Emission-line gas associated with the radio lobes of the high-luminosity radio source 3C 171

Abstract

Sets of spectroscopic and imaging CCD emission line data were obtained of the gas in the radio lobe regions of the celestial object SC 171. The optical scans were made at Kitt Peak in 1982-83 and radio data were gathered with the VLA at 2, 6 and 20 cm wavelengths in 1983. The brightest gas emission lines resided alongside knots of the bright radio regions, which were composed of plasma. The gas spectra were akin to those emitted by active nuclei. The gas may be cooling and entrained in boundary layers around the radio sources, which are highly distorted and Faraday depolarized where optical line spectra and radio emissions overlap. Finally, the gas velocities showed a velocity range of up to 1000 km/sec, a dispersion supportive of a model of entrained turbulent flow.