Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...209.1513b&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #15.13; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, V
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Many issues in a galaxy's evolution and properties of its interstellar medium (ISM) are driven by massive stars in young (0-10 Myr) star clusters. At these ages, star clusters produce metals from supernovae explosions, generate ionizing photons that determine the phase of the ISM, and provide mechanical energy to rearrange the ISM. Here, we analyze the IRS spectra of 62 HII regions to determine the importance of the star cluster's ionization hardness (measured via [Ne III]/[Ne II]) on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) equivalent widths (e.g., PAH 6.2 EW), the amount of warm molecular hydrogen emission relative to the CO emission (i.e., H_2 S(2)/CO), and the mass and temperature of the dust. We also analyze these properties relative to metallicity (i.e., oxygen abundance). Our SINGS data contribute a larger wavelength range and sensitivity than past work and can contribute a larger metallicity range (12+log(O/H) between 7.7 and 8.7) with a more significant sample. We find a relation between the metallicity, ionization hardness, and PAH EW. As the ionization hardness increases by a factor of 10 for metallicities lower than 8.41, the PAH EWs for the major features decrease by a factor of 100. Ionization hardnesses for H II regions with larger metallicities do not affect the PAH emission at all. The warm molecular hydrogen relative to the cold emission also increases as the ionization hardness. We find no relation between the star cluster's ionization hardness and the dust masses and temperatures. This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through an award issued by JPL/Caltech.
Buckalew Brent Alan
SINGS Team
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