First MERLIN Observations of Line Emission from the OH Megamaser toward IRAS10173+0828

Abstract

Many galaxies are thought to contain massive black holes, with masses in excess of ten million solar masses, at their centres and warped circumnuclear toruses. The best evidence comes from observing gas or masers rotating rapidly within a circumnuclear torus surrounding a central body. Here we report on the first MERLIN observations of line emission from the OH megamaser toward IRAS 10173+0828. The position of peak flux contours of the OH megamaser is consistent with that of the continuum in IRAS 10173+0828. This means that the OH megamaser is a diffuse unsaturated maser which could amplify the diffuse 18 cm continuum emission with an amplification factor of order unity.