A deep 800- m continuum observation of the active galaxy Mkn1183

Abstract

We present a highly sensitive submillimetre continuum observation of Mkn1183. The 800-µm detection requires thermal processes to be dominant in the far-infrared and submillimetre region. Dust emission at a temperature of 41 K, with a spectral emissivity proportional to frequency squared, provides an excellent fit to the data from 60−1300 µm. A total gas mass of |$1.3\times 10^8 M_\odot$| is calculated from the submillimetre data and is found to lie within the central 1.5 kpc of the galaxy. The form of the energy distribution and similarity of a number of physical parameters suggest that Mkn1183 is an efficient nuclear starburst galaxy, similar to M82.