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[125.02] The Molecular Disk in the Cloverleaf Quasar

S. Venturini, P. M. Solomon (State University of New York)

We propose a new interpretation for the CO emitting region of the Cloverleaf (H1413+1143), a gravitationally lensed QSO. We proceed by fitting a two-galaxy lensing model directly to the IRAM CO(7-6) data rather than to the optical HST image. From the fit we infer that the CO source might be a disk-like structure with a characteristic radius R \ge 790\;{\rm pc} (in the currently widely accepted cosmology: cosmological constant \Omega_\Lambda=0.7, matter content \Omega_m=0.3, and Hubble constant H₀=65\;{\rm km\;s^-1\;mpc}^-1), a value similar to that of the CO emitting regions present in nearby starburst ultraluminous infrared galaxies.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.