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Abstract

We present a molecular line search in spectral imaging of the elliptical galaxy M87 using archival data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA). The primary goal of this project is to verify and characterize possible CO transition lines, which can be used for future studies to determine the dynamics of the system, or the mass of the supermassive black hole (BH) in the center of the galaxy. After performing extensive atmospheric modeling, we found that most of the absorption features have a corresponding atmospheric ozone transition, so it is unlikely that these features are either Galactic or extragalactic. We also found and corrected a calibration error that introduced an overly sharp absorption feature. After careful continuum subtraction, we calculated line strengths of these absorption features and identified CO emission from high-velocity gas very near the central BH. After analyzing the CO absorption and emission properties, we present a pathway forward for future spectral imaging programs of M87.

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