Title: The unusual morphology and kinematics of the gas in the bulge region of M31

Abstract:
We present maps of the gas morphology and kinematics in M31 of unprecedented detail, 
obtained with the optical IFU spectrograph VIRUS-W. Our observations thoroughly cover the 
bulge and sample the disk along six different position angles, reaching roughly one scalelength 
(5.5 kpc) along the major axis. We fit a line-of-sight velocity distribution to the stellar continuum 
and the Hbeta, [OIII] and [NI] emission lines. We find that the gas shows irregular morphology 
and is not settled in a simple thin disk. For a large fraction of our observed spectra, each 
emission line shows two separate peaks with different corresponding kinematics. The lines are 
split by up to 150 km/s in some areas of the bulge. This is similar to what has been observed, 
with much less resolution in the central regions, in HI and CO. We are currently investigating 
the origin of the double peaks, with a warped gas disk being the most likely scenario, where 
velocities from the outer regions appear projected into the center.