High-Resolution Radio Continuum Measurements of the Nuclear Disks of Arp 220

Abstract

We present new Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array radio continuum images of the nuclei of Arp 220, the nearest ultra-luminous infrared galaxy. These images have both the angular resolution to study detailed morphologies of the two nuclei that power the system and sensitivity to a wide range of spatial scales. At 33 GHz, and with a resolution of 0".081 x 0".063 (29.9 x 23.3 pc), we resolve the emission surrounding both nuclei and conclude that is mostly synchrotron in nature. The spatial distributions of radio emission in both nuclei are well described by exponential profiles. These have deconvolved half-light radii of 51 and 35 pc for the eastern and western nuclei, and they match the number density profile of radio supernovae observed with very long baseline interferometry. This similarity might be due to the fast cooling of cosmic rays electrons caused by the presence of a strong (~ mG) magnetic field in this system. We estimate high luminosity surface densities of ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\mathrm{IR}}\sim 4.2_{-0.7}^{+1.6}\times 10^{13}$ (east) and $\sim 9.7_{-2.4}^{+3.7}\times 10^{13}(\mathrm{west}){\mathrm{L}}_{\odot }\mathrm{kp}{\mathrm{c}}^{-2}$, and star formation rate surface densities of ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\mathrm{SFR}}\sim 10^{3.7\pm 0.1}$ (east) and $\sim 10^{4.1\pm 0.1}(\mathrm{west}){\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{-1}\mathrm{kp}{\mathrm{c}}^{-2}$. These values, especially for the western nucleus are, to our knowledge, the highest luminosity and star formation rate surface densities measured for any star-forming system. Despite these high values, the nuclei lie below the dusty Eddington limit in which radiation pressure is balanced only by self-gravity. The small measured sizes also imply that the nuclei of Arp 220 are only transparent in the frequency range ~ 5 to 350 GHz. Our results offer no clear evidence that an active galactic nucleus dominates the emission from either nucleus at 33 GHz.

15 pages, 3 Figures, 3 Tables and 2 appendices. Accepted for publication in ApJ

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