Abstract

CRUZ, Fidel  and  ACEVES, Héctor. A pre-merger in the Luminous Infrared System IRAS 02290+2533. Rev. mex. astron. astrofis [online]. 2009, vol.45, n.2, pp.231-238. ISSN 0185-1101.

We report optical and near-infrared imaging and photometry for the IRAS 02290+2533 source. Observations show that this source is a system of three galaxies. Two galaxies (A and B), which are separated in projection ≈ 10kpc, show some evidence of tidal interaction between them. The spiral-like Galaxy B presents a disk-wide Ha emission and a high infrared luminosity, from near to mid-infrared wavelengths. We suggest that such luminosity is due to a probable disk-wide star-burst triggered by the ongoing gravitational interaction with Galaxy A. Galaxy B can be classified as a Luminous Infrared Galaxy (LIRG). We estimate that a binary merger in the system is likely to occur in 1 Gyr. It is probable that this IRAS source will harbor in the future an Ultra LIRG, according to the evolutionary scheme of Sanders & Mirabel (1996).

Keywords : galaxies: interactions; galaxies: photometry; infrared: galaxies; infrared: general.