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| Paper: |
Molecular Hydrogen Emission (MHE) Galaxies: a New (Near Infrared) Spectroscopic Class |
| Volume: |
282, Galaxies: The Third Dimension |
| Page: |
246 |
| Authors: |
Hawarden, T. G.; Wright, G. S.; Ramsay-Howat, S. K.; Takamiya, M. Y.; Ryder, S. D. |
| Abstract: |
A near-IR (JHK) spectroscopic survey of IR-bright spirals has identified a class of systems with K band (2-2.5 μm) spectra dominated by emission from (apparently thermally excited) molecular hydrogen (H2). Hydrogen Br γ is weak or absent; indeed the much stronger Paschen α recombination line is only about as strong as the commonly-observed H2 1-0 S(1) line. The spectra of these objects are similar to those of the ULIRGs NGC 6240 and Arp 220 except that the 1.644 and 1.257 μm lines of [FeII] are weak relative to H2 in 3 out of 4 examples. All these galaxies are classified as LINERs or Seyferts 2 on the basis of their optical spectra. We present discovery and follow-up spectra and initial results from high-resolution observations of H2 1-0 S(1) and other lines to investigate the kinematics of the line- formation regions. |
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