Abstract
During the last decade millimeter wave observations of the CO molecule have proved to be one of the most useful probes of the large scale structure and kinematics of the galactic disk. The earliest CO observations indicated a large concentration of molecules in the galactic center and at a distance of 4 to 8 kiloparsecs often refered to as the ‘galactic ring’. The shape of the CO radial distribution is similar to nearly all other tracers of population I material (γ-rays, HII regions, SNR…), but quite different from the flat HI distribution. Estimates of H2 mass from CO column density have led most observers to conclude that H2 is significantly more abundant than HI in the inner galaxy.
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© 1983 D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland
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Sanders, D.B. (1983). The Distribution of Molecular Clouds in the Galaxy. In: Shuter, W.L.H. (eds) Kinematics, Dynamics and Structure of the Milky Way. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 100. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7060-1_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7060-1_20
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