THE MIDINFRARED RADIO CORRELATION AT HIGH ANGULAR RESOLUTION - NGC-253

We present high angular resolution (1''.2), narrow-band (DELTAlambda/lambda = 0.1) images of the nucleus of NGC 253 at three wavelengths in the mid-infrared (8.5, 10.0, and 12.5 mum). We find that most of the mid-IR flux in the nucleus of NGC 253 derives from a very small region less-than-or-equal-to 120 pc in diameter. Within this small region there are three spatially and spectrally distinct IR components: two bright compact sources, and a surrounding envelope of low-level, diffuse emission. The mid-IR and 6 cm radio are loosely correlated in position but not in brightness. The implication is that the mid-IR-radio correlation may begin to break down on small spatial scales relevant to individual star-forming regions and large individual sources. These variations in the mid-IR spectra and in the radio-IR correlation imply that the nuclear emission is excited by more than one mechanism and source type.