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A survey of molecular hydrogen in the central galaxies of cooling flows

A. C. Edge, R. J. Wilman, R. M. Johnstone, C. S. Crawford, A. C. Fabian, S. W. Allen

astro-pharXiv:astro-ph/0206379

Abstract

We present a large sample of H- and K-band spectra of 32 optically line luminous central cluster galaxies. We find significant rovibrational H2 emission in 23 of these galaxies as well as H recombination and/or [FeII] emission in another 5. This represents a fourfold increase in the number of molecular line detections known. A number of the detections are of extended emission (5-20 kpc). In several objects we find significant [SiVI] emission that appears to correlate with the strength of high ionization lines in the optical (e.g. [OIII]). This comprehensive sample builds on previous work and confirms that warm (1000-2500K) molecular hydrogen is present wherever there is ionized material in the cores of cooling flows and in most cases it also coincides with CO molecular line emission.

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