paper

Mapping the gas kinematics and ionization structure of four ultraluminous IRAS galaxies

arXiv:astro-ph/9908233 · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02807.x

Abstract

(Abridged) We analyse the morphology, kinematics and ionization structure of the extended emission-line regions in four ULIRGs at 0.118<z<0.181, using ARGUS integral-field spectroscopy. The gas kinematics in the hyperluminous system IRAS F20460+1925 lack coherent structure, with FWHM>1000 km/s within 1" of the nucleus; an isolated blob ~8kpc from the nucleus with a much lower FWHM may lie in a photoionization cone. Line ratios suggest AGN-photoionization for the systemic gas, and shock+precursor ionization for a second, spatially-unresolved, nuclear component blueshifted by 990 km/s. The gas in IRAS F23060+0505 is in dipolar rotation but with an asymmetric rotation curve and an increased FWHM on one side; an asymmetry to the narrow-line profiles is attributed to a spatially-resolved outflow, and shock+precursor ionization is dominant. At lower luminosity, IRAS F01217+0122 has a featureless velocity field with a high FWHM, an AGN-like emission-line spectrum and a ~1 Gyr old stellar population. IRAS F01003-2238 has a dipolar velocity field and an HII-region emission-line spectrum with a strong blue continuum which can be reproduced with ~10^7 O5 stars, sufficient to account for the bolometric luminosity of the entire galaxy. This diversity is accommodated within the merger-driven evolutionary scenario for ULIRGs: the merger status is assessed from the kinematics in a way which is consistent with the colour and morphology of the galaxy, or with the inferred age of the stellar population and the dominance of the AGN.

23 pages, 25 figures (7 in gif format); to appear in MNRAS

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