Carbon monoxide in the inner Galaxy

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Abstract

A survey of the inner Galaxy in the 2.6-mm spectral line of (C-12)(O-16) is reported which was performed along the galactic equator over the longitude range from 10 to 352 deg with a longitude spacing of 0.2 deg. The observational techniques are discussed, the survey data are presented, and the major kinematic features seen in CO are identified. The large-scale distribution of CO in the inner Galaxy is analyzed, and an approximate relation is developed for the column density of molecular hydrogen as implied by the CO data. The survey indicates that: (1) the observed CO emission is more clumped in (longitude, velocity) space than 21-cm emission and probably originates in dark molecular clouds; (2) the large-scale CO features identified in the nuclear region contain large amounts of atomic hydrogen: (3) all large-scale CO kinematic features are also seen in H I; (4) the bulk of the CO is moving according to the observed H I rotation curve; (5) there is a dense concentration of CO in the galactic nucleus; and (6) the major CO emission features detected are the 3-kpc arm and the nuclear disk.

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