Pulling Back the Curtain on Shocks and Star-Formation in NGC 1266 with Gemini-NIFS

We present Gemini near-infrared integral field spectrograph (NIFS) K-band observations of the central 400 pc of NGC 1266, a nearby (D≈30 Mpc) post-starburst galaxy with a powerful multi-phase outflow and a shocked ISM. We detect 7 H_2 ro-vibrational emission lines excited thermally to T∼2000 K, and weak Brγ emission, consistent with a fast C-shock. With these bright H_2 lines, we observe the spatial structure of the shock with an unambiguous tracer for the first time. The Brγ emission is concentrated in the central ≲100 pc, indicating that any remaining star-formation in NGC 1266 is in the nucleus while the surrounding cold molecular gas has little on-going star-formation. Though it is unclear what fraction of this Brγ emission is from star-formation or the AGN, assuming it is entirely due to star-formation we measure an instantaneous star-formation rate of 0.7 M_⊙ yr^-1, though the star-formation rate may be significantly higher in the presence of additional extinction. NGC 1266 provides a unique laboratory to study the complex interactions between AGN, outflows, shocks, and star-formation, all of which are necessary to unravel the evolution of the post-starburst phase.