled -- a phenomenon that classical dense gas tracers cannot adequately probe.