A Molecular Ring in the Liner Ngc 5218.

High resolution OVRO CO 1-0 observations of the inner 30? in the LINER galaxy NGC 5218 reveal the presence of a double centrally peaked molecular concentration with extensions out to a radius of 12?. The molecular mass detected is 2.4 × 109M? and the gas surface density is high, ~3000M? pc square in the inner 500 pc. The SFR is 2-3M? yr-1 and the SFE is ~13, which are low or moderate values for that gas surface density. We interpret the inner feature as a rotating molecular ring with a radius of ~ 200 pc. We furthermore suggest that the LINER activity in NGC 5218 is not caused by an aging starburst, but by a buried AGN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]