The Interstellar Medium in Gravitationally Lensed Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies
Publisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
In this dissertation, I characterize the interstellar medium (ISM) in two gravitationally lensed dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) from the South Pole Telescope (SPT) survey using observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the most intensely star-forming galaxy and the most distant galaxy from this sample.In Chapter 1, I provide context and background about galaxies, gravitational lensing, and the ISM. In Chapter 2, I use high-resolution observations of [CII]158 and continuum dust emission to study SPT0346-52, a gravitationally lensed system at z=5.7.I use a pixelated, interferometric lens modeling code to ``de-lens'' the emission from SPT0346-52 and reconstruct its source-plane structure. With these reconstructions, I study the ``[CII]-deficit'', an observed phenomenon where the [CII]58/L_FIR ratio falls as Sigma_FIR increases. I then explore the kinematics of \cii 158 in SPT0346-52 in detail using position-velocity diagrams and the Toomre Q stability parameter. This work was published in Litke, et al. (2019). In Chapter 3, I follow up on SPT0346-52 with ALMA observations of [NII]205, [CII]158, [OI]146, [NII]122, [OI]63, and dust continuum in order to study the multi-phase ISM in this system.As in Chapter 2, I reconstruct the source-plane emission. I use the photoionization code Cloudy to model the conditions of the ISM. I explore deficits in all of the lines observed. I study the neutral phase of the ISM, the electron density in the diffuse ionized phase, and I discuss the implications of the non-detection of [OI]63. This work was published in Litke, et al. (2022). In Chapter 4, I discuss on-going work using ALMA observations of [CII]158, [OI]146, [NII]122, [OIII]88, and dust continuum to study the multi-phase ISM in the z=6.9 interacting galaxies of SPT0311-58.I use different line and continuum ratios to determine the ionization parameter and metallicity, and constrain the density of the neutral gas phase. In Chapter 5, I summarize the results of my work and the properties of these two systems, and discuss follow-up observations.Type
textElectronic Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.Degree Level
doctoralDegree Program
Graduate CollegeAstronomy and Astrophysics