1. |
- Aalto, Susanne, 1964, et al.
(author)
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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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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 627
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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2. |
- Falstad, Niklas, 1987, et al.
(author)
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Hidden or missing outflows in highly obscured galaxy nuclei?
- 2019
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 623
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Understanding the nuclear growth and feedback processes in galaxies requires investigating their often obscured central regions. One way to do this is to use (sub)millimeter line emission from vibrationally excited HCN (HCN-vib), which is thought to trace warm and highly enshrouded galaxy nuclei. It has been suggested that the most intense HCN-vib emission from a galaxy is connected to a phase of nuclear growth that occurs before the nuclear feedback processes have been fully developed. Aims. We aim to investigate if there is a connection between the presence of strong HCN-vib emission and the development of feedback in (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs). Methods. We collected literature and archival data to compare the luminosities of rotational lines of HCN-vib, normalized to the total infrared luminosity, to the median velocities of 119 μm OH absorption lines, potentially indicating outflows, in a total of 17 (U)LIRGs. Results. The most HCN-vib luminous systems all lack signatures of significant molecular outflows in the far-infrared OH absorption lines. However, at least some of the systems with bright HCN-vib emission have fast and collimated outflows that can be seen in spectral lines at longer wavelengths, including in millimeter emission lines of CO and HCN (in its vibrational ground state) and in radio absorption lines of OH. Conclusions. We conclude that the galaxy nuclei with the highest L HCN-vib /L IR do not drive wide-angle outflows that are detectable using the median velocities of far-infrared OH absorption lines. This is possibly because of an orientation effect in which sources oriented in such a way that their outflows are not along our line of sight also radiate a smaller proportion of their infrared luminosity in our direction. It could also be that massive wide-angle outflows destroy the deeply embedded regions responsible for bright HCN-vib emission, so that the two phenomena cannot coexist. This would strengthen the idea that vibrationally excited HCN traces a heavily obscured stage of evolution before nuclear feedback mechanisms are fully developed.
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3. |
- Nesvadba, N. P.H., et al.
(author)
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Planck 's Dusty GEMS: VII. Atomic carbon and molecular gas in dusty starburst galaxies at z = 2 to 4
- 2019
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 624
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The bright 3 P 1 - 3 P 0 ([CI] 1-0) and 3 P 2 - 3 P 1 ([CI] 2-1) lines of atomic carbon are becoming more and more widely employed as tracers of the cold neutral gas in high-redshift galaxies. Here we present observations of these lines in the 11 galaxies of the set of Planck's Dusty GEMS, the brightest gravitationally lensed galaxies on the extragalactic submillimeter sky probed by the Planck satellite. We have [CI] 1-0 and [CI] 2-1 measurements for seven and eight of these galaxies, respectively, including four galaxies where both lines have been measured. We use our observations to constrain the gas excitation mechanism, excitation temperatures, optical depths, atomic carbon and molecular gas masses, and carbon abundances. Ratios of L CI /L FIR are similar to those found in the local universe, and suggest that the total cooling budget through atomic carbon has not significantly changed in the last 12 Gyr. Both lines are optically thin and trace 1 - 6 × 10 7 M of atomic carbon. Carbon abundances, X CI , are between 2.5 and 4 × 10 -5 , for an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) CO-to-H 2 conversion factor of α CO = 0.8 M / [K km s -1 pc 2 ]. Ratios of molecular gas masses derived from [CI] 1-0 and CO agree within the measurement uncertainties for five galaxies, and agree to better than a factor of two for another two with [CI] 1-0 measurements, after carefully taking CO excitation into account. This does not support the idea that intense, high-redshift starburst galaxies host large quantities of "CO-dark" gas. These results support the common assumptions underlying most molecular gas mass estimates made for massive, dusty, high-redshift starburst galaxies, although the good agreement between the masses obtained with both tracers cannot be taken as independent confirmation of either α CO or X CI .
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4. |
- Stanley, Flora, 1990, et al.
(author)
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A spectral stacking analysis to search for faint outflow signatures in z ∼6 quasars
- 2019
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 631
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. Outflows in quasars during the early epochs of galaxy evolution are an important part of the feedback mechanisms that potentially affect the evolution of the host galaxy. However, systematic millimetre (mm) observations of outflows are only now becoming possible with the advent of sensitive mm telescopes. In this study we used spectral stacking methods to search for a faint high-velocity outflow signal in a sample of [C II] detected, z ∼ 6 quasars. Methods. We searched for broad emission line signatures from high-velocity outflows for a sample of 26 ∼ 6 quasars observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), with a detection of the [C II] line. The observed emission lines of the sources are dominated by the host galaxy, and outflow emission is not detected for the individual sources. We used a spectral line stacking analysis developed for interferometric data to search for outflow emission. We stacked both extracted spectra and the full spectral cubes. We also investigated the possibility that only a sub-set of our sample contributes to the stacked outflow emission. Results. We find only a tentative detection of a broad emission line component in the stacked spectra. When taking a region of about 2″ around the central position of the stacked cubes, the stacked line shows an excess emission due to a broad component of 1.1-1.5σ, but the significance drops to 0.4-0.7σ when stacking the extracted spectra from a smaller region. The broad component can be characterised by a line width of full width at half-maximum FWHM > 700 km s-1. Furthermore, we find a sub-sample of 12 sources, the stack of which maximises the broad component emission. The stack of this sub-sample shows an excess emission due to a broad component of 1.2-2.5σ. The stacked line of these sources has a broad component of FWHM > 775 km s-1. Conclusions. We find evidence suggesting the presence of outflows in a sub-sample of 12 out of 26 sources, which demonstrates the importance of spectral stacking techniques in tracing faint signal in galaxy samples. However, deeper ALMA observations are necessary to confirm the presence of a broad component in the individual spectra.
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