BIMA Millimeter‐Wave Observations of the Core‐Jet and Molecular Gas in the FR I Radio Galaxy NGC 3801

We present BIMA 3 mm observations of the radio continuum source and themolecular gas disk in the radio loud Fanaroff & Riley Type I (FR I)galaxyNGC3801.We have detected a continuum source in the nucleus and determined thatit has a flat millimeter-wave spectrum, suggesting that the emission isnon-thermal and due to an AGN; the radio core is not evident in existing VLAobservations. We also map the extended 3 mm emission from the previously knownradio jets. In addition, we detect CO (1--0) emission associated with the dustdisk observed in previous HST images. A velocity gradient is observed,indicating a two kpc radius rotating gas ring or disk oriented roughlyperpendicular to the radio jets. The inferred molecular gas mass of the disk is$M(H_{2})=3\times10^{8}M_{\odot}$, about 1% of the dynamical mass. We also finda $\sim 10^8$ M$_\odot$ molecular gas clump not associated with the gas disk.There is evidence that this gas is associated with a merger and is infalling.This suggests that FR I type activity is related to merger activity, as isthought to be the case for FR II type radio galaxies. We also find indicationsthat one of the radio jets is entraining gas from the infalling molecular gas.Comment: To appear in ApJ, August 200