Diagnosing the interstellar medium of galaxies with far-infrared emission lines

I. The [C II] 158 μm line at z ∼ 0

¹ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
e-mail: ramos@astro.rug.nl
² SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, Landleven 12, 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
³ Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands

Received: 20 April 2020
Accepted: 24 November 2020

Abstract

Context. Atomic fine structure lines have been detected in the local Universe and at high redshifts over the past decades. The [C II] emission line at 158 μm is an important observable as it provides constraints on the interstellar medium (ISM) cooling processes.

Aims. We develop a physically motivated framework to simulate the production of far-infrared line emission from galaxies in a cosmological context. This first paper sets out our methodology and describes its first application: simulating the [C II] 158 μm line emission in the local Universe.

Methods. We combine the output from EAGLE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with a multi-phase model of the ISM. Gas particles are divided into three phases: dense molecular gas, neutral atomic gas, and diffuse ionised gas (DIG). We estimate the [C II] line emission from the three phases using a set of CLOUDY cooling tables.

Results. Our results agree with previous findings regarding the contribution of these three ISM phases to the [C II] emission. Our model shows good agreement with the observed L_[C II–star formation rate (SFR) relation in the local Universe within 0.4 dex scatter.

Conclusions. The fractional contribution to the [C II] line from different ISM phases depends on the total SFR and metallicity. The neutral gas phase dominates the [C II] emission in galaxies with SFR ∼ 0.01–1 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, but the ionised phase dominates at lower SFRs. Galaxies above solar metallicity exhibit lower L_[C II/SFR ratios for the neutral phase. In comparison, the L_[C II/SFR ratio in the DIG is stable when metallicity varies. We suggest that the reduced size of the neutral clouds, caused by increased SFRs, is the likely cause for the L_[C II deficit at high infrared luminosities, although EAGLE simulations do not reach these luminosities at z = 0.