Distributions of molecules in the circumnuclear disk and surrounding starburst ring in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 observed with ALMA

preprint2014arXivOpen access

Abstract

Sensitive observations with ALMA allow astronomers to observe the detailed distributions of molecules with relatively weak intensity in nearby galaxies. In particular, we report distributions of several molecular transitions including shock and dust related species (13^{13}CO JJ = 1--0, C18^{18}O JJ = 1--0, 13^{13}CN NN = 1--0, CS JJ = 2--1, SO JNJ_N = 32_2--21_1, HNCO JKa,KcJ_{Ka,Kc} = 50,5_{0,5}--40,4_{0,4}, HC3_3N JJ = 11--10, 12--11, CH3_3OH JKJ_K = 2K_K--1K_K, and CH3_3CN JKJ_K = 6K_K--5K_K) in the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 observed with the ALMA early science program. The central ∼\sim1 arcmin (∼\sim4.3 kpc) of this galaxy was observed in the 100 GHz region covering ∼\sim96--100 GHz and ∼\sim108--111 GHz with an angular resolution of ∼4"×2"\sim4"\times2" (290 pc×\times140 pc) to study the effects of an active galactic nucleus and its surrounding starburst ring on molecular abundances. Here, we present images and report a classification of molecular distributions into three main categories: (1) Molecules concentrated in the circumnuclear disk (CND) (SO JNJ_N = 32_2--21_1, HC3_3N JJ = 11--10, 12--11, and CH3_3CN JKJ_K = 6K_K--5K_K), (2) Molecules distributed both in the CND and the starburst ring (CS JJ = 2--1 and CH3_3OH JKJ_K = 2K_K--1K_K), (3) Molecules distributed mainly in the starburst ring (13^{13}CO JJ = 1--0 and C18^{18}O JJ = 1--0). Since most of the molecules such as HC3_3N observed in the CND are easily dissociated by UV photons and X-rays, our results indicate that these molecules must be effectively shielded. In the starburst ring, the relative intensity of methanol at each clumpy region is not consistent with those of 13^{13}CO, C18^{18}O, and CS. This difference is probably caused by the unique formation and destruction mechanisms of CH3_3OH.

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