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Published April 2011 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

The location of an active nucleus and a shadow of a tidal tail in the ULIRG Mrk 273

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Barcelona
  • 2. ROR icon Infrared Processing and Analysis Center
  • 3. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 4. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 5. ROR icon University of Virginia
  • 6. ROR icon National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  • 7. ROR icon Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
  • 8. ROR icon University of Maryland, College Park

Abstract

Analysis of data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory for the double nucleus ULIRG Mrk 273 reveals an absorbed hard X-ray source coincident with the southwest nucleus, implying that this unresolved, near-infrared source is where an active nucleus resides, while the northern nuclear region contains a powerful starburst that dominates the far infrared luminosity. There is evidence of a slight image extension in the 6–7 keV band, where an Fe K line is present, towards the northern nucleus. A large-scale, diffuse emission nebula detected in soft X-rays contains a dark lane that spatially coincides with a high surface-brightness tidal tail extending ~50 arcsec (40 kpc) to the south. The soft X-ray source is likely located behind the tidal tail, which absorbs X-ray photons along the line of sight. The estimated column density of cold gas in the tidal tail responsible for shadowing the soft X-rays is N_H ≥ 6 × 10^(21) cm^(-2), consistent with the tidal tail having an edge-on orientation.

Additional Information

© 2011 ESO. Article published by EDP Sciences. Received 5 October 2010; Accepted 17 January 2011. Published online 16 March 2011. This research made use of archival data maintained at the Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) and Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED).

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Identifiers

Eprint ID
23285
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20110412-115734548

Dates

Created
2011-04-12
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Updated
2021-11-09
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Caltech groups
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)