Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-03-25
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Accepted by A&A, 25 pages, 10 figures. For a version with high quality figures, see http://lucipher.ca.astro.it/~matteo/rc-co/
Scientific paper
10.1051/0004-6361:20042586
We have studied the relationships between the radio continuum (RC) and CO emission for a set of galaxies selected from the BIMA Survey of Nearby Galaxies. We find that the global CO-RC correlation is as tight as the global FIR-RC correlation for the 24 galaxies studied. Within 9 galaxies with ~6 arcsec CO and RC data available, the CO and RC emission is as tightly correlated as its global value; the radially averaged correlation is nearly linear, extends over four order of magnitude and holds down to the smallest linear resolution of the observations, which is ~100 pc. We define qco as the log of the ratio of the CO to RC flux as a way to characterize the CO-RC correlation. Combining 6 arcsec pixel-by-pixel comparisons across all sources yields an average small-scale correlation of qco = 1.1 +/- 0.28; that is, the spatially resolved correlation has a dispersion that is less than a factor of 2. There are however systematic variations in the CO/RC ratio; the strongest organized structures in qco tend to be found along spiral arms and on size scales much larger than the resolution of the observations. We do not measure any systematic trend in CO/RC ratio as a function of radius in galaxies. The constancy of the CO/RC ratio stands in contrast to the previously measured decrease in the FIR/RC ratio as a function of radius in galaxies. We suggest that the excellent correlation between the CO, RC and FIR emission in galaxies is a consequence of regulation by hydrostatic pressure; this model links all three emissions without invoking an explicit dependence on a star formation scenario.
Blitz Leo
Ekers Ron
Helfer Tamara Toby
Moscadelli Luca
Murgia Mariella
No associations
LandOfFree
The Molecular Connection to the FIR-Radio Continuum Correlation in Galaxies does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Molecular Connection to the FIR-Radio Continuum Correlation in Galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Molecular Connection to the FIR-Radio Continuum Correlation in Galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-29860