http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.00639
We present a method to simultaneously model the dust far-infrared spectral energy distribution (SED) and the total infrared – carbon monoxide (CO) integrated intensity (SIR-ICO) relationship. The modelling employs a hierarchical Bayesian (HB) technique to estimate the dust surface density, temperature (Td), and spectral index $\beta_{eff}$ locally at each pixel from the observed far-infrared (IR) maps, such as those provided by Herschel. Additionally, given the CO map, the method simultaneously estimates the slope and intercept between the total IR and CO intensities, which are global source properties. The model accounts for correlated and uncorrelated uncertainties, such as those present in Herschel maps. We simulate two synthetic datasets to verify the accuracy of the HB method, and contrast the results with commonly employed non-hierarchical fitting methods. As an initial application, we model the dust and gas on 100 pc scales in the Magellanic Clouds from Herschel IR and NANTEN CO observations. There is a stronger negative correlation between Td and $\beta_{eff}$ in the LMC, with correlation coefficient $\rho \approx -0.3$, compared to the SMC, which has $\rho \approx -0.15$, suggestive of fundamental differences in the dust properties in these galaxies. The slopes of the logSIR-logICO relationship are similar in both galaxies. Yet, in the SMC the intercept is nearly 3X higher, which can be explained by its lower metallicity resulting in a larger SIR per unit ICO compared to the LMC. The HB modelling evidences an increase in Td in regions with the highest CO intensities in the LMC. This may be due to enhanced dust heating in the densest regions, likely from newly born stars. Such simultaneous dust and gas modelling may further reveal variations in the properties of the ISM and its association with other galactic characteristics, such as the star formation rate and metallicity.
R. Shetty, J. Roman-Duval, S. Hony, et. al.
Thu, 3 Sep 15
40/58
Comments: 15 pages, 13 figures, submitted to MNRAS. Comments welcome
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