POLARIZED EXTENDED Ly{alpha} EMISSION FROM A z = 2.3 RADIO GALAXY
- Centro de Astrofisica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto (Portugal)
- European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
- Centro de Astrobiologia (INTA-CSIC), Carretera de Ajalvir, km 4, E-28850 Torrejon de Ardoz, Madrid (Spain)
- INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, L.go E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze (Italy)
We present spatially resolved spectropolarimetric measurements of the 100 kpc scale gaseous environment of the z = 2.34 radio galaxy TXS 0211-122. The polarization level of the narrow Ly{alpha} emission is low centrally (P < 5%), but rises to P = 16.4% {+-} 4.6% in the eastern part of the nebula, indicating that the nebula is at least partly powered by the scattering of Ly{alpha} photons by H I. Not only is this the first detection of polarized Ly{alpha} around a radio-loud active galaxy, it is also the second detection to date for any kind of Ly{alpha} nebula. We also detect a pair of diametrically opposed UV continuum sources along the slit, at the outer edges of the Ly{alpha} nebula, which we suggest may be the limb of a dusty shell, related to the large-scale H I absorbers often associated with high-z radio galaxies.
- OSTI ID:
- 22130701
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 768, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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