|
Description
We present an analysis of [OI]_63_, [OIII]_88_, [NII]_122_, and [CII]_158_ far-infrared (FIR) fine-structure line observations obtained with Herschel/PACS, for ~240 local luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey. We find pronounced declines ("deficits") of line-to-FIR continuum emission for [NII]_122_, [OI]_63_, and [CII]_158_ as a function of FIR color and infrared luminosity surface density, {Sigma}_IR_. The median electron density of the ionized gas in LIRGs, based on the [NII]_122_/[NII]_205_ ratio, is n_e_=41cm^-3^. We find that the dispersion in the [CII]_158_ deficit of LIRGs is attributed to a varying fractional contribution of photodissociation regions (PDRs) to the observed [CII]_158_ emission, f([CII]_158_^PDR^)=[CII]_158_^PDR^/[CII]_158_, which increases from ~60% to ~95% in the warmest LIRGs. The [OI]_63_/[CII]_158_^PDR^ ratio is tightly correlated with the PDR gas kinetic temperature in sources where [OI]_63_ is not optically thick or self-absorbed. For each galaxy, we derive the average PDR hydrogen density, n_H_, and intensity of the interstellar radiation field, G, in units of G_0_ and find G/n_H_ ratios of ~0.1-50G_0_.cm^3^, with ULIRGs populating the upper end of the distribution. There is a relation between G/n_H_ and {Sigma}_IR_, showing a critical break at {Sigma}_IR_^*^~5x10^10^L_{sun}_/kpc^2^. Below {Sigma}_IR_^*^, G/n_H_ remains constant, ~0.32G_0_.cm^3^, and variations in {Sigma}_IR_ are driven by the number density of star-forming regions within a galaxy, with no change in their PDR properties. Above {Sigma}_IR_^*^, G/n_H_ increases rapidly with {Sigma}_IR_, signaling a departure from the typical PDR conditions found in normal star-forming galaxies toward more intense/harder radiation fields and compact geometries typical of starbursting sources.
|
