ALMA Observation of NGC5135: The Circumnuclear CO(6-5) and Dust Continuum Emission at 45 Parsec Resolution[$\star$]

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution ALMA observations to resolve the molecular gas and dust structures in NGC 5135, revealing gas clumps, their properties, and the limited contribution of the AGN to the CO(6-5) emission.

Contribution

First high-resolution ALMA imaging of CO(6-5) and dust in NGC 5135, identifying gas clumps and their relation to supernova shocks and the AGN.

Findings

Gas clumps have radii of 45-180 pc and line widths of 60-88 km/s.

CO(6-5) to dust flux ratios increase with shock indicators, suggesting supernova influence.

The AGN contributes less than 1% to the CO(6-5) flux.

Abstract

We present high-resolution (0.17\arcsec $\times$ 0.14\arcsec) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the CO\,(6-5) line, and 435\um\ dust continuum emission within a $\sim$9\arcsec $\times$ 9\arcsec\ area centered on the nucleus of the galaxy NGC\,5135. NGC\,5135 is a well-studied luminous infrared galaxy that also harbors a Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN). At the achieved resolution of 48 $\times$ 40\,pc, the CO\,(6-5) and dust emissions are resolved into gas "clumps" along the symmetrical dust lanes associated with the inner stellar bar. The clumps have radii between $\sim$45-180\,pc and CO\,(6-5) line widths of $\sim$60-88\,\kms. The CO\,(6-5) to dust continuum flux ratios vary among the clumps and show an increasing trend with the \FeII/Br-$\gamma$ ratios, which we interpret as evidence for supernova-driven shocked gas providing a significant contribution to the \co65\ emission. The central AGN is undetected in continuum, nor in CO\,(6-5) if its line velocity width is no less than $\sim$\,40\,\kms. We estimate that the AGN contributes at most 1\% of the integrated CO\,(6-5) flux of 512 $\pm$ 24$\,$Jy\kms\ within the ALMA field of view, which in turn accounts for $\sim$32\% of the CO\,(6-5) flux of the whole galaxy.