We report the discovery of a powerful molecular wind from the nucleus of the non-interacting nearby S0 field galaxy NGC 1266 .
The single-dish CO profile exhibits emission to \pm 400 km s ^ { -1 } and requires a nested Gaussian fit to be properly described .
Interferometric observations reveal a massive , centrally–concentrated molecular component with a mass of 1.1 \times 10 ^ { 9 } M _ { \odot } and a molecular outflow with a molecular mass of \approx 2.4 \times 10 ^ { 7 } M _ { \odot } .
The molecular gas close to the systemic velocity consists of a rotating , compact nucleus with a mass of about 4.1 \times 10 ^ { 8 } M _ { \odot } within a radius of \approx 60 pc .
This compact molecular nucleus has a surface density of \approx 2.7 \times 10 ^ { 4 } M _ { \odot } pc ^ { -2 } , more than two orders of magnitude larger than that of giant molecular clouds in the disk of the Milky Way , and it appears to sit on the Kennicutt-Schmidt relation despite its extreme kinematics and energetic activity .
We interpret this nucleus as a disk that confines the outflowing wind .
A mass outflow rate of \approx 13 M _ { \odot } yr ^ { -1 } leads to a depletion timescale of \lesssim 85 Myr .
The star formation in NGC 1266 is insufficient to drive the outflow , and thus it is likely driven by the active galactic nucleus ( AGN ) .
The concentration of the majority of the molecular gas in the central 100 pc requires an extraordinary loss of angular momentum , but no obvious companion or interacting galaxy is present to enable the transfer .
NGC 1266 is the first known outflowing molecular system that does not show any evidence of a recent interaction .