The Molecular ISM in Low Surface Brightness Disk Galaxies

Authors

J. Christopher Mihos, Case Western Reserve UniversityFollow
Stacy S. McGaugh, Case Western Reserve UniversityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Stacy S. McGaugh

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-10-1999

Abstract

We present models for the interstellar medium in disk galaxies. In particular, we investigate whether the ISM in low surface brightness galaxies can support a significant fraction of molecular gas given their low metallicity and surface density. It is found that the abundance and line brightness of CO in LSB galaxies is small and typically below current observational limits. Still, depending on physical details of the ISM, the fraction of gas in the form of molecular hydrogen can be significant in the inner few kilo-parsecs of a low surface brightness galaxy. This molecular gas would be at temperatures of ∼ 30-50 K, rather higher than in high surface brightness galaxies. These results may help explain the star-forming properties and inferred evolutionary history of LSB galaxies.

Keywords

galaxies: evolution, galaxies: ISM, galaxies: spiral, galaxies: structure, ISM: molecules, ISM: structure

Language

English

Publication Title

Astrophysical Journal

Rights

© The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. This content is free to access, download, and share. For all other uses, you must obtain permission to reuse content: https://journals.aas.org/article-charges-and-copyright/#AAS_material

Recommended Citation

J. Christopher Mihos et al 1999. The Molecular ISM in Low Surface Brightness Disk Galaxies. ApJ 515 89