Gaseous Halos of Simulated Milky Way-like Galaxies

In order to investigate the role of the host halo in quenching satellite galaxies, we have characterized a single Milky Way-like host galaxy from the FIRE simulations from z = 0–1.76 by quantifying the gas density of the host halo environment with respect to distance from the host and galactocentric latitude. The gas density decreases with increasing distance from the host according to a broken power law. At earlier times (2–10 Gyr ago), the density in the inner regions of the host halo was enhanced relative to z = 0. Thus, earlier infalling satellites experienced more ram-pressure and were more efficiently quenched compared to later infalling satellites. We also find that in the inner halo (<150 kpc) the density is 2–3 times larger close to the plane of the host galaxy disk versus above or below the disk, so satellites that orbit at low galactocentric latitudes may be more efficiently quenched.

Late-time Evolution and Modeling of the Off-axis Gamma-Ray Burst Candidate FIRST J141918.9+394036

We present new radio and optical data, including very-long-baseline interferometry, as well as archival data analysis, for the luminous, decades-long radio transient FIRST J141918.9+394036. The radio data reveal a synchrotron self-absorption peak around 0.3 GHz and a radius of around 1.3 mas (0.5 pc) 26 yr post-discovery, indicating a blastwave energy ∼5 × 1050 erg. The optical spectrum shows a broad [O iii]λ4959,5007 emission line that may indicate collisional excitation in the host galaxy, but its association with the transient cannot be ruled out. The properties of the host galaxy are suggestive of a massive stellar progenitor that formed at low metallicity. Based on the radio light curve, blastwave velocity, energetics, nature of the host galaxy and transient rates, we find that the properties of J1419+3940 are most consistent with long gamma-ray burst (LGRB) afterglows. Other classes of (optically discovered) stellar explosions as well as neutron star mergers are disfavored, and invoking any exotic scenario may not be necessary. It is therefore likely that J1419+3940 is an off-axis LGRB afterglow (as suggested by Law et al. and Marcote et al.), and under this premise the inverse beaming fraction is found to be f b − 1 ≃ 280 − 200 + 700 , corresponding to an average jet half-opening angle < θ j > ≃ 5 − 2 + 4 degrees (68% confidence), consistent with previous estimates. From the volumetric rate we predict that surveys with the Very Large Array, Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder, and MeerKAT will find a handful of J1419+3940-like events over the coming years.

Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287

Successful observations of the seven predicted bremsstrahlung flares from the unique bright blazar OJ 287 firmly point to the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave (GW) emitting supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary central engine. We present arguments for the continued monitoring of the source in several electromagnetic windows to firmly establish various details of the SMBH binary central engine description for OJ 287. In this article, we explore what more can be known about this system, particularly with regard to accretion and outflows from its two accretion disks. We mainly concentrate on the expected impact of the secondary black hole on the disk of the primary on 3 December 2021 and the resulting electromagnetic signals in the following years. We also predict the times of exceptional fades, and outline their usefulness in the study of the host galaxy. A spectral survey has been carried out, and spectral lines from the secondary were searched for but were not found. The jet of the secondary has been studied and proposals to discover it in future VLBI observations are mentioned. In conclusion, the binary black hole model explains a large number of observations of different kinds in OJ 287. Carefully timed future observations will be able to provide further details of its central engine. Such multi-wavelength and multidisciplinary efforts will be required to pursue multi-messenger nanohertz GW astronomy with OJ 287 in the coming decades.

The Photometric and Spectroscopic Properties of Remnant and Restarted Radio Galaxies in the Lockman Hole Field

Radio galaxies are known to undergo phases of activity, where the stage after the jets have switched off is referred to as the remnant phase. This state can be followed by a restarted phase when the activity reignites. Remnant and restarted radio sources are important for testing models of the evolution of radio active galactic nuclei (AGN) and for understanding the impact the recurrent jet activity has on their host galaxies. Although we now have statistical samples of radio sources in various stages of their life cycle, how this intermittent radio activity is reflected in the optical properties in this sample has not yet been addressed, and is overall a much less studied aspect in the literature. In this work, we use the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) photometry, and SDSS spectra to study these properties in a sample of the remnant, candidate restarted, and active radio galaxies selected using the LOw Frequency ARray at 150 MHz in the Lockman Hole extragalactic field. Within the range of radio luminosities and stellar masses studied in this work, we find no difference between the properties of the host galaxy and of the optical emission lines for objects in different phases of their radio life cycle. The vast majority of our radio sources (either remnant, candidate restarted, or comparison sample) are associated with radiatively inefficient optical AGN and red galaxies dominated by old stellar populations. Thus, the radio and emission-line AGN activity appears to be independent and regulated by different mechanisms. This suggests that, at least for the radio luminosities of our sample, the life cycle of the radio may depend on intrinsic reasons, such as the stability of the accretion disc, more than variation in the accretion rate and fuelling of the central black hole.

Supernova Host Galaxy Association and Photometric Classification of over 10,000 Light Curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility

Here we present a catalog of 12,993 photometrically-classified supernova-like light curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility, along with candidate host galaxy associations. By training a random forest classifier on spectroscopically classified supernovae from the Bright Transient Survey, we achieve an accuracy of 80% across four supernova classes resulting in a final data set of 8208 Type Ia, 2080 Type II, 1985 Type Ib/c, and 720 SLSN. Our work represents a pathfinder effort to supply massive data sets of supernova light curves with value-added information that can be used to enable population-scale modeling of explosion parameters and investigate host galaxy environments.

Multi-Wavelength Study of a Proto-BCG at z = 1.7

In this work we performed a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis in the optical/infrared band of the host galaxy of a proto-brightest bluster galaxy (BCG, NVSS J103023 + 052426) in a proto-cluster at z = 1.7. We found that it features a vigorous star formation rate (SFR) of ∼570 M⊙/yr and a stellar mass of M*∼3.7×1011M⊙; the high corresponding specific SFR = 1.5±0.5Gyr−1 classifies this object as a starburst galaxy that will deplete its molecular gas reservoir in ∼3.5×108 yr. Thus, this system represents a rare example of a proto-BCG caught during the short phase of its major stellar mass assembly. Moreover, we investigated the nature of the host galaxy emission at 3.3 mm. We found that it originates from the cold dust in the interstellar medium, even though a minor non-thermal AGN contribution cannot be completely ruled out. Finally, we studied the polarized emission of the lobes at 1.4 GHz. We unveiled a patchy structure where the polarization fraction increases in the regions in which the total intensity shows a bending morphology; in addition, the magnetic field orientation follows the direction of the bendings. We interpret these features as possible indications of an interaction with the intracluster medium. This strengthens the hypothesis of positive AGN feedback, as inferred in previous studies of this object on the basis of X-ray/mm/radio analysis. In this scenario, the proto-BCG heats the surrounding medium and possibly enhances the SFR in nearby galaxies.

A Catalog of 204 Offset and Dual Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs): Increased AGN Activation in Major Mergers and Separations under 4 kpc

During galaxy mergers, gas and dust are driven toward the centers of merging galaxies, triggering enhanced star formation and supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth. Theory predicts that this heightened activity peaks at SMBH separations <20 kpc; if sufficient material accretes onto one or both of the SMBHs for them to become observable as active galactic nuclei (AGNs) during this phase, they are known as offset and dual AGNs, respectively. To better study these systems, we have built the ACS-AGN Merger Catalog, a large catalog (N = 204) of uniformly selected offset and dual AGN observed by the Hubble Space Telescope at 0.2 < z < 2.5 with separations <20 kpc. Using this catalog, we answer many questions regarding SMBH−galaxy coevolution during mergers. First, we confirm predictions that the AGN fraction peaks at SMBH pair separations <10 kpc; specifically, we find that the fraction increases significantly at pair separations of <4 kpc. Second, we find that AGNs in mergers are preferentially found in major mergers and that the fraction of AGNs found in mergers follows a logarithmic relation, decreasing as merger mass ratio increases. Third, we do not find that mergers (nor the major or minor merger subpopulations) trigger the most luminous AGNs. Finally, we find that nuclear column density, AGN luminosity, and host galaxy star formation rate have no dependence on SMBH pair separation or merger mass ratio in these systems, nor do the distributions of these values differ significantly from that of the overall AGN population.

The Gravity Collective: A Search for the Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Neutron Star–Black Hole Merger GW190814

We present optical follow-up imaging obtained with the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, Nickel Telescope, Swope Telescope, and Thacher Telescope of the LIGO/Virgo gravitational wave (GW) signal from the neutron star–black hole (NSBH) merger GW190814. We searched the GW190814 localization region (19 deg2 for the 90th percentile best localization), covering a total of 51 deg2 and 94.6% of the two-dimensional localization region. Analyzing the properties of 189 transients that we consider as candidate counterparts to the NSBH merger, including their localizations, discovery times from merger, optical spectra, likely host galaxy redshifts, and photometric evolution, we conclude that none of these objects are likely to be associated with GW190814. Based on this finding, we consider the likely optical properties of an electromagnetic counterpart to GW190814, including possible kilonovae and short gamma-ray burst afterglows. Using the joint limits from our follow-up imaging, we conclude that a counterpart with an r-band decline rate of 0.68 mag day−1, similar to the kilonova AT 2017gfo, could peak at an absolute magnitude of at most −17.8 mag (50% confidence). Our data are not constraining for “red” kilonovae and rule out “blue” kilonovae with M > 0.5 M ⊙ (30% confidence). We strongly rule out all known types of short gamma-ray burst afterglows with viewing angles <17° assuming an initial jet opening angle of ∼5.°2 and explosion energies and circumburst densities similar to afterglows explored in the literature. Finally, we explore the possibility that GW190814 merged in the disk of an active galactic nucleus, of which we find four in the localization region, but we do not find any candidate counterparts among these sources.

Near-infrared Supernova Ia Distances: Host Galaxy Extinction and Mass-step Corrections Revisited

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR, Y-, J-, H-band) observations of 42 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) discovered by the untargeted intermediate Palomar Transient Factory survey. This new data set covers a broad range of redshifts and host galaxy stellar masses, compared to previous SN Ia efforts in the NIR. We construct a sample, using also literature data at optical and NIR wavelengths, to examine claimed correlations between the host stellar masses and the Hubble diagram residuals. The SN magnitudes are corrected for host galaxy extinction using either a global total-to-selective extinction ratio, R V = 2.0, for all SNe, or a best-fit R V for each SN individually. Unlike previous studies that were based on a narrower range in host stellar mass, we do not find evidence for a “mass step,” between the color- and stretch-corrected peak J and H magnitudes for galaxies below and above log ( M * / M ⊙ ) = 10 . However, the mass step remains significant (3σ) at optical wavelengths (g, r, i) when using a global R V , but vanishes when each SN is corrected using their individual best-fit R V . Our study confirms the benefits of the NIR SN Ia distance estimates, as these are largely exempted from the empirical corrections dominating the systematic uncertainties in the optical.