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Title: IONIZED OUTFLOWS FROM COMPACT STEEP SPECTRUM SOURCES

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
; ;  [1]
  1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

Massive outflows are known to exist, in the form of extended emission-line regions (EELRs), around about one-third of powerful FR II radio sources. We investigate the origin of these EELRs by studying the emission-line regions around compact-steep-spectrum (CSS) radio galaxies that are younger (10{sup 3}-10{sup 5} yr old) versions of the FR II radio galaxies. We have searched for and analyzed the emission-line regions around 11 CSS sources by taking integral field spectra using Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on Gemini North. We fit the [O III] {lambda}5007 line and present the velocity maps for each detected emission-line region. We find, in most cases, that the emission-line regions have multi-component velocity structures with different velocity dispersions and/or flux distributions for each component. The velocity gradients of the emission-line gas are mostly well aligned with the radio axis, suggesting a direct causal link between the outflowing gas and the radio jets. The complex velocity structure may be a result of different driving mechanisms related to the onset of the radio jets. We also present the results from the line-ratio diagnostics we used to analyze the ionization mechanism of the extended gas, which supports the scenario where the emission-line regions are ionized by a combination of active galactic nucleus radiation and shock excitation.

OSTI ID:
22121761
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 772, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English