Constraints on molecular gas in cooling flows and powerful radio galaxies

Details Constraints on molecular gas in cooling flows and powerful radio galaxies Constraints on molecular gas in cooling flows and powerful radio galaxies

Feb 1994

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994apj...422..467o&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 422, no. 2, p. 467-479

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

83

Carbon Monoxide, Cooling Flows (Astrophysics), Hydrogen, Interstellar Matter, Molecular Gases, Radio Astronomy, Radio Galaxies, X Ray Absorption, Centimeter Waves, Extremely High Frequencies, Millimeter Waves, Superhigh Frequencies, Very Large Array (Vla)

Scientific paper

We searched for molecular gas in a heterogeneous sample of five radio-loud galaxies (three of which are inferred to be in cooling flow clusters) using the Swedish-European Southern Observatory (Swedish-ESO) Submillimeter Telescope. We do not detect CO in emission in any of the cluster sources at a 3 sigma level of typically 15 mK. White et al. (1991) have suggested column densities of NH approximately 1021/sq cm in these clusters with a spatial covering factor of order unity and a total mass of M approximately 1012 solar mass. Our limits are inconsistent with these column densities and spatial covering factor unless the molecular gas is very cold (kinetic temperature close to 2.7 K) or there only a few clouds along each line of sight. We estimate minimum temperatures in the range approximately 20-30 K. We find that clouds of atomic and molecular hydrogen require strict fine-tuning of parameter space in order to satisfy the requirements for the large column densities NH approximately 1021/sq cm, unit covering factor, and a small number of clouds along the line of sight. Currently the only way molecular gas can be responsible for the X-ray absorption and still be consistent with our observations is if (1) there is of order one cloud along the line of sight and (2) the optical depth in C-12 1 to 0 is less than 10. In addition, we present a Very Large Array (VLA) image of NGC 4696 which suggests this object is a member of the class of 'amorphous cooling flow radio sources.' The C-12 1 to 0 line is detected in emission in PKS 0634-206, a classical double radio galaxy which is rich in extended optical emission line gas. The estimated molecular gas mass is Mmol approximately 3 x 109 solar mass and is much larger than that of the ionized component detected in hydrogen alpha suggesting that the emission-line nebula is radiation bounded.

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