Multi-wavelength study of IRAS 19254-7245 – The Superantennae^*

¹ European Southern Observatory (ESO), Alonso de Cordova 3107, Santiago, Chile
² present address CEA, Service d'Astrophysique, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
³ Osservatorio di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy
⁴ Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden St, MS 12, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Corresponding author: L. Vanzi, lvanzi@eso.org

Received: 13 November 2001
Accepted: 19 February 2002

Abstract

We present observations in the optical, near-infrared and millimetre bands of the Ultraluminous Infrared galaxy IRAS 19254-7245, also known as “The Superantennae”. This galaxy is an interacting system with a double nucleus and long tails extending for about 350 kpc. We studied in detail the southern component of the system which is optically classified as a Sy2 galaxy. We have developed a method to determine the parameters of the emission lines in a spectrum in the case of multiple components and severe blending. Our data allow us to build a picture of the environment around the nucleus of the galaxy with unprecedented detail. The optical lines show a complex dynamical structure that is not observable in the near-infrared. In addition we find typical features of AGN such as the coronal lines of [FeVII]5721 and [SiVI]1.96. We also detect strong emission from [FeII]1.64 and H₂.