High-resolution Optical IFU Spectroscopy of the Complex Galaxy Merger II Zw 096
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2025

Luminous and ultraluminous IR galaxies are critical for investigating feedback mechanisms due to a combination of intense star formation episodes and active galactic nuclei (AGN), particularly in the context of complex galaxy interactions. We conduct a detailed analysis of the II ZW 096 merging system using the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer on the Very Large Telescope, combining high-resolution narrow-field mode and large-area wide-field mode observations. We mapped the morphology, kinematics, and ionizing radiation of the system’s gas by fitting atomic emission lines and the optical continuum. We identify three or more distinct galaxies within II ZW 096, revealing rotational patterns and complex interactions consistent with a collapsing small galaxy group. The kinematics and ionization structures suggest high star formation rates and shock-driven processes, which align with this proposed scenario. Focusing on the D1 compact region, which contributes 40%-70% of the system’s IR emission, and combining information from archival multiwavelength observations, we find strong evidence of a heavily obscured AGN powering it. Our analysis of the internal structure, interactions, and merger state of II ZW 096 offers novel insights into the galaxy evolution processes in this dynamic and highly chaotic system.

Författare

Clemente Riesco

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

E. Treister

Universidad de Tarapacá

Giacomo Venturi

Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa

F. E. Bauer

Universidad de Tarapacá

G. Privon

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

University of Virginia

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Carolina Finlez

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Sandra Zamora

Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa

Dusan Tubín-Arenas

Leibniz-Institut Für Astrophysik Potsdam

Universität Potsdam

Y. Song

Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA)

European Southern Observatory Santiago

Ignacio del Moral-Castro

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

C. Ricci

Universidad Diego Portales

Beijing University of Technology

C. Ramos Almeida

Universidad de la Laguna

Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Nancy A. Levenson

Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

U. Vivian

University of California

Anne M. Medling

University of Toledo

Susanne Aalto

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Giuseppe D’Ago

University of Cambridge

Valeria Olivares

Universidad de Santiago de Chile

Loreto Barcos-Munoz

University of Virginia

National Radio Astronomy Observatory

Federica Ricci

Universita degli studi - Roma Tre

Gustav Olander

Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik

Francisco Muller-Sanchez

University of Memphis

Patricia B. Tissera

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Astrophysical Journal

0004-637X (ISSN) 1538-4357 (eISSN)

Vol. 990 2 136

Exploring the Hidden Dusty Nuclei of Galaxies (HIDDeN)

Europeiska forskningsrådet (ERC) (789410), 2018-10-01 -- 2023-09-30.

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)

Atom- och molekylfysik och optik

Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi

DOI

10.3847/1538-4357/adee18

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2025-09-19