Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Sep 1988
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988a%26a...203l...9c&link_type=abstract
Astronomy and Astrophysics (ISSN 0004-6361), vol. 203, no. 1, Sept. 1988, p. L9-L12.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
87
Carbon Monoxide, Galactic Evolution, Interstellar Gas, Molecular Clouds, Virgo Galactic Cluster, Astronomical Maps, Galactic Nuclei, Galactic Structure, Peculiar Galaxies, Spiral Galaxies
Scientific paper
A (C-12)O (J = 1-0) map of the peculiar spiral galaxy NGC 4438 in the Virgo cluster core is presented. A total H2 mass of about 4.1 x 10 to the 9th solar is found. In addition to a strong central component associated with the optical disk, some molecular emission coming from the NW side of the galaxy is detected which is shifted by 1 arcmin from the galaxian plane in the same direction as the neutral-gas, radio-continuum, and X-ray emissions. The molecular material is too dense to be easily swept, and the stellar tails only can be of tidal origin. It is proposed that a collision with the nearby companion NGC 4435 is at the origin of the observed distortions of NGC 4438. The efficiency of the tidal forces is proved by numerical simulations of the encounter with a simple test-particle code using a hyperbolic retrograde orbit. This suggests that the tidal gas-stripping mechanism in galaxy clusters could be more efficient than was previously thought.
Casoli Fabienne
Combes François
Dupraz Christophe
Pagani Laurent
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