Extended Molecular Gas in the Nearby Starburst Galaxy Maffei 2

We present a 9′ × 9′ fully sampled map of the CO J = 1-0 emission in the nearby starburst galaxy Maffei 2, obtained at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory. The map reveals previously known strong CO emission in the central starburst region as well as an extended asymmetric distribution with bright CO lines at the ends of the bar and in a feature at the northeast edge of the molecular disk. This northern feature, proposed previously to …