The distribution of CO in NGC 4945

About half of the molecular gas in the present map of the (C-12)O(1-0) emission from NGC 4945 resides in the central 1.1 kpc; the other half is in the outer disk. The kinematical behavior of the CO disk is coupled with that of the H I gas. While the excitation conditions of the molecular gas in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin) 1993-03, Vol.270 (1-2), p.29-42
Main Authors: DAHLEM, M, GOLLA, G, WHITEOAK, J. B, WIELEBINSKI, R, HÜTTEMEISTER, S, HENKEL, C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astronomy
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Quasars. Active or peculiar galaxies, objects, and systems
Stellar systems. Galactic and extragalactic objects and systems. The universe
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Summary:About half of the molecular gas in the present map of the (C-12)O(1-0) emission from NGC 4945 resides in the central 1.1 kpc; the other half is in the outer disk. The kinematical behavior of the CO disk is coupled with that of the H I gas. While the excitation conditions of the molecular gas in the center of NGC 4945 are comparable to those measured in most other starburst and Seyfert nuclei, an exceptionally high line intensity ratio of 0.93 is found in a selected area of the disk which exhibits strong CO emission; such emission indicates ongoing massive star formation in one of the spiral arms. (AIAA)
ISSN:0004-6361
1432-0746