Mapping the Filamentary Nebula of NGC 1275 with Multiwavelength SITELLE Observations

Rhea, Carter Lee; Hlavacek-Larrondo, Julie; Gendron-Marsolais, Marie-Lou; Vigneron, Benjamin; Donahue, Megan; Thilloy, Auriane; Rousseau-Nepton, Laurie; Mezcua, Mar; Werner, Norbert; Barrera-Ballesteros, Jorge; Choi, Hyunseop; Edge, Alastair; Fabian, Andrew; Voit, G. Mark

Abstract

The filamentary nebula encompassing the central galaxy of the Perseus Cluster, NGC 1275, is a complex structure extending dozens of kiloparsecs from NGC 1275. Decades of previous works have focused on establishing the primary formation and ionization mechanisms in different filaments. These studies have pointed to a lack of star formation in the majority of the filaments, the importance of magnetic fields and turbulence in several regions, and the role of interactions between the intracluster medium (ICM) and the cool gas in the filaments, as well as the role of interaction between the central radio source, 3C84, and the filaments. In this paper, we present multi-filter observations of the entire filamentary system that cover the optical bandpass, using the SITELLE instrument at the Canada-France-Hawai’i Telescope. Here, we use the data analysis software, LUCI (https://crhea93.github.io/LUCI/index.html), to produce flux maps of the prominent emission lines present in the filters: [O ii]λ3726/3729, [O iii]λ5007, Hβ, [N ii]λ6548, [N ii]λ6583, and Hα. We use these maps to produce Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich and WHAN diagrams to study the ionization mechanisms at play in each distinct region of the filamentary nebula. First, we confirm the absence of [O iii]λ5007 in the extended filaments, although we detect this line in the central core, revealing a compact region where photoionization by the active galactic nucleus might affect local conditions. Our findings corroborate previous claims that the ionization in the extended filaments could be caused by the cooling ICM via collisional excitation and/or mixing. Moreover, they support the conclusion that magnetic fields play an important role in the formation and continued existence of the filaments.

Citation

Rhea, C. L., Hlavacek-Larrondo, J., Gendron-Marsolais, M.-L., Vigneron, B., Donahue, M., Thilloy, A., Rousseau-Nepton, L., Mezcua, M., Werner, N., Barrera-Ballesteros, J., Choi, H., Edge, A., Fabian, A., & Voit, G. M. (2025). Mapping the Filamentary Nebula of NGC 1275 with Multiwavelength SITELLE Observations. Astronomical Journal, 169(4), Article 203. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adb732

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 10, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Mar 12, 2025
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2025
• Deposit Date: Mar 17, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 17, 2025
• Journal: The Astronomical Journal
• Print ISSN: 0004-6256
• Electronic ISSN: 1538-3881
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 169
• Issue: 4
• Article Number: 203
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adb732
• Keywords: Galaxies, Galactic and extragalactic astronomy, Galaxy spectroscopy
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3714857