ALMA FOLLOWS STREAMING OF DENSE GAS DOWN TO 40 PC FROM THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACKHOLE IN NGC 1097

• We present a kinematic analysis of the dense gas in the central 200 parsecs of thenearby galaxy NGC1097, based on Cycle 0 observations with the Atacama LargeMillimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA). We use the HCN(4-3) line to trace the densest interstellar molecular gas (nH2 ~ 10^8 cm-3), and quantify its kinematics by means of Fourier decomposition. We find a striking similarity between the ALMA kinematic data and the analytic spiral in ow model that we have previously constructed based onionized gas velocity fields on larger scales. We are able to follow dense gas streamingdown to 40 pc distance from the supermassive black hole in this Seyfert 1 galaxy. In order to fulll marginal stability, we deduce that the dense gas is conned to a very thin disc, with 6.0+2.2-2.7 10^6 Msun dynamical mass inside a radius of 40 pc. Finally, we derive a dense gas in ow rate of 0.09Msun yr-1 at 40 pc radius. Combined with previous valuesfrom the H and CO gas, we calculate a combined molecular and ionized gas in ow rateof 0.2Msun yr-1 at 40 pc distance from the central supermassive black hole of NGC1097.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

galaxies: active

galaxies: individual (NGC 1097)

galaxies: kinematics and dynamics

Astronomy

astronomi

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)