Open AccessDeep spectroscopy of distant 3CR radio galaxies: the data
Author(s) -
Best P. N.,
Röttgering H. J. A.,
Longair M. S.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2000.03027.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , galaxy , emission spectrum , astronomy , redshift , line (geometry) , population , spectroscopy , radio galaxy , kinematics , very large telescope , spectral resolution , stellar population , spectral line , star formation , geometry , mathematics , demography , classical mechanics , sociology
Deep long‐slit spectroscopic data are presented for a sample of 14 3CR radio galaxies at redshift z ∼1, previously studied in detail using the Hubble Space Telescope , the Very Large Array, and the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Analysis of the [O ii ] 3727 emission‐line structures at ∼5 Å spectral resolution is carried out to derive the kinematic properties of the emission‐line gas. In line with previous lower resolution studies, a wide variety of kinematics are seen, from gas consistent with a mean rotational motion through to complex structures with velocity dispersions exceeding 1000 km s −1 . The data confirm the presence of a high‐velocity gas component in 3C 265 and detached emission‐line systems in 3C 356 and 3C 441, and show for the first time that the emission‐line gas in the central regions of 3C 324 is composed of two kinematically distinct components. Emission‐line fluxes and the colour of the continuum emission are determined down to unprecedentedly low observed wavelengths, λ <3500 Å, sufficiently short that any contribution of an evolved stellar population is negligible. An accompanying paper investigates the variation in the emission‐line ratios and velocity structures within the sample, and draws conclusions as to the origin of the ionization and kinematics of these galaxies.