Compatibility of the CO and HI Linewidths Considering the Gas Distribution and Rotation Curves

Abstract

We have examined the trend between CO and HI linewidths by compiling the linewidths of 219 nearby galaxies. The trend is that the CO linewidths of fast rotating galaxies tend to be larger than the HI linewidths, and that the HI linewidths of slow rotating galaxies tend to be larger than the CO linewidths, whereas the intermediately rotating galaxies have almost equal values. We have explained the trend using the synthetic rotation curve model, which provides the linewidth - absolute magnitude relations at any radii, and concluded that the trend has been occurred by the different distributions of CO and HI in a galaxy and the gradient of the rotation curves. The exact linewidth should be corrected for the effects of the gradient of the rotation curve and the gas distribution.