IRAS 14348-1447, an ultraluminous pair of colliding, gas-rich galaxies: The birth of a quasar

Journal Article · Fri Feb 05 00:00:00 EST 1988 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.239.4840.625· OSTI ID:5642636

Sanders, D B; Scoville, N Z; Soifer, B T ^[1]

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1. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (USA)

Ground-based observations of the object IRAS 14348-1447, which was discovered with the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, show that it is an extremely luminous colliding galaxy system that emits more than 95% of its energy at far-infrared wavelengths. IRAS 14348-1447, which is receding from the sun at 8% of the speed of light, has a bolometric luminosity more than 100 times larger than that of our galaxy, and is therefore as luminous as optical quasars. New optical, infrared, and spectroscopic measurements suggest that the dominant luminosity source is a dust-enshrouded quasar. The fuel for the intense activity is an enormous supply of molecular gas. Carbon monoxide emission has been detected at a wavelength of 2.6 millimeters by means of a new, more sensitive receiver recently installed on the 12-meter telescope of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. IRAS 14348-1447 is the most distant and luminous source of carbon monoxide line emission yet detected. The derived mass of interstellar molecular hydrogen is 6 {times} 10{sup 10} solar masses. This value is approximately 20 times that of the molecular gas content of the Milky Way and is similar to the largest masses of atomic hydrogen found in galaxies. A large mass of molecular gas may be a prerequisite for the formation of quasars during strong galactic collisions.

• OSTI ID: 5642636
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (USA), Vol. 239; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
GALAXIES
GRAVITATIONAL INTERACTIONS
QUASARS
ORIGIN
CARBON MONOXIDE
COLLISIONS
COSMIC DUST
COSMIC GASES
EMISSION SPECTRA
FAR INFRARED RADIATION
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXY NUCLEI
LUMINOSITY
MAPS
MASS
MOLECULES
MORPHOLOGY
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
SPIRAL CONFIGURATION
STAR EVOLUTION
VISIBLE SPECTRA
BASIC INTERACTIONS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
CONFIGURATION
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DUSTS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
FLUIDS
GASES
INFRARED RADIATION
INTERACTIONS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATIONS
SPECTRA
640105* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Galaxies
640102 - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Stars & Quasi-Stellar
Radio & X-Ray Sources