paper

Dust and molecules in the Local Group galaxy NGC 6822. III. The first-ranked HII region complex Hubble V

arXiv:astro-ph/0210154 · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20021464

Abstract

We present maps of the first-ranked HII region complex Hubble V in the metal-poor Local Group dwarf galaxy NGC 6822 in the first four transitions of CO, the 158 micron transition of C+, the 21-cm line of HI, the Pa-beta line of HII, and the continuum at 21 cm and 2.2 micron wavelengths. We have also determined various integrated intensities, notably of HCO+ and near-IR H2 emission. Although Hubble X is located in a region of relatively strong HI emission, our mapping failed to reveal any significant CO emission from it. The relatively small CO cloud complex associated with Hubble V is comparable in size to the ionized HII region. The CO clouds are hot (Tkin) = 150 K) and have high molecular gas densities (n(H2) = 10**4 cm**-3) Molecular hydrogen probably extends well beyond the CO boundaries. C+ column densities are more than an order of magnitude higher than those of CO. The total mass of the complex is about 10**6 M(sun) and molecular gas account for more than half of this. The complex is excited by luminous stars reddened or obscured at visual, but apparent at near-infrared wavelengths. The total embedded stellar mass may account for about 10% of the total mass, and the mass of ionized gas for half of that. Hubble V illustrates that modest star formation efficiencies may be associated with high CO destruction efficiencies in low-metallicity objects. The analysis of the Hubble V photon-dominated region (PDR) confirms in an independent manner the high value of the CO-to-H2 conversion factor X found earlier, characteristic of starforming low-metallicity regions.

Accepted for publication in A&A

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