Open AccessAdaptive optics near‐infrared imaging of NGC 2992 – unveiling core structures related to radio figure‐of‐8 loops
Author(s) -
Chapman Scott C.,
Morris Simon L.,
AlonsoHerrero Almudena,
Falcke Heino
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.1365-8711.2000.03303.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , dust lane , astronomy , infrared , adaptive optics , galaxy , x shaped radio galaxy , luminous infrared galaxy , spiral galaxy , near infrared spectroscopy , star formation , optics
We present near‐infrared adaptive optics, Very Large Array (VLA) radio and Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) optical imaging of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. Spiral structure and an extension to the west are traced down to the core region at the limiting resolution of our near‐infrared images. A faint, diffuse loop of near‐infrared and radio emission is also observed to the north, embedded within the prominent 2‐arcsec radio loop previously observed to the north‐west. Near‐infrared colour maps and CO narrow‐band imaging are then used to identify which regions may not be purely reddened stellar populations. Our new data provide evidence that the VLA radio‐loop morphology in the shape of a figure of 8 represents two components superimposed: (1) outflow bubbles out of the plane of the disc, coincident with the extended emission‐line region (EELR); (2) star formation along the spiral arm within the galaxy disc and through the dust lane. The near‐infrared continuum emission associated with the outflowing radio bubbles suggests that the radio loops are driven by the active nucleus.