734 research outputs found
High Resolution WFPC2 Imaging of IRAS 09104+4109
With a infrared luminosity of nearly 10^13 Lsuns, IRAS 09104+4109 is the most
luminous galaxy with z<0.5 in the IRAS All Sky Survey. A radio-loud Seyfert 2
type optical spectrum, a cD host galaxy in a rich cluster, and a massive
cooling flow make IRAS 09104+4109 unique among ultraluminous infrared galaxies.
Cannibalized cluster members and the cooling intercluster medium may contribute
both the fuel and the dust needed to re-radiate the power of IRAS 09104+4109
into the far-infrared. We have imaged IRAS 09104+4109 in the WFPC2 F622W,
F814W, and FR680N filters on the HST to obtain rest frame 4300A, 5700A, and
[OIII] emission line images on sub-kpc scales. IRAS 09104+4109 displays a
complex morphology on the smallest scales, with radiating filaments, an
asymmetric [OIII] nebula, and a number of very faint, irregular blue objects
surrounding the cD galaxy. We discuss the nature and possible interplay between
the enshrouded QSO nucleus, the cD host galaxy and the irregular cluster.Comment: LaTex, 6 pages with 2 postscript and 1 jpg figure. To appear in the
proc. of the Ringberg workshop "Ultraluminous Galaxies: Monsters or Babies"
(Ringberg castle, Sept. 1998), Ap&SS, in pres
Near Infrared Observations of a Redshift 5.34 Galaxy: Further Evidence for Dust Absorption in the Early Universe
Imaging at 1.25 and 2.20 microns has been obtained of the field containing
the galaxy (RD1) found at redshift 5.34 by Dey et al.(1998). This galaxy has
been detected at 1.25 microns, while the lower redshift (z=4.02) galaxy also
found in the same field by Dey et al. was detected at both 1.25 and 2.20
microns. Comparison to stellar population synthesis models indicates that if
RD1 is a young ( 0.5 mag)
is indicated. Combined with observations of other high redshift systems, these
data show that dust is likely to be an important component of young galaxies
even at redshifts of z > 5. The extinction-corrected monochromatic luminosity
of RD1 at 1500 angstroms is then a factor of about three larger than L(1500)*
as determined by Dickinson (1998) for z ~ 3 starburst galaxies. The implied
star formation rate in RD1, corrected for extinction, is ~ 50-100 solar masses
per year.Comment: plain LaTex with 1 postscript figure. ApJ Letters, accepte
The Nature of the Compact/Symmetric Near-IR Continuum Source in 4C 40.36
Using NICMOS on HST, we have imaged the emission-line nebulae and the
line-free continuum in 4C 40.36, a ultra-steep spectrum FR II radio galaxy at
z=2.269. The line-free continuum was found to be extremely compact and
symmetric while the emission-line nebulae seen in H-alpha+[N II] show very
clumpy structures spreading almost linearly over 16 kpc. However, this linear
structure is clearly misaligned from the radio axis. The SED of the line-free
continuum is very flat, suggesting that if the continuum emission is produced
by a single source, it is likely to be a young bursting stellar population or
scattered AGN light. However, because of the lack of a line-free optical image
with a comparable spatial resolution, we cannot exclude the possibility that
the observed SED is a composite of a young blue population and an old red
population.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; to appear in the proceedings of "The Hy-Redshift
Universe: Galaxy Formation and Evolution at High Redshift", eds. A.J.Bunker
and W. J. M. van Breuge
Near Infrared Observations of IRAS 09104+4109
Near infrared imaging and grism spectroscopy of the high luminosity infrared bright galaxy IRAS 09104+4109 have been obtained with the W. M. Keck Telescope. The imaging shows 6 “knots” of emission projected against the extended stellar envelope of the cD galaxy thought to be the source of the large far infrared luminosity. The luminosities of the knots are consistent with the bulges of galaxies
accreting onto the central galaxy. In addition, there are 11 companion galaxies seen at radii of 40-150 kpc from the cD nucleus. These objects have colors in the range R—K~ 3.5±0.5 mag, J-H~0.9±0.2 mag H-K ~0.7±0.2 mag, which are consistent with galaxies at a redshift of 0.4. The companion galaxies have luminosities comparable to or less than the characteristic luminosity (L^*) of field galaxies. While the central cD galaxy is identified with the luminous infrared source, it appears to be a quiescent, radio-quiet galaxy, showing no evidence from its near infrared colors for a highly reddened nucleus as seen in other infrared luminous galaxies. The grism spectroscopy shows forbidden lines of low ionization stages of sulfer, iron, and oxygen, as well as hydrogen recombination lines and a strong line of neutral helium. A visual extinction of Av—2 mag is derived to the narrow line region surrounding the galaxy nucleus, based on the
line ratios [S II]1.03 µm/0.407 µm and Pδ/Hβ. The near infrared spectrum is consistent with the optical
classification of this system being a Seyfert 2 nucleus
Modelling the Spectral Energy Distribution of Compact Luminous Infrared Galaxies: Constraints from High Frequency Radio Data
We have performed 23 GHz VLA observations of 7 compact, luminous infrared
galaxies, selected to have evidence of starburst activity. New and published
multi-frequency data are combined to obtain the spectral energy distributions
of all 7 galaxies from the near-infrared to the radio (at 1.4 GHz). These SEDs
are compared with new models, for dust enshrouded galaxies, which account for
both starburst and AGN components. In all 7 galaxies the starburst provides the
dominant contribution to the infrared luminosity; in 4 sources no contribution
from an AGN is required. Although AGN may contribute up to 50 percent of the
total far--infrared emission, the starbursts always dominate in the radio. The
SEDs of most of our sources are best fit with a very high optical depth of
(>=50) at 1 micron. The scatter in the far-infrared/radio correlation, found
among luminous IRAS sources, is due mainly to the different evolutionary status
of their starburst components. The short time-scale of the star formation
process amplifies the delay between the far-infrared and radio emission. This
becomes more evident at low radio frequencies (below about 1 GHz) where
synchrotron radiation is the dominant process. In the far-infrared (at
wavelengths shorter than 100 micron) an additional source of scatter is
provided by AGN, where present. AGN may be detected in the near-infrared by the
absence of the knee, typical of stellar photospheres. However, near-infrared
data alone cannot constrain the level at which AGN contribute because the
interpretation of their observed properties, in this wave-band, depends
strongly on model parameters.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
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