Probing the molecular interstellar medium of M82 with Herschel-SPIRE spectroscopy

Abstract

We present the observations of the starburst galaxy M82 taken with the Herschel SPIRE Fourier-transform spectrometer. The spectrum (194–671 μm) shows a prominent CO rotational ladder from J = 4–3 to 13–12 emitted by the central region of M82. The fundamental properties of the gas are well constrained by the high J lines observed for the first time. Radiative transfer modeling of these high-S/N ^(12)CO and ^(13)CO lines strongly indicates a very warm molecular gas component at ~500 K and pressure of ~3×10^6 K cm^(-3), in good agreement with the H_2 rotational lines measurements from Spitzer and ISO. We suggest that this warm gas is heated by dissipation of turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM) rather than X-rays or UV flux from the straburst. This paper illustrates the promise of the SPIRE FTS for the study of the ISM of nearby galaxies.

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