Adaptive optics near-infrared imaging of NGC 2992 – unveiling core structures related to radio figure-of-8 loops |
| |
| Authors: | Scott C Chapman † Simon L Morris Almudena Alonso-Herrero Heino Falcke |
| |
| Institution: | University of British Columbia, Department of Physics &Astronomy, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4; Dominion Astrophysics Observatory, National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC, Canada V8X 4M6; Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Department of Astronomy, Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany |
| |
| Abstract: | We present near-infrared adaptive optics, Very Large Array (VLA) radio and Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) optical imaging of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. Spiral structure and an extension to the west are traced down to the core region at the limiting resolution of our near-infrared images. A faint, diffuse loop of near-infrared and radio emission is also observed to the north, embedded within the prominent 2-arcsec radio loop previously observed to the north-west. Near-infrared colour maps and CO narrow-band imaging are then used to identify which regions may not be purely reddened stellar populations. Our new data provide evidence that the VLA radio-loop morphology in the shape of a figure of 8 represents two components superimposed: (1) outflow bubbles out of the plane of the disc, coincident with the extended emission-line region (EELR); (2) star formation along the spiral arm within the galaxy disc and through the dust lane. The near-infrared continuum emission associated with the outflowing radio bubbles suggests that the radio loops are driven by the active nucleus. |
| |
| Keywords: | galaxies: active galaxies: formation galaxies: individual: NGC 2992 galaxies: starburst infrared: galaxies |
|
|
