scholarly journals Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies With Absorbed Jets–Insights From Radio Spectral Index Maps

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Järvelä ◽  
Marco Berton ◽  
Luca Crepaldi
Keyword(s):  
Radio Emission ◽  
Spectral Index ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wide Frequency Range ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Relativistic Jets ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Index Maps

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are active galactic nuclei (AGN) believed to be in the early stages of their evolution. A fraction of them have been found to host relativistic jets. Due to the lack of large-scale diffuse radio emission they are believed to be experiencing one of their first activity cycles, and can offer us an opportunity to study the early evolution of more powerful AGN, such as radio galaxies and flat-spectrum radio quasars. Recently, a group of intriguing jetted NLS1s was discovered: based on high radio frequency data they host relativistic jets, but in the JVLA observations they all showed steep radio spectra at least up to 9.0 GHz, indicating very strong absorption at these frequencies. In this paper we study a subset of these sources in detail by employing spatially resolved radio spectral index maps at central frequencies of 1.6, 5.2, and 9.0 GHz. With spectral index maps we can disentangle the different radio emission components over the radio-emitting region, and get insights into the production mechanisms of radio emission. In addition, we study their host galaxies in relation to the radio emission to investigate if the host can provide us additional information regarding the origin of the radio emission, or the launching mechanism of the jets. It is fascinating how different the sources studied are, and certainly more, especially wide frequency-range, and high-resolution observations will be needed to understand their history and current properties, such as the reason behind the extraordinary radio spectra.

scholarly journals The supermassive black hole coincident with the luminous transient ASASSN-15lh

2018 ◽  
Vol 610 ◽  
pp. A14 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Krühler ◽  
M. Fraser ◽  
G. Leloudas ◽  
S. Schulze ◽  
N. C. Stone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Physical Nature ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Ionization Source ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Gas Kinematics ◽  
Spatially Resolved

The progenitors of astronomical transients are linked to a specific stellar population and galactic environment, and observing their host galaxies hence constrains the physical nature of the transient itself. Here, we use imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope, and spatially resolved, medium-resolution spectroscopy from the Very Large Telescope obtained with X-shooter and MUSE to study the host of the very luminous transient ASASSN-15lh. The dominant stellar population at the transient site is old (around 1 to 2 Gyr) without signs of recent star formation. We also detect emission from ionized gas, originating from three different, time invariable, narrow components of collisionally excited metal and Balmer lines. The ratios of emission lines in the Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagnostic diagram indicate that the ionization source is a weak active galactic nucleus with a black hole mass of M• = 5-3+8 × 108 M⊙, derived through the M•-σ relation. The narrow line components show spatial and velocity offsets on scales of 1 kpc and 500 km s-1, respectively; these offsets are best explained by gas kinematics in the narrow-line region. The location of the central component, which we argue is also the position of the supermassive black hole, aligns with that of the transient within an uncertainty of 170 pc. Using this positional coincidence as well as other similarities with the hosts of tidal disruption events, we strengthen the argument that the transient emission observed as ASASSN-15lh is related to the disruption of a star around a supermassive black hole, most probably spinning with a Kerr parameter a• ≳ 0.5.

scholarly journals Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Host Galaxies

2017 ◽  
Vol 848 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Scharwächter ◽  
B. Husemann ◽  
G. Busch ◽  
S. Komossa ◽  
M. A. Dopita
Keyword(s):  
Narrow Line ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy

scholarly journals The disc-like host galaxies of radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1s

2019 ◽  
Vol 492 (1) ◽  
pp. 1450-1464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Olguín-Iglesias ◽  
Jari Kotilainen ◽  
Vahram Chavushyan
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Brightness Distribution ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Relativistic Jets ◽  
Optical Telescope ◽  
Spectrum Radio ◽  
Γ Rays ◽  
Minor Mergers

ABSTRACT Until recently, relativistic jets were ubiquitously found to be launched from giant elliptical galaxies. However, the detection by the Fermi-LAT of γ-ray emission from radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (RL-NLSy1) galaxies raised doubts on this relation. Here, we morphologically characterize a sample of 29 RL-NLSy1s (including 12 γ-emitters, γ-NLSy1s) in order to find clues on the conditions needed by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to produce relativistic jets. We use deep near-infrared images from the Nordic Optical Telescope and the ESO VLT to analyse the surface brightness distribution of the galaxies in the sample. We detected 72 per cent of the hosts (24 per cent classified as γ-NLSy1s). Although we cannot rule out that some RL-NLSy1s are hosted by dispersion-supported systems, our findings strongly indicate that RL-NLSy1 hosts are preferentially disc galaxies. 52 per cent of the resolved hosts (77 per cent non-γ-emitters and 20 per cent γ-emitters) show bars with morphological properties (long and weak) consistent with models that promote gas inflows, which might trigger nuclear activity. The extremely red bulges of the γ-NLSy1s, and features that suggest minor mergers in 75 per cent of their hosts, might hint to the necessary conditions for γ-rays to be produced. Among the features that suggest mergers in our sample, we find six galaxies that show offset stellar bulges with respect to their AGNs. When we plot the nuclear versus the bulge magnitude, RL-NLSy1s locate in the low-luminosity end of flat spectrum radio quasars, suggesting a similar accretion mode between these two AGN types.

scholarly journals Spatially resolved Lyman-α emission around radio bright quasars

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gitika Shukla ◽  
Raghunathan Srianand ◽  
Neeraj Gupta ◽  
Patrick Petitjean ◽  
Andrew J Baker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radio Emission ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Large Telescope ◽  
Mid Infrared ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Integral Field Spectroscopy ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Integral Field ◽  
Line Equivalent Width

Abstract We use Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) to perform long-slit spectroscopic observations of 23 newly discovered radio-loud quasars (RLQs) at 2.7 < z < 3.3. The sample consists of powerful AGN brighter than 200 mJy at 1.4 GHz and is selected on the basis of mid-infrared colors i.e., unbiased to the presence of dust. We report 7 confirmed and 5 tentative detections of diffuse Lyα emission in the sample. We present the properties of diffuse Lyα emission and discuss in detail its relationship to different quasar properties. We find strong dependence of Lyα halo detection rate on the extent of radio source, spectral luminosity of RLQ at 420 MHz (L420MHz), presence of associated C IV absorption and nuclear He II emission line equivalent width. As seen in previous surveys, the FWHM of diffuse Lyα emission in the case of confirmed detections are much higher (i.e.>1000 km/s in all, except one). Using the samples of high-z radio-loud quasars and galaxies from literature, we confirm the correlation between the Lyα halo luminosity and its size with L420MHz. The same quantities are found to be correlating weakly with the projected linear size of the radio emission. Our sample is the second largest sample of RLQs being studied for the presence of diffuse Lyα emission and fills in a redshift gap between previous such studies. Integral Field Spectroscopy is required to fully understand the relationship between the large scale radio emission and the overall distribution, kinematics and over density of Lyα emission in the field of these RLQs.

scholarly journals Absorbed relativistic jets in radio-quiet narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

2020 ◽  
Vol 636 ◽  
pp. A64
Author(s):  
M. Berton ◽  
E. Järvelä ◽  
L. Crepaldi ◽  
A. Lähteenmäki ◽  
M. Tornikoski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radio Emission ◽  
Active Galactic Nuclei ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Galactic Nuclei ◽  
Large Array ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
Relativistic Jets ◽  
Ionized Gas ◽  
Very Large Array ◽  
Relativistic Jet

Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies are peculiar active galactic nuclei. Most of them do not show strong radio emission, but seven radio-quiet (or radio-silent) NLS1s have recently been detected flaring multiple times at 37 GHz by the Metsähovi Radio Telescope, indicating relativistic jets in these peculiar sources. We observed them with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) in A configuration at 1.6, 5.2, and 9.0 GHz. Our results show that these sources are either extremely faint or not detected in the JVLA bands. At these frequencies, the radio emission from their relativistic jet must be absorbed, either through synchrotron self-absorption as it occurs in gigahertz-peaked sources, or more likely, through free-free absorption by a screen of ionized gas associated with starburst activity or shocks. Our findings cast new shadows on the radio-loudness criterion, which seems to be increasingly frequently a misleading parameter. New high-frequency and high-resolution radio observations are essential to test our hypotheses.

scholarly journals Spatially resolved electron density in the narrow line region of z < 0.02 radio AGNs

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. A6 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kakkad ◽  
B. Groves ◽  
M. Dopita ◽  
A. D. Thomas ◽  
R. L. Davies ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Density ◽  
High Electron ◽  
Narrow Line ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Energy Estimation ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Systematic Uncertainties ◽  
Density Maps ◽  
Line Region ◽  
Narrow Line Region

Context. Although studying outflows in the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have moved to the forefront of extragalactic astronomy in recent years, estimating the energy associated with these outflows has been a major challenge. Determining the energy associated with an outflow often involves an assumption of uniform density in the narrow line region (NLR), which spans a wide range in the literature, leading to large systematic uncertainties in energy estimation. Aims. In this paper we present electron density maps for a sample of outflowing and non-outflowing Seyfert galaxies at z < 0.02 drawn from the Siding Spring Southern Seyfert Spectroscopic Snapshot Survey (S7) and try to understand the origin and values of the observed density structures to reduce the systematic uncertainties in outflow energy estimation. Methods. We use the ratio of the [S II]λ6716,6731 emission lines to derive spatially resolved electron densities (≲50–2000 cm−3). Using optical Integral Field Unit observations from the Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS), we are able to measure densities across the central 2–5 kpc of the selected AGN host galaxies. We compare the density maps with the positions of the H II regions derived from the narrow Hα component, ionization maps from [O III] and spatially resolved BPT diagrams to infer the origin of the observed density structures. We also use the electron density maps to construct density profiles as a function of distance from the central AGN. Results. We find a spatial correlation between the sites of high star formation and high electron density for targets without an active ionized outflow. The non-outflowing targets also show an exponential drop in the electron density as a function of distance from the centre, with a mean exponential index of ∼0.15. The correlation between the star forming sites and electron density ceases for targets with an outflow. The density within the outflowing medium is not uniform and shows both low- and high-density sites, most likely due to the presence of shocks and highly turbulent medium. We compare these results in the context of previous results obtained from fibre and slit spectra.

Quasar host galaxies and environments in the GAMA survey

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S356) ◽  
pp. 170-170
Author(s):  
Jari Kotilainen
Keyword(s):  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Cluster Group ◽  
First Results ◽  
Triggering Mechanisms ◽  
Mass Assembly

AbstractWe present first results from our study of the host galaxies and environments of quasars in Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA), a multiwavelength photometric and spectroscopic survey for ∼300,000 galaxies over ∼300 deg2, to a limiting magnitude of r ∼ 20 mag. We use a GAIA-selected sample of ∼350 quasars at z < 0.3 in GAMA. For all the quasars, we determine all surrounding GAMA galaxies and measure their star formation (SF) rate and SF history, and the host galaxy morphology and group membership of the quasars. As a comparison sample of inactive galaxies, we use 1000 subsets of galaxies in GAMA, matched in redshift and galaxy stellar mass to the quasars. We find that quasar activity does not depend on the large-scale environment (cluster/group/void), although quasars tend to prefer satellite location in their environment. Compared to inactive galaxies, quasars are preferentially hosted in bulge-dominated galaxies and have higher SF rates, both overall and averaged over the last 10 and 100 Myr. Quasars also have shorter median SF timescales, shorter median time since the last SF burst, and higher metallicity than inactive galaxies. We discuss these results in terms of triggering mechanisms of the quasar activity and the role of quasars in galaxy evolution.

scholarly journals Spectral index-flux relation for investigating the origins of steep decay in γ-ray bursts

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuele Ronchini ◽  
Gor Oganesyan ◽  
Marica Branchesi ◽  
Stefano Ascenzi ◽  
Maria Grazia Bernardini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Index ◽  
Proton Synchrotron ◽  
Relativistic Jets ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Compact Binary ◽  
Internal Dissipation ◽  
Adiabatic Cooling ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Steep Decay

Abstractγ-ray bursts (GRBs) are short-lived transients releasing a large amount of energy (1051 − 1053 erg) in the keV-MeV energy range. GRBs are thought to originate from internal dissipation of the energy carried by ultra-relativistic jets launched by the remnant of a massive star’s death or a compact binary coalescence. While thousands of GRBs have been observed over the last thirty years, we still have an incomplete understanding of where and how the radiation is generated in the jet. Here we show a relation between the spectral index and the flux found by investigating the X-ray tails of bright GRB pulses via time-resolved spectral analysis. This relation is incompatible with the long standing scenario which invokes the delayed arrival of photons from high-latitude parts of the jet. While the alternative scenarios cannot be firmly excluded, the adiabatic cooling of the emitting particles is the most plausible explanation for the discovered relation, suggesting a proton-synchrotron origin of the GRB emission.

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