Near‐Infrared [Fe ii ] Emission in Starburst Galaxies. I. Measured Properties

Abstract

We used the near-infrared [Fe II] emission line signature to detect supernova remnants (SNRs) in the nearby starburst galaxies NGC 1569, NGC 3738, and NGC 5253. The near-infrared narrowband imaging program has led to the detection of 10 SNR candidates in NGC 1569, 7 in NGC 5253, and none in NGC 3738. The luminosity of the SNRs candidates varies from 72 to 780 L ⊙ and from 69 to 331 L ⊙ for NGC 1569 and NGC 5253, respectively. Also, a spatially extended component to the [Fe II] line emission is observed in NGC 1569 and NGC 5253. This component dominates the integrated [Fe II] luminosity in both galaxies, the compact sources accounting for 14% and 7% of the total [Fe II] luminosity of NGC 1569 and NGC 5253, respectively. © 2006. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.