Spitzer Space Telescope - General Observer Proposal #20719


IRS Spectroscopy of 3CR Radio Galaxies

Principal Investigator: Stefi Baum
           Institution: Rochester Institute of Technology

Co-Investigators: 
Catherine Buchanan, Rochester Institute of Technology                 
Christopher O'Dea, Rochester Institute of Technology                  
David Axon, Rochester Institute of Technology                         
Jack Gallimore, Bucknell University                                   
Andrew Robinson, Rochester Institute of Technology                    
William Sparks, Space Telescope Science Institute                     
Eric Perlman, University of Maryland, Baltimore County                
Alice Quillen, University of Rochester                                
David Floyd, Space Telescope Science Institute                        

Science Category: AGN/quasars/radio galaxies 
 Observing Modes: IrsMap 
  Hours Approved: 17.0 

Abstract:
Radio galaxies are among the largest and most powerful objects in the
universe and, due to their interaction with their environment, are
excellent objects to study the role of nuclear activity in galaxy
evolution.  However the interaction between radio-emitting active
nuclei and their host galaxies on parsec scales is poorly understood.
This is complicated by our lack of understanding of the relation
between different classes of radio galaxy, defined by radio and
optical properties.  We propose to obtain IRS spectra of a sample of
nearby radio galaxies in order to address fundamental questions about
the nature of radio galaxies and their interaction with their
environment.  Low-resolution spectral maps of the central few
kiloparsecs of these galaxies will enable us to probe the dusty
central regions surrounding the active nucleus in these objects and to
compare the classes of FRI and FRII radio galaxies.  The IRS
observations proposed here will be used along with archival IRAC and
MIPS photometry to model the mid- to far-infrared spectral energy
distributions (SEDs) of nearby radio galaxies.  These SEDs will be
compared with the IR SEDs of radio-quiet Seyfert galaxies, being
obtained in a current Spitzer program, in order to understand how the
interaction between an active nucleus and its host galaxy scales with
host type, mass, and luminosity, black hole mass, and radio power.