2003/01/07 by Glen Petitpas, Glen R. Petitpas, Christine D. Wilson +1 · 2 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/368341
published as Astrophys.J. 587 (2003) 649-659 · 27 pages + 6 figures; to appear in the April 20, 2003 issue of ApJ
arxiv created 2003/01/07 · openalex publication_date 2003/04/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We have performed a multitransition CO study of the centers of seven double-barred galaxies that exhibit a variety of molecular gas morphologies to determine if the molecular gas properties are correlated with the nuclear morphology and star-forming activity. Near-infrared galaxy surveys have revealed the existence of nuclear stellar bars in a large number of barred or lenticular galaxies. High-resolution CO maps of these galaxies exhibit a wide range of morphologies. Recent simulations of double-barred galaxies suggest that variations in the gas properties may allow it to respond differently to similar gravitational potentials. We find that the 12 CO J = 3-2/ J = 2-1 line ratio is lower in galaxies with centrally concentrated gas distributions and higher in galaxies with CO emission dispersed around the galactic center in rings and peaks. The 13 CO/ 12 CO J = 2-1 line ratios are similar for all galaxies, which indicates that the J = 3-2/ J = 2-1 line ratio is tracing variations in gas temperature and density, rather than variations in optical depth. There is evidence that the galaxies which contain more centralized CO distributions are composed of molecular gas that is cooler and less dense. Observations suggest that the star formation rates are higher in the galaxies containing the warmer, denser, less centrally concentrated gas. It is possible that either the bar dynamics are responsible for the variety of gas distributions and densities (and hence the star formation rates) or that the star formation alone is responsible for modifying the gas properties.