PlumX Metrics
Embed PlumX Metrics

Cloud-scale molecular gas properties of the ANTENNAE merger: a comparati v e study with PHANGS-ALMA galaxies and NGC 3256

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, ISSN: 1365-2966, Vol: 530, Issue: 1, Page: 597-612
2024
  • 6
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 8
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

Article Description

We present observations of the central 9 kpc of the Antennae merger (NGC 4038/9) at 55 pc resolution in the CO (2-1) line obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We use a pixel-based analysis to compare the gas properties in the Antennae to those in 70 nearby spiral galaxies from the PHANGS-ALMA surv e y, as well as the merger and nearest luminous infrared galaxy NGC 3256. Compared to PHANGS-ALMA galaxies at matched spatial resolution, the molecular gas in the Antennae exhibits some of the highest surface densities, velocity dispersions, peak brightness temperatures, and turbulent pressures. Ho we ver, the virial parameters in the Antennae are consistent with many of the PHANGS-ALMA galaxies. NGC 3256 has similar gas surface densities but higher nuclear velocity dispersions than the Antennae, as well as higher system-wide peak brightness temperatures and virial parameters. NGC 3256 is at a later stage in the merging process than the Antennae, which may result in more intense merger-driven gas flows that could drive up the turbulence in the gas. The high virial parameters in NGC 3256 may indicate that this increased turbulence is suppressing future star formation as NGC 3256 mo v es out of the starburst phase. In comparison, the relatively normal virial parameters in the Antennae may imply that it is about to undergo a new burst of star formation.

Bibliographic Details

Nathan Brunetti; Christine D. Wilson; Hao He; Jiayi Sun; Adam K. Leroy; Erik Rosolowsky; Ashley Bemis; Frank Bigiel; Brent Groves; Toshiki Saito; Eva Schinnerer

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Physics and Astronomy; Earth and Planetary Sciences

Provide Feedback

Have ideas for a new metric? Would you like to see something else here?Let us know