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Jacqueline Fischer

Publications and source records attributed to Jacqueline Fischer.

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The far-infrared spectrum of Arp 220

ISO/LWS grating observations of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220 shows absorption in molecular lines of OH, H$_2$O, CH, NH, and NH$_3$, as well as in the [O I] 63 $μ$m line and emission in the [C II] 158 $μ$m line. We have modeled the continuum and the emission/absorption of all observed features by means of a non-local radiative transfer code. The continuum from 25 to 1300 $μ$m is modeled as a warm (106 K) nuclear region that is optically thick in the far-infrared, attenuated by an extended region (size 2$''$) that is heated mainly through absorption of nuclear infrared radiation. The molecular absorption in the nuclear region is characterized by high excitation due to the high infrared radiation density. The OH column densities are high toward the nucleus and the extended region. The H$_2$O column density is also high toward the nucleus and lower in the extended region. The column densities in a halo are similar to what are found in the diffuse clouds toward Sgr B2 near the Galactic Center. Most notable are the high column densities found for NH and NH$_3$ toward the nucleus, with values of $\sim1.5\times10^{16}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $\sim3\times10^{16}$ cm$^{-2}$, respectively. A combination of PDRs in the extended region and hot cores with enhanced \hdo photodissociation and a possible shock contribution in the nuclei may explain the relative column densities of OH and \hdo, whereas the nitrogen chemistry may be strongly affected by cosmic ray ionization. The [C II] 158 $μ$m line is well reproduced by our models and its ``deficit'' relative to the CII/FIR ratio in normal and starburst galaxies is suggested to be mainly a consequence of the dominant non-PDR component of far-infrared radiation, although our models alone cannot rule out extinction effects in the nuclei.

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Galaxies: The Long Wavelength View

Far-infrared spectroscopy obtained with the ISO LWS has shown that there is strong variation (more than 2 orders of magnitude) in the [C II]/FIR ratios in galaxies extending from blue compact dwarfs, to normal and starburst galaxies, down to elliptical and ultraluminous galaxies (ULIGs). The variation in the relative [C II] 158 micron line strength has been attributed to low metallicity in blue compact dwarfs, high /n for normal galaxies and ULIGs, soft radiation fields in ellipticals, and extinction or enhanced abundance of dust in ionized regions in ULIGs. Full ISO/LWS far-infrared (43 - 197 micron) spectra of six nearby IR-bright galaxies reveal a dramatic progression of decreasing fine-structure line emission from ionized species to molecular (OH and H2O) absorption line dominated. The archetypical ULIG, Arp 220, lies at the absorption line dominated end of this sequence. For Arp 220, radiative transfer models indicate that it is optically thick in the FIR and that the water molecules observed in absorption are radiatively excited. If extinction plays a role in the sequence it appears from this analysis that the affected regions are heavily obscured even in the far-infrared, while the detected line emission is not more obscured in ULIGs than in starbursts. Linear correlation between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) 6.2 micron feature strength and the [C II] 158 micron line strength in starbursts and ULIGs suggests a similar effect for these emitting species, and that the detected PAH emission is not more obscured in ULIGs than in lower luminosity starbursts.

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