Widespread HCO emission in the nuclear starburst of M82

We present a high-resolution (similar to5") image of the nucleus of M82 showing the presence of widespread emission of the formyl radical (HCO). The HCO map, the first obtained in an external galaxy, reveals the existence of a structured disk of similar to650 pc full diameter. The HCO distribution in the plane mimics the ring morphology displayed by other molecular/ionized gas tracers in M82. More precisely, rings traced by HCO, CO, and H II regions are nested, with the HCO ring lying in the outer edge of the molecular torus. Observations of HCO in Galactic clouds indicate that the abundance of HCO is strongly enhanced in the interfaces between the ionized and molecular gas. The surprisingly high overall abundance of HCO measured in M82 [X(HCO) similar to4 x 10(-10)] indicates that its nuclear disk can be viewed as a giant photon-dominated region (PDR) of similar to650 pc size. The existence of various nested gas rings, with the highest HCO abundance occurring at the outer ring [X(HCO) similar to 0.8 x 10(-9)], suggests that PDR chemistry is propagating in the disk. We discuss the inferred large abundances of HCO in M82 in the context of a starburst evolutionary scenario, picturing the M82 nucleus as an evolved starburst.