Water in the interstellar media of galaxies

This paper reviews recent observations of water in Galactic interstellar clouds and nearby galactic nuclei. Two results are highlighted: (1) Multi-line H2O mapping of the Orion Bar shows that the water chemistry in PDRs is driven by photodissociation and -desorption, unlike in star-forming regions....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union 2015-08, Vol.11 (A29B), p.395-399
Main Author: van der Tak, Floris F. S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Astrophysics
Chemical elements
Clouds
Contributed Papers
Disks
Galactic nuclei
Galaxies
Interstellar
Interstellar chemistry
Ionization
Star formation
Stars & galaxies
Water
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:This paper reviews recent observations of water in Galactic interstellar clouds and nearby galactic nuclei. Two results are highlighted: (1) Multi-line H2O mapping of the Orion Bar shows that the water chemistry in PDRs is driven by photodissociation and -desorption, unlike in star-forming regions. (2) High-resolution spectra of H2O and its ions toward 5 starburst / AGN systems reveal low ionization rates, unlike as found from higher-excitation lines. We conclude that the chemistry of water strongly depends on radiation environment, and that the ionization rates of interstellar clouds decrease by at least 10 between galactic nuclei and disks.
ISSN:1743-9213
1743-9221
DOI:10.1017/S1743921316005627