The CO-to-H2 Conversion Factor in the Galaxy M51

Details The CO-to-H2 Conversion Factor in the Galaxy M51 The CO-to-H2 Conversion Factor in the Galaxy M51

Dec 1995

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995pasj...47..761n&link_type=abstract

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, v.47, p.761-769.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

51

Galaxies: Abundances, Galaxies: Individual (M51), Interstellar: Clouds, Interstellar: Extinction, Interstellar: Molecules

Scientific paper

The CO-to-H_2 conversion factor has been evaluated in M51 using visual extinctions and the CO intensity toward 30 HII regions in the spiral arms. The derived value is X = N(H_2)/I_CO = (0.9 +/- 0.1)times 10(20) cm(-2) [K km s(-1) ](-1) , where N(H_2) is the H_2 column density and I_CO the CO integrated intensity. The derived value is comparable to the lowest value in our Galaxy or a factor of three lower than the Galactic mean value. The X tends to be larger in the outer region of the galactic disk. At a very low I_CO of < 20-- 40 K km s(-1) , the ratio shows large values (> 2) in M51 and other galaxies. These variations of X are probably due to a small optical depth of CO emission and a low abundance of heavy elements.

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