Submillimeter water and ammonia absorption by the peculiar z ? 0.89 interstellar medium in the gravitational lens of the PKS 1830-211 system
- Using the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope, we have detected the rotational ground-state transitions of ortho-ammonia and ortho-water toward the redshift 0.89 absorbing galaxy in the PKS 1830-211 gravitational lens system. We discuss our observations in the context of recent space-borne data obtained for these lines with the SWAS and Odin satellites toward Galactic sources. We find commonalities, but also significant differences between the interstellar media in a galaxy at intermediate redshift and in the Milky Way. Future high-quality observations of the ground-state ammonia transition in PKS 1830-211, together with inversion line data, will lead to strong constraints on the variation in the proton to electron mass ratio over the past 7.2 Gyr.
| Document Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Author: | K. M. Menten, R. Güsten, S. Leurini, S. Thorwirth, C. Henkel, B. Klein, C. L. Carilli, M. J. Reid |
| Parent Title (English): | A&A (Astronomy & Astrophysics) |
| Volume: | 492 |
| First Page: | 725 |
| Last Page: | 730 |
| ISSN: | 0004-6361 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200810041 |
| Publication year: | 2008 |
| Keyword: | ISM: abundances; ISM: molecules; astrochemistry; cosmology: observations; gravitational lensing |
| Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC): | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 52 Astronomie / 520 Astronomie und zugeordnete Wissenschaften |
| Entry in this database: | 2015/10/09 |
