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Title: GOALS-JWST: Unveiling Dusty Compact Sources in the Merging Galaxy IIZw096
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 ofIIZw096, a merging luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) atz= 0.036. Previous observations with the Spitzer Space Telescope suggested that the vast majority of the total IR luminosity (LIR) 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 × 1011L, arises from a source no larger than 175 pc in radius, suggesting a luminosity density of at least 3–5 × 1012Lkpc−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.

 
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Award ID(s):
2009416
NSF-PAR ID:
10381635
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more » ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publisher / Repository:
DOI PREFIX: 10.3847
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Volume:
940
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2041-8205
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: Article No. L6
Size(s):
["Article No. L6"]
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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