1. |
- Fathi, Kambiz, et al.
(author)
-
AN H alpha NUCLEAR SPIRAL STRUCTURE IN THE E0 ACTIVE GALAXY Arp 102B
- 2011
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 736:2, s. 77-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report the discovery of a two-armed mini-spiral structure within the inner kiloparsec of the E0 LINER/Seyfert 1 galaxy Arp 102B. The arms are observed in H alpha emission and located east and west of the nucleus, extending up to approximate to 1 kpc from it. We use narrow-band imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys, in combination with archival Very Large Array radio images at 3.6 and 6 cm to investigate the origin of the nuclear spiral. From the H alpha luminosity of the spiral, we obtain an ionized gas mass of the order of 10(6) solar masses. One possibility is that the nuclear spiral represents a gas inflow triggered by a recent accretion event which has replenished the accretion disk, giving rise to the double-peaked emission-line profiles characteristic of Arp 102B. However, the radio images show a one-sided curved jet which correlates with the eastern spiral arm observed in the H alpha image. A published milliarcsecond radio image also shows a one-sided structure at position angle approximate to 40 degrees, approximately aligned with the inner part of the eastern spiral arm. The absence of a radio counterpart to the western spiral arm is tentatively interpreted as indicating that the jet is relativistic, with an estimated speed of 0.45c. Estimates of the jet kinetic energy and the ionizing luminosity of the active nucleus indicate that both are capable of ionizing the gas along the spiral arms. We conclude that, although the gas in the nuclear region may have originated in an accretion event, the mini spiral is most likely the result of a jet-cloud interaction rather than an inflowing stream.
|
|
2. |
- Fathi, Kambiz, et al.
(author)
-
Streaming Motions toward the Supermassive Black Hole in NGC 1097
- 2006
-
In: AstrophysicalJournal Letters. - : American Astronomical Society. ; 641:L25
-
Journal article (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- We have used GMOS-IFU and high-resolution HST-ACS observations to map, in unprecedented detail, the gas velocity field and structure within the 0.7 kpc circumnuclear ring of the SBb LINER/Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 1097. We find clear evidence of radial streaming motions associated with spiral structures leading to the unresolved (<3.5 pc) nucleus, which we interpret as part of the fueling chain by which gas is transported to the nuclear starburst and supermassive black hole.
|
|
3. |
- Mooney, Sean, et al.
(author)
-
Characterising the Extended Morphologies of BL Lacertae Objects at 144 MHz with LOFAR
- 2021
-
In: Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-4365 .- 0067-0049. ; 257:2
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a morphological and spectral study of a sample of 99 BL Lac objects using the LOFAR Two-Metre Sky Survey Second Data Release (LDR2). Extended emission has been identified at gigahertz frequencies around BL Lac objects, but with LDR2 it is now possible to systematically study their morphologies at 144 MHz, where more diffuse emission is expected. LDR2 reveals the presence of extended radio structures around 66/99 of the BL Lac nuclei, with angular extents ranging up to 115 '', corresponding to spatial extents of 410 kpc. The extended emission is likely to be both unbeamed diffuse emission and beamed emission associated with relativistic bulk motion in jets. The spatial extents and luminosities of the extended emission are consistent with the unification scheme for active galactic nuclei, where BL Lac objects correspond to low-excitation radio galaxies with the jet axis aligned along the line of sight. While extended emission is detected around the majority of BL Lac objects, the median 144-1400 MHz spectral index and core dominance at 144 MHz indicate that the core component contributes similar to 42% on average to the total low-frequency flux density. A stronger correlation was found between the 144 MHz core flux density and the gamma-ray photon flux (r = 0.69) than between the 144 MHz extended flux density and the gamma-ray photon flux (r = 0.42). This suggests that the radio-to-gamma-ray connection weakens at low radio frequencies because the population of particles that give rise to the gamma-ray flux are distinct from the electrons producing the diffuse synchrotron emission associated with spatially extended features.
|
|