Oral Presentation

Molecular Gas Kinematics in the Center of NGC 4501 Observed with ALMA

Author(s): Kyoko Onishi (Ehime University)

Presenter: Kyoko Onishi (Ehime University)

Numerous evidences from the last 20 years show that supermassive black holes (SMBHs)are ubiquitously present at most giant galaxies. Several evidences are found to support an idea of galaxy and BH coevolution. The evolutionary process is yet to be resolved, but is very likely to include self-regulating mechanism, known as AGN feedback process.

Many of the recent observational studies agree that AGNs are fueled by cold gas. In order to know more about the process, it is of great importance to resolve the cold gas kinematics at high-spatial resolution in nearby AGN hosts.

We present an analysis of the CO (J=2-1)gas kinematics in NGC 4501 (Seyfert 2) at ~3 pc resolution,obtained with ALMA.
Signifcant non-circular motions are detected at the highest resolution ever achieved for this galaxy.
The streaming motions indicate the cold gas flow surrounding the supermassive black hole,and thus can be a key to resolve the coevolutionary process of galaxy and black holes. We discuss the implications of the gas flow motions,and compare to previous studies of warmer molecular gas and ionized gas. We estimate the total flow rate and discuss the AGN activity and its fueling process.