NED Abstract 
Copyright by Royal Astronomical Society.
1994MNRAS.268..203C

Radio continuum observations of starburst galaxies

P. M. Collison, D. J. Saikia, A. Pedlar, D. J. Axon, and S. W. Unger
Nuffield Radio Astronomy Laboratories, Jodrell Bank, Macclesfleld, 
Cheshire SKII 9DL
Department of Physics, Nuclear Physics Laboratory, Keble Road, Oxford OXI 
3RH
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental 
Research, Post Bag 3, Ganeshkhind, Pune 411007, India
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, 
Maryland, USA
Royal Greenwich Observatory, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0EZ

Accepted 1993 December 10. Received 1993 September 24

ABSTRACT
We present radio continuum observations with the VLA at 3.6 and 6 cm and 
with MERLIN at 18 cm of a sample of mildly active galaxies, including the 
archetypal starburst galaxies NGC 1808 and 253, both of which have a 
large number of compact radio components. These observations were made to 
estimate the spectral indices and brightness temperatures of these 
features, which could help to clarify the nature of the radio emission. 
The spectral indices of all the prominent compact components in NGC 1808, 
and of the five outside the central plateau of emission in NGC 253, are 
consistent with them being supernova remnants. We discuss some of the 
properties of these compact radio components and the possible supernova 
rate in their parent galaxies. We also report the results of our search 
for compact radio components in the remaining sources of our sample.

Key words: supernovae remnants - galaxies: individual: NGC 253 - 
galaxies: individual: NGC 1808 - galaxies: Seyfert - galaxies: starburst 
- radio continuum: galaxies.