Wills, K.A., Tadhunter, C., Holt, J. et al. (4 more authors) (2008) Diverse young stellar populations in the intermediate-redshift radio galaxies 3C 213.1 and 3C 459: implications for the evolution of the host galaxies. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 385 (1). pp. 136-146. ISSN 0035-8711
Abstract
We present European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope (ESO VLT) and William Herschel Telescope (WHT) spectroscopic observations of two powerful radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts (3C 213.1 and 3C 459), obtained with the aim of establishing the nature and evolutionary status of the host galaxies. Spectral synthesis modelling has been used to demonstrate that young stellar populations (YSP) make a major contribution to the integrated optical light in both sources, contributing at least 37 and 80 per cent of the integrated B-band light in 3C 213.1 and 3C 459, respectively. While in the case of 3C 213.1 the YSP has an intermediate age (0.4–0.8 Gyr) and comprises 3–30 per cent of the total stellar mass, adequate fits to the spectra of 3C 459 require a combination of younger (<0.1 Gyr) and intermediate (0.2–1.2 Gyr) age YSP components that together comprise 5–100 per cent of the total stellar mass. Both the optical and far-IR properties of 3C 459 are consistent with its status as an ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG), and a scenario in which the observed radio source has been triggered close to the peak of star formation activity in a major gas-rich merger. On the other hand, in 3C 213.1 it is likely that the radio source has been triggered (or re-triggered) a significant period after the starburst peak, and the far-IR luminosity of the source is substantially lower. Following correction for the contributions of the YSP, the absolute magnitudes of the host galaxies of both sources are relatively modest (≤2L*), thus demonstrating that powerful radio activity is not always associated with the most massive and luminous elliptical galaxies. These results serve to emphasize that the radio source population is diverse, in terms of both the host galaxy properties and the triggering mechanism(s) for the radio source activity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2008 The Author(s). Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | galaxies : active; galaxies : individual : 3C 459; galaxies : individual : 3C 213.1 |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 29 Mar 2019 12:04 |
Last Modified: | 29 Mar 2019 12:04 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.12865.x |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:138892 |