Multiple mergers generate ultraluminous infrared galaxy
Friday, June 22, 2012 - 07:31
in Astronomy & Space
A team of astronomers led by Professor Yoshiaki Taniguchi (Ehime University) has concluded that the ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) Arp 220 developed from a multiple merger among four or more galaxies. Their new imaging data from the Subaru Telescope and optical spectroscopy from the W. M. Keck Observatory revealed two tidal tails that facilitated their analysis of Arp 220's development. Because Arp 220 is an archetypal or representative ULIRG, the team's findings facilitate an understanding of ULIRG development in general.