High-resolution CO images of Seyfert galaxies

Journal Article · Tue May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Astrophysical Journal; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/168675· OSTI ID:7059954

Meixner, M; Puchalsky, R; Blitz, L; Wright, M; Heckman, T ^[1]

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1. Maryland Univ., College Park (USA) California Univ., Berkeley (USA) Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (USA)

The CO (J = 1-0) emission of three Seyfert galaxies, NGC 3227, NGC 7469, and NGC 5033 has been imaged. The CO emission in NGC 3227 and NGC 7469 appears as compact structures centered on the active nuclei, containing substantial fractions of the single-dish flux. In NGC 3227, 10 percent of the CO flux detected by the interferometer is contained within the ionized narrow-line region. The unresolved molecular gas concentrations in the nucleus of NGC 3227 imply a CO mass of 65 million solar masses concentrated within a diameter less than 50 pc. The CO emission in NGC 5033 is not detected at this resolution, implying a CO structure size of 20-60 arcsec. Continuum emission at 2.7 mm is not detected in any of the three galaxies. In the center of NGC 7469, the H2 mass is comparable to the dynamical mass. Kinematic studies of the detected gas reveal a rotational motion of the gas in NGC 3227 and NGC 7469, allowing identification of the gas in NGC 7469 with a nuclear starburst. These data are consistent with the idea that interactions between galaxies cause gas to concentrate in their nuclei thereby feeding starburst and Seyfert activity. 39 refs.

• OSTI ID: 7059954
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal; (USA), Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal; (USA) Vol. 354; ISSN ASJOA; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640105* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Galaxies
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
BASIC INTERACTIONS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
COSMIC GASES
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
EMISSION SPECTRA
FLUIDS
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
GASES
GRAVITATIONAL INTERACTIONS
INTERACTIONS
INTERSTELLAR SPACE
MASS
MORPHOLOGY
MOTION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLE KINEMATICS
SEYFERT GALAXIES
SPACE
SPECTRA