The Spatial Variation of the Cooling Lines in the Reflection Nebula NGC7023

TL;DR

This study maps the spatial distribution of key cooling lines in the NGC 7023 nebula's PDR, revealing the structure and energetics of condensations and the dominant cooling processes.

Contribution

It provides high-resolution spatial maps of [C II] and [O I] lines in NGC 7023, linking morphology with gas cooling and energetics in the PDR.

Findings

[O I]63 um dominates cooling (>30%)

H2 contributes significantly (35%) in the PDR

[N II]122 um emission not detected

Abstract

Context: The north-west photo-dissociation region (PDR) in the reflection nebula NGC 7023 displays a complex structure. Filament-like condensations at the edge of the cloud can be traced via the emission of the main cooling lines, offering a great opportunity to study the link between the morphology and energetics of these regions. Aims: We study the spatial variation of the far-infrared fine-structure lines of [C II] (158 um) and [O I] (63 and 145 um). These lines trace the local gas conditions across the PDR. Methods: We used observations from the Herschel/PACS instrument to map the spatial distribution of these fine-structure lines. The observed region covers a square area of about 110" x 110" with an angular resolution that varies from 4" to 11". We compared this emission with ground-based and Spitzer observations of H2 lines, Herschel/SPIRE observations of CO lines, and Spitzer/IRAC 3.6 um images that trace the emission of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Results: The [C II] (158 um) and [O I] (63 and 145 um) lines arise from the warm cloud surface where the PDR is located and the gas is warm, cooling the region. We find that although the relative contribution to the cooling budget over the observed region is dominated by [O I]63 um (>30%), H2 contributes significantly in the PDR (35%), as does [C II]158 um outside the PDR (30%). Other species contribute little to the cooling ([O I]145 um 9%, and CO 4%). The [O I] maps resolve these condensations into two structures and show that the peak of [O I] is slightly displaced from the molecular H2 emission. The size of these structures is about 8" (0.015 pc) and in surface cover about 9% of the PDR emission. Finally, we did not detect emission from [N II]122 um, suggesting that the cavity is mostly filled with non-ionised gas.