Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1998-12-30
ApJ Letters, 511, L17-L20 (1999, Jan. 20)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
10 pages, 3 figures, please refer to ApJ Letters for the final version
Scientific paper
We report mid-infrared observations of several luminous infrared galaxies (LIGs) carried out with the Infrared Space Observatory. Our sample was chosen to represent different phases of a merger sequence of galaxy-galaxy interaction with special emphasis on early/intermediate stages of merging. The mid-infrared emission of these LIGs shows extended structures for the early and intermediate mergers, indicating that most of the mid-infrared luminosities are not from a central active galactic nucleus (AGN). Both the infrared hardness (indicated by the IRAS 12, 25, and 60 $\micron$ flux density ratios) and the peak-to-total flux density ratios of these LIGs increase as projected separation of these interacting galaxies become smaller, consistent with increasing star formation activities that are concentrated to a smaller area as the merging process advances. These observations provide among the first observational constraint of largely theoretically based scenarios.
Gao Yanfang
Gruendl Robert A.
Hwang Chorng-Yuan
Lo Kwok Yung
Lu Nanyao Y.
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