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Paper: Too much carbon in NGC253
Volume: 73, Airborne Astronomy Symposium on the Galactic Ecosystem: From Gas to Stars to Dust
Page: 185
Authors: Harrison, Andrew; Brand, Peter; Puxley, Phil; Russell, Adrian
Abstract: We have observed C0 across the nucleus of the starburst galaxy NGC253. C0 is very bright and we find N(C0)/N(CO) is between 1.5 and 2.3 across the nucleus. Existing PDR models cannot explain the observed C0 intensity. The size of the observed region seems to rule out 'simultaneous very early time chemistry' across the nucleus. Chemical models in which C0/CO is enhanced deep in molecular clouds by large fluxes of cosmic rays also struggle to explain our observations. The most plausible explanation for the observed C0 is that the C/O elemental ratio is enhanced in NGC253.
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