Survival of molecular gas in Virgo's hot intracluster medium: CO near M86

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We carried out CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) observations of 21 different regions in the vicinity of M86, NGC4438, and along the 120 kpc-long, Ha-emitting filamentary trail that connects them, aiming to test whether molecular gas can survive to be transferred from a spiral to an elliptical galaxy in Virgo's 10^7K intracluster medium (ICM).

• We targeted Ha-emitting regions that could be associated with the interface between cold molecular clouds and the hot ionized ICM.
• The data, obtained with the 30m telescope of the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique, led to the detection of molecular gas close to M86.
• CO gas with a recession velocity that is similar to that of the stars, -265 km/s, and with a corresponding H2 mass of 2*10^7 M_sun, was detected ~10 kpc southeast of the nucleus of M86, near the peak of its HI emission.