The Virgo High-Resolution CO Survey: VI. Gas Dynamics and Star Formation along the Bar in NGC 4303

We present CO interferometer observations of the barred galaxy NGC 4303 (M 61). This galaxy has a strong gas concentration at the central region and prominent offset ridges at the leading sides of the bar. Sharp velocity gradients are apparent across the ridges. The brightness temperature in the ridges is low, indicating the existence of unresolved Molecular clouds. Additionally, an analysis of the newborn stellar clusters revealed in HST images suggests that the parent molecular clouds had masses of 10(4-6) M-circle dot. The observed shear velocity gradient across the ridges is too small to break up giant molecular clouds. Therefore, the clouds are likely to survive passage through the ridges. We discuss a cloud orbit model in a bar potential for understanding the gas distribution, dynamics, and star formation in NGC 4303. The model reproduces the narrow offset ridges and sharp velocity gradients across the ridges, although no shock is associated with the ridges. We discuss cloud-cloud collisions (and close interactions) as a possible triggering mechanism for star formation. The newborn stellar clusters in NGC 4303 are located predominantly at the leading sides of the offset ridges. Cloud orbits are densely populated in the region where the clusters are found, suggesting a high collisional frequency and possibly a high rate of triggered star formation. Cloud-based dynamics is less dissipative than smooth hydrodynamic models, possibly extending the timescales of gas dynamical evolution and gas fueling to central regions in barred galaxies.