arXiv subjects

J. Pety

Publications and source records attributed to J. Pety.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

PDRs4All. XII. FUV-driven formation of hydrocarbon radicals and their relation with PAHs

We present subarcsecond-resolution ALMA mosaics of the Orion Bar PDR in [CI] 609um, C2H (4-3), and C18O (3-2) emission lines complemented by JWST images of H2 and aromatic infrared band (AIB) emission. The rim of the Bar shows very corrugated structures made of small-scale H2 dissociation fronts (DFs). The [CI] 609 um emission peaks very close (~0.002 pc) to the main H2-emitting DFs, suggesting the presence of gas density gradients. These DFs are also bright and remarkably similar in C2H emission, which traces "hydrocarbon radical peaks" characterized by very high C2H abundances, reaching up to several x10^-7. The high abundance of C2H and of related hydrocarbon radicals, such as CH3, CH2, and CH, can be attributed to gas-phase reactions driven by elevated temperatures, the presence of C+ and C, and the reactivity of FUV-pumped H2. The hydrocarbon radical peaks roughly coincide with maxima of the 3.4/3.3 um AIB intensity ratio, a proxy for the aliphatic-to-aromatic content of PAHs. This implies that the conditions triggering the formation of simple hydrocarbons also favor the formation (and survival) of PAHs with aliphatic side groups, potentially via the contribution of bottom-up processes in which abundant hydrocarbon radicals react in situ with PAHs. Ahead of the DFs, in the atomic PDR zone (where [H]>>[H2]), the AIB emission is the brightest, but small PAHs and carbonaceous grains undergo photo-processing due to the stronger FUV field. Our detection of trace amounts of C2H in this zone may result from the photoerosion of these species. This study provides a spatially resolved view of the chemical stratification of key carbon carriers in a PDR. Overall, both bottom-up and top-down processes appear to link simple hydrocarbon molecules with PAHs in molecular clouds; however, the exact chemical pathways and their relative contributions remain to be quantified.

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arXiv2024

PDRs4All. X. ALMA and JWST detection of neutral carbon in the externally irradiated disk d203-506: Undepleted gas-phase carbon

The gas-phase abundance of carbon, x_C = C/H, and its depletion factors are essential parameters for understanding the gas and solid compositions that are ultimately incorporated into planets. The majority of protoplanetary disks are born in clusters and, as a result, are exposed to external FUV radiation. These FUV photons potentially affect the disk's evolution, chemical composition, and line excitation. We present the first detection of the [CI]609um fine-structure line of neutral carbon (CI), achieved with ALMA, toward one of these disks, d203-506, in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We also report the detection of CI forbidden and permitted lines (from electronically excited states up to 10 eV) observed with JWST in the IR. These lines trace the irradiated outer disk and photo-evaporative wind. Contrary to the common belief that these IR lines are C+ recombination lines, we find that they are dominated by FUV-pumping of CI followed by fluorescence cascades. They trace the transition from atomic to molecular gas, and their intensities scale with G0. The lack of outstanding IR OI fluorescent emission, however, implies a sharper attenuation of external FUV radiation with E > 12 eV (~Lyman-beta). This is related to a lower effective FUV dust absorption cross section compared to that of interstellar grains, implying a more prominent role for FUV shielding by the CI photoionization continuum. The [CI]609um intensity is proportional to N(CI) and can be used to infer x_C. We derive x_C ~ 1.4E-4. This implies that there is no major depletion of volatile carbon compared to x_C measured in the natal cloud, hinting at a young disk. We also show that external FUV radiation impacts the outer disk and wind by vertically shifting the water freeze-out depth, which results in less efficient grain growth and settling. This shift leads to nearly solar gas-phase C/O abundance ratios in these irradiated layers.

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arXiv2024

Emergence of high-mass stars in complex fiber networks (EMERGE). I. Early ALMA Survey: observations and massive data reduction

(Abridged) Recent molecular surveys have revealed a rich gas organization of sonic-like fibers in all kind of environments prior to the formation of low- and high-mass stars. This paper introduces the EMERGE project aiming to investigate whether complex fiber arrangements could explain the origin of high-mass stars and clusters. We analyzed the EMERGE Early ALMA Survey including 7 star-forming regions in Orion (OMC-1/2/3/4 South, L1641N, NGC2023, and Flame Nebula) homogeneously surveyed in both molecular lines (N$_2$H$^+$ J=1-0, HNC J=1-0, plus HC3N J=10-9) and 3mm-continuum using a combination of interferometric ALMA mosaics and IRAM-30m single-dish (SD) maps. Based on our low-resolution (SD) observations, we describe the global properties of our sample covering a wide range of physical conditions including low-, intermediate, and high-mass star-forming regions in different evolutionary stages. Their comparison with ancillary YSO catalogs denotes N$_2$H$^+$ as the best proxy for the dense, star-forming gas in our targets showing a constant star formation efficiency and a fast time evolution of <1 Myr. While apparently clumpy and filamentary in our SD data, all targets show a much more complex fibrous substructure at the enhanced resolution of our ALMA+IRAM-30m maps. A large number of filamentary features at sub-parsec scales are clearly recognized in the high-density gas traced by N$_2$H$^+$ directly connected to the formation of individual protostars. This complex gas organization appears to extend further into the more diffuse gas traced by HNC. This paper presents the EMERGE Early ALMA survey including a first data release of continuum maps and spectral products for this project to be analysed in future papers of this series. A first look at these results illustrates the need of advanced data combination techniques to investigate the intrinsic multi-scale, gas structure of the ISM.

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arXiv2023

A sensitive, high-resolution, wide-field IRAM NOEMA CO(1-0) survey of the very nearby spiral galaxy IC 342

We present a new wide-field 10.75 x 10.75 arcmin^2 (~11x11 kpc^2), high-resolution (theta = 3.6" ~ 60 pc) NOEMA CO(1-0) survey of the very nearby (d=3.45 Mpc) spiral galaxy IC 342. The survey spans out to about 1.5 effective radii and covers most of the region where molecular gas dominates the cold interstellar medium. We resolved the CO emission into >600 individual giant molecular clouds and associations. We assessed their properties and found that overall the clouds show approximate virial balance, with typical virial parameters of alpha_vir=1-2. The typical surface density and line width of molecular gas increase from the inter-arm region to the arm and bar region, and they reach their highest values in the inner kiloparsec of the galaxy (median Sigma_mol~80, 140, 160, and 1100 M_sun/pc^2, sigma_CO~6.6, 7.6, 9.7, and 18.4 km/s for inter-arm, arm, bar, and center clouds, respectively). Clouds in the central part of the galaxy show an enhanced line width relative to their surface densities and evidence of additional sources of dynamical broadening. All of these results agree well with studies of clouds in more distant galaxies at a similar physical resolution. Leveraging our measurements to estimate the density and gravitational free-fall time at 90 pc resolution, averaged on 1.5 kpc hexagonal apertures, we estimate a typical star formation efficiency per free-fall time of 0.45% with a 16-84% variation of 0.33-0.71% among such 1.5 kpc regions. We speculate that bar-driven gas inflow could explain the large gas concentration in the central kiloparsec and the buildup of the massive nuclear star cluster. This wide-area CO map of the closest face-on massive spiral galaxy demonstrates the current mapping power of NOEMA and has many potential applications. The data and products are publicly available.

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arXiv2023

HCN emission from translucent gas and UV-illuminated cloud edges revealed by wide-field IRAM 30m maps of Orion B GMC: Revisiting its role as tracer of the dense gas reservoir for star formation

We present 5 deg^2 (~250 pc^2) HCN, HNC, HCO+, and CO J=1-0 maps of the Orion B GMC, complemented with existing wide-field [CI] 492 GHz maps, as well as new pointed observations of rotationally excited HCN, HNC, H13CN, and HN13C lines. We detect anomalous HCN J=1-0 hyperfine structure line emission almost everywhere in the cloud. About 70% of the total HCN J=1-0 luminosity arises from gas at A_V < 8 mag. The HCN/CO J=1-0 line intensity ratio shows a bimodal behavior with an inflection point at A_V < 3 mag typical of translucent gas and UV-illuminated cloud edges. We find that most of the HCN J=1-0 emission arises from extended gas with n(H2) ~< 10^4 cm^-3, even lower density gas if the ionization fraction is > 10^-5 and electron excitation dominates. This result explains the low-A_V branch of the HCN/CO J=1-0 intensity ratio distribution. Indeed, the highest HCN/CO ratios (~0.1) at A_V < 3 mag correspond to regions of high [CI] 492 GHz/CO J=1-0 intensity ratios (>1) characteristic of low-density PDRs. Enhanced FUV radiation favors the formation and excitation of HCN on large scales, not only in dense star-forming clumps. The low surface brightness HCN and HCO+ J=1-0 emission scale with I_FIR (a proxy of the stellar FUV radiation field) in a similar way. Together with CO J=1-0, these lines respond to increasing I_FIR up to G0~20. On the other hand, the bright HCN J=1-0 emission from dense gas in star-forming clumps weakly responds to I_FIR once the FUV radiation field becomes too intense (G0>1500). The different power law scalings (produced by different chemistries, densities, and line excitation regimes) in a single but spatially resolved GMC resemble the variety of Kennicutt-Schmidt law indexes found in galaxy averages. As a corollary for extragalactic studies, we conclude that high HCN/CO J=1-0 line intensity ratios do not always imply the presence of dense gas.

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arXiv2023

A constant N$_2$H$^+$(1-0)-to-HCN(1-0) ratio on kiloparsec scales

Nitrogen hydrides such as NH$_3$ and N$_2$H$^+$ are widely used by Galactic observers to trace the cold dense regions of the interstellar medium. In external galaxies, because of limited sensitivity, HCN has become the most common tracer of dense gas over large parts of galaxies. We provide the first systematic measurements of N$_2$H$^+$(1-0) across different environments of an external spiral galaxy, NGC6946. We find a strong correlation ($r>0.98,p<0.01$) between the HCN(1-0) and N$_2$H$^+$(1-0) intensities across the inner $\sim8\mathrm{kpc}$ of the galaxy, at kiloparsec scales. This correlation is equally strong between the ratios N$_2$H$^+$(1-0)/CO(1-0) and HCN(1-0)/CO(1-0), tracers of dense gas fractions ($f_\mathrm{dense}$). We measure an average intensity ratio of N$_2$H$^+$(1-0)/HCN(1-0)$=0.15\pm0.02$ over our set of five IRAM-30m pointings. These trends are further supported by existing measurements for Galactic and extragalactic sources. This narrow distribution in the average ratio suggests that the observed systematic trends found in kiloparsec-scale extragalactic studies of $f_\mathrm{dense}$ and the efficiency of dense gas (SFE$_\mathrm{dense}$) would not change if we employed N$_2$H$^+$(1-0) as a more direct tracer of dense gas. At kiloparsec scales our results indicate that the HCN(1-0) emission can be used to predict the expected N$_2$H$^+$(1-0) over those regions. Our results suggest that, even if HCN(1-0) and N$_2$H$^+$(1-0) trace different density regimes within molecular clouds, subcloud differences average out at kiloparsec scales, yielding the two tracers proportional to each other.

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arXiv2023

The extremely sharp transition between molecular and ionized gas in the Horsehead nebula

(Abridged) Massive stars can determine the evolution of molecular clouds with their strong ultraviolet (UV) radiation fields. Moreover, UV radiation is relevant in setting the thermal gas pressure in star-forming clouds, whose influence can extend from the rims of molecular clouds to entire star-forming galaxies. Probing the fundamental structure of nearby molecular clouds is therefore crucial to understand how massive stars shape their surrounding medium and how fast molecular clouds are destroyed, specifically at their UV-illuminated edges, where models predict an intermediate zone of neutral atomic gas between the molecular cloud and the surrounding ionized gas whose size is directly related to the exposed physical conditions. We present the highest angular resolution (~$0.5$", corresponding to $207$ au) and velocity-resolved images of the molecular gas emission in the Horsehead nebula, using CO J=3-2 and HCO$^+$ J=4-3 observations with ALMA. We find that CO and HCO$^+$ are present at the edge of the cloud, very close to the ionization (H$^+$/H) and dissociation fronts (H/H$_2$), suggesting a very thin layer of neutral atomic gas (<$650$ au) and a small amount of CO-dark gas ($A_V=0.006-0.26$ mag) for stellar UV illumination conditions typical of molecular clouds in the Milky Way. The new ALMA observations reveal a web of molecular gas filaments with an estimated thermal gas pressure of $P_{\mathrm{th}} = (2.3 - 4.0) \times 10^6$ K cm$^{-3}$, and the presence of a steep density gradient at the cloud edge that can be well explained by stationary isobaric PDR models with pressures consistent with our estimations. However, in the HII region and PDR interface, we find $P_{\mathrm{th,PDR}} > P_{\mathrm{th,HII}}$, suggesting the gas is slightly compressed. Therefore, dynamical effects cannot be completely ruled out and even higher angular observations will be needed to unveil their role.

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arXiv2023

The Gas Morphology of Nearby Star-Forming Galaxies

The morphology of a galaxy stems from secular and environmental processes during its evolutionary history. Thus galaxy morphologies have been a long used tool to gain insights on galaxy evolution. We visually classify morphologies on cloud-scales based on the molecular gas distribution of a large sample of 79 nearby main-sequence galaxies, using 1'' resolution CO(2-1) ALMA observations taken as part of the PHANGS survey. To do so, we devise a morphology classification scheme for different types of bars, spiral arms (grand-design, flocculent, multi-arm and smooth), rings (central and non-central rings) similar to the well-established optical ones, and further introduce bar lane classes. In general, our cold gas based morphologies agree well with the ones based on stellar light. Both our bars as well as grand-design spiral arms are preferentially found at the higher mass end of our sample. Our gas-based classification indicates a potential for misidentification of unbarred galaxies in the optical when massive star formation is present. Central or nuclear rings are present in a third of the sample with a strong preferences for barred galaxies (59%). As stellar bars are present in 45$\pm$5% of our sample galaxies, we explore the utility of molecular gas as tracer of bar lane properties. We find that more curved bar lanes have a shorter radial extent in molecular gas and reside in galaxies with lower molecular to stellar mass ratios than those with straighter geometries. Galaxies display a wide range of CO morphology, and this work provides a catalogue of morphological features in a representative sample of nearby galaxies.

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arXiv2022

Variations in the $\Sigma_{\rm SFR} {-} \Sigma_{\rm mol} {-} \Sigma_{\rm \star}$ plane across galactic environments in PHANGS galaxies

There exists some consensus that stellar mass surface density ($\Sigma_{*}$) and molecular gas mass surface density ($\Sigma_{\rm mol}$) are the main quantities responsible for locally setting the star formation rate. This regulation is inferred from locally resolved scaling relations between these two quantities and the star formation rate surface density ($\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$). However, the universality of these relations is debated. Here, we probe the interplay between these three quantities across different galactic environments at a spatial resolution of 150 pc. We perform a hierarchical Bayesian linear regression to find the best set of parameters $C_{*}$, $C_{\rm mol}$, and $C_{\rm norm}$ that describe the star-forming plane conformed by these quantities, such that $\log \Sigma_{\rm SFR} = C_{*} \log \Sigma_{*} + C_{\rm mol} \log \Sigma_{\rm mol} + C_{\rm norm}$, and explore variations in the determined parameters across galactic environments, focusing our analysis on the $C_{*}$ and $C_{\rm mol}$ slopes. We find signs of variations in the posterior distributions of $C_{*}$ and $C_{\rm mol}$ across different galactic environments. Bars show the most negative value of $C_{*}$, a sign of longer depletion times, while spiral arms show the highest $C_{*}$ among all environments. We conclude that systematic variations in the interplay of $\Sigma_{*}$, $\Sigma_{\rm mol}$ and $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ across galactic environments exist at a spatial resolution of 150 pc, and we interpret these variations as produced by an additional mechanism regulating the formation of stars that is not captured by either $\Sigma_{*}$ or $\Sigma_{\rm mol}$. We find that these variations correlate with changes in the star formation efficiency across environments, which could be linked to the dynamical state of the gas that prevents it from collapsing and forming stars, or to changes in the molecular gas fraction.

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arXiv2021

Stellar structures, molecular gas, and star formation across the PHANGS sample of nearby galaxies

We identify stellar structures in the PHANGS sample of 74 nearby galaxies and construct morphological masks of sub-galactic environments based on Spitzer 3.6 micron images. At the simplest level, we distinguish centres, bars, spiral arms, interarm and discs without strong spirals. Slightly more sophisticated masks include rings and lenses, publicly released but not explicitly used in this paper. We examine trends using PHANGS-ALMA CO(2-1) intensity maps and tracers of star formation. The interarm regions and discs without strong spirals dominate in area, whereas molecular gas and star formation are quite evenly distributed among the five basic environments. We reproduce the molecular Kennicutt-Schmidt relation with a slope compatible with unity within the uncertainties, without significant slope differences among environments. In contrast to early studies, we find that bars are not always deserts devoid of gas and star formation, but instead they show large diversity. Similarly, spiral arms do not account for most of the gas and star formation in disc galaxies, and they do not have shorter depletion times than the interarm regions. Spiral arms accumulate gas and star formation, without systematically boosting the star formation efficiency. Centres harbour remarkably high surface densities and on average shorter depletion times than other environments. Centres of barred galaxies show higher surface densities and wider distributions compared to the outer disc; yet, depletion times are similar to unbarred galaxies, suggesting highly intermittent periods of star formation when bars episodically drive gas inflow, without enhancing the central star formation efficiency permanently. In conclusion, we provide quantitative evidence that stellar structures in galaxies strongly affect the organisation of molecular gas and star formation, but their impact on star formation efficiency is more subtle.

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arXiv2021

Dense molecular gas properties on 100 pc scales across the disc of NGC 3627

It is still poorly constrained how the densest phase of the interstellar medium varies across galactic environment. A large observing time is required to recover significant emission from dense molecular gas at high spatial resolution, and to cover a large dynamic range of extragalactic disc environments. We present new NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) observations of a range of high critical density molecular tracers (HCN, HNC, HCO+) and CO isotopologues (13CO, C18O) towards the nearby (11.3 Mpc), strongly barred galaxy NGC 3627. These observations represent the current highest angular resolution (1.85"; 100 pc) map of dense gas tracers across a disc of a nearby spiral galaxy, which we use here to assess the properties of the dense molecular gas, and their variation as a function of galactocentric radius, molecular gas, and star formation. We find that the HCN(1-0)/CO(2-1) integrated intensity ratio does not correlate with the amount of recent star formation. Instead, the HCN(1-0)/CO(2-1) ratio depends on the galactic environment, with differences between the galaxy centre, bar, and bar end regions. The dense gas in the central 600 pc appears to produce stars less efficiently despite containing a higher fraction of dense molecular gas than the bar ends where the star formation is enhanced. In assessing the dynamics of the dense gas, we find the HCN(1-0) and HCO+(1-0) emission lines showing multiple components towards regions in the bar ends that correspond to previously identified features in CO emission. These features are co-spatial with peaks of Halpha emission, which highlights that the complex dynamics of this bar end region could be linked to local enhancements in the star formation.

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arXiv2021

Star formation scaling relations at ~100 pc from PHANGS: Impact of completeness and spatial scale

Aims: The complexity of star formation at the physical scale of molecular clouds is not yet fully understood. We investigate the mechanisms regulating the formation of stars in different environments within nearby star-forming galaxies from the PHANGS sample. Methods: Integral field spectroscopic data and radio-interferometric observations of 18 galaxies were combined to explore the existence of the resolved star formation main sequence (rSFMS), resolved Kennicutt-Schmidt relation (rKS), and resolved molecular gas main sequence (rMGMS), and we derived their slope and scatter at spatial resolutions from 100 pc to 1 kpc (under various assumptions). Results: All three relations were recovered at the highest spatial resolution (100 pc). Furthermore, significant variations in these scaling relations were observed across different galactic environments. The exclusion of non-detections has a systematic impact on the inferred slope as a function of the spatial scale. Finally, the scatter of the $\Sigma_\mathrm{mol. gas + stellar}$ versus $\Sigma_\mathrm{SFR}$ correlation is smaller than that of the rSFMS, but higher than that found for the rKS. Conclusions: The rMGMS has the tightest relation at a spatial scale of 100 pc (scatter of 0.34 dex), followed by the rKS (0.41 dex) and then the rSFMS (0.51 dex). This is consistent with expectations from the timescales involved in the evolutionary cycle of molecular clouds. Surprisingly, the rKS shows the least variation across galaxies and environments, suggesting a tight link between molecular gas and subsequent star formation. The scatter of the three relations decreases at lower spatial resolutions, with the rKS being the tightest (0.27 dex) at a spatial scale of 1 kpc. Variation in the slope of the rSFMS among galaxies is partially due to different detection fractions of $\Sigma_\mathrm{SFR}$ with respect to $\Sigma_\mathrm{stellar}$.

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arXiv2021

New Constraints on the $^{12}$CO(2-1)/(1-0) Line Ratio Across Nearby Disc Galaxies

Both the CO(2-1) and CO(1-0) lines are used to trace the mass of molecular gas in galaxies. Translating the molecular gas mass estimates between studies using different lines requires a good understanding of the behaviour of the CO(2-1)-to-CO(1-0) ratio, $R_{21}$. We compare new, high quality CO(1-0) data from the IRAM 30-m EMPIRE survey to the latest available CO(2-1) maps from HERACLES, PHANGS-ALMA, and a new IRAM 30-m M51 Large Program. This allows us to measure $R_{21}$ across the full star-forming disc of nine nearby, massive, star-forming spiral galaxies at 27" (${\sim} 1{-}2$ kpc) resolution. We find an average $R_{21} = 0.64\pm0.09$ when we take the luminosity-weighted mean of all individual galaxies. This result is consistent with the mean ratio for disc galaxies that we derive from single-pointing measurements in the literature, $R_{\rm 21, lit}~=~0.59^{+0.18}_{-0.09}$. The ratio shows weak radial variations compared to the point-to-point scatter in the data. In six out of nine targets the central enhancement in $R_{21}$ with respect to the galaxy-wide mean is of order $\sim 10{-}20\%$. We estimate an azimuthal scatter of $\sim$20% in $R_{21}$ at fixed galactocentric radius but this measurement is limited by our comparatively coarse resolution of 1.5 kpc. We find mild correlations between $R_{21}$ and CO brightness temperature, IR intensity, 70-to-160$ \mu$m ratio, and IR-to-CO ratio. All correlations indicate that $R_{21}$ increases with gas surface density, star formation rate surface density, and the interstellar radiation field.

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arXiv2021

The physical and chemical structure of high-mass star-forming regions. Unraveling chemical complexity with the NOEMA large program "CORE"

We use sub-arcsecond resolution ($\sim$0.4$''$) observations with NOEMA at 1.37 mm to study the dust emission and molecular gas of 18 high-mass star-forming regions. We combine the derived physical and chemical properties of individual cores in these regions to estimate their ages. The temperature structure of these regions are determined by fitting H2CO and CH3CN line emission. The density profiles are inferred from the 1.37 mm continuum visibilities. The column densities of 11 different species are determined by fitting the emission lines with XCLASS. Within the 18 observed regions, we identify 22 individual cores with associated 1.37 mm continuum emission and with a radially decreasing temperature profile. We find an average temperature power-law index of q = 0.4$\pm$0.1 and an average density power-law index of p = 2.0$\pm$0.2 on scales on the order of several 1 000 au. Comparing these results with values of p derived in the literature suggest that the density profiles remain unchanged from clump to core scales. The column densities relative to N(C18O) between pairs of dense gas tracers show tight correlations. We apply the physical-chemical model MUSCLE to the derived column densities of each core and find a mean chemical age of $\sim$60 000 yrs and an age spread of 20 000-100 000 yrs. With this paper we release all data products of the CORE project available at https://www.mpia.de/core. The CORE sample reveals well constrained density and temperature power-law distributions. Furthermore, we characterize a large variety in molecular richness that can be explained by an age spread confirmed by our physical-chemical modeling. The hot molecular cores show the most emission lines, but we also find evolved cores at an evolutionary stage, in which most molecules are destroyed and thus the spectra appear line-poor again.

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arXiv2021

Bottlenecks to interstellar sulfur chemistry: Sulfur-bearing hydrides in UV-illuminated gas and grains

Hydride molecules lie at the base of interstellar chemistry, but the synthesis of sulfuretted hydrides is poorly understood. Motivated by new observations of the Orion Bar PDR - 1'' resolution ALMA images of SH+; IRAM 30m detections of H2S, H2S34, and H2S33; H3S+ (upper limits); and SOFIA observations of SH - we perform a systematic study of the chemistry of S-bearing hydrides. We determine their column densities using coupled excitation, radiative transfer as well as chemical formation and destruction models. We revise some of the key gas-phase reactions that lead to their chemical synthesis. This includes ab initio quantum calculations of the vibrational-state-dependent reactions SH+ + H2 <-> H2S+ + H and S + H2 <-> SH + H. We find that reactions of UV-pumped H2 (v>1) with S+ explain the presence of SH+ in a high thermal-pressure gas component, P_th~10^8 cm^-3 K, close to the H2 dissociation front. However, subsequent hydrogen abstraction reactions of SH+, H2S+, and S with vibrationally excited H2, fail to ultimately explain the observed H2S column density (~2.5x10^14 cm^-2, with an ortho-to-para ratio of 2.9+/-0.3). To overcome these bottlenecks, we build PDR models that include a simple network of grain surface reactions leading to the formation of solid H2S (s-H2S). The higher adsorption binding energies of S and SH suggested by recent studies imply that S atoms adsorb on grains (and form s-H2S) at warmer dust temperatures and closer to the UV-illuminated edges of molecular clouds. Photodesorption and, to a lesser extent, chemical desorption, produce roughly the same H2S column density (a few 10^14 cm-^2) and abundance peak (a few 10^-8) nearly independently of n_H and G_0. This agrees with the observed H2S column density in the Orion Bar as well as at the edges of dark clouds without invoking substantial depletion of elemental sulfur abundances.

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arXiv2020

ALMA Resolves Giant Molecular Clouds in a Tidal Dwarf Galaxy

Tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) are gravitationally bound condensations of gas and stars formed during galaxy interactions. Here we present multi-configuration ALMA observations of J1023+1952, a TDG in the interacting system Arp 94, where we resolve CO(2-1) emission down to giant molecular clouds (GMCs) at 0.64" ~ 45pc resolution. We find a remarkably high fraction of extended molecular emission (~80-90%), which is filtered out by the interferometer and likely traces diffuse gas. We detect 111 GMCs that give a similar mass spectrum as those in the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies (a truncated power law with slope of -1.76+/-0.13). We also study Larson's laws over the available dynamic range of GMC properties (~2 dex in mass and ~1 dex in size): GMCs follow the size-mass relation of the Milky Way, but their velocity dispersion is higher such that the size-linewidth and virial relations appear super-linear, deviating from the canonical values. The global molecular-to-atomic gas ratio is very high (~1) while the CO(2-1)/CO(1-0) ratio is quite low (~0.5), and both quantities vary from north to south. Star formation is predominantly taking place in the south of the TDG, where we observe projected offsets between GMCs and young stellar clusters ranging from ~50pc to ~200pc; the largest offsets correspond to the oldest knots, as seen in other galaxies. In the quiescent north, we find more molecular clouds and a higher molecular-to-atomic gas ratio (~1.5); atomic and diffuse molecular gas also have a higher velocity dispersion there. Overall, the organisation of the molecular ISM in this TDG is quite different from other types of galaxies on large scales, but the properties of GMCs seem fairly similar, pointing to near universality of the star-formation process on small scales.

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arXiv2020

Ubiquitous velocity fluctuations throughout the molecular interstellar medium

The density structure of the interstellar medium (ISM) determines where stars form and release energy, momentum, and heavy elements, driving galaxy evolution. Density variations are seeded and amplified by gas motion, but the exact nature of this motion is unknown across spatial scale and galactic environment. Although dense star-forming gas likely emerges from a combination of instabilities, convergent flows, and turbulence, establishing the precise origin is challenging because it requires quantifying gas motion over many orders of magnitude in spatial scale. Here we measure the motion of molecular gas in the Milky Way and in nearby galaxy NGC 4321, assembling observations that span an unprecedented spatial dynamic range ($10^{-1}{-}10^3$ pc). We detect ubiquitous velocity fluctuations across all spatial scales and galactic environments. Statistical analysis of these fluctuations indicates how star-forming gas is assembled. We discover oscillatory gas flows with wavelengths ranging from $0.3{-}400$ pc. These flows are coupled to regularly-spaced density enhancements that likely form via gravitational instabilities. We also identify stochastic and scale-free velocity and density fluctuations, consistent with the structure generated in turbulent flows. Our results demonstrate that ISM structure cannot be considered in isolation. Instead, its formation and evolution is controlled by nested, interdependent flows of matter covering many orders of magnitude in spatial scale.

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arXiv2019

Mapping metallicity variations across nearby galaxy disks

The distribution of metals within a galaxy traces the baryon cycle and the buildup of galactic disks, but the detailed gas phase metallicity distribution remains poorly sampled. We have determined the gas phase oxygen abundances for 7,138 HII regions across the disks of eight nearby galaxies using VLT/MUSE optical integral field spectroscopy as part of the PHANGS-MUSE survey. After removing the first order radial gradients present in each galaxy, we look at the statistics of the metallicity offset (Delta O/H) and explore azimuthal variations. Across each galaxy, we find low (sigma=0.03-0.05 dex) scatter at any given radius, indicative of efficient mixing. We compare physical parameters for those HII regions that are 1 sigma outliers towards both enhanced and reduced abundances. Regions with enhanced abundances have high ionization parameter, higher Halpha luminosity, lower Halpha velocity dispersion, younger star clusters and associated molecular gas clouds show higher molecular gas densities. This indicates recent star formation has locally enriched the material. Regions with reduced abundances show increased Halpha velocity dispersions, suggestive of mixing introducing more pristine material. We observe subtle azimuthal variations in half of the sample, but can not always cleanly associate this with the spiral pattern. Regions with enhanced and reduced abundances are found distributed throughout the disk, and in half of our galaxies we can identify subsections of spiral arms with clearly associated metallicity gradients. This suggests spiral arms play a role in organizing and mixing the ISM.

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