Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Context. As a major cooling line of interstellar gas, the far-infrared 158 μm line from singly ionised carbon [C II] is an important tracer of various components of the interstellar medium in galaxies across all spatial and morphological scales. Yet, there is still not a strong constraint on the origins of [C II] emission. Aims. In this work, we derive the resolved [C II] star formation rate relation and aim to unravel the complexity of the origin of [C II]. Methods. We used the Field-Imaging Far-Infrared Line Spectrometer on board the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy to map [C II] in three nearby star-forming galaxies at sub-kiloparsec scales, namely, NGC 3627, NGC 4321, and NGC 6946, and we compared these [C II] observations to the galactic properties derived from complementary data from the literature. Results. We find that the relationship between the [C II] fine structure line and star formation rate shows variations between the galaxies as well as between different environments within each galaxy. Conclusions. Our results show that the use of [C II] as a tracer for star formation is much more tangled than has previously been suggested within the extragalactic literature, which typically focuses on small regions of galaxies and/or uses large-aperture sampling of many different physical environments. As found within resolved observations of the Milky Way, the picture obtained from [C II] observations is complicated by its local interstellar medium conditions. Future studies will require a larger sample and additional observational tracers, obtained on spatial scales within galaxies, in order to accurately disentangle the origin of [C II] and calibrate its use as a star formation tracer.
Authors: I. Kovačić, A. T. Barnes, F. Bigiel, I. De Looze, S. C. Madden, R. Herrera-Camus, A. Krabbe, M. Baes, A. Beck, A. D. Bolatto, A. Bryant, S. Colditz, C. Fischer, N. Geis, C. Iserlohe, R. Klein, A. Leroy, L. W. Looney, A. Poglitsch, N. S. Sartorio, W. D. Vacca, S. van der Giessen, A. Nersesian
Institutions: University of Bonn, Ghent University, European Southern Observatory, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Cité, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives, Université Paris-Saclay, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation, University of Concepción, University of Stuttgart, University of Maryland, College Park, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Ames Research Center, The Ohio State University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, NSF NOIRLab, Universidad de Granada, University of Liège
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, Universities Space Research Association, European Commission, Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Universidad de Concepción, Universität Stuttgart, Vlaamse regering, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, H2020 European Research Council
Awards: G1134310069, Atomic gas in galaxies: a critical test for state-of-the-art cosmological simulations of galaxy formation, Dusty Beginnings, G2428672771, Unveiling the hidden cold dust in nearby spiral galaxies, The origin of cosmic dust in galaxies, G3657338460, G434337789, G4538171546, MILLENIUM NUCLEUS FOR GALAXIES, G5274026675, CENTRO DE ASTROFISICA Y TECNOLOGIAS AFINES (CATA)
OpenAlex ID: W6922174969
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