Abstract
The standard method of mapping the interstellar medium in a galaxy, by observing the molecular gas in the CO 1-0 line and the atomic gas in the 21-cm line, is largely limited with current telescopes to galaxies in the nearby universe. In this letter, we use SPIRE observations of the galaxies M 99 and M 100 to explore the alternative approach of mapping the interstellar medium using the continuum emission from the dust. We have compared the methods by measuring the relationship between the star-formation rate and the surface density of gas in the galaxies using both methods. We find the two methods give relationships with a similar dispersion, confirming that observing the continuum emission from the dust is a promising method of mapping the interstellar medium in galaxies.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | L62 |
| Journal | Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| Volume | 518 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- ISM: abundances
- dust, extinction
- galaxies: ISM
- galaxies: spiral