Astronomy & Astrophysics

Free access article

A&A 412, 657-667 (2003)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20031438

Cold molecular gas in cooling flow clusters of galaxies

P. Salomé and F. Combes

Observatoire de Paris, LERMA, 61 Av. de l'Observatoire, 75014 Paris, France
(Received 23 April 2002 / Accepted 9 August 2003)

Abstract
The results of a CO line survey in central cluster galaxies with cooling flows are presented. Cold molecular gas is detected with the IRAM 30 m telescope, through CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) emission lines in 6-10 among 32 galaxies. The corresponding gas masses are between $3\times10^{8}$ and $4\times10^$ $M_\odot$ . These results are in agreement with recent CO detections by Edge (2001). A strong correlation between the CO emission and the H $\alpha$ luminosity is also confirmed. Cold gas exists in the center of cooling flow clusters and these detections may be interpreted as evidence of the long searched for very cold residual of the hot cooling gas.

Key words: galaxies: clusters: general -- galaxies: cooling flows -- galaxies: ISM

Offprint request: P. Salomé, philippe.salome@obspm.fr)

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