| Name | OT2_maravena_2 |
| Title | The Physical Conditions of the Interstellar Medium in a Molecular Einstein Ring Submillimeter Galaxy at zvirgul4 |
| URL | http://archives.esac.esa.int/hsa/whsa-tap-server/data?retrieval_type=OBSERVATION&observation_id=1342253672&instrument_name=SPIRE&product_level=LEVEL0&compress=true |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-w48kcww |
| Author | aravena, m. |
| Description | Understanding the nature of the most distant starburst galaxies, in particular submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), has been one of the major challenges of modern observational cosmology. However, the intrinsic faintness, heavy obscuration and large cosmological distances of these systems have precluded the characterization of their optical properties and have limited their study to the rarest starburst galaxies. The most efficient way to investigate the properties of these systems is with the aid of gravitationally lensing at IR wavelengths. The recent discovery of a bright, highly magnified (mvirgul12) SMG, MM18423+5939 at zvirgul4, represents an unprecedented opportunity to understand in detail the interstellar medium (ISM) conditions in these objects and to bring such studies to a new level of detail. Follow-up observations with the EVLA showed that this source forms a spectacular molecular Einstein ring in CO high-resolution images, the second such object known to date. Here, we request 29.6 hrs of Herschel/SPIRE time to simultaneously observe, for the first time, three of the main coolants of the ISM: the OI63um, OIII52um and OIII88um emission lines, in a SMG at zvirgul4. We will obtain a direct measurement of the physical state of the dense and warm gas phase that will be directly comparable to similar observations of local galaxies. We will combine these measurements with previous CO/CI observations of our target to provide a critical, detailed model of its ISM gas properties namely temperatures, H2 densities, e- densities and UV radiation field. Our on-going HST/WFC3 imaging program of our target is key, since it will allow us to accurately model the lens and source-plane gas distribution for a proper interpretation of the line emission. With a total IR luminosity of 1.3x10^14/m L_sun, this source has the potential to become the archetype for future deep spectroscopy with ALMA and dense gas studies at high-redshift. |
| Publication |
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| Instrument | SPIRE_SpireSpectrometer_ |
| Temporal Coverage | 2012-10-20T11:04:45Z/2012-12-02T04:00:27Z |
| 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 | 2013-06-01T23:03:39Z |
| Keywords | Herschel, HSC, submillimetre, far-infrared, HIFI, PACS, SPIRE |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, aravena et al., 2013, 'The Physical Conditions of the Interstellar Medium in a Molecular Einstein Ring Submillimeter Galaxy at zvirgul4', SPG v14.1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-w48kcww |