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M. W. Regan (STScI), K. Sheth, S. N. Vogel, P. J. Teuben (University of Maryland)
Although rings of young stars and ionized gas that circumscribe stellar bars have been seen in many barred galaxies, until now we have not been able to detect the corresponding molecular gas. We present here the first detection of these molecular inner rings using data from the Bima Survey of CO in Nearby Galaxies (BIMA SONG). The BIMA SONG observations are the first to combine a relatively large field of view with the sensitivity and resolution needed to detect these large and weak rings. We detect these rings in at least three barred galaxies and show that the rings are kinematiclly distinct features. In addition, we show that the molecular rings and the H\alpha rings in the galaxies are coincident. The detection of these rings improves our confidence in the simulations of gas flow in barred galaxies, all of which show accumulations of gas in these inner rings.