Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userWhat triggers a radio AGN? The intriguing case of PKSB 1718-649
96
0
0.0
(
0
)
Added by
Filippo Marcello Maccagni
Publication date
2014
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
We present new Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) observations of the young (< 10^2 years) radio galaxy PKS B1718-649. We study the morphology and the kinematics of the neutral hydrogen (HI) disk (M(HI) = 1.1x 10^10 M(sun), radius ~ 30 kpc). In particular, we focus on the analysis of the cold gas in relation to the triggering of the nuclear activity. The asymmetries at the edges of the disk date the last interaction with a companion to more than 1 Gyr ago. The tilted-ring model of the HI disk shows that this event may have formed the disk as we see it now, but that it may have not been responsible for triggering the AGN. The long timescales of the interaction are incompatible with the short ones of the radio activity. In absorption, we identify two clouds with radial motions which may represent a population that could be involved in the triggering of the radio activity. We argue that PKS B1718-649 may belong to a family of young low-excitation radio AGN where, rather than through a gas rich merger, the active nuclei (AGN) are triggered by local mechanisms such as accretion of small gas clouds.
rate research
Read More
We present ALMA observations of the $^{12}$CO (2--1) line of the newly born ($t_mathrm{radio}sim10^2$ years) active galactic nucleus (AGN), PKS B1718-649. These observations reveal that the carbon monoxide in the innermost 15 kpc of the galaxy is distributed in a complex warped disk. In the outer parts of this disk, the CO gas follows the rotation of the dust lane and of the stellar body of the galaxy hosting the radio source. In the innermost kiloparsec, the gas abruptly changes orientation and forms a circumnuclear disk ($rlesssim700$ pc) with its major axis perpendicular to that of the outer disk. Against the compact radio emission of PKS B1718-649 ($rsim 2$ pc), we detect an absorption line at red-shifted velocities with respect to the systemic velocity ($Delta v = +365pm22$kms). This absorbing CO gas could trace molecular clouds falling onto the central super-massive black hole. A comparison with the near-infra red H$_{,2}$ 1-0 S(1) observations shows that the clouds must be close to the black hole ($rlesssim 75$ pc). The physical conditions of these clouds are different from the gas at larger radii, and are in good agreement with the predictions for the conditions of the gas when cold chaotic accretion triggers an active galactic nucleus. These observations on the centre of PKS B1718-649 provide one of the best indications that a population of cold clouds is falling towards a radio AGN, likely fuelling its activity.
Using the new wideband capabilities of the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), we obtain spectra for PKS 1718-649, a well-known gigahertz-peaked spectrum radio source. The observations, between approximately 1 and 10 GHz over three epochs spanning approximately 21 months, reveal variability both above the spectral peak at ~3 GHz and below the peak. The combination of the low and high frequency variability cannot be easily explained using a single absorption mechanism, such as free-free absorption or synchrotron self-absorption. We find that the PKS 1718-649 spectrum and its variability are best explained by variations in the free-free optical depth on our line-of-sight to the radio source at low frequencies (below the spectral peak) and the adiabatic expansion of the radio source itself at high frequencies (above the spectral peak). The optical depth variations are found to be plausible when X-ray continuum absorption variability seen in samples of Active Galactic Nuclei is considered. We find that the cause of the peaked spectrum in PKS 1718-649 is most likely due to free-free absorption. In agreement with previous studies, we find that the spectrum at each epoch of observation is best fit by a free-free absorption model characterised by a power-law distribution of free-free absorbing clouds. This agreement is extended to frequencies below the 1 GHz lower limit of the ATCA by considering new observations with Parkes at 725 MHz and 199 MHz observations with the newly operational Murchison Widefield Array. These lower frequency observations argue against families of absorption models (both free-free and synchrotron self-absorption) that are based on simple homogenous structures.
We present new SINFONI VLT observations of molecular hydrogen (H2) in the central regions (< 2.5 kpc) of the youngest and closest radio source PKS B1718-649. We study the distribution of the H2 traced by the 1-0 S(1) ro-vibrational line, revealing a double disk structure with the kinematics of both disks characterised by rotation. An outer disk (r > 650 pc) is aligned with other components of the galaxy (atomic hydrogen, stars, dust), while the inner disk (r< 600 pc) is perpendicular to it and is polar with respect to the stellar distribution. However, in the innermost 75 pc, the data show the presence of H2 gas redshifted with respect to the rotating inner disk ($Delta v,$+150 km/s) which may trace gas falling into the super-massive black hole associated with the central radio source. Along the same line of sight, earlier observations had shown the presence in the central regions of PKS B1718-649 of clouds of atomic hydrogen with similar unsettled kinematics. The range of velocities and mass of these unsettled clouds of HI and H2 suggest they may be actively contributing in fuelling the central newly-born radio source.
PKS 1718$-$649 is one of the closest and most comprehensively studied candidates of a young active galactic nucleus (AGN) that is still embedded in its optical host galaxy. The compact radio structure, with a maximal extent of a few parsecs, makes it a member of the group of compact symmetric objects (CSO). Its environment imposes a turnover of the radio synchrotron spectrum towards lower frequencies, also classifying PKS 1718$-$649 as gigahertz-peaked radio spectrum (GPS) source. Its close proximity has allowed the first detection of extended X-ray emission in a GPS/CSO source with Chandra that is for the most part unrelated to nuclear feedback. However, not much is known about the nature of this emission. By co-adding all archival Chandra data and complementing these datasets with the large effective area of XMM-Newton, we are able to study the detailed physics of the environment of PKS 1718$-$649. Not only can we confirm that the bulk of the $lesssim$kiloparsec-scale environment emits in the soft X-rays, but we also identify the emitting gas to form a hot, collisionally ionized medium. While the feedback of the central AGN still seems to be constrained to the inner few parsecs, we argue that supernovae are capable of producing the observed large-scale X-ray emission at a rate inferred from its estimated star formation rate.
We report the detection of an intriguing parsec-scale radio source in the offset AGN candidate, KISSR 102. The elliptical host galaxy includes two optical nuclei at a projected separation of 1.54 kpc, N1 and N2, to the south-east and north-west, respectively. Phase-referenced VLBA observations at 1.5 and 4.9 GHz of this LINER galaxy, have detected double radio components (A and B) at a projected separation of 4.8 parsec at 1.5 GHz, and another partially-resolved double radio structure at 4.9 GHz coincident with the brighter radio component A. These radio detections are confined to the optical nucleus N1. The brightness temperatures of all the detected radio components are high, $gtrsim10^8$ K, consistent with them being components of a radio AGN. The 1.5-4.9 GHz spectral index is inverted ($alphasim+0.64pm0.08$) for component A and steep for component B ($alpha lesssim-1.6$). The dramatic change in the spectral indices of A and B is inconsistent with it being a typical core-jet structure from a single AGN or the mini-lobes of a compact symmetric object. To be consistent with a core-jet structure, the jet in KISSR 102 would need to be undergoing strong jet-medium interaction with dense surrounding media resulting in a drastic spectral steepening of the jet. Alternatively, the results could be consistent with the presence of a parsec-scale binary radio AGN, which is the end result of a three-body interaction involving three supermassive black holes in the centre of KISSR 102.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
