Molecular Gas In The Cartwheel's "Over-Cooked" Ring
Abstract
We combine imaging and spectroscopic data from ISO and Spitzer to measure the molecular content of the Cartwheel's starburst outer ring. Attempts to determine the ring's H2 mass using rotational transitions of 12CO have been so far unsuccessful, despite the expectation of abundant molecular gas in the orbit crowded rings. We use these results to evaluate the ring's molecular fraction and the factors that influence it most. We also revisit the ring's peculiar star formation law and efficiency, and its large scale gravitational stability.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #219
- Pub Date:
- January 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AAS...21942702H