Physics Commons^™

The Mid-Infrared Emission Of M87, Eric S. Perlman, R. E. Mason, Christopher Packham, N. A. Levenson, Moshe Elitzur, Justin J. Schaefer, Masatoshi Imanishi, William B. Sparks, James Radomski

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We discuss Subaru and Spitzer Space Telescope imaging and spectroscopy of M87 in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) from 5 to 35 μm. These observations allow us to investigate mid-IR emission mechanisms in the core of M87 and to establish that the flaring, variable jet component HST-1 is not a major contributor to the mid-IR flux. The Spitzer data include a high signal-to-noise ratio 15-35 μm spectrum of the knot A/B complex in the jet, which is consistent with synchrotron emission. However, a synchrotron model cannot account for the observed nuclear spectrum, even when contributions from the jet, necessary due …