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Register a new userThe Origin of the X-ray Emission in Two Well-Aligned Extragalactic Jets: The Case for IC/CMB
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Over the past two decades, the most commonly adopted explanation for high and hard X-ray emission in resolved quasar jets has been inverse Compton upscattering of the Cosmic Microwave Background (IC/CMB), which requires jets which remain highly relativistic on 10-1000 kpc scales. In more recent years various lines of observational evidence, including gamma-ray upper limits, have disfavored this explanation in favor of a synchrotron origin. While the IC/CMB model generally predicts a high level of gamma-ray emission, it has never been detected. Here we report the detection of a low-state Fermi/LAT gamma-ray spectrum associated with two jetted AGN which is consistent with the predictions of the IC/CMB model for their X-ray emission. We have used archival multiwavelength observations to make precise predictions for the expected minimum flux in the GeV band, assuming that the X-ray emission from the kpc-scale jet is entirely due to the IC/CMB process. In both sources -- OJ 287 and PKS 1510-089 -- the minimum-detected gamma-ray flux level agrees with predictions. Both sources exhibit extreme superluminal proper motions relative to their jet power, which argues for the well-aligned jets required by the IC/CMB model. In the case of PKS~1510-089, it cannot be ruled out that the minimum gamma-ray flux level is due to a low state of the variable core which only matches the IC/CMB prediction by chance. Continued long-term monitoring with the Fermi/LAT could settle this issue by detecting a plateau signature in the recombined light-curve which would clearly signal the presence of a non-variable emission component.
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The Chandra X-ray observatory has discovered dozens of resolved, kiloparsec-scale jets associated with powerful quasars in which the X-ray fluxes are observed to be much higher than the expected level based on the radio-optical synchrotron spectrum. The most popular explanation for the anomalously high and hard X-ray fluxes is that these jets do not decelerate significantly by the kiloparsec scale, but rather remain highly relativistic (Lorentz factors $Gammaapprox$10). By adopting a small angle to the line-of-sight, the X-rays can thus be explained by inverse Compton upscattering of CMB photons (IC/CMB), where the observed emission is strongly Doppler boosted. Using over six years of Fermi monitoring data, we show that the expected hard, steady gamma-ray emission implied by the IC/CMB model is not seen in PKS 0637-752, the prototype jet for which this model was first proposed. IC/CMB emission is thus ruled out as the source of the X-rays, joining recent results for the jets in 3C 273 (using the same method; Meyer et al. 2014) and PKS 1136-135 (using UV polarization; Cara et al., 2013). We further show that the Fermi observations give an upper limit of $delta<$6.5 for the four brightest X-ray knots of PKS 0637-752, and derive an updated limit of $delta<$7.8 for knots A and B1 of 3C 273 (assuming equipartition). Finally, we discuss the fact that high levels of synchrotron X-ray emission in a slow jet will unavoidably lead to a level of angle-integrated TeV emission which exceeds that of the TeV BL Lac class.
Cosmic dust is a key tracer of structure formation and evolution in the universe. In active galactic nuclei (AGN) the origin and role of dust are uncertain. Here, we have studied dust in the X-ray bright and reddened type-1 quasar IC 4329A, which exhibits an ionised AGN wind. We incorporated high-resolution X-ray and mid-IR spectroscopy, combined with broad-band continuum modelling, to investigate the properties of dust in this AGN. We used new Chandra HETGS observations taken in June 2017, as well as archival data from XMM-Newton, Swift, HST, Spitzer, IRAS, and Herschel for our IR-optical-UV-X-ray modelling. Two distinct components of dust in IC 4329A are found. One component is in the interstellar medium (ISM) of the host galaxy, and the other is a nuclear component in the AGN torus and its associated wind. The emitting dust in the torus is evident in mid-IR emission (9.7 and 18 micron features), while dust in the wind is present through both reddening and X-ray absorption (O, Si, and Fe edge features). The gas depletion factors into dust for O, Si, and Fe are measured. We derive an intrinsic reddening E(B-V) ~ 1.0, which is most consistent with a grey (flat) extinction law. The AGN wind consists of three ionisation components. From analysis of long-term changes in the wind, we determine limits on the location of the wind components. The two lowest ionisation components are likely carriers of dust from the AGN torus. We find that the dust in the nuclear component of IC 4329A is different from dust in the Milky Way. The dust grains in the AGN torus and wind are likely larger than the standard Galactic dust, and are in a porous composite form (containing amorphous silicate with iron and oxygen). This can be a consequence of grain coagulation in the dense nuclear environment of the AGN.
We report the detection in Chandra ACIS archival data of an elongated soft (<3 keV) X-ray feature tp the south of the Compton Thick Active Galactic Nucleus (CT AGN) galaxy IC 2497, coincident with the emission feature known as Hannys Voorwerp (HV). The data are consistent with the spatial correspondence between X-ray, optical emission line, and radio features detected in nearby obscured AGNs (e.g., ESO 428-G014). The X-ray luminosity of the (0.3-3.0 keV) soft feature is ~1.2x10^40 erg/s. We infer an [OIII]/Soft-X-ray ratio in the range of ~200, consistent with the highest values measured in some of the clouds of NGC 4151. Overall, given the uncertainties, Hannys Voorwerp appears to be a feature consistent with the ionization cone emission of nearby AGNs. We estimate an X-ray recombination time of 2x10^7 yr, longer than the [OIII] recombination time (~8000 yr). This suggests that extended soft X-ray components may be a better diagnostic of overall long-term activity, while detection of an [OIII] HV would point to a time-limited activity burst.
The morphology and the distribution of material observed in SNRs reflect the interaction of the SN blast wave with the ambient environment, the physical processes associated with the SN explosion and the internal structure of the progenitor star. IC 443 is a MM SNR located in a quite complex environment: it interacts with a molecular cloud in the NW and SE areas and with an atomic cloud in the NE. In this work we aim at investigating the origin of the complex morphology and multi-thermal X-ray emission observed in SNR IC 443, through the study of the effect of the inhomogeneous ambient medium in shaping its observed structure, and the exploration of the main parameters characterizing the remnant. We developed a 3D HD model for IC 443, which describes the interaction of the SNR with the environment, parametrized in agreement with the results of the multi-wavelength data analysis. We performed an ample exploration of the parameter space describing the initial blast wave and the environment, and the surrounding clouds. From the simulations, we synthesized the X-ray emission maps and spectra and compared them with actual X-ray data collected by XMM-Newton. Our model explains the origin of the complex X-ray morphology of SNR IC 443 in a natural way, being able to reproduce, for the first time, most of the observed features, including the centrally-peaked X-ray morphology (characteristic of MM SNRs) when considering the origin of the explosion at the position where the PWN CXOU J061705.3+222127 was at the time of the explosion. In the model which best reproduces the observations, the mass of the ejecta and the energy of the explosion are $sim 7 M_odot$ and $sim10^{51}$ erg, respectively. From the exploration of the parameter space, we found that the density of the clouds is $n>300$ cm$^{-3}$ and that the age of SNR IC 443 is $sim8000$ yr.
The Chandra X-ray observatory has discovered several dozen anomalously X-ray-bright jets associated with powerful quasars. A popular explanation for the X-ray flux from the knots in these jets is that relativistic synchrotron-emitting electrons inverse-Compton scatter Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) photons to X-ray energies (the IC/CMB model). This model predicts a high gamma-ray flux which should be detectable by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) for many sources. GeV-band upper limits from Fermi/LAT for the well-known anomalous X-ray jet in PKS 0637-752 were previously shown in Meyer et al., (2015) to violate the predictions of the IC/CMB model. Previously, measurements of the jet synchrotron spectrum, important for accurately predicting the gamma-ray flux level, were lacking between radio and infrared wavelengths. Here we present new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the large-scale jet at 100, 233, and 319 GHz which further constrain the synchrotron spectrum, supporting the previously published empirical model. We also present updated limits from the Fermi/LAT using the new `Pass 8 calibration and approximately 30% more time on source. With these deeper limits we rule out the IC/CMB model at the 8.7 sigma level. Finally, we demonstrate that complete knowledge of the synchrotron SED is critical in evaluating the IC/CMB model.
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