LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES WITH THE SUBMILLIMETER ARRAY. III. THE DENSE KILOPARSEC MOLECULAR CONCENTRATIONS OF Arp 299

We have used high-resolution (∼2.″3) observations of the local (DL = 46 Mpc) luminous infrared galaxy Arp 299 to map out the physical properties of the molecular gas that provides the fuel for its extreme star formation activity. The 12CO J = 3–2, 12CO J = 2–1, and 13CO J = 2–1 lines were observed with the Submillimeter Array, and the short spacings of the 12CO J = 2–1 and J = 3–2 observations have been recovered using the James Clerk Maxwell …