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arXiv astro-ph/0103425astro-ph
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超铝质红外镓沿归并序列的年龄测定

Age-Dating Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies Along the Merger Sequence

T. W. Murphy, B. T. Soifer, K. Matthews, L. Armus

摘要:

利用新的Palomar积分场摄谱仪对四个超亮红外星系的Pa-α线进行成像光谱研究。在大多数情况下,我们能够建立合并的几何形状,从而估计合并过程中我们观察系统的时间。合并模型无法预测到这些恒星的形成速率,因为合并模型在第一次相遇后1-2x10^8年或合并过程的很晚(约10^9年)会产生很高的恒星形成速率。即使在非常年轻的合并中,超亮活动似乎集中在其中一个祖先星系的核心上--即具有椭圆轨道几何形状的星系。在被认为是新形成的潮汐尾的结构中也观察到非常高的恒星形成率(2-5 M_sun/yr)。一个非常年轻的超亮合并的人口显着的存在,连同大多数超亮红外星系存在于合并活动的最后阶段,表明超亮星系阶段至少是双峰的时间。超亮红外星系的演化方案提出,其中的远红外光度可能会经历多个超亮爆发过程中遇到的。合并生命中的相当一部分可能是在一个阶段中度过的,这个阶段被认为是不太强大的红外星系。

英文摘要:

Imaging spectroscopy using the new Palomar Integral Field Spectrograph is presented for the Pa-alpha line in four ultraluminous infrared galaxies. In most cases, we are able to establish the geometry of the merger, and thus estimate the time in the merger process at which we are viewing the system. The resulting range in estimated ages, some of which are very young encounters (~5x10^7 yr), is not predicted by merger models, which produce high rates of star formation either 1-2x10^8 years after the first encounter or very late (~10^9 yr) in the merger process. Even in the very young mergers, the ultraluminous activity appears to be centrally concentrated on the nucleus of one of the progenitor galaxies---namely the galaxy with a prograde orbital geometry. Very high star formation rates (2-5 M_sun/yr) are also observed in structures believed to be newly formed tidal tails. The presence of a significant population of very young ultraluminous mergers, together with the majority of ultraluminous infrared galaxies existing in the final stages of merger activity, indicates that the ultraluminous galaxy phase is at least bimodal in time. An evolutionary scenario is proposed for ultraluminous infrared galaxies, wherein the far-infrared luminosity may undergo multiple ultraluminous bursts during the course of the encounter. A substantial fraction of the merger lifetime may be spent in a phase identified with the less powerful luminous infrared galaxy class.

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