We present an analysis of the molecular and atomic gas emission in the rest-frame far-infrared and submillimetre from the lensed z = 2.3 submillimetre galaxy SMM J2135−0102. We obtain very high signal-to-noise ratio detections of 11 transitions from three species and limits on a further 20 transitions from nine species. We use the 12 CO, [C I] and HCN line strengths to investigate the gas mass, kinematic structure and interstellar medium (ISM) chemistry and find strong evidence for a two-phase medium within this high-redshift starburst galaxy, comprising a hot, dense, luminous component and an underlying extended cool, low-excitation massive component. Employing a suite of photodissociation region models, we show that on average the molecular gas is exposed to an ultraviolet (UV) radiation field that is ∼1000 times more intense than the Milky Way, with star-forming regions having a characteristic density of n ∼ 10 4 cm −3 . Thus, the average ISM density and far-UV radiation field intensity are similar to those found in local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) and to those found in the central regions of typical starburst galaxies, even though the star formation rate is far higher in this system. The 12 CO spectral line energy distribution and line profiles give strong evidence that the system comprises multiple kinematic components with different conditions, including temperature, and line ratios suggestive of high cosmic-ray flux within clouds, likely as a result of high star formation density. We find tentative evidence of a factor of ∼4 temperature range within the system. We expect that such internal structures are common in high-redshift ULIRGs but are missed due to the poor signal-to-noise ratio of typical observations. We show that, when integrated over the galaxy, the gas and star formation surface densities appear to follow the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation, although by comparing our data to high-resolution submillimetre imaging, our data suggest that this relation breaks down on scales of <100 pc. By virtue of the lens amplification, these observations uncover a wealth of information on the star formation and ISM at z ∼ 2.3 at a level of detail that has only recently become possible at z < 0.1 and show the potential physical properties that will be studied in unlensed galaxies when the Atacama Large Millimeter Array is in full operation.

Aims. We study the chemical complexity towards the central parts of the starburst galaxy M 82, and investigate the role of certain molecules as tracers of the physical processes in the galaxy circumnuclear region. Methods. We carried out a spectral line survey with the IRAM-30 m telescope towards the northeastern molecular lobe of M 82. It covers the frequency range between 129.8 GHz and 175.0 GHz in the 2 mm atmospheric window, and between 241.0 GHz and 260.0 GHz in the 1.3 mm atmospheric window. Results. Sixty-nine spectral features corresponding to 18 different molecular species are identified. In addition, three hydrogen recombination lines are detected. The species NO, H 2 S, H 2 CS, NH 2 CN, and CH 3 CN are detected for the first time in this galaxy. Assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium, we determine the column densities of all the detected molecules. We also calculate upper limits to the column densities of fourteen other important, but undetected, molecules, such as SiO, HNCO, or OCS. We compare the chemical composition of the two starburst galaxies M 82 and NGC 253. This comparison enables us to establish the chemical differences between the products of the strong photon-dominated regions driving the heating in M 82, and the large-scale shocks that influence the properties of the molecular clouds in the nucleus of NGC 253. Conclusions. Overall, both sources have different chemical compositions. Some key molecules highlight the different physical processes dominating both central regions. Examples include CH 3 CCH, c-C 3 H 2 , or CO + , the abundances of which are clearly higher in M 82 than in NGC 253, pointing at photodissociating regions. On the other hand, species such as CH 2 NH, NS, SiO, and HOCO + have abundances of up to one order of magnitude higher in NGC 253 than in M 82.

Context. Powerful radio-AGN are hosted by massive elliptical galaxies that are usually very poor in molecular gas. Nevertheless, gas is needed at their very center to feed the nuclear activity. Aims. We study the molecular gas properties (i.e., mass, kinematics, distribution, origin) of these objects, and compare them with results for other known samples. Methods. At the IRAM-30m telescope, we performed a survey of the CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission from the most powerful radio galaxies of the Local Universe, selected only on the basis of their radio continuum fluxes. Results. The main result of our survey is that the molecular gas content of these galaxies is very low compared to spiral or FIR-selected galaxies. The median value of the molecular gas mass, including detections and upper limits, is 2.2 × 10 8 M . When separated into FR-I and FR-II types, a difference in their H 2 masses is found. The median value of FR-I galaxies is about 1.9 × 10 8 M and higher for FR-II galaxies, at about 4.5 × 10 8 M . Which is probably entirely because of a Malmquist bias. Our results contrast with those of previous surveys, whose targets were mainly selected by means of their FIR emission, implying that we measure higher observed masses of molecular gas. Moreover, the shape of CO spectra suggest that a central molecular gas disk exists in 30% of these radio galaxies, a lower rate than in other active galaxy samples. Conclusions. We find a low level of molecular gas in our sample of radio-selected AGNs, indicating that galaxies do not need much molecular gas to host an AGN. The presence of a molecular gas disk in some galaxies and the wide range of molecular gas masses may be indicative of different origins for the gas, which we can not exclude at present (e.g., minor/major mergers, stellar mass loss, or accretion).

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