Molecular Gas in NUclei of GAlaxies (NUGA): II. The Ringed LINER NGC7217

We present CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) maps of the LINER galaxy NGC 7217, obtained with the IRAM interferometer, at 2.4′′ x 1.9′′ and 1.2′′ x 0.8′′ resolution respectively. The nuclear ring (at r = 12′′ = 0.8 kpc) dominates the CO maps, and has a remarkable sharp surface density gradient at its inner edge....

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Combes, F., García-Burillo, Santiago, Boone, Frederic, Hunt, L. K., Baker, A. J., Eckart, Andreas, Englmaier, P., Léon, Stéphane, Neri, Roberto, Schinnerer, Eva, Tacconi, Linda J.
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2003
País:España
Recursos:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositório:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/6880
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/6880
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Galaxies: general
Galaxies: ISM
Galaxies: active
Galaxies: nuclei
Galaxies: individual: NGC 7217
Descrição
Resumo:We present CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) maps of the LINER galaxy NGC 7217, obtained with the IRAM interferometer, at 2.4′′ x 1.9′′ and 1.2′′ x 0.8′′ resolution respectively. The nuclear ring (at r = 12′′ = 0.8 kpc) dominates the CO maps, and has a remarkable sharp surface density gradient at its inner edge. The latter is the site of the stellar/Hα ring, while the CO emission ring extends farther or is broader (500-600 pc). This means that the star formation has been more intense toward the inner edge of the CO ring, in a thin layer, just at the location of the high gas density gradient. The CO(2-1)/CO(1-0) ratio is close to 1, typical of warm optically thick gas with high density. The overall morphology of the ring is quite circular, with no evidence of non-circular velocities. In the CO(2-1) map, a central concentration might be associated with the circumnuclear ionized gas detected inside r=3′′ and interpreted as a polar ring in the literature. The CO(2-1) emission inside 3′′ coincides with a spiral dust lane, clearly seen in the HST V - I color image.