Molecular tendrils feeding star formation in the Eye of the Medusa - The
  Medusa merger in high resolution 12CO 2-1 maps
  Studying molecular gas properties in merging galaxies gives us important
clues to the onset and evolution of interaction-triggered starbursts. NGC4194
is particularly interesting to study since its FIR-to-CO luminosity ratio
rivals that of ULIRGs,despite its lower luminosity compared to ULIRGs, which
indicates a high star formation efficiency that is relative to even most
spirals and ULIRGs.We study the molecular medium at an angular resolution of
0.65"x .52" through our observations of CO2-1 emission using the SMA. We
compare our CO2-1 maps with optical HST and high angular resolution radio
continuum images to study the relationship between molecular gas and other
components of the starburst region. The molecular gas is tracing the
complicated dust lane structure of NGC4194 with the brightest emission being
located in an off-nuclear ring-like structure with ~320pc radius, the Eye of
the Medusa. The bulk CO emission of the ring is found south of the kinematical
center of NGC4194. The northern tip of the ring is associated with the galaxy
nucleus, where the radio continuum has its peak. A prominent, secondary
emission maximum in the radio continuum is located inside the molecular ring.
This suggests that the morphology of the ring is partially influenced by
massive supernova explosions. From the combined evidence, we propose that the
Eye of the Medusa contains a shell of swept up material where we identify a
number of giant molecular associations. We propose that the Eye may be the site
of an efficient starburst of 5-7M_sun/yr, but it would still constitute only a
fraction of the 30-50M_sun/yr SFR of NGC4194. Furthermore, we find that ~50% of
the molecular mass of NGC4194 is found in extended filamentary-like structures
tracing the minor and major axis dust lanes. We suggest that molecular gas is
transported along these lanes providing the central starburst region with fuel.
