Do you want to publish a course? Click here

Discovery of O VII line emitting gas in elliptical galaxies

118   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 Added by Ciro Pinto
 Publication date 2014
  fields Physics
and research's language is English




Ask ChatGPT about the research

In the cores of ellipticals, clusters, and groups of galaxies, the gas has a cooling time shorter than 1 Gyr. It is possible to probe cooling flows through the detection of Fe XVII and O VII emission lines, but so far O VII has not been detected in any individual object. The Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) aboard XMM-Newton are currently the only instruments able to detect O VII in extended objects such as elliptical galaxies and galaxy clusters. We searched for evidence of O VII through all the archival RGS observations of galaxy clusters, groups of galaxies, and elliptical galaxies focusing on those with core temperatures below 1 keV. We have discovered O VII resonance (21.6A) and forbidden (22.1A) lines for the first time in the spectra of individual objects. O VII was detected at a level higher than three sigma in six elliptical galaxies: M 84, M 86, M 89, NGC 1316, NGC 4636, and NGC 5846. M 84, M 86 and M 89 are members of the Virgo Cluster, the others are central dominant galaxies of groups, and most them show evidence of O VI in UV spectra. We detect no significant trend between the Fe XVII and O VII resonance-to-forbidden line ratios, possibly because of the limited statistics. The observed line ratios <Fe(r/f), O(r/f)>= (0.52+/-0.02, 0.9+/-0.2) indicate that the spectra of all these ellipticals are affected by resonance scattering, suggesting low turbulence. Deeper exposures will help to understand whether the Fe XVII and O VII lines are both produced by the same cooling gas or by multiphase gas. Our O VII luminosities correspond to 0.2-2 Msun/yr, which agree with the predictions for ellipticals. Such weak cooling rates would not be detected in clusters because their spectra are dominated by the emission of hotter gas, and owing to their greater distance, the expected O VII line flux would be undetectable.



rate research

Read More

We studied the radio emission from four radio-loud and gamma-ray-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. The goal was to investigate whether a relativistic jet is operating at the source, and quantify its characteristics. We relied on the most systematic monitoring of such system in the cm and mm radio bands which is conducted with the Effelsberg 100 m and IRAM 30 m telescopes and covers the longest time-baselines and the most radio frequencies to date. We extract variability parameters and compute variability brightness temperatures and Doppler factors. The jet powers were computed from the light curves to estimate the energy output. The dynamics of radio spectral energy distributions were examined to understand the mechanism causing the variability. All the sources display intensive variability that occurs at a pace faster than what is commonly seen in blazars. The flaring events show intensive spectral evolution indicative of shock evolution. The brightness temperatures and Doppler factors are moderate, implying a mildly relativistic jet. The computed jet powers show very energetic flows. The radio polarisation in one case clearly implies a quiescent jet underlying the recursive flaring activity. Despite the generally lower flux densities, the sources appear to show all typical characteristics seen in blazars that are powered by relativistic jets.
This article reviews our current understanding about $gamma$-ray detected narrow-line Seyfert 1 ($gamma$-NLSy1) galaxies. The detection with the Large Area Telescope onboard {it Fermi}~Gamma-ray Space Telescope has provided the strongest evidence for the presence of closely aligned relativistic jet in these intriguing active galactic nuclei (AGN) and opened up a realm to explore the physical conditions needed to launch the jet in a different central engine and host galaxy environment than that is known for blazars. Promising results acquired from various multi-wavelength campaigns are converging to a scenario in which the $gamma$-NLSy1 galaxies can be considered as `young blazars. These enigmatic sources hold the key to unravel the jet triggering mechanism and evolution of the AGN phase of a galaxy, in general. As such, $gamma$-NLSy1s should be considered as one of the top priority targets for next generation observational facilities.
The presence of hot X-ray emitting gas is ubiquitous in massive early-type galaxies. However, much less is known about the content and physical status of the hot X-ray gas in low-mass ellipticals. In the present paper we study the X-ray gas content of four low-mass elliptical galaxies using archival Chandra X-ray observations. The sample galaxies, NGC821, NGC3379, NGC4278, and NGC4697, have approximately identical K-band luminosities, and hence stellar masses, yet their X-ray appearance is strikingly different. We conclude that the unresolved emission in NGC821 and NGC3379 is built up from a multitude of faint compact objects, such as coronally active binaries and cataclysmic variables. Despite the non-detection of X-ray gas, these galaxies may host low density, and hence low luminosity, X-ray gas components, which undergo a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) driven outflow. We detect hot X-ray gas with a temperature of kT ~ 0.35 keV in NGC4278, the component of which has a steeper surface brightness distribution than the stellar light. Within the central 50 arcsec (~3.9 kpc) the estimated gas mass is ~3 x 10^7 M_sun, implying a gas mass fraction of ~0.06%. We demonstrate that the X-ray gas exhibits a bipolar morphology in the northeast-southwest direction, indicating that it may be outflowing from the galaxy. The mass and energy budget of the outflow can be maintained by evolved stars and SNe Ia, respectively. The X-ray gas in NGC4697 has an average temperature of kT ~ 0.3 keV, and a significantly broader distribution than the stellar light. The total gas mass within 90 arcsec (~5.1 kpc) is ~2.1 x 10^8 M_sun, hence the gas mass fraction is ~0.4%. Based on the distribution and physical parameters of the X-ray gas, we conclude that it is most likely in hydrostatic equilibrium, although a subsonic outflow may be present.
We present the discovery of diffuse optical line emission in the Centaurus cluster seen with the MUSE IFU. The unparalleled sensitivity of MUSE allows us to detect the faint emission from these structures which extend well beyond the bounds of the previously known filaments. Diffuse structures (emission surrounding the filaments, a northern shell and an extended Halo) are detected in many lines typical of the nebulae in cluster cores ([NII]$_{lambda 6548&6583}$ ,[SII]$_{lambda 6716&6731}$, [OI]$_{lambda 6300}$, [OIII]$_{lambda 4959&5007}$ etc.) but are more than an order of magnitude fainter than the filaments, with the faint halo only detected through the brightest line in the spectrum ([NII]$_{lambda 6583}$). These structures are shown to be kinematically distinct from the stars in the central galaxy and have different physical and excitation states to the filaments. Possible origins are discussed for each structure in turn and we conclude that shocks and/or pressure imbalances are resulting in gas dispersed throughout the cluster core, formed from either disrupted filaments or direct cooling, which is not confined to the bright filaments.
We report the discovery of the transient ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) CXOU J122602.3+125951 (hereafter M86 tULX-1), located 352 (19 kpc) northwest of the centre of the giant elliptical galaxy M86 (NGC 4406) in the Virgo Cluster. The spectrum of M86 tULX-1 can be fit by a power-law plus multicolour-disc model with a 1.0 [+0.8 -2.6] index and an 0.66 [+0.17 -0.11] keV inner-disc temperature, or by a power law with a 1.86 +/- 0.10 index. For an isotropically emitting source at the distance of M86, the luminosity based on the superposition of spectral models is (5 +/- 1) x 10^39 erg/s. Its relatively hard spectrum places M86 tULX-1 in a hitherto unpopulated region in the luminosity-disc temperature diagram, between other ULXs and the (sub-Eddington) black-hole X-ray binaries. We discovered M86 tULX-1 in an archival 148-ks 2013 July Chandra observation, and it was not detected in a 20-ks 2016 May Chandra observation, meaning it faded by a factor of at least 30 in three years. Based on our analysis of deep optical imaging of M86, it is probably not located in a globular cluster. It is the brightest ULX found in an old field environment unaffected by recent galaxy interaction. We conclude that M86 tULX-1 may be a stellar-mass black hole of ~30 - 100 M_Sun with a low-mass giant companion, or a transitional object in a state between the normal stellar-mass black holes and the ultraluminous state.
comments
Fetching comments Fetching comments
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا