CaltechAUTHORS
Published November 20, 2022 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

GOALS-JWST: Unveiling Dusty Compact Sources in the Merging Galaxy IIZw096

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon California Institute of Technology

Abstract

We have used the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to obtain the first spatially resolved, mid-infrared images of IIZw096, a merging luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) at z = 0.036. Previous observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope suggested that the vast majority of the total IR luminosity (L_IR) of the system originated from a small region outside of the two merging nuclei. New observations with JWST/MIRI now allow an accurate measurement of the location and luminosity density of the source that is responsible for the bulk of the IR emission. We estimate that 40%–70% of the IR bolometric luminosity, or 3–5 × 10¹¹ L_⊙, arises from a source no larger than 175 pc in radius, suggesting a luminosity density of at least 3–5 × 10¹² L_⊙ kpc⁻². In addition, we detect 11 other star-forming sources, five of which were previously unknown. The MIRI F1500W/F560W colors of most of these sources, including the source responsible for the bulk of the far-IR emission, are much redder than the nuclei of local LIRGs. These observations reveal the power of JWST to disentangle the complex regions at the hearts of merging, dusty galaxies.

Additional Information

The authors would like to thank the referee whose constructive comments helped improve the manuscript. The JWST data presented in this paper were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes (MAST) at the Space Telescope Science Institute. The specific observations analysed can be accessed via https://doi.org/10.17909/8c47-wb74. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS526555. Support to MAST for these data is provided by the NASA Office of Space Science via grant NAG57584 and by other grants and contracts. This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. These observations are associated with program 1328. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-03127 for JWST. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and operated by the California Institute of Technology. H.I. and T.B. acknowledge support from JSPS KAKENHI grant No. JP21H01129 and the Ito Foundation for Promotion of Science. Y.S. is supported by the NSF through grant AST 1816838 and the Grote Reber Fellowship Program administered by the Associated Universities, Inc./ National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The Flatiron Institute is supported by the Simons Foundation. Vivian U acknowledges funding support from NASA Astrophysics Data Analysis Program (ADAP) grant 80NSSC20K0450. A.M.M. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation under grant No. 2009416. S.A. gratefully acknowledges support from an ERC Advanced grant 789410, from the Swedish Research Council and from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg (KAW) foundation. K.I. acknowledges support by the Spanish MCIN under grant PID2019-105510GB-C33/AEI.

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
118762
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20230110-58978000.6

Funding

NASA
NAS 5-26555
NASA
NAS 5-03127
NASA
NAG57584
NASA/JPL/Caltech
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
JP21H01129
Ito Foundation for Promotion of Science
NSF
AST-1816838
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Simons Foundation
NASA
80NSSC20K0450
NSF
AST-2009416
European Research Council (ERC)
789410
Swedish Research Council
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN)
PID2019-105510GB-C33/AEI/10.13039/501100011033

Dates

Created
2023-02-09
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2023-02-09
Created from EPrint's last_modified field

Caltech Custom Metadata

Caltech groups
Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)