Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
We present spectroscopic mid-IR observations of prominent starburst galaxies obtained with the Short Wavelength Spectrometer onboard the Infrared Space Observatory. The wavelength range accessible by ISO-SWS (2.5–45 μm) contains a large number of emission lines of atomic and molecular hydrogen and several other atomic species. In this paper we discuss the interpretation of the [Ne III] 15.5 μm/[Ne II] 12.8 μm line-ratio, the faint [OIV]25.9 μm line and the pure rotational lines of molecular hydrogen observed in our target galaxies.