%0 Generic %1 tomassetti2014atomic %A Tomassetti, Matteo %A Porciani, Cristiano %A Romano-Diaz, Emilio %A Ludlow, Aaron D. %A Papadopoulos, Padelis P. %D 2014 %K alma carbon gas molecular %T Atomic carbon as a tracer of molecular gas in high-redshift galaxies: perspectives for ALMA %U http://arxiv.org/abs/1405.0411 %X We use a high-resolution simulation that tracks the non-equilibrium abundance of molecular hydrogen, H2, within a massive high-redshift galaxy to produce mock ALMA maps of the fine-structure lines of atomic carbon CI 1-0 and CI 2-1. Inspired by recent observational and theoretical work, we assume that CI is thoroughly mixed in giant molecular clouds and demonstrate that its emission is an excellent proxy for H2. The entire H2 mass of a galaxy at redshift z<4 can be detected using a compact interferometric configuration with a large synthesized beam (that does not resolve the target galaxy) in less than 1 hour of integration time. Low-resolution imaging of the CI lines (in which the target galaxy is resolved into 3-4 beams) will detect nearly 50-60 per cent of the molecular hydrogen in less than 12 hours. In this case, the data cube also provides valuable information regarding the dynamical state of the galaxy. We conclude that ALMA observations of the CI 1-0 and 2-1 emission will widely extend the interval of cosmic look-back time over which the H2 gas mass distribution, the dynamical masses, and the Tully-Fisher relation of galaxies can be accurately probed.

@misc{tomassetti2014atomic, abstract = {We use a high-resolution simulation that tracks the non-equilibrium abundance of molecular hydrogen, H2, within a massive high-redshift galaxy to produce mock ALMA maps of the fine-structure lines of atomic carbon CI 1-0 and CI 2-1. Inspired by recent observational and theoretical work, we assume that CI is thoroughly mixed in giant molecular clouds and demonstrate that its emission is an excellent proxy for H2. The entire H2 mass of a galaxy at redshift z<4 can be detected using a compact interferometric configuration with a large synthesized beam (that does not resolve the target galaxy) in less than 1 hour of integration time. Low-resolution imaging of the CI lines (in which the target galaxy is resolved into 3-4 beams) will detect nearly 50-60 per cent of the molecular hydrogen in less than 12 hours. In this case, the data cube also provides valuable information regarding the dynamical state of the galaxy. We conclude that ALMA observations of the CI 1-0 and 2-1 emission will widely extend the interval of cosmic look-back time over which the H2 gas mass distribution, the dynamical masses, and the Tully-Fisher relation of galaxies can be accurately probed.}, added-at = {2014-05-05T17:29:22.000+0200}, author = {Tomassetti, Matteo and Porciani, Cristiano and Romano-Diaz, Emilio and Ludlow, Aaron D. and Papadopoulos, Padelis P.}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/277ab8ffde5a476adef59d12bf2059a38/miki}, description = {[1405.0411] Atomic carbon as a tracer of molecular gas in high-redshift galaxies: perspectives for ALMA}, interhash = {b982a2d1d0d8e6ac0fe50cbe3159adbb}, intrahash = {77ab8ffde5a476adef59d12bf2059a38}, keywords = {alma carbon gas molecular}, note = {cite arxiv:1405.0411Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS Letters}, timestamp = {2014-05-05T17:29:22.000+0200}, title = {Atomic carbon as a tracer of molecular gas in high-redshift galaxies: perspectives for ALMA}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1405.0411}, year = 2014 }