Computer Science
Scientific paper
Jan 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995phdt........12t&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, 1995.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-02, Section: B, page:
Computer Science
2
Scientific paper
This investigation has concentrated on examining the near infrared characteristics of the central regions of a small number of relatively nearby merging galaxy systems. The galaxies in this study were chosen to represent a range of merger stages, from pre-merger (NGC 520) to currently merging (NGC 1614) to post-merger (NGC 5128). Using high spatial resolution photometric near infrared array imaging in broadband wavelengths it is possible to image heavily obscured regions at resolutions similar to those obtained in visual wavelengths. In two of the program galaxies (NGC 520 and NGC 5128), these techniques uncover hidden near infrared nuclei which cannot be seen in visible light. Additionally, it is found that the near infrared nucleus of NGC 5128 is variable, having decreased by more than a factor of two from measurements five years earlier. This variability indicates an extremely compact size of a few light years for the central engine in NGC 5128, consonant with its identification with the active galactic nucleus powering the giant radio lobes in that classical double-lobed radio source. It is also found that the extinction in each of the galaxies is patchy, with NGC 5128 having a hole showing almost no extinction along the line of sight to within a projected distance of only about 100 pc from the nucleus, while, however, the analysis of available near infrared extinction measures shows each galaxy nucleus to be buried under more than 20 magnitudes of visual extinction. NGC 1614 shows evidence for an extraordinarily powerful burst of star formation, perhaps ten times that seen in M82. The observed CO bandhead index corroborates the age estimates which place this system at the apex of merger-induced activity, about 10^{6.5 } to 10^7 years after the initial collision. By looking at merging systems of a variety of ages using a comparable set of techniques, it is found that the same methods can be used to characterize the different sources. These methods will be of general applicability in the study of colliding galaxy systems.
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