We present Herschel SPIRE-FTS observations of Arp 220, a nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxy. The FTS provides continuous spectral coverage from 1 The SPIRE beam shapes are not gaussian; the effective beam solid angle can be found in the Herschel Observer's manual.

The Herschel Reference Survey is a Herschel guaranteed time key project and will be a benchmark study of dust in the nearby universe. The survey will complement a number of other Herschel key projects including large cosmological surveys that trace dust in the distant universe. We will use Herschel to produce images of a statistically-complete sample of 323 galaxies at 250, 350, and 500 ??m. The sample is volume-limited, containing sources with distances between 15 and 25 Mpc and flux limits in the K band to minimize the selection effects associated with dust and with young high-mass stars and to introduce a selection in stellar mass. The sample spans the whole range of morphological types (ellipticals to late-type spirals) and environments (from the field to the center of the Virgo Cluster) and as such will be useful for other purposes than our own. We plan to use the survey to investigate (i) the dust content of galaxies as a function of Hubble type, stellar mass, and environment; (ii) the connection between the dust content and composition and the other phases of the interstellar medium; and (iii) the origin and evolution of dust in galaxies. In this article, we describe the goals of the survey, the details of the sample and some of the auxiliary observing programs that we have started to collect complementary data. We also use the available multifrequency data to carry out an analysis of the statistical properties of the sample

We present new Herschel-SPIRE imaging spectroscopy (194-671 µm) of the bright starburst galaxy M82. Covering the CO ladder from J = 4 → 3 to J = 13 → 12, spectra were obtained at multiple positions for a fully sampled ∼ 3 x 3 arcminute map, including a longer exposure at the central position. We present measurements of 12 CO, 13 CO, [C I], [N ii], HCN, and HCO + in emission, along with OH + , H 2 O + and HF in absorption and H 2 O in both emission and absorption, with discussion. We use a radiative transfer code and Bayesian likelihood analysis to model the temperature, density, column density, and filling factor of multiple components of molecular gas traced by 12 CO and 13 CO, adding further evidence to the high-J lines tracing a much warmer (∼ 500 K), less massive component than the low-J lines. The addition of 13 CO (and [C I]) is new and indicates that [C I] may be tracing different gas than 12 CO. No temperature/density gradients can be inferred from the map, indicating that the single-pointing spectrum is descriptive of the bulk properties of the galaxy. At such a high temperature, cooling is dominated by molecular hydrogen. Photon-dominated region (PDR) models require higher densities than those indicated by our Bayesian likelihood analysis in order to explain the high-J CO line ratios, though cosmic-ray enhanced PDR models can do a better job reproducing the emission at lower densities. Shocks and turbulent heating are likely required to explain the bright high-J emission.

The first complete submillimetre spectrum (190-670µm) [NII]205µm line. The observations in both single pointing mode with sparse image sampling and in mapping mode with full image sampling allow us to disentangle two molecular emission components, one due to the compact circum-nuclear disk (CND) and one from the extended region encompassing the star forming ring (SF-ring). Radiative transfer models show that the two CO components are characterized by density of n(H 2 )=10 4.5 and 10 2.9 cm −3 and temperature of T kin =100K and 127K, respectively. The comparison of the CO line intensities with photodissociation region (PDR) and X-ray dominated region (XDR) models, together with other observational constraints, such as the observed CO surface brightness and the radiation field, indicate that the best explanation for the CO excitation of the CND is an XDR with density of n(H 2 ) ∼ 10 4 cm −3 and X-ray flux of 9 erg s −1 cm −2 , consistent with illumination by the active galactic nucleus, while the CO lines in the SF-ring are better modeled by a PDR. The detected water transitions, together with those observed with the Herschel PACS Spectrometer, can be modeled by an LVG model with low temperature (T kin ∼ 40K) and high density (n(H 2 ) in the range 10 6.7 -10 7.9 cm −3 ). The emission of H 2 O + and OH + are in agreement with PDR models with cosmic ray ionization. The diffuse ionized atomic component observed through the [NII]205µm line is consistent with previous photoionization models of the starburst.

The Dwarf Galaxy Survey (DGS) program is studying low-metallicity galaxies using 230h of far-infrared (FIR) and submillimetre (submm) photometric and spectroscopic observations of the Herschel Space Observatory and draws to this a rich database of a wide range of wavelengths tracing the dust, gas and stars. This sample of 50 galaxies includes the largest metallicity range achievable in the local Universe including the lowest metallicity (Z) galaxies, 1/50 Zsun, and spans 4 orders of magnitude in star formation rates. The survey is designed to get a handle on the physics of the interstellar medium (ISM) of low metallicity dwarf galaxies, especially on their dust and gas properties and the ISM heating and cooling processes. The DGS produces PACS and SPIRE maps of low-metallicity galaxies observed at 70, 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 mic with the highest sensitivity achievable to date in the FIR and submm. The FIR fine-structure lines, [CII] 158 mic, [OI] 63 mic, [OI] 145 mic, [OIII] 88 mic, [NIII] 57 mic and [NII] 122 and 205 mic have also been observed with the aim of studying the gas cooling in the neutral and ionized phases. The SPIRE FTS observations include many CO lines (J=4-3 to J=13-12), [NII] 205 mic and [CI] lines at 370 and 609 mic. This paper describes the sample selection and global properties of the galaxies, the observing strategy as well as the vast ancillary database available to complement the Herschel observations. The scientific potential of the full DGS survey is described with some example results included.Comment: Article accepted for PASP (april 25 2013