Detection of a 'rotating' gas cloud 100 kiloparsecs in diameter surrounding 3C 275.1, a quasar at the center of a rich cluster of galaxies

Abstract

view Abstract Citations (24) References (38) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Detection of a ``Rotating'' Gas Cloud 100 Kiloparsecs in Diameter Surrounding 3C 275.1, a Quasar at the Center of a Rich Cluster of Galaxies Hintzen, P. ; Stocke, J. Abstract The distorted radio quasar 3C 275.1 (z = 0.55) is the first QSO found to lie at the center of a rich cluster of galaxies. The quasar is surrounded by an extremely large elliptical nebulosity whose major axis exceeds 100 kpc. Spectroscopic observations of this nebulosity were obtained, with the spectrograph slit aligned along the nebulosity's major axis. The spectrum of the nebulosity in the visible is dominated by O II and O III forbidden emission lines, which yield a well-defined 'solid-body rotation curve' extending 40 kpc from the quasar nucleus, a rotation curve very different from those of normal spiral galaxies. The 3C 275.1 nebulosity is both the largest yet discovered around a quasar and the first in which organized large-scale motions (rotation?) have been identified. The nebulosity may be residue from multiple tidal interactions with cluster members, or it may be accumulated material from a 'cooling flow' of the type seen in low-redshift clusters which are X-ray sources. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: September 1986 DOI: 10.1086/164524 Bibcode: 1986ApJ...308..540H Keywords: Cosmic Gases; Galactic Clusters; Galactic Nuclei; Molecular Clouds; Quasars; Rotating Fluids; Angular Velocity; Astronomical Spectroscopy; Cooling Flows (Astrophysics); Spiral Galaxies; Astrophysics; GALAXIES: CLUSTERING; QUASARS full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (4) NED (4)