Dust and gas in luminous infrared galaxies - results from SCUBA observations

We present new data taken at 850 mu m with SCUBA at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope for a sample of 19 luminous infrared galaxies. Fourteen galaxies were detected. We have used these data, together with fluxes at 25, 60 and 100 mu m from IRAS, to model the dust emission. We find that the emission from most galaxies can be described by an optically thin, single temperature dust model with an exponent of the dust extinction coefficient (k(lambda) proportional to lambda(-beta)) of beta similar or equal to 1.4-2. A lower beta similar or equal to 1 is required to model the dust emission from two of the galaxies, Arp 220 and NGC 4418, We discuss various possibilities for this difference and conclude that the most likely is a high dust opacity. In addition, we compare the molecular gas mass derived from the dust emission, M-850 mu m, with the molecular gas mass derived from the CO emission, M-CO, and find that M-CO is on average a factor 2-3 higher than M-850 mu m.