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The relation between mergers and AGN activity
Author(s) -
González Delgado R. M.,
Tadhunter C. N.,
Pérez E.,
VillarMartín M.,
Holt J.,
Rodríguez J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/asna.200510499
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , radio galaxy , galaxy merger , elliptical galaxy , luminous infrared galaxy , astronomy , peculiar galaxy , galaxy group , context (archaeology) , population , quasar , galaxy , biology , medicine , paleontology , environmental health
There is morphological evidence that the activity in powerful radio galaxies could be triggered by mergers and galaxy interactions. However, nothing is known about the timescales, order of events, and the type of interaction involved. It is not yet known whether there exists an evolutionary link between radio galaxies and other merger systems such as very luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (VLIRGs and ULIRGs). Here, we report preliminary results obtained from the analysis of near‐ultraviolet and optical spectroscopic observations of samples of Radio Galaxies and VLIRGs‐ULIRGs to investigate, through age‐dating of their young stellar population, whether an evolutionary link exists between VLIRGs/ULIRGs–Radio Galaxies–normal elliptical galaxies. These results will help to understand the genesis events that lead to the formation of radio jet and quasar activity, and they will allow us to place radio galaxies in the context of hierarchical evolution models for the population of giant elliptical galaxies. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)