THE [O III] NEBULA OF THE MERGER REMNANT NGC 7252: A LIKELY FAINT IONIZATION ECHO
- Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 818 Dennison Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)
We present images and spectra of a {approx}10 kpc-sized emission-line nebulosity discovered in the prototypical merger remnant NGC 7252 and dubbed the ''[O III] nebula'' because of its dominant [O III] {lambda}5007 line. This nebula seems to yield the first sign of episodic active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity still occurring in the remnant, {approx}220 Myr after the coalescence of two gas-rich galaxies. Its location and kinematics suggest it belongs to a stream of tidal-tail gas falling back into the remnant. Its integrated [O III] {lambda}5007 luminosity is 1.4 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 40} erg s{sup -1}, and its spectrum features some high-excitation lines, including He II {lambda}4686. In diagnostic line-ratio diagrams, the nebula lies in the domain of Seyfert galaxies, suggesting that it is photoionized by a source with a power-law spectrum. Yet, a search for AGN activity in NGC 7252 from X-rays to radio wavelengths yields no detection, with the most stringent upper limit set by X-ray observations. The upper luminosity limit of L{sub 2-10{sub keV,0}}<5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 39} erg s{sup -1} estimated for the nucleus is {approx}10{sup 3} times lower than the minimum ionizing luminosity of {approx}> 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 42} erg s{sup -1} necessary to excite the nebula. This large discrepancy suggests that the nebula is a faint ionization echo excited by a mildly active nucleus that has declined by {approx}3 orders of magnitude over the past 20,000-200,000 yr. In many ways this nebula resembles the prototypical ''Hanny's Voorwerp'' near IC 2497, but its size is 3 Multiplication-Sign smaller and its [O III] luminosity {approx}100 Multiplication-Sign lower. We propose that it be classified as an extended emission-line region (EELR). The [O III] nebula is then the lowest-luminosity ionization echo and EELR discovered so far, indicative of recent, probably sputtering AGN activity of Seyfert-like intensity in NGC 7252.
- OSTI ID:
- 22130969
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 773, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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