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D.L. Domingue (Georgia College & State University), J.W. Sulentic, A. Durbala (University of Alabama)
Mixed (E/S0+S) pairs are the simplest examples of the galaxy interaction phenomenon because in principle they involve one gas rich fast rotator with a gas poor slow rotator. Such pairs offer an ideal opportunity to explore, not simply the interaction enhancement process, but the possibility of cross stimulation of the early-type component through transfer of gas from the spiral. If the early-type components are truly slow rotators then we might expect an active nucleus enhancement signature. Recent evidence from ISO/H-alpha studies of mixed pairs point toward an abundance of AGN/LINER/starbursts in the early-type components (Domingue et al. 2003).
Radio continuum surveys offer a special opportunity to study the signature in more detail because they resolve most of the pairs. We search for the presence of a radio enhancement in a large sample of mixed pairs using the NVSS(1.4Ghz) survey. Early-type components show radio detections in 29% of our pair sample. We also examine the radio/optical and radio/FIR flux distributions for the detected components as indicators of nuclear activity. The statistical significance of the detection fraction and luminosity ratios is evaluated in the light of results from a matching survey of radio emission for a sample of isolated early-type galaxies.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.