Other
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011iaus..280e..50m&link_type=abstract
The Molecular Universe, Proceedings of the 280th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Toledo, Spain, May 30
Other
Scientific paper
The z=0.89 spiral galaxy located on the line of sight to the quasar PKS1830-211 is now the extragalactic object with the largest number of detected molecular species (34, plus isotopic variants). This remarkable molecular inventory was recently built after an unbiased 7 mm spectral survey of molecular absorption lines with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The z=0.89 intervening galaxy acts as a gravitational lens and splits the image of the background quasar into two bright and compact components (to the SW and NE), and a faint Einstein ring. Molecular absorption lines are detected toward both the SW and NE images, projected either side of the bulge, at a galactocentric distance of ˜2 and ˜4 kpc, respectively. Toward the NE image, only a handful of molecules is detected. The molecular content toward the SW image, on the other hand, is rich, with an estimated H2 column density of ˜2 × 1022 cm-2, allowing the gas properties to be derived. Rotation temperatures are consistent with the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature (˜5 K at z=0.89), whereas the kinetic temperature is about one order of magnitude higher. The density is a few 103 cm-3. The molecular fractional abundances are found to be between those in typical Galactic diffuse and translucent clouds, and clearly deviate from those observed in the dark cloud TMC1 or in the Galactic center region Sgr B2. The isotopic ratios of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur and silicon deviate significantly from the Solar values, which can be linked with the young age of the z=0.89 galaxy and a release of nucleosynthesis products dominated by massive stars.
Aalto Samuli
Beelen Alexander
Black John Harry
Combes François
Curran Stephen
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