2020ApJ...897L..19M

We report sensitive [C I] ³P₁-³P₀ and ¹²CO J = 4-3 observations of the nearby merging galaxy NGC 6052 using the Morita (Atacama Compact) Array of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We detect ¹²CO J = 4-3 toward the northern part of NGC 6052, but [C I] ³P₁-³P₀ is not detected with a [C I] ³P₁-³P₀ to ¹²CO J = 4-3 line luminosity ratio of <=0.07. According to models of photodissociation regions, the unusual weakness of [C I] ³P₁-³P₀ relative to ¹²CO J = 4-3 can be explained if the interstellar medium has a hydrogen density larger than 10⁵cm^–3, conditions that might arise naturally in the ongoing merging process in NGC 6052. Its [C I] ³P₁-³P₀ emission is also weaker than expected given the molecular gas mass inferred from previous measurements of ¹²CO J = 1-0 and ¹²CO J = 2-1. This suggests that [C I]³P₁-³P₀ may not be a reliable tracer of molecular gas mass in this galaxy. NGC 6052 is a unique laboratory to investigate how the merger process impacts the molecular gas distribution.