A sensitive search for CO J=1-0 emission in 4C 41.17: high-excitation molecular gas at z=3.8

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dc.creatorPapadopoulos, Padeli
dc.creatorGreve, Thomas
dc.creatorIvison, Rob
dc.creatorDe Breuck, Carlos
dc.date2005-09-02
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T06:26:17Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T06:26:17Z
dc.descriptionWe report sensitive imaging observations of the CO J=1-0 line emission in the powerful high-redshift radio galaxy 4C 41.17 (z=3.8) with the NRAO Very Large Array (VLA), conducted in order to detect the large concomitant H_2 gas reservoir recently unveiled in this system by De Breuck et al (2005) via the emission of the high excitation J=4-3 line. Our observations fail to detect the J=1-0 line but yield sensitive lower limits on the R_43=(4-3)/(1-0) brightness temperature ratio of R_43 ~ 0.55 - >1.0 for the bulk of the H_2 gas mass. Such high ratios are typical of the high-excitation molecular gas phase ``fueling'' the star formation in local starbursts, but quite unlike these objects, much of the molecular gas in 4C 41.17 seems to be in such a state, and thus participating in the observed starburst episode. The widely observed and unique association of highly excited molecular gas with star forming sites allows CO line emission with large (high-J)/(low-J) intensity ratios to serve as an excellent ``marker'' of the spatial distribution of star formation in distant dust-obscured starbursts, unaffected by extinction.
dc.description7 Pages including 8 PostScript figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0509048
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0509048
dc.identifierAstron.Astrophys. 444 (2005) 813
dc.identifierdoi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053611
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/97066
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleA sensitive search for CO J=1-0 emission in 4C 41.17: high-excitation molecular gas at z=3.8
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