Dual Dove
Thanks to the upgraded Giant Meter Radio Telescope (uGMRT) and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a team of astronomers completed quite the investigation.
The astronomers have realized multi-wavelength studies of a galaxy merger remnant dubbed Mrk 212. The findings and results are now available.
Here is what you need to know.
A Galaxy Merger in the Spotlight
The team’s work
The team of astronomers, supervised by Khatun Rubinur of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, realized UV, deep radio, and optical examinations of Mrk 212 utilizing uGMRT and VLA. The research was conducted mainly because the astronomers wanted to confirm the galaxy merger’s dual AGN nature and offer more details and features.
The VLA data was significant. It unveiled a double radio source related to the optical nucleus, dubbed S1, and a compact radio structure related to another optical nucleus, S2. The images reveal an extensive radio structure at 8.5GHz.
The team’s findings
The team discovered that the full extent of S1 is approximately 2,445 light-years, and its spectral index is around 1.4-8.5GHz, at a level of -0.81. Such results indicate that S1 is similar to a compact symmetric body (CSO).
According to the research, the AGN emissions lines and the compact radio core in the optical spectrum of S2 show that another AGN exists in S2. Also, the optical data unveils that S1 and S2 are in the AGN+SF (star formation) region in the BPT (Baldwin, Philips, and Terlevich) well-known diagram.
Finally, the team stated that the obtained data highly support the dual AGN nature of Mrk 212.
Other Significant Details
According to previous studies, the galaxy mergers are important for the galaxies’ evolution. Massive mergers can even modify the parent galaxies’ shape and create an object with a whole different morphology.
Mrk 212 is a galaxy merger situated at a luminosity of approximately 322 million light-years. It’s also a remnant with two known radio sources, S1 and S2.
