Molecular gas in the double-barred Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5728

Abstract

We present CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) maps of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5728. Although a stellar nuclear bar structure is clearly identified in the near-infrared images in the central 10", inside the ring identified as the ILR of the primary bar, there is no nuclear bar structure in the molecular gas. Instead, the CO emission reveals an elongated structure, 15" in length, beginning at the nucleus (defined by the radio center) aligned with the jet/ionisation cone, at a PA of 127 degrees. This morphology, not frequently observed in Seyfert galaxies, may be interpreted in terms of enhanced CO excitation along the walls of the cone. Kinematical perturbations along the cone support this scenario. At larger-scale, CO emission is tracing the primary bar, and outer ring structure. The total molecular mass, estimated from the CO emission, is M(H2) = 3.1 10^9 Msun.