RESULTS OF THE ESO-SEST KEY PROGRAM - CO IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS .6.THE 30-DORADUS COMPLEX

We report observations of (CO)-C-12(1 --> 0) emission from molecular c louds in a complex extending similar to 2 kpc south of 30 Dor in the L arge Magellanic Cloud. The observations were taken on the Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) as part of the Key Programme: CO in the Magellanic Clouds. This paper presents observations of the emission f rom the Central and Southern parts of that complex. In both parts, the strongest emission has T-A similar to 4 K. This is a factor of simil ar to 3 to 5 weaker than we would expect for Milky Way GMCs observed a t a distance of 50 kpc. In the Central region, the emission is dominat ed by a 600 pc long, slightly curved feature, which is clearly seen in peak and integrated intensity maps. When we look at this emission in 5 km s(-1) velocity ranges, it breaks into 22 clouds whose sizes and l ine profiles look like that from Milky Way molecular clouds. The South ern region is clearly separated from the Central region, and its emiss ion can be broken into 5 clouds.