Young stars and molecular gas in the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4314

With Fritz Benedict (University of Texas) and his collaborators, I have completed two studies of the the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4314:

  • NGC 4314. IV. Photometry of Star Clusters with Hubble Space Telescope- History of Star Formation in the Vicinity of a Nuclear Ring
    G. F. Benedict, D. A. Howell, I. Jorgensen, J. D. P. Kenney, and B. J. Smith (2002), A. J., 123, 1411.
  • NGC 4314. III. Inflowing Molecular Gas Feeding a Nuclear Ring of Star Formation
    G. F. Benedict, B. J. Smith, and J. D. P. Kenney (1996), A. J., 111, 1861.

      The central region of NGC 4314, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

     

      The picture on the right is a map of the inner region of NGC 4314 in the 2.3 millimeter spectral line of carbon monoxide gas. Most of the gas in NGC 4314 is molecular hydrogen; the 2.3 mm CO line is a convenient tracer of this gas. In NGC 4314, we find a ring of molecular gas with a diameter of approximately 500 parsecs (10 arcseconds) encircling the nucleus. Notice that this ring is very clumpy. These observations were made using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter interferometer, which is operated by Caltech.