| 1. |
- Aalto, Susanne, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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High-resolution HNC 3-2 SMA observations of Arp 220
- 2009
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 493:2, s. 481-487
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. We study the properties of the nuclear molecular gas of the ultra luminous merger Arp 220 and effects of the nuclear source on gas excitation and chemistry. Specifically, our aim is to investigate the spatial location of the luminous HNC 3-2 line emission and address the underlying cause of its unusual brightness.Methods. We present high resolution observations of HNC J=3-2 with the submillimeter array (SMA).Results. We find luminous HNC 3-2 line emission in the western part of Arp 220, centred on the western nucleus, while the eastern side of the merger shows relatively faint emission. A bright (36 K at $0\hbox{$.\!\!^{\prime\prime}$ }4$ resolution), narrow (60 ${\rm km~s}^$) emission feature emerges from the western nucleus, superposed on a broader spectral component. A possible explanation is weak maser emission through line-of-sight amplification of the background continuum source. There is also a more extended HNC 3-2 emission feature north and south of the nucleus. This feature resembles the bipolar OH maser morphology around the western nucleus. Substantial HNC abundances are required to explain the bright line emission from this warm environment - even when the high gas column density towards the western nucleus is taken into account. We discuss this briefly in the context of an X-ray affected chemistry and radiative excitation.Conclusions. The luminous and possibly amplified HNC emission of the western nucleus of the Arp 220 merger reflects the unusual, and perhaps transient environment of the starburst/AGN activity there. The faint HNC line emission towards Arp 220-east reveals a real difference in physical conditions between the two merger nuclei.
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| 2. |
- Aalto, Susanne, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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The hidden heart of the luminous infrared galaxy IC 860: I. A molecular inflow feeding opaque, extreme nuclear activity
- 2019
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 627
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- High-resolution (0.'03-0.'09 (9-26 pc)) ALMA (100-350 GHz (λ3 to 0.8 mm)) and (0.'04 (11 pc)) VLA 45 GHz measurements have been used to image continuum and spectral line emission from the inner (100 pc) region of the nearby infrared luminous galaxy IC 860. We detect compact (r ∼ 10 pc), luminous, 3 to 0.8 mm continuum emission in the core of IC 860, with brightness temperatures TB > 160 K. The 45 GHz continuum is equally compact but significantly fainter in flux. We suggest that the 3 to 0.8 mm continuum emerges from hot dust with radius r ∼ 8 pc and temperature Td ∼ 280 K, and that it is opaque at millimetre wavelengths, implying a very large H2 column density N(H2)≥ 1026 cm-2. Vibrationally excited lines of HCN v2 = 1f J = 4 - 3 and 3-2 (HCN-VIB) are seen in emission and spatially resolved on scales of 40-50 pc. The line-to-continuum ratio drops towards the inner r = 4 pc, resulting in a ring-like morphology. This may be due to high opacities and matching HCN-VIB excitation- and continuum temperatures. The HCN-VIB emission reveals a north-south nuclear velocity gradient with projected rotation velocities of v = 100 km s-1 at r = 10 pc. The brightest emission is oriented perpendicular to the velocity gradient, with a peak HCN-VIB 3-2 TB of 115 K (above the continuum). Vibrational ground-state lines of HCN 3-2 and 4-3, HC15N 4-3, HCO+ 3-2 and 4-3, and CS 7-6 show complex line absorption and emission features towards the dusty nucleus. Redshifted, reversed P-Cygni profiles are seen for HCN and HCO+ consistent with gas inflow with vin ≤ 50 km s-1. Foreground absorption structures outline the flow, and can be traced from the north-east into the nucleus. In contrast, CS 7-6 has blueshifted line profiles with line wings extending out to -180 km s-1. We suggest that a dense and slow outflow is hidden behind a foreground layer of obscuring, inflowing gas. The centre of IC 860 is in a phase of rapid evolution where an inflow is building up a massive nuclear column density of gas and dust that feeds star formation and/or AGN activity. The slow, dense outflow may be signaling the onset of feedback. The inner, r = 10 pc, IR luminosity may be powered by an AGN or a compact starburst, which then would likely require a top-heavy initial mass function.
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| 3. |
- Gorski, Mark, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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Discovery of methanimine (CH 2 NH) megamasers toward compact obscured galaxy nuclei
- 2021
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 654
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first search for the 5.29 GHz methanimine (CH2NH) 110 - 111 transition toward a sample of galaxy nuclei. We target seven galaxies that host compact obscured nuclei (CONs) with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. These galaxies are characterized by Compton-thick cores. CH2NH emission is detected toward six CONs. The brightness temperatures measured toward Arp 220 indicate maser emission. Isotropic luminosities of the CH2NH transition, from all sources where it is detected, exceed 1 Lpdbl and thus may be considered megamasers. We also detect formaldehyde (H2CO) emission toward three CONs. The isotropic CH2NH luminosities are weakly correlated with the infrared luminosity of the host galaxy and strongly correlated with OH megamaser luminosities from the same galaxies. Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfer models suggest that the maser is pumped by the intense millimeter-to-submillimeter Our study suggests that CH2NH megamasers are linked to the nuclear processes within 100 pc of the Compton-thick nucleus within CONs.
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| 4. |
- Gorski, Mark, 1989, et al.
(författare)
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The opaque heart of the galaxy IC 860: Analogous protostellar, kinematics, morphology, and chemistry
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 670
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Compact Obscured Nuclei (CONs) account for a significant fraction of the population of luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs and ULIRGs). These galaxy nuclei are compact, with radii of 10-100 pc, with large optical depths at submm and far-infrared wavelengths, and characterized by vibrationally excited HCN emission. It is not known what powers the large luminosities of the CON host galaxies because of the extreme optical depths towards their nuclei. CONs represent an extreme phase of nuclear growth, hiding either a rapidly accreting supermassive black hole or an abnormal mode of star formation. Regardless of their power source, the CONs allow us to investigate the processes of nuclear growth in galaxies. Here we apply principal component analysis (PCA) tomography to high-resolution (000:06) ALMA observations at frequencies 245 to 265 GHz of the nearby CON (59 Mpc) IC 860. PCA is a technique to unveil correlation in the data parameter space, and we apply it to explore the morphological and chemical properties of species in our dataset. The leading principal components reveal morphological features in molecular emission that suggest a rotating, infalling disk or envelope, and an outflow analogous to those seen in Galactic protostars. One particular molecule of astrochemical interest is methanimine (CH2NH), a precursor to glycine, three transitions of which have been detected towards IC 860.We estimate the average CH2NH column density towards the nucleus of IC 860 to be _1017cm2, with an abundance exceeding 108 relative to molecular hydrogen, using the rotation diagram method and non-LTE radiative transfer models. This CH2NH abundance is consistent with those found in hot cores of molecular clouds in the Milky Way. Our analysis suggests that CONs are an important stage of chemical evolution in galaxies, that are chemically and morphologically similar to Milky Way hot cores.
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| 5. |
- Muller, Sebastien, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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A precise and accurate determination of the cosmic microwave background temperature at z = 0.89
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 551, s. A109 (pp. 1-13)
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. According to the Big Bang theory and as a consequence of adiabatic expansion of the Universe, the temperature of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) increases linearly with redshift. This relation is, however, poorly explored, and detection of any deviation would directly lead to (astro-)physics beyond the standard model.Aims. We aim to measure the temperature of the CMB with an accuracy of a few percent at z = 0.89 toward the molecular absorber in the galaxy lensing the quasar PKS 1830−211.Methods. We adopted a Monte-Carlo Markov chain approach, coupled with predictions from the non-LTE radiative transfer code RADEX, to solve the excitation conditions of a set of various molecular species directly from their spectra.Results. We determine TCMB = 5.08 ± 0.10 K at 68% confidence level. Our measurement is consistent with the value TCMB = 5.14 K predicted by the standard cosmological model with adiabatic expansion of the Universe. This is the most precise determination of TCMB at z > 0 to date.
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| 6. |
- Muller, Sebastien, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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An ALMA Early Science survey of molecular absorption lines toward PKS 1830-211 Analysis of the absorption profiles
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 566
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first results of an ALMA spectral survey of strong absorption lines for common interstellar species in the z = 0.89 molecular absorber toward the lensed blazar PKS 1830-211. The dataset brings essential information on the structure and composition of the absorbing gas in the foreground galaxy. In particular, we find absorption over large velocity intervals (greater than or similar to 100 km s(-1)) toward both lensed images of the blazar. This suggests either that the galaxy inclination is intermediate and that we sample velocity gradients or streaming motions in the disk plane, that the molecular gas has a large vertical distribution or extraplanar components, or that the absorber is not a simple spiral galaxy but might be a merger system. The number of detected species is now reaching a total of 42 different species plus 14 different rare isotopologues toward the SW image, and 14 species toward the NE line-of-sight. The abundances of CH, H2O, HCO+, HCN, and NH3 relative to H-2 are found to be comparable to those in the Galactic diffuse medium. Of all the lines detected so far toward PKS 1830-211, the ground-state line of ortho-water has the deepest absorption. We argue that ground-state lines of water have the best potential for detecting diffuse molecular gas in absorption at high redshift.
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| 7. |
- Muller, Sebastien, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Cosmo-tomography toward PKS 1830-211: Variability of the quasar and of its foreground molecular absorption monitored with ALMA
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Time variability of astronomical sources provides crude information on their typical size and on the implied physical mechanisms. PKS 1830-211 is a remarkable radio-bright lensed quasar with a foreground molecular absorber in the lens galaxy at z = 0.89. Small-scale morphological changes in the core- jet structure of the quasar - which is magnified by the lensing - result in a varying illumination of the absorber screen, which in turn causes variations in the absorption profile. Aims. We aim to study the time variations of the system (the two main lensed images of the quasar and the two corresponding sightlines in the absorber) in order to obtain constraints on both the quasar activity and small-scale structures in the interstellar medium of the absorber. Methods. We used ALMA to monitor the submillimeter continuum emission of PKS 1830-211, together with the absorption spectra of the H2O and CH molecules, with 17 visits spread over six months in 2016. Complementing this, we used available ALMA data to investigate changes in the system in the period 2012-2022. Results. From the continuum data, we followed the evolution of the flux density, flux-density ratio, spectral index, and differential polarization between the two lensed images of the quasar; all quantities show significant variations related to the intrinsic activity of the quasar. We propose a simple parametric model of a core plus a ballistic plasmon to account for the continuum evolution, from which we constrain a time delay of 25 ± 3 days between main lensed images. The spectral lines reveal significant variations in the foreground absorption profile. A principal component analysis highlights apparent wavy time variations, possibly linked to the helical jet precession period of the quasar. From the deep averaged spectra towards the southwest image, we detect the absorption of the rare isotopolog 13CH and estimate an abundance ratio of 12CH/13CH ∼ 150. We also measure the oxygen isotopic ratios, 16O/18O = 65.3 ± 0.7 and 18O/17O = 11.5 ± 0.5 in the z = 0.89 absorber. Finally, we find a remarkable continuous shallow trough in the water absorption spanning a velocity interval of nearly 500 km s-1. This broad absorption could be the signature of an extra-planar molecular component. Conclusions. All together, the system formed by the quasar PKS 1830-211 and its foreground lens- absorber acts as a powerful gravitational microscope, providing us with the possibility to dissect small-scale structures in both the ISM of the foreground absorber and the jet of the background quasar.
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| 8. |
- Muller, Sebastien, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of CH+, SH+, and their C-13- and S-34-isotopologues toward PKS 1830-211
- 2017
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 606
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The z = 0.89 molecular absorber toward PKS 1830-211 provides us with the opportunity to probe the chemical and physical properties of the interstellar medium in the disk of a galaxy at a look-back time of half the present age of the Universe. Recent ALMA observations of hydrides have unveiled the multi-phase composition of this source's interstellar medium along two absorbing sightlines. Here, we report ALMA observations of CH+ and SH+, and of their C-13- and S-34-isotopologues, as potential tracers of energetic processes in the interstellar medium. CH+ and (CH+)-C-13 are detected toward both images of PKS 1830-211, CH+ showing the deepest and broadest absorption among all species observed so far. The [CH+]/[(CH+)-C-13] abundance ratio is similar to 100 in the south-west line of sight. This value is larger than any previous [(CX)-C-12]/[(CX)-C-13] ratios determined from other species toward this source and suggests either that the latter might be affected by fractionation or that CH+ might be tracing a different gas component. Toward the north-east image, we find an even larger value of [CH+]/[(CH+)-C-13], 146 +/- 43, although with a large uncertainty. This sightline intercepts the absorber at a larger galactocentric radius than the southwestern one, where material might be less processed in stellar nucleosynthesis. In contrast to CH+ and its C-13 isotopologue, SH+ and (SH+)-S-34 are only detected on the south-west sightline. These are the first detections of extragalactic SH+ and interstellar (SH+)-S-34. The spectroscopic parameters of SH+ are reevaluated and improved rest frequencies of (SH+)-S-34 are obtained. The [CH+]/[SH+] column density ratios show a large difference between the two lines of sight: similar to 25 and > 600 toward the SW and NE image, respectively. We are not able to shed light on the formation process of CH+ and SH+ with these data, but the differences between the two sightlines toward PKS 1830-211 suggest that their absorptions arise from gas with a molecular fraction of greater than or similar to 10%, with SH+ tracing significantly higher molecular fractions than CH+.
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| 9. |
- Muller, Sebastien, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of chloronium and measurement of the Cl-35/Cl-37 isotopic ratio at z=0.89 toward PKS 1830-211
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 566
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the first extragalactic detection of chloronium (H2Cl+) in the z = 0.89 absorber in front of the lensed blazar PKS 1830-211. The ion is detected through its 1(11)-0(00) line along two independent lines of sight toward the North-East and South-West images of the blazar. The relative abundance of H2Cl+ is significantly higher (by a factor similar to 7) in the NE line of sight, which has a lower H-2/H fraction, indicating that H2Cl+ preferably traces the diffuse gas component. From the ratio of the (H2Cl+)-Cl-35 and (H2Cl+)-Cl-37 absorptions toward the SW image, we measure a Cl-35/Cl-37 isotopic ratio of 3.1(-0.2)(+0.3) at z = 0.89, similar to that observed in the Galaxy and the solar system.
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| 10. |
- Muller, Sebastien, 1976, et al.
(författare)
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Detection of deuterated molecules, but not of lithium hydride, in the z=0.89 absorber toward PKS 1830-211
- 2020
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 637
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Deuterium and lithium are light elements of high cosmological and astrophysical importance. In this work we report the first detection of deuterated molecules and a search for lithium hydride, (LiH)-Li-7, at redshift z=0.89 in the spiral galaxy intercepting the line of sight to the quasar PKS 1830-211. We used ALMA to observe several submillimeter lines of ND, NH2D, and HDO, and their related isotopomers NH2, NH3, and (H2O)-O-18 H 2 18 O , in absorption against the southwest image of the quasar, allowing us to derive XD/XH abundance ratios. The absorption spectra mainly consist of two distinct narrow velocity components for which we find remarkable differences. One velocity component shows XD/XH abundances that is about 10 times larger than the primordial elemental D/H ratio, and no variability of the absorption profile during the time span of our observations. In contrast, the other component shows a stronger deuterium fractionation. Compared to the first component, this second component has XD/XH abundances that are 100 times larger than the primordial D/H ratio, a deepening of the absorption by a factor of two within a few months, and a rich chemical composition, with relative enhancements of N2H+, CH3OH, SO2 and complex organic molecules. We therefore speculate that this component is associated with the analog of a Galactic dark cloud, while the first component is likely more diffuse. Our search for the (LiH)-Li-7 (1-0) line was unsuccessful and we derive an upper limit (LiH)-Li-7/H-2 = 4x10(-13) (3 sigma) in the z=0.89 absorber toward PKS 1830-211. Besides, with ALMA archival data, we could not confirm the previous tentative detections of this line in the z=0.68 absorber toward B 0218+357; we derive an upper limit (LiH)-Li-7/H-2 = 5x10(-11) (3 sigma), although this is less constraining than our limit toward PKS 1830-211. We conclude that, as in the Milky Way, only a tiny fraction of lithium nuclei are possibly bound in LiH in these absorbers at intermediate redshift.
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