An informal seminar series to highlight work from early career researchers from institutions around the world.
Title: JWST reveals… the atomic ISM? Prospects for PAHs as a neutral ISM tracer from PHANGS-JWST
Abstract: JWST’s excellent resolution and sensitivity enable it to capture a crystal-clear image of the neutral ISM structure across the nearby universe using PAHs. Based on mid-IR to CO scaling relations, MIRI imaging potentially reaches the anticipated surface densities for the atomic-dominated regime. Our initial findings also indicate a shift from clumpy to smooth morphology at around 10 Msol pc-2, where PDR-based models predict a transition to molecular-dominated gas. This finding underscores the potential use of morphology-based metrics to differentiate between neutral ISM phases, expanding on extensive prior work in the Galaxy to encompass nearby galaxies. In my presentation, I will discuss our preliminary attempts in this area using the PHANGS-JWST sample and the potential future steps using 21-cm HI morphology and kinematics to guide ISM phase separation using PAHs.
Join via Zoom here.
Organized by: Leon Trapman, Dan Rybarczyk, Nickolas Pingel, & Melinda Soares-Furtado