Program: GN-2006B-Q-19

Title:High Resolution Mid-IR Imaging of Radio Galaxies
PI:Eric Perlman
Co-I(s): Christopher Packham, Mark Birkinshaw, James Radomski, Markos Georganopoulos, Diana Worrall, Justin Schaefer

Abstract

We propose mid-IR imaging of a sample of radio-loud AGN. Little is known about the mid-IR nuclear morphology of radio-loud AGN, except for three (Cen A, Cyg A and M87), the best data is currently from Spitzer, which has 3" resolution at 10um. Our previous observations found diverse mid-IR structures in these objects, including unresolved nuclei, jets, biconical structures and other extended emission. The physical processes that produce their mid-IR emission range from synchrotron radiation to thermal emission from dust, plus emission and absorption lines. We are conducting a mid-IR survey of the z<0.1 3CR sample with Spitzer, which is showing a variety of spectral shapes. However, interpreting the Spitzer data is difficult without subarcsecond-resolution imaging. Our sample includes the brightest z<0.06 radio-loud AGN. We will investigate the mid-IR morphology and physics of these objects, comparing the mid-IR colors with Spitzer data and the morphology with HST and Chandra images. We envision spectroscopy of the brightest objects in future semesters.

Publications using this program's data