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Title: A star-forming shock front in radio galaxy 4C+41.17 resolved with laser-assisted adaptive optics spectroscopy

Journal Article · · Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online)
 [1]
  1. National Research Council Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada)

Near-infrared integral-field spectroscopy of redshifted [O III], Hβ, and optical continuum emission from the z = 3.8 radio galaxy 4C+41.17 is presented, obtained with the laser-guide-star adaptive optics facility on the Gemini North telescope. Employing a specialized dithering technique, a spatial resolution of 0.''10, or 0.7 kpc, is achieved in each spectral element, with a velocity resolution of ∼70 km s{sup –1}. Spectra similar to local starbursts are found for bright knots coincident in archival Hubble Space Telescope ( HST) rest-frame ultraviolet images, which also allows a key line diagnostic to be mapped together with new kinematic information. There emerges a clearer picture of the nebular emission associated with the jet in 8.3 GHz and 15 GHz Very Large Array maps, closely tied to a Lyα-bright shell-shaped structure seen with HST. This supports a previous interpretation of that arc tracing a bow shock, inducing ∼10{sup 10–11} M {sub ☉} star formation regions that comprise the clumpy broadband optical/ultraviolet morphology near the core.

OSTI ID:
22342303
Journal Information:
Astronomical Journal (New York, N.Y. Online), Vol. 148, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1538-3881
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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