The first ground-based detection of the 752 GHz water line in local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies using APEX-SEPIA

We report the first ground-based detection of the water line p-H2O (211–202) at 752.033 GHz in three z < 0.08 ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs): IRAS 06035-7102, IRAS 17207-0014 and IRAS 09022-3615. Using the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX), with its Swedish-ESO PI Instrument for APEX (SEPIA) band-9 receiver, we detect this H2O line with overall signal-to-noise ratios of 8–10 in all three galaxies. Notably, this is the first detection of this line in IRAS 06035-7102. Our new APEX-measured fluxes, between 145 to 705 Jy km s−1, are compared with previous values taken from Herschel SPIRE FTS. We highlight the great capabilities of APEX for resolving the H2O line profiles with high spectral resolutions while also improving by a factor of two the significance of the detection within moderate integration times. While exploring the correlation between the p-H2O(211–202) and the total infrared luminosity, our galaxies are found to follow the trend at the bright end of the local ULIRG’s distribution. The p-H2O(211–202) line spectra are compared to the mid-J CO and HCN spectra, and dust continuum previously observed with ALMA. In the complex interacting system IRAS 09022-3615, the profile of the water emission line is offset in velocity with respect to the ALMA CO(J = 4 − 3) emission. For IRAS 17207-0014 and IRAS 06035-7102, the profiles between the water line and the CO lines are spectroscopically aligned. This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of directly conducting ground-based high-frequency observations of this key water line, opening the possibility of detailed follow-up campaigns to tackle its nature.