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Taking the Temperature in Starburst Galaxies –Formaldehyde as a Tracer of Extragalactic Molecular Gas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2008

S. Mühle*
Affiliation:
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe, Postbus 2, 7990 AA Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
E.R. Seaquist
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4, Canada
C. Henkel
Affiliation:
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany
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Abstract

We demonstrate the diagnostic value of para-formaldehyde (p-H2CO) as a tracer of the density and the temperature of the molecular gas in external galaxies 
using the prototypical starburst galaxy M 82 as an example. 
 We also report the discovery of the methanol line CH3OH(42 → 31, E) from M 82.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© EAS, EDP Sciences, 2008

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