Very Long Baseline Interferometry Detection of an Active Radio Source Potentially Driving 100 kpc Scale Emission in the Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy IRAS F01004–2237

Abstract

The nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) IRAS F01004−2237 exhibits 100 kpc scale continuum emission at radio wavelengths. The absence of extended X-ray emission in IRAS F01004−2237 has suggested an active galactic nucleus (AGN) origin for the extended radio emission, whose properties and role in merging systems still need to be better understood. We present the results of multifrequency observations of IRAS F01004−2237 conducted by the Very Long Baseline Array at 2.3 and 8.4 GHz. Compact 8.4 GHz continuum emission was detected on a 1 pc scale in the nuclear region with an intrinsic brightness temperature of 108.1 K suggesting that the radio source originated from an AGN, potentially driving the extended emission. In contrast, no significant emission was observed at 2.3 GHz, indicating the presence of low-frequency absorption. This absorption cannot be attributed solely to synchrotron self-absorption; alternatively, free–free absorption due to thermal plasma is mainly at work in the spectrum. From combined perspectives, including mid-infrared and X-ray data, the AGN is obscured in a dense environment. The kinetic power of the nonthermal jet, as inferred from the extended emission, can play a more important role in dispersing the surrounding medium than the thermal outflow in IRAS F01004−2237. These findings hint that jet activities in ULIRGs may contribute to AGN feedback during galaxy evolution induced by merger events.