3CR249.1 and Ton202—luminous QSOs in interacting systems

Abstract

The morphologies of the extended emission-line regions around the QSOs 3CR249.1 and Ton202 indicate that they have, in both cases, resulted from interactions between two galaxies of roughly equal mass and that the galaxies involved possessed extensive rotating gaseous disks before their encounters. These two examples provide support for the position that luminous QSOs are frequently activated by violent interactions. More generally, the distribution of gas around luminous QSOs promises to be a sensitive and useful indicator of the recent history of their physical environment.