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[40.21] The Rotating Molecular Ring in VII Zwicky 31

S. Venturini, P. M. Solomon (Stony Brook University)

We present a model of the CO(1-0) line emission source located in the nuclear region of the ultraluminous infrared galaxy VII Zwicky 31. The high resolution Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique CO maps show clear evidence of rotation, and indeed our simple rotating ring model well describes the kinematic structure of the CO(1-0) data. From our analysis we deduce that the molecular ring has a total mass of only 5.9 x 10⁹ M_sol, resulting in a ratio M_gas/L'_CO of only 0.7 M_sol (K Km s^-1 pc²)^-1. The absence of evident tidal features and the simple kinematic structure seems to rule out a history of recent galaxy merging. VII Zwicky 31 appears to be simply an isolated, large and extremely gas-rich spiral galaxy harboring an extended starburst.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
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