Physical structure of the photodissociation regions in NGC 7023. Observations of gas and dust emission with Herschel

TL;DR

This study uses Herschel observations to analyze the physical conditions of gas and dust in the photodissociation regions of NGC 7023, revealing dense, warm molecular gas influenced by young stars.

Contribution

It provides new combined dust and gas measurements to better constrain the physical conditions in PDRs of NGC 7023.

Findings

Dense and warm molecular gas with high column density in PDRs

Strong constraints on physical conditions of gas and dust

Young stars impact the environment of the PDRs

Abstract

The determination of the physical conditions in molecular clouds is a key step towards our understanding of their formation and evolution of associated star formation. We investigate the density, temperature, and column density of both dust and gas in the photodissociation regions (PDRs) located at the interface between the atomic and cold molecular gas of the NGC 7023 reflection nebula. We study how young stars affect the gas and dust in their environment. Our approach combining both dust and gas delivers strong constraints on the physical conditions of the PDRs. We find dense and warm molecular gas of high column density in the PDRs.