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Register a new userDiscovery of Methanimine Megamasers Toward Compact Obscured Galaxy Nuclei
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We present the first search for the 5.29 GHz methanimine($rm{CH}_2rm{NH}$) $1_{10}-1_{11}$ transition toward a sample of galaxy nuclei. We target seven galaxies that host Compact Obscured Nuclei (CONs) with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. These galaxies are characterized by Compton-thick cores. $rm{CH}_2rm{NH}$ emission is detected toward six CONs. The brightness temperatures measured toward Arp220 indicate maser emission. Isotropic luminosities of the $rm{CH}_2rm{NH}$ transition, from all sources where it is detected, exceed 1 L$_{odot}$ and thus may be considered megamasers. We also detect formaldehyde ($rm{H}_2rm{CO}$) emission toward three CONs. The isotropic $rm{CH}_2rm{NH}$ luminosities are weakly correlated with the infrared luminosity of the host galaxy and strongly correlated with OH megamaser luminosities from the same galaxies. Non-LTE radiative transfer models suggest that the maser is pumped by the intense mm/submm radiation field of the CONs. Our study suggests that $rm{CH}_2rm{NH}$ megamasers are linked to the nuclear processes within 100 pc of the Compton Thick nucleus within CONs.
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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). 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. We aim to investigate if there is a connection between the presence of strong HCN-vib emission and the development of feedback in (U)LIRGs. 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 {mu}m OH absorption lines, potentially indicating outflows, in a total of 17 (U)LIRGs. 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 do have fast and collimated outflows that can be seen in spectral lines at longer wavelengths. We conclude that the galaxy nuclei with the highest L(HCN-vib)/L(IR) do not drive wide-angle outflows detectable using the median velocities of far-infrared OH absorption lines. It is possible that this is due to an orientation effect where sources which are 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.
Some luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs and ULIRGs) host extremely compact and dusty nuclei. The intense infrared radiation arising from warm dust in these sources is prone to excite vibrational levels of molecules such as HCN. This results in emission from the rotational transitions of vibrationally excited HCN (HCN-vib), with the brightest emission found in compact obscured nuclei (CONs). We aim to establish how common CONs are in the local Universe, and whether their prevalence depends on the luminosity or other properties of the host galaxy. We have conducted an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) survey of the rotational J=3-2 transition of HCN-vib in a sample of 46 far-infrared luminous galaxies. Compact obscured nuclei are identified in 38 percent of ULIRGs, 21 percent of LIRGs, and 0 percent of lower luminosity galaxies. We find no dependence on the inclination of the host galaxy, but strong evidence of lower IRAS 25 to 60 {mu}m flux density ratios (f25/f60) in CONs compared to the rest of the sample. Furthermore, we find that CONs have stronger silicate features (s9.7{mu}m) but similar PAH equivalent widths (EQW6.2{mu}m) compared to other galaxies. In the local Universe, CONs are primarily found in (U)LIRGs. High resolution continuum observations of the individual nuclei are required to determine if the CON phenomenon is related to the inclinations of the nuclear disks. The lower f25/f60 ratios in CONs as well as the results for the mid-infrared diagnostics investigated are consistent with large dust columns shifting the nuclear radiation to longer wavelengths, making the mid- and far-infrared photospheres significantly cooler than the interior regions. To assess the importance of CONs in the context of galaxy evolution, it is necessary to extend this study to higher redshifts where (U)LIRGs are more common.
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are powered by the accretion of material onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH), and are among the most luminous objects in the Universe. However, the huge radiative power of most AGN cannot be seen directly, as the accretion is hidden behind gas and dust that absorbs many of the characteristic observational signatures. This obscuration presents an important challenge for uncovering the complete AGN population and understanding the cosmic evolution of SMBHs. In this review we describe a broad range of multi-wavelength techniques that are currently employed to identify obscured AGN, and assess the reliability and completeness of each technique. We follow with a discussion of the demographics of obscured AGN activity, explore the nature and physical scales of the obscuring material, and assess the implications of obscured AGN for observational cosmology. We conclude with an outline of the prospects for future progress from both observations and theoretical models, and highlight some of the key outstanding questions.
We report the discovery of a Compton-thick (CT) dust-obscured galaxy (DOG) at $z$ = 0.89, WISE J082501.48+300257.2 (WISE0825+3002), observed by Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). X-ray analysis with the XCLUMPY model revealed that hard X-ray luminosity in the rest-frame 2-10 keV band of WISE0825+3002 is $L_{rm X}$ (2-10 keV) = $4.2^{+2.8}_{-1.6} times 10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$ while its hydrogen column density is $N_{rm H}$ = $1.0^{+0.8}_{-0.4} times 10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, indicating that WISE0825+3002 is a mildly CT active galactic nucleus (AGN). We performed the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting with CIGALE to derive its stellar mass, star formation rate, and infrared luminosity. The estimated Eddington ratio based on stellar mass and integration of the best-fit SED of AGN component is $lambda_{rm Edd}$ = 0.70, which suggests that WISE0825+3002 harbors an actively growing black hole behind a large amount of gas and dust. We found that the relationship between luminosity ratio of X-ray and 6 $mu$m, and Eddington ratio follows an empirical relation for AGNs reported by Toba et al. (2019a).
We present high resolution (0.4) IRAM PdBI and ALMA mm and submm observations of the (ultra) luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs) IRAS17208-0014, Arp220, IC860 and Zw049.057 that reveal intense line emission from vibrationally excited ($ u_2$=1) J=3-2 and 4-3 HCN. The emission is emerging from buried, compact (r<17-70 pc) nuclei that have very high implied mid-infrared surface brightness $>$$5times 10^{13}$ L$_{odot}$ kpc$^{-2}$. These nuclei are likely powered by accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and/or hot (>200 K) extreme starbursts. Vibrational, $ u_2$=1, lines of HCN are excited by intense 14 micron mid-infrared emission and are excellent probes of the dynamics, masses, and physical conditions of (U)LIRG nuclei when H$_2$ column densities exceed $10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$. It is clear that these lines open up a new interesting avenue to gain access to the most obscured AGNs and starbursts. Vibrationally excited HCN acts as a proxy for the absorbed mid-infrared emission from the embedded nuclei, which allows for reconstruction of the intrinsic, hotter dust SED. In contrast, we show strong evidence that the ground vibrational state ($ u$=0), J=3-2 and 4-3 rotational lines of HCN and HCO$^+$ fail to probe the highly enshrouded, compact nuclear regions owing to strong self- and continuum absorption. The HCN and HCO$^+$ line profiles are double-peaked because of the absorption and show evidence of non-circular motions - possibly in the form of in- or outflows. Detections of vibrationally excited HCN in external galaxies are so far limited to ULIRGs and early-type spiral LIRGs, and we discuss possible causes for this. We tentatively suggest that the peak of vibrationally excited HCN emission is connected to a rapid stage of nuclear growth, before the phase of strong feedback.
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