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Spectacular Shells In The Host Galaxy Of The Qso Mc2 1635+119, Gabriela Canalizo, Nicola Bennert, Bruno Jungwiert, Alan Stockton, François Schweizer, Mark Lacy, Chien Peng
Spectacular Shells In The Host Galaxy Of The Qso Mc2 1635+119, Gabriela Canalizo, Nicola Bennert, Bruno Jungwiert, Alan Stockton, François Schweizer, Mark Lacy, Chien Peng
Physics
We present deep HST ACS images and Keck spectroscopy of MC2 1635+119, a QSO hosted by a galaxy previously classified as an undisturbed elliptical galaxy. Our new images reveal dramatic shell structure indicative of a merger event in the relatively recent past. The brightest shells in the central regions of the host are distributed alternately in radius, with at least two distinct shells on one side of the nucleus and three on the other, out to a distance of ~13 kpc. The light within the five shells comprises ~6% of the total galaxy light. Lower surface brightness ripples or tails …