Radio continuum and far-infrared emission from the galaxies in the Eridanus group

Abstract

The Eridanus galaxies follow the well-known radio-FIR correlation. The majority (70%) of these galaxies have their star formation rates below that of the Milky Way. The galaxies that have a significant excess of radio emission are identified as low luminosity AGNs based on their radio morphologies obtained from the GMRT observations. There are no powerful AGNs (L20 cm>1023WHz-1) in the group. The two most far-infrared and radio luminous galaxies in the group have optical and HI morphologies suggestive of recent tidal interactions. The Eridanus group also has two far-infrared luminous but radio-deficient galaxies. It is believed that these galaxies are observed within a few Myr of the onset of an intense star formation episode after being quiescent for at least a 100 Myr. The upper end of the radio luminosity distribution of the Eridanus galaxies (L20 cm 1022WHz-1) is consistent with that of the field galaxies, other groups, and late-type galaxies in nearby clusters.