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

April 2011 • 2011A&A...528A.137I

Authors • Iwasawa, K. • Mazzarella, J. M. • Surace, J. A. • Sanders, D. B. • Armus, L. • Evans, A. S. • Howell, J. H. • Komossa, S. • Petric, A. • Teng, S. H. • U, Vivian • Veilleux, S.

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 × 10²¹ cm ^-2, consistent with the tidal tail having an edge-on orientation.

Links

• PREPRINT http://arxiv.org/abs/1101.3659
• NED https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/uri/NED::InRefcode/2011A%26A...528A.137I
• POSTSCRIPT https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201015872/postscript
• ELECTR https://doi.org/10.1051%2F0004-6361%2F201015872
• SIMBAD http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbo.pl?bibcode=2011A%26A...528A.137I
• PDF https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201015872/pdf
• DATA https://archive.stsci.edu/mastbibref.php?bibcode=2011A%26A...528A.137I
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• DATA https://hst.esac.esa.int/ehst/#/pages/search;bibcode=2011A%26A...528A.137I
• DATA https://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu/bibdata/2011/I/2011A&A...528A.137I.html