The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2023)
PHANGS–JWST First Results: Measuring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Properties across the Multiphase Interstellar Medium
- Jérémy Chastenet,
- Jessica Sutter,
- Karin Sandstrom,
- Francesco Belfiore,
- Oleg V. Egorov,
- Kirsten L. Larson,
- Adam K. Leroy,
- Daizhong Liu,
- Erik Rosolowsky,
- David A. Thilker,
- Elizabeth J. Watkins,
- Thomas G. Williams,
- Ashley. T. Barnes,
- F. Bigiel,
- Médéric Boquien,
- Mélanie Chevance,
- Daniel A. Dale,
- J. M. Diederik Kruijssen,
- Eric Emsellem,
- Kathryn Grasha,
- Brent Groves,
- Hamid Hassani,
- Annie Hughes,
- Kathryn Kreckel,
- Sharon E. Meidt,
- Hsi-An Pan,
- Miguel Querejeta,
- Eva Schinnerer,
- Cory M. Whitcomb
Affiliations
- Jérémy Chastenet
- ORCiD
- Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Ghent University , Krijgslaan 281-S9, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
- Jessica Sutter
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Department of Physics, University of California , San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Karin Sandstrom
- ORCiD
- Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, Department of Physics, University of California , San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
- Francesco Belfiore
- ORCiD
- INAF—Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory , Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125, Florence, Italy
- Oleg V. Egorov
- ORCiD
- Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg , Mönchhofstraße 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Kirsten L. Larson
- ORCiD
- AURA for the European Space Agency (ESA), Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Adam K. Leroy
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University , 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA; Center for Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics , 191 West Woodruff Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Daizhong Liu
- ORCiD
- Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE) , Giessenbachstr. 1, D-85748 Garching, Germany
- Erik Rosolowsky
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
- David A. Thilker
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Elizabeth J. Watkins
- ORCiD
- Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg , Mönchhofstraße 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Thomas G. Williams
- ORCiD
- Sub-department of Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK; Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Ashley. T. Barnes
- ORCiD
- Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn , Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121, Bonn, Germany
- F. Bigiel
- ORCiD
- Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn , Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121, Bonn, Germany
- Médéric Boquien
- ORCiD
- Centro de Astronomía (CITEVA), Universidad de Antofagasta , Avenida Angamos 601, Antofagasta, Chile
- Mélanie Chevance
- ORCiD
- Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg , Albert-Ueberle-Strasse 2, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany; Cosmic Origins Of Life (COOL) Research DAO , coolresearch.io
- Daniel A. Dale
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Wyoming , Laramie, WY 82071, USA
- J. M. Diederik Kruijssen
- ORCiD
- Cosmic Origins Of Life (COOL) Research DAO , coolresearch.io
- Eric Emsellem
- ORCiD
- European Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, D-85748 Garching, Germany; Univ Lyon , Univ Lyon1, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon UMR5574, F-69230 Saint-Genis-Laval France
- Kathryn Grasha
- ORCiD
- Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University , Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia
- Brent Groves
- ORCiD
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, University of Western Australia , 7 Fairway, Crawley, 6009 WA, Australia
- Hamid Hassani
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, University of Alberta , Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E1, Canada
- Annie Hughes
- ORCiD
- IRAP, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, CNES, UPS, (Toulouse), France
- Kathryn Kreckel
- ORCiD
- Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg , Mönchhofstraße 12-14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Sharon E. Meidt
- ORCiD
- Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Ghent University , Krijgslaan 281-S9, B-9000 Gent, Belgium
- Hsi-An Pan
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, Tamkang University , No. 151, Yingzhuan Road, Tamsui District, New Taipei City 251301, Taiwan
- Miguel Querejeta
- ORCiD
- Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (IGN) , C/Alfonso XII, 3, E-28014 Madrid, Spain
- Eva Schinnerer
- ORCiD
- Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany
- Cory M. Whitcomb
- ORCiD
- Ritter Astrophysical Research Center, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH 43606, USA
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acac94
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 944,
no. 2
p. L12
Abstract
Ratios of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) vibrational bands are a promising tool for measuring the properties of the PAH population and their effect on star formation. The photometric bands of the MIRI and NIRCam instruments on JWST provide the opportunity to measure PAH emission features across entire galaxy disks at unprecedented resolution and sensitivity. Here we present the first results of this analysis in a sample of three nearby galaxies: NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496. Based on the variations observed in the 3.3, 7.7, and 11.3 μ m features, we infer changes to the average PAH size and ionization state across the different galaxy environments. High values of F335M _PAH /F1130W and low values of F1130W/F770W are measured in H ii regions in all three galaxies. This suggests that these regions are populated by hotter PAHs, and/or that the PAH ionization fraction is larger. We see additional evidence of heating and/or changes in PAH size in regions with higher molecular gas content as well as increased ionization in regions with higher H α intensity.
Keywords