Influence of shear motion on evolution of molecular clouds in the spiral galaxy M51

Abstract

We have investigated the dynamics of the molecular gas and the evolution of giant molecular associations (GMAs) in the spiral galaxy M51 with the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45-m telescope. The velocity components of the molecular gas perpendicular and parallel to the spiral arms are derived at each spiral phase from the distribution of the line-of-sight velocity of the CO gas. In addition, the shear motion in the galactic disk is determined from the velocity vectors at each spiral phase. It is revealed that the distributions of the shear strength and of GMAs are anti-correlated. GMAs exist only in the area of the weak shear strength and further on the upstream side of the high shear strength. GMAs and most giant molecular clouds (GMCs) exist in the regions where the shear critical surface density is smaller than the gravitational critical surface density, indicating that they can stably grow by self-gravity and the collisional agglomeration of small clouds without being destroyed by shear motion. These factors indicate that the shear motion is an important factor in evolution of GMCs and GMAs. © 2014 The Author.