[99.04] Dense Molecular Gas in the ISM of Luminous Infrared Galaxies

AAS 205th Meeting, 9-13 January 2005
Session 99 The Extragalactic ISM
Poster, Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 9:20am-6:30pm, Exhibit Hall

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[99.04] Dense Molecular Gas in the ISM of Luminous Infrared Galaxies

D. Narayanan, C. Walker (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona), C. Groppi (Steward Observatory, University of Arizona/NRAO)

The source of infrared luminosity in infrared luminous galaxies is a hotly debated issue. While it is clear that starbursts play a large role in powering these galaxies, the relative importance of (possible) dust enshrouded AGN is unknown. Here we report CO (J=3-2) emission in 11 luminous infrared galaxies obtained with the Steward Observatory/University of Arizona Heinrich Hertz Telescope on Mt. Graham. CO (J=3-2) traces warm, dense gas and is an effective probe of star formation. We investigate the relationship between infrared luminosty and star-forming gas mass. Our main result is that L_IR ~ M^0.77_{H2,warm-dense}. We will discuss the implications of these results.

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