| Name | OT1_jglenn_1 |
| Title | NGC 1266: Probing an extraordinary phase of galaxy evolution with Herschel |
| URL | http://archives.esac.esa.int/hsa/whsa-tap-server/data?retrieval_type=OBSERVATION&observation_id=1342237619&instrument_name=HIFI&product_level=LEVEL0&compress=true |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-919rxak |
| Author | glenn, j. |
| Description | Two important, coupled questions in galaxy evolution are: how did gas-rich galaxies deplete their interstellar media to become gas poor and how do feedback mechanisms from star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGN) regulate star formation and supermassive black hole growth? Thus, observing galaxies with substantial gas content, nuclear activity, and outflows can make a significant impact on our understanding of galaxy evolution. Recently, observations of an early-type galaxy, NGC 1266, an S0 LINER, revealed a powerful molecular outflow associated with a compact (300-pc radius) and massive reservoir (of order 10^9 solar masses) of molecular gas. The outflow velocity exceeds the galaxy escape velocity, with an estimated flow of 40 solar masses per year. At this rate, the galaxy will deplete its molecular gas within 30 Myrs. There is evidence for an AGN, but the star-formation activity is weak given the gas surface density and no companion galaxy is visible. These unusual characteristics make NGC 1266 an excellent candidate for detailed study of the molecular gas with Herschel to help characterize gas depletion and feedback mechanisms in galaxies. With HIFI and the SPIRE FTS, the CO spectral lines will be measured, from J = 5 4 to J = 13 - 12, which, combined with detailed models of the line emission, will yield precisely the temperature, density, optical depth, and mass of the molecular gas in the core and outflow. High signal-to-noise line detections and good velocity resolution, provided by HIFI, will enable the core line emission to be robustly separated from the outflow line emission, and to study the dynamics of the outflow. With the SPIRE-FTS, a full low resolution spectral view from 4501500 GHz will be obtained to detect tracers of dense gas, such as HCN, HCO+, and HNC. The dense fraction of the gas can be assessed and the dust continuum emission can be used to infer an independent measure of molecular gas mass. Herschel is the only facility capable of making these observations. |
| Publication |
|
| Instrument | HIFI_HifiPoint_dbs, SPIRE_SpireSpectrometer_ |
| Temporal Coverage | 2012-01-19T07:15:48Z/2012-02-23T15:38:39Z |
| Version | SPG v14.1.0 |
| Mission Description | Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities. |
| Creator Contact | https://support.cosmos.esa.int/h®erschel/ |
| Date Published | 2012-08-23T14:22:29Z |
| Keywords | Herschel, HSC, submillimetre, far-infrared, HIFI, PACS, SPIRE |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, glenn et al., 2012, 'NGC 1266: Probing an extraordinary phase of galaxy evolution with Herschel', SPG v14.1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-919rxak |