Abstract
We present Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS [Fe II] 1.644 μm, Paα (1.87 μm), and continuum images of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253 at an unprecedented spatial resolution. In both galaxies we detect [Fe II] compact sources superposed on a diffuse background in the disk of the galaxies, together with a component above and below the plane of the galaxy. The radio and [Fe II] emissions perpendicular to the disk of M82 show a remarkable similarity to each other, suggesting that both emissions originate in shocks from supernova explosions. We find a spatial correspondence between bright compact [Fe II]–emitting regions and the location of radio supernova remnants (SNRs) for approximately 30%–50% of radio SNRs in M82 and NGC 253. This lack of a one-to-one correspondence, more than being indicative of a different origin for the radio and [Fe II] emission in starbursts, suggests two populations of SNRs: an older population (≲104 yr), traced by the [Fe II] emission, and a younger population (a few hundred years old), traced by the radio SNRs. We therefore conclude that the [Fe II] emission in starburst galaxies provides a good estimate of the supernova activity. Using our newly determined [Fe II] luminosities (corrected for extinction) of M82 and NGC 253, we reevaluate the calibration of the supernova rate in terms of the [Fe II] luminosity for starburst galaxies.
Export citation and abstract BibTeX RIS
Footnotes
- *
Based on observations with the NASA ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.