Jet-disturbed molecular gas near the Seyfert 2 nucleus in M51

Abstract

Previous molecular gas observations at arcsecond-scale resolution of the Seyfert 2 galaxy M51 suggest the presence of a dense circumnuclear rotating disk, which may be the reservoir for fueling the active nucleus and obscures it from direct view in the optical. However, our recent interferometric CO(3-2) observations show a hint of a velocity gradient perpendicular to the rotating disk, which suggests a more complex structure than previously thought. To image the putative circumnuclear molecular gas disk at sub-arcsecond resolution to better understand both the spatial distribution and kinematics of the molecular gas. We carried out CO(2-1) and CO(1-0) line observations of the nuclear region of M51 with the new A configuration of the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer, yielding a spatial resolution lower than 15 pc. The high resolution images show no clear evidence of a disk, aligned nearly east-west and perpendicular to the radio jet axis, as suggested by previous observations, but show two separate features located on the eastern and western sides of the nucleus. The western feature shows an elongated structure along the jet and a good velocity correspondence with optical emission lines associated with the jet, suggesting that this feature is a jet-entrained gas. The eastern feature is elongated nearly east-west ending around the nucleus. A velocity gradient appears in the same direction with increasingly blueshifted velocities near the nucleus. This velocity gradient is in the opposite sense of that previously inferred for the putative circumnuclear disk. Possible explanations for the observed molecular gas distribution and kinematics are that a rotating gas disk disturbed by the jet, gas streaming toward the nucleus, or a ring with another smaller counter- or Keplarian-rotating gas disk inside.

5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in A&A Letters Special Issue for the new extended configuration at the IRAM PdBI

References in corpus (9)

• Molecular Gas in NUclei of GAlaxies (NUGA): IV. Gravitational Torques and AGN Feeding
• Molecular Gas in NUclei of GAlaxies (NUGA) I.The counter-rotating LINER NGC4826
• A jet-induced outflow of warm gas in 3C 293
• Distance estimate and progenitor characteristics of SN 2005cs in M51
• SMA CO(J=3-2) interferometric observations of the central region of M51
• Physical Conditions in the Narrow-Line Region of M51
• Water Maser Emission from the Active Nucleus in M51
• Excess Hard X-ray Emission from the Obscured Low Luminosity AGN In the Nearby Galaxy M 51 (NGC 5194)
• Low-luminosity Extragalactic Water Masers toward M82, M51, and NGC4051

Cited by in corpus (31)

• Discovery of an AGN-Driven Molecular Outflow in the Local Early-Type Galaxy NGC 1266
• The PdBI Arcsecond Whirlpool Survey (PAWS). I. A Cloud-Scale/Multi-Wavelength View of the Interstellar Medium in a Grand-Design Spiral Galaxy
• The fast molecular outflow in the Seyfert galaxy IC5063 as seen by ALMA
• Detection of HCN, HCO+ and HNC in the Mrk231 molecular outflow - Dense molecular gas in the AGN wind
• SMA/PdBI multiple line observations of the nearby Seyfert2 galaxy NGC 1068: Shock related gas kinematics and heating in the central 100pc?
• The PdBI Arcsecond Whirlpool Survey (PAWS): Multi-phase cold gas kinematic of M51
• Submillimeter ALMA Observations of the Dense Gas in the Low-Luminosity Type-1 Active Nucleus of NGC 1097
• ALMA captures feeding and feedback from the active galactic nucleus in NGC613
• Winds of change - a molecular outflow in NGC 1377? The anatomy of an extreme FIR-excess galaxy
• Detection of a High Brightness Temperature Radio Core in the AGN-Driven Molecular Outflow Candidate NGC 1266
• A precessing molecular jet signaling an obscured, growing supermassive black hole in NGC1377?
• AGN feedback in the nucleus of M51
• Gravitational torques imply molecular gas inflow towards the nucleus of M51
• Resolving the Bright HCN(1-0) Emission toward the Seyfert 2 Nucleus of M51: Shock Enhancement by Radio Jets and Weak Masing by Infrared Pumping?
• NGC1266 as a Local Candidate for Rapid Cessation of Star Formation
• Disentangling the Circumnuclear Environs of Centaurus A: III. An Inner Molecular Ring, Nuclear Shocks and the CO to warm H2 interface
• The Molecular Wind in the Nearest Seyfert Galaxy Circinus Revealed by ALMA
• ALMA resolves the remarkable molecular jet and rotating wind in the extremely radio-quiet galaxy NGC 1377
• The Kiloparsec-scale Neutral Atomic Carbon Outflow in the Nearby Type-2 Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068: Evidence for Negative AGN Feedback
• Probing Circumnuclear Environments with the HCN(J = 3-2) and HCO+(J = 3-2) lines: Case of NGC 1097
• CO emission in optically obscured (type-2) quasars at redshifts z=0.1-0.4
• A hidden molecular outflow in the LIRG Zw 049.057
• The Fossil Nuclear Outflow in the Central 30 pc of the Galactic Center
• Hubble Space Telescope Pixel Analysis of the Interacting Face-on Spiral Galaxy NGC 5194 (M51A)
• ALMA 50-parsec resolution imaging of jet-ISM interaction in the lensed quasar MGJ0414+0534
• High-Resolution Imaging of Water Maser Emission in the active galaxies NGC 6240 and M51
• Molecular Gas Density Measured with H${}_2$CO and CS toward a Spiral Arm of M51
• Surveying the Whirlpool at Arcseconds with NOEMA (SWAN) II: Survey design and observations
• Ground-Based Mid-Infrared Study of the Compton-Thick AGN in M51 at 10-100 pc Scale
• 10 pc Scale Circumnuclear Molecular Gas Imaging of Nearby AGNs
• On the diffuse soft X-ray emission from the nuclear region of M51