ISOLWS Spectroscopy of M82: A Unified Evolutionary Model

We present the first complete far-infrared spectrum (43-197 μm) of M82, the brightest infrared galaxy in the sky, taken with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer of the Infrared Space Observatory ( ISO ). We detected seven fine structure emission lines, [O I] 63 and 145 μm, [O III] 52 and 88 μm , [N II] 122 μm, [N III] 57 μm, and [C II] 158 μm, and fitted their ratios to a combination starburst and photodissociation region (PDR) model. The best fit is obtained with H II regions with n =250 cm -3 , an ionization parameter of 10 -3.5 , and PDRs with n =10 3.3 cm -3 and a far-ultraviolet flux of G 0 =10 2.8 . We applied both continuous and instantaneous starburst models, with our best fit being a 3-5 Myr old instantaneous burst model with a 100 M ☉ cutoff. We also detected the ground-state rotational line of OH in absorption at 119.4 μm. No excited level OH transitions are apparent, indicating that the OH is almost entirely in its ground state with a column density ~4 × 10 14 cm -2 . The spectral energy distribution over the long-wavelength spectrometer wavelength range is well fitted with a 48 K dust temperature and an optical depth, τ Dust ∝ λ -1 .