Abstract
Using the sharp edge of the (2-0)12CO stellar absorption bandhead, the authors have measured the velocity dispersion from the central 5″of the starburst galaxy M82. Using both minimum least squares fitting and maximum entropy deconvolution they have derived a velocity dispersion for the central r < 7.5 pc of 100 km/s. The mass-to-light ratio this implies is more than 10 times higher than in the surrounding regions of the galaxy, and is comparable to the same spatial region in our own galaxy. This implies that the starlight from the near-infrared-bright nucleus is dominated by an older population of giants and not by supergiants formed in the starburst.
