Modeling the physical properties in the ISM of the low-metallicity galaxy NGC4214

TL;DR

This study models the interstellar medium of galaxy NGC4214 to understand physical conditions in star-forming regions, successfully predicting emission lines and exploring effects of star formation modes, magnetic fields, and turbulence.

Contribution

Introduces a detailed Cloudy-based model of NGC4214's ISM, incorporating star formation history, magnetic fields, and turbulence to match observed infrared emission lines.

Findings

Model predicts ionized medium lines within a factor of 2.

PDR lines are matched within a factor of 5 with added pressure support.

Different evolutionary stages are consistent with the model.

Abstract

We present a model for the interstellar medium of NGC4214 with the objective to probe the physical conditions in the two main star-forming regions and their connection with the star formation activity of the galaxy. We used the spectral synthesis code Cloudy to model an HII region and the associated photodissociation region (PDR) to reproduce the emission of mid- and far-infrared fine-structure cooling lines from the Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes for these two regions. Input parameters of the model, such as elemental abundances and star formation history, are guided by earlier studies of the galaxy, and we investigated the effect of the mode in which star formation takes place (bursty or continuous) on the line emission. Furthermore, we tested the effect of adding pressure support with magnetic fields and turbulence on the line predictions. We find that this model can satisfactorily predict (within a factor of ~2) all observed lines that originate from the ionized medium ([SIV] 10.5um, [NeIII] 15.6um, [SIII] 18.7um, [SIII] 33.5um, and [OIII] 88um), with the exception of [NeII] 12.8um and [NII] 122um, which may arise from a lower ionization medium. In the PDR, the [OI] 63um, [OI] 145um, and [CII] 157um lines are matched within a factor of ~5 and work better when weak pressure support is added to the thermal pressure or when the PDR clouds are placed farther away from the HII regions and have covering factors lower than unity. Our models of the HII region agree with different evolutionary stages found in previous studies, with a more evolved, diffuse central region, and a younger, more compact southern region. However, the local PDR conditions are averaged out on the 175 pc scales that we probe and do not reflect differences observed in the star formation properties of the two regions.