Bibcode
Alonso-Herrero, A.; Roche, P. F.; Esquej, P.; González-Martín, O.; Pereira-Santaella, M.; Ramos Almeida, C.; Levenson, N. A.; Packham, C.; Asensio Ramos, A.; Mason, R. E.; Rodríguez-Espinosa, J. M.; Alvarez-Iglesias, C. A.; Colina, L.; Aretxaga, I.; Díaz-Santos, T.; Perlman, E.; Telesco, C. M.
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 779, Issue 1, article id. L14, 5 pp. (2013).
Advertised on:
12
2013
Citations
27
Refereed citations
25
Description
We present mid-infrared (MIR) 8-13 μm spectroscopy of the nuclear
regions of the interacting galaxy Arp 299 (IC 694+NGC 3690) obtained
with CanariCam (CC) on the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). The
high angular resolution (~0.''3-0.''6) of the data allows us to probe
nuclear physical scales between 60 and 120 pc, which is a factor of 10
improvement over previous MIR spectroscopic observations of this system.
The GTC/CC spectroscopy displays evidence of deeply embedded active
galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in both nuclei. The GTC/CC nuclear
spectrum of NGC 3690/Arp 299-B1 can be explained as emission from
AGN-heated dust in a clumpy torus with both a high covering factor and
high extinction along the line of sight. The estimated bolometric
luminosity of the AGN in NGC 3690 is 3.2 ± 0.6 ×
1044 erg s–1. The nuclear GTC/CC spectrum of
IC 694/Arp 299-A shows 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
emission stemming from a deeply embedded (AV ~ 24 mag) region
of less than 120 pc in size. There is also a continuum-emitting dust
component. If associated with the putative AGN in IC 694, we estimate
that it would be approximately five times less luminous than the AGN in
NGC 3690. The presence of dual AGN activity makes Arp 299 a good example
to study such phenomena in the early coalescence phase of interacting
galaxies.
Related projects
Starbursts in Galaxies GEFE
Starsbursts play a key role in the cosmic evolution of galaxies, and thus in the star formation (SF) history of the universe, the production of metals, and the feedback coupling galaxies with the cosmic web. Extreme SF conditions prevail early on during the formation of the first stars and galaxies, therefore, the starburst phenomenon constitutes a
Casiana
Muñoz Tuñón
Exoplanets and Astrobiology
The search for life in the universe has been driven by recent discoveries of planets around other stars (known as exoplanets), becoming one of the most active fields in modern astrophysics. The growing number of new exoplanets discovered in recent years and the recent advance on the study of their atmospheres are not only providing new valuable
Enric
Pallé Bago
Magnetism, Polarization and Radiative Transfer in Astrophysics
Magnetic fields pervade all astrophysical plasmas and govern most of the variability in the Universe at intermediate time scales. They are present in stars across the whole Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, in galaxies, and even perhaps in the intergalactic medium. Polarized light provides the most reliable source of information at our disposal for the
Tanausú del
Pino Alemán