Circumnuclear Shock and Starburst in NGC 6240: Near-IR Imaging and Spectroscopy with Adaptive Optics
arXiv:astro-ph/0308101 · doi:10.1086/378906
Abstract
We have obtained adaptive optics, high spatial resolution (0.15 arcsecond) K-band spectra and images of the region around the two active nuclei in NGC 6240 which show the presence of circumnuclear shocks. The data are consistent with the thermal excitation mechanism being the dominant one in the nuclear region. UV fluorescence and associative detachment may also contribute to the fraction of the energy emitted through molecular hydrogen transitions. The near-IR continuum emission appears closely associated with the two active nuclei. The morphological similarities between the near-IR images and the Chandra X-ray images indicate the same mechanisms may be responsible for the emission in near-IR and X-ray band.
arXiv comment22 pages, 4 figures, to appear in AJ
References in corpus (8)
- Discovery of a binary AGN in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240 using Chandra
- NICMOS Imaging of Infrared-Luminous Galaxies
- Gas Dynamics in the Luminous Merger NGC 6240
- Stellar Dynamics and the implications on the merger evolution in NGC6240
- ASCA spectroscopy of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC6240: X-ray emission from a starburst and a buried active nucleus
- Chandra HRC and HST observations of NGC6240: resolving the AGN and Starburst
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Cited by in corpus (5)
- High Resolution Imaging of Warm and Dense Molecular Gas in the Nuclear Region of the Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC6240
- The Core of NGC 6240 from Keck Adaptive Optics and HST NICMOS Observations
- XMM-Newton Spectroscopy of the Starburst Dominated Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxy NGC 6240
- Sub-Arcsecond Mid-Infrared Observations of NGC 6240: Limitations of AGN-Starburst Power Diagnostics
- Adaptive Optics: Observations and Prospects for Studies of Active Galactic Nuclei