Latorre Paola 1, Iovino Angela 1, Trinchieri Ginevra 1, Wolter Anna 1, & Hickson Paul 2
1 OAB, Milan, Italy
2 UBC, Vancouver, Canada
IRAS data on compact groups of galaxies did indicate a moderate far infrared enhancement in these systems. However, this result remained controversial because of the low resolution of the IRAS data. This made it difficult to decide if the contribution to the FIR flux came from one or more galaxies in the beam. The high resolution imaging provided by ISOCAM, together with its good sensitivity in the band chosen (LW10), enabled us to ascertain whether or not a FIR enhancement is present in compact groups. Preliminary results seem to support evidence for the presence of a moderate far infrared enhancement in these systems, therefore supporting the common interpretation of compact groups as bound dynamical entities in which interactions and mergers play a major role in galaxy evolution.