Spectroscopy of 39 IRAS 1Jy sample ULIRG

Line profiles of H{alpha}, [NII], [SII], [OI], H{beta}, and [OIII] are resolved and fit jointly with common velocity components. Diagnostic ratios of these line fluxes are presented in a series of plots, showing how the Doppler shift, line width, gas excitation, and surface brightness change with velocity at fixed position and also with distance from the nucleus.

One general characteristic of these spectra is the presence of shocked gas extending many kiloparsecs from the nucleus. In some systems, the rotation curves of the emitting gas indicate motions that suggest gas disks, which are most frequent at early merger stages. At these early merger stages, the emission line ratios indicate the presence of shocked gas, which may be triggered by the merger event.