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Description
We study the global dust and (molecular) gas content in the Lyman Alpha Reference Sample (LARS), i.e. 14 local star-forming galaxies. We characterize their interstellar medium and relate newly derived properties to quantities relevant for Ly{alpha} escape. We observed LARS galaxies with Herschel/PACS, SOFIA/FIFI-LS, the IRAM 30m telescope and APEX, targeting far-infrared (FIR) continuum and emission lines of [CII]158um, [OI]63um, [OIII]88um and low-J CO lines. Using Bayesian methods we derive dust model parameters and estimate total gas masses for all LARS galaxies, taking into account a metallicity-dependent gas-to-dust ratio. Star formation rates were estimated from FIR, [CII]158um and [OI]63um luminosities. LARS covers a wide dynamic range in the derived properties, with FIR-based star formation rates from ~0.5-100M_{sun}/yr, gas fractions between ~15-80% and gas depletion times ranging from a few hundred Myr up to more than 10Gyr. The distribution of LARS galaxies in the {SIGMA}_gas_ vs. {SIGMA}_SFR_ (Kennicutt-Schmidt plane) is thus quite heterogeneous. However, we find that LARS galaxies with the longest gas depletion times, i.e. relatively high gas surface densities ({SIGMA}_gas_) and low star formation rate densities ({SIGMA}_SFR_ have by far the highest Ly{alpha} escape fraction. A strong [Math Processing Error]linear relation is found between Ly{alpha} escape fraction and the total gas (HI+H_2_) depletion time. We argue that the Ly{alpha} escape in those galaxies is driven by turbulence in the star-forming gas that shifts the Ly{alpha} photons out of resonance close to the places where they originate. We further report on an extreme [CII]158um excess in LARS 5, corresponding to ~14+/-3% of the FIR luminosity, i.e. the most extreme [CII]-to-FIR ratio observed in a non-AGN galaxy to date.
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