A superluminous supernova in high surface density molecular gas within
  the bar of a metal-rich galaxy
  We report the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)
observations of the metal rich host galaxy of superluminous supernova (SLSN)
PTF10tpz, a barred spiral galaxy at z=0.03994. We find the CO(1-0) emission to
be confined within the bar of the galaxy. The distribution and kinematics of
molecular gas in the host galaxy resemble gas flows along two lanes running
from the tips of the bar towards the galaxy center. These gas lanes end in a
gaseous structure in the inner region of the galaxy, likely associated with an
inner Lindblad resonance. The interaction between the large-scale gas flows in
the bar and the gas in the inner region plausibly leads to the formation of
massive molecular clouds and consequently massive clusters. This in turn can
result in formation of massive stars, and thus the likely progenitor of the
SLSN in a young, massive cluster. This picture is consistent with SLSN PTF10tpz
being located near the inner structure. We find the molecular gas in the
vicinity of the SLSN to have high surface densities, comparable with those in
interacting galaxies or starburst regions in nearby galaxies. This lends
support to high densities being favorable conditions for formation of SLSNe
progenitors.
