1994A&A...285...69B

We present maps of the ¹²CO (J=1-0) and (J=2-1) lines in three peculiar galaxies in the Abell 1367 cluster: CGCG 97073, 97079 and 97087. These three galaxies are known to show marked asymmetries in their atomic gas and star-forming regions distribution as well as in their radio continuum emission. The CO observations were aimed at finding asymmetries in the CO distribution that would be the signature of tidal interactions, either between the galaxies or with the cluster as a whole. However, we have found that the molecular gas distribution does not exhibit any strong asymmetries, and that the molecular gas content of the three galaxies is normal. This, and the fact that asymmetries are not seen in the old stellar distribution, does not however rule out the tidal hypothesis since mild interactions could remove the external atomic gas without disturbing the molecular gas and old stars. The alternative explanation is the ram-pressure exerted by the hot intergalactic gas, which would explain not only the peculiar atomic gas and star formation distributions, but also the orientation of the radio continuum tails and the location of the HII regions.