The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies
We present the analysis of a comprehensive sample of 352 early-type galaxies using public data, to investigate the correlations between CO luminosities and mid-infrared luminosities observed by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. We find strong correlations between both CO (1–0) and CO (2–1) lumino...
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2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d0f |
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| author | Yang Gao Enci Wang Qing-Hua Tan Timothy A. Davis Fu-Heng Liang Xue-Jian Jiang Ning Gai Qian Jiao DongDong Shi Shuai Feng Yanke Tang Shijie Li Yi-Fan Wang |
| author_facet | Yang Gao Enci Wang Qing-Hua Tan Timothy A. Davis Fu-Heng Liang Xue-Jian Jiang Ning Gai Qian Jiao DongDong Shi Shuai Feng Yanke Tang Shijie Li Yi-Fan Wang |
| author_sort | Yang Gao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present the analysis of a comprehensive sample of 352 early-type galaxies using public data, to investigate the correlations between CO luminosities and mid-infrared luminosities observed by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. We find strong correlations between both CO (1–0) and CO (2–1) luminosities and 12 μ m luminosity, boasting a correlation coefficient greater than 0.9 and an intrinsic scatter smaller than 0.1 dex. The consistent slopes observed for the relationships of CO (1–0) and CO (2–1) suggest that the line ratio R 21 lacks correlation with mid-infrared emission in early-type galaxies, which is significantly different from star-forming galaxies. Moreover, the slopes of L _CO(1−0) – L _12 _μ _m and L _CO(2−1) – L _12 _ μ _m relations in early-type galaxies are steeper than those observed in star-forming galaxies. Given the absence of correlation with color, morphology, or specific star formation rate (sSFR), the correlation between deviations and the molecular gas mass surface density could be eliminated by correcting the possible 12 μ m emission from old stars or adopting a systematically different α _CO . The latter, on average, is equivalent to adding a constant CO brightness density, specifically $2.{8}_{-0.6}^{+0.8}\,[{\rm{K}}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}]$ and $4.{4}_{-1.4}^{+2.2}\,[{\rm{K}}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}]$ for CO (1–0) and (2–1), respectively. These explorations will serve as useful tools for estimating the molecular gas content in gas-poor galaxies and understanding associated quenching processes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b1e98cb36f744295840009eee9ffbdec |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-b1e98cb36f744295840009eee9ffbdec2025-08-20T02:25:45ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01979210510.3847/1538-4357/ad9d0fThe First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type GalaxiesYang Gao0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2851-886XEnci Wang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1588-9394Qing-Hua Tan2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3032-0948Timothy A. Davis3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4932-9379Fu-Heng Liang4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2496-1247Xue-Jian Jiang5Ning Gai6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9308-587XQian Jiao7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4895-9208DongDong Shi8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3264-819XShuai Feng9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9767-9237Yanke Tang10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4207-1694Shijie Li11Yi-Fan Wang12College of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University , Dezhou 253023, People’s Republic of China; International Centre of Supernovae , Yunnan Key Laboratory, Kunming 650216, People’s Republic of ChinaCAS Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of ChinaPurple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 10 Yuanhua Road, Nanjing 210023, People’s Republic of ChinaCardiff Hub for Astrophysics Research & Technology, School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University , Queens Buildings, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UKEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO) , Karl-Schwarzschild-Straße 2, 85748 Garching, Germany; Subdepartment of Astrophysics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Denys Wilkinson Building, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UKResearch Center for Astronomical Computing , Zhejiang Laboratory, Hangzhou 311121, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University , Dezhou 253023, People’s Republic of ChinaSchool of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University , Wuhan 430023, People’s Republic of ChinaCenter for Fundamental Physics, School of Mechanics and Optoelectric Physics, Anhui University of Science and Technology , Huainan Anhui 232001, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Physics, Hebei Normal University , 20 South Erhuan Road, Shijiazhuang 050024, People’s Republic of China; Guoshoujing Institute of Astronomy, Hebei Normal University , 20 South Erhuan Road, Shijiazhuang 050024, People’s Republic of China; Hebei Key Laboratory of Photophysics Research and Application , Shijiazhuang 050024, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University , Dezhou 253023, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University , Dezhou 253023, People’s Republic of ChinaCollege of Physics and Electronic Information, Dezhou University , Dezhou 253023, People’s Republic of ChinaWe present the analysis of a comprehensive sample of 352 early-type galaxies using public data, to investigate the correlations between CO luminosities and mid-infrared luminosities observed by Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. We find strong correlations between both CO (1–0) and CO (2–1) luminosities and 12 μ m luminosity, boasting a correlation coefficient greater than 0.9 and an intrinsic scatter smaller than 0.1 dex. The consistent slopes observed for the relationships of CO (1–0) and CO (2–1) suggest that the line ratio R 21 lacks correlation with mid-infrared emission in early-type galaxies, which is significantly different from star-forming galaxies. Moreover, the slopes of L _CO(1−0) – L _12 _μ _m and L _CO(2−1) – L _12 _ μ _m relations in early-type galaxies are steeper than those observed in star-forming galaxies. Given the absence of correlation with color, morphology, or specific star formation rate (sSFR), the correlation between deviations and the molecular gas mass surface density could be eliminated by correcting the possible 12 μ m emission from old stars or adopting a systematically different α _CO . The latter, on average, is equivalent to adding a constant CO brightness density, specifically $2.{8}_{-0.6}^{+0.8}\,[{\rm{K}}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}]$ and $4.{4}_{-1.4}^{+2.2}\,[{\rm{K}}\,{\rm{km}}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}]$ for CO (1–0) and (2–1), respectively. These explorations will serve as useful tools for estimating the molecular gas content in gas-poor galaxies and understanding associated quenching processes.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d0fGalaxy evolutionInterstellar mediumMolecular gasInfrared photometryElliptical galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Yang Gao Enci Wang Qing-Hua Tan Timothy A. Davis Fu-Heng Liang Xue-Jian Jiang Ning Gai Qian Jiao DongDong Shi Shuai Feng Yanke Tang Shijie Li Yi-Fan Wang The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies The Astrophysical Journal Galaxy evolution Interstellar medium Molecular gas Infrared photometry Elliptical galaxies |
| title | The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies |
| title_full | The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies |
| title_fullStr | The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies |
| title_full_unstemmed | The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies |
| title_short | The First Exploration of the Correlations Between WISE 12 μm and CO Emission in Early-type Galaxies |
| title_sort | first exploration of the correlations between wise 12 μm and co emission in early type galaxies |
| topic | Galaxy evolution Interstellar medium Molecular gas Infrared photometry Elliptical galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad9d0f |
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