Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Sep 1991
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991a%26a...249...31s&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 249, no. 1, Sept. 1991, p. 31-35.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
38
Oxygen 17, Oxygen 18, Star Formation, Starburst Galaxies, Stellar Mass, Galactic Nuclei, Line Spectra, Milky Way Galaxy, Millimeter Waves, Solar System
Scientific paper
Emission is detected from the two lowest rotational transitions of CO-17 from NGC 253, M 82, and, tentatively, IC 342. Observations of the corresponding transitions of C(O-18) were used to determine O-18/O-17 isotope ratios, which are 8.3 (+/- 1.3) toward M 82, 10 (+/- 3) toward NGC 253 and greater than about 5.5 toward IC 342. These values are much higher than the about 3.6 found in Galactic sources (e.g., Wannier 1980; Penzias 1981), and two are definitely larger than the solar system ratio, 5.5. The results can be understood if, during a previous epoch of star formation, high-mass stars were preferentially formed near the centers of NGC 253 and M 82, if it is assumed that O-18 is mainly produced in high mass stars. This leads to an underabundance of O-17 relative to O-18. This interpretation is also consistent with the high ratios of (C-12)O/(C-13)O observed in NGC 253 and M 82, which suggest an underabundance of C-13.
Henkel Carsten
Mauersberger Rainer
Sage Leslie J.
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