Molecular Gas in the Cooling Flow Group NGC 5044 as Revealed by ALMA

An ALMA observation of the early-type galaxy NGC 5044, which resides at the center of an X-ray bright group with a moderate cooling flow, has detected 24molecular structures within the central 2.5 kpc. The masses of the molecularstructures vary from 3e5 Mo to 1e7 Mo and the CO (2-1) linewidths vary from 15 to 65 km/s. Given the large CO (2-1) linewidths, the observed structures are likely giant molecular associations (GMAs) and not individual molecular clouds (GMCs). Only a few of the GMAs are spatially resolved and the average density of these GMAs yields a GMC volume filling factor of about 15%. The observed masses of the resolved GMAs are insufficient for them to be gravitationally bound, however, the most massive GMA does contain a less massive component with a linewidth typical of an individual virialized GMC. There are no indications of any disk-like molecular structures and all indications …