We have performed integral field spectroscopy of the radio galaxy 3C 171
(redshift z=0.238) with the TIGER instrument at the Canada France Hawaii
telescope in the Hbeta-[OIII]4959-5007 wavelength region. We present the
reconstructed Hbeta and [OIII] images and compare them to the HST and radio
maps. We discuss the variations of the [OIII]/Hbeta line ratio throughout the
nebulosity. We also analyze the velocity field in detail, in particular the
presence of several components. We find that the kinematics derived with
emission lines in the central region (inside 1 arcsec) are compatible with a
disk-like rotation of low amplitude (50 km/s). The continuum surface brightness
profile follows an r^{1/4} law, suggesting that the underlying galaxy is an
elliptical with an effective radius of 15 kpc.
We have fit two components in the region centered 2.7 arcsec to the West and
of extension 3 arcsec^2. We find that the blueshifted component is an extension
of the central part, whereas the second one is redshifted by 600 km/s. In both
components, line ratios and FWHM are compatible with the presence of shocks
induced by jet-cloud interactions.Comment: 8 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A Main Journal
(July, 3rd