Diagnostics of dust obscured galactic nuclei with ISO spectroscopy

ASTROPHYS SPACE SC L 212 (1997) 341-344

Abstract:

Soon after the IRAS mission, the first ever mission in exploring the Infrared world from space, it was realised that there exists a great number of galaxy populations that are extremely luminous at infrared wavelengths. Yet, their optical output was significantly smaller when compared to their infrared one. The enormous amounts of dust present in these galaxies is of course the reason for the different appearence of these galaxies at different wavelengths. And although optical spectroscopy is generally a useful tool, it can not provide much inside on these galactic nuclei as their centers suffer high extinctions. However, infrared spectroscopy although difficult to be performed from the ground, is the ideal tool for probing the obscured nuclei of galaxies. The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) provides the best opportunity to probe these obscured nuclei, and even more, promises to open up our view of the infrared world.

Extragalactic spectroscopy with the infrared space observatory

REV MEX AST ASTR 6 (1997) 70-74

Authors:

R Genzel, D Lutz, E Egami, D Kunze, D Rigopoulou, E Sturm, AFM Moorwood, T DeGraauw, A Sternberg

Abstract:

The Infrared Space Observatory is opening the 2.5 to 200 mu m band for detailed studies of galaxies. Based an the first results on ionic emission lines obtained with the Short-Wavelength-Spectrometer me discuss the nature of ultra-luminous IR, galaxies.

GMOS: The GEMINI multiple object spectrographs

OPTICAL TELESCOPES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW: FOLLOWING IN THE DIRECTION OF TYCHO BRAHE 2871 (1997) 1099-1106

Authors:

RL Davies, JR AllingtonSmith, P Bettess, E Chadwick, R Content, G Dodsworth, R Haynes, D Lee, I Lewis, J Webster, E Atad, S Beard, M Ellis, P Hastings, P Williams, T Bond, D Crampton, T Davidge, M Fletcher, B Leckie, C Morbey, R Murowinski, S Roberts, L Saddlemyer, J Sebesta, J Stilburn, K Szeto

High-resolution near-infrared observations of NGC 1068

ASTROPHYS SPACE SCI 248:1-2 (1997) 295-300

Authors:

A Quirrenbach, A Eckart, N Thatte

Abstract:

We present near-infrared observations of NGC 1068 obtained with the SHARP camera at the ESO 3.5 m telescope, and with SHARP II attached to the COME-ONS adaptive optics system at the ESO 3.6 m telescope. From the SHARP observations we obtain a K band image of the stellar bar with O.'' 4 resolution, and an upper limit to the sire of the nuclear K band source of 0.'' 05 (3.5 pc). The adaptive optics observations are used to determine the position of the infrared nucleus with respect to the visible continuum. The centroid of the 5000 to 9000 Angstrom continuum is displaced 0.'' 23 +/- 0.'' 10 to the east and 0.'' 41 +/- 0.'' 10 to the north of the K band peak.

ISO observations of starburst and ultraluminous galaxies

REV MEX AST ASTR 6 (1997) 87-89

Authors:

D Rigopoulou, D Lutz, R Genzel, E Egami, D Kunze, E Sturm

Abstract:

We report first results on Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) spectroscopic observations of Starburst and Ultraluminous Galaxies. Observations of a wide range of ionic, atomic, and molecular infrared lines enable us to explore in detail the physical conditions in the circumnuclear regions of these galaxies, and to determine, as a first step, parameters such as gas densities and temperatures of ionizing stars. With the help of theoretical modeling this multi-line spectroscopic database is used to further probe the central emission mechanism, discriminate between stellar and non-thermal processes and finally constrain the current models of galactic nuclei.