Description
We present Herschel PACS spectroscopic observations of the [CII] 157um, [OI] 63 and 145um, [OIII] 88um, [NII] 122 and 205um, and [NIII] 57um fine-structure cooling lines in a sample of 48 low-metallicity star-forming galaxies of the guaranteed time key program Dwarf Galaxy Survey. We correlate PACS line ratios and line-to-LTIR ratios with LTIR, LTIR/LB, metallicity, and FIR color, and interpret the observed trends in terms of ISM conditions and phase filling factors with Cloudy radiative transfer models. We find that the ISM of low-metallicity dwarf galaxies has a more porous structure than that of metal-rich galaxies. The radiation fields are harder and the the ionized gas/PDR filling factor is larger in the dwarfs.
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