Francoise Combes, Alexei Moiseev, Vladimir Reshetnikov
We have searched for CO lines in a sample of 21 new morphologically determined polar ring galaxies (of which 9 are kinematically confirmed), obtained from a wide search in the Galaxy Zoo project by Moiseev and collaborators. Polar ring galaxies (PRG) are a unique class of objects, tracing special episodes in the galaxy mass assembly: they could be formed through galaxy interaction, merging, but also through accretion from cosmic filaments. Beside, they enable the study of dark matter haloes in 3 dimensions. The polar ring itself is a sub-system rich in gas, where molecular gas is expected, and new stars are formed. Among the sample of 21 PRG, we have detected five CO-rich systems, that can now be followed up with higher spatial resolution. Their average molecular mass is 9.4 10**9 Mo, and their average gas fraction is 27% of their baryonic mass, with a range from 15 to 43%, implying that they just accreted a large amount of gas. The position of the detected objects in the velocity-magnitude diagram is offset from the Tully-Fisher relation of normal spirals, as was already found for PRG. This work is part of our multi-wavelength project to determine the detailed morphology and dynamics of Polar-Ring galaxies, test through numerical models their formation scenario, and deduce their dark matter content and 3D-shape.
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http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.7273
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