PHANGS–JWST First Results: Tracing the Diffuse Interstellar Medium with JWST Imaging of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission in Nearby Galaxies

Bibliographic Details
Title: PHANGS–JWST First Results: Tracing the Diffuse Interstellar Medium with JWST Imaging of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emission in Nearby Galaxies
Authors: Karin M. Sandstrom, Eric W. Koch, Adam K. Leroy, Erik Rosolowsky, Eric Emsellem, Rowan J. Smith, Oleg V. Egorov, Thomas G. Williams, Kirsten L. Larson, Janice C. Lee, Eva Schinnerer, David A. Thilker, Ashley T. Barnes, Francesco Belfiore, F. Bigiel, Guillermo A. Blanc, Alberto D. Bolatto, Médéric Boquien, Yixian Cao, Jérémy Chastenet, Mélanie Chevance, I-Da Chiang, Daniel A. Dale, Christopher M. Faesi, Simon C. O. Glover, Kathryn Grasha, Brent Groves, Hamid Hassani, Jonathan D. Henshaw, Annie Hughes, Jaeyeon Kim, Ralf S. Klessen, Kathryn Kreckel, J. M. Diederik Kruijssen, Laura A. Lopez, Daizhong Liu, Sharon E. Meidt, Eric J. Murphy, Hsi-An Pan, Miguel Querejeta, Toshiki Saito, Amy Sardone, Mattia C. Sormani, Jessica Sutter, Antonio Usero, Elizabeth J. Watkins
Source: The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol 944, Iss 2, p L8 (2023)
Publisher Information: IOP Publishing, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Collection: LCC:Astrophysics
Subject Terms: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Interstellar atomic gas, Interstellar medium, Astronomical simulations, Astrophysics, QB460-466
More Details: JWST observations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission provide some of the deepest and highest resolution views of the cold interstellar medium (ISM) in nearby galaxies. If PAHs are well mixed with the atomic and molecular gas and illuminated by the average diffuse interstellar radiation field, PAH emission may provide an approximately linear, high-resolution, high-sensitivity tracer of diffuse gas surface density. We present a pilot study that explores using PAH emission in this way based on Mid-Infrared Instrument observations of IC 5332, NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496 from the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS-JWST Treasury. Using scaling relationships calibrated in Leroy et al., scaled F1130W provides 10–40 pc resolution and 3 σ sensitivity of Σ _gas ∼ 2 M _⊙ pc ^−2 . We characterize the surface densities of structures seen at
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2041-8213
2041-8205
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/2041-8205
DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aca972
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/1d70cd6f4838461ebd86f0de5d944de3
Accession Number: edsdoj.1d70cd6f4838461ebd86f0de5d944de3
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:20418213
20418205
DOI:10.3847/2041-8213/aca972
Published in:The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Language:English