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Register a new userRadio continuum and X-ray emission from the most extreme FIR-excess galaxy NGC 1377: An extremely obscured AGN revealed
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Francesco Costagliola
Publication date
2016
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
Authors
F. Costagliola
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Galaxies which strongly deviate from the radio-far IR correlation are of great importance for studies of galaxy evolution as they may be tracing early, short-lived stages of starbursts and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The most extreme FIR-excess galaxy NGC1377 has long been interpreted as a young dusty starburst, but millimeter observations of CO lines revealed a powerful collimated molecular outflow which cannot be explained by star formation alone. We present new radio observations at 1.5 and 10 GHz obtained with the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) and Chandra X-ray observations towards NGC1377. The observations are compared to synthetic starburst models to constrain the properties of the central energy source. We obtained the first detection of the cm radio continuum and X-ray emission in NGC1377. We find that the radio emission is distributed in two components, one on the nucleus and another offset by 4$$.5 to the South-West. We confirm the extreme FIR-excess of the galaxy, with a $q_mathrm{FIR}simeq$4.2, which deviates by more than 7-$sigma$ from the radio-FIR correlation. Soft X-ray emission is detected on the off-nucleus component. From the radio emission we estimate for a young ($<10$ Myr) starburst a star formation rate SFR$<$0.1 M$_odot$ yr$^{-1}$. Such a SFR is not sufficient to power the observed IR luminosity and to drive the CO outflow. We find that a young starburst cannot reproduce all the observed properties of the nucleus of NGC1377. We suggest that the galaxy may be harboring a radio-quiet, obscured AGN of 10$^6$M$_odot$, accreting at near-Eddington rates. We speculate that the off-nucleus component may be tracing an hot-spot in the AGN jet.
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We use high (0.65 x 0.52,(65x52pc)) resolution SubMillimeter Array (SMA) observations to image the CO and 13CO 2-1 line emission of the extreme FIR-excess galaxy NGC 1377. We find bright, complex CO 2-1 line emission in the inner 400 pc of the galaxy. The CO 2-1 line has wings that are tracing a kinematical component which appears perpendicular to that of the line core. Together with an intriguing X-shape of the integrated intensity and dispersion maps, this suggests that the molecular emission of NGC 1377 consists of a disk-outflow system. Lower limits to the molecular mass and outflow rate are M_out(H2)>1e7 Msun and dM/dt>8 Msun/yr. The age of the proposed outflow is estimated to 1.4Myrs, the extent to 200pc and the outflow speed to 140 km/s. The total molecular mass in the SMA map is estimated to M_tot(H2)=1.5e8 Msun (on a scale of 400 pc) while in the inner r=29 pc the molecular mass is M_core(H2)=1.7e7 Msun with a corresponding H2 column density of N(H2)=3.4e23 cm-2 and an average CO 2-1 brightness temperature of 19K. Observing the molecular properties of the FIR-excess galaxy NGC 1377 allows us to probe the early stages of nuclear activity and the onset of feedback in active galaxies. The age of the outflow supports the notion that the current nuclear activity is young - a few Myrs. The outflow may be powered by radiation pressure from a compact, dust enshrouded nucleus, but other driving mechanisms are possible. The buried source may be an AGN or an extremely young (1Myr) compact starburst. Limitations on size and mass lead us to favour the AGN scenario, but further studies are required to settle the issue. In either case, the wind with its implied mass outflow rate will quench the nuclear power source within a very short time of 5-25 Myrs. It is however possible that the gas is unable to escape the galaxy and may eventually fall back onto NGC 1377 again.
We observed the nearby galaxy M~51 (NGC 5194) with BeppoSAX. The X-ray properties of the nucleus below 10 keV are almost the same as the ASCA results regarding the hard component and the neutral Fe K$alpha$ line, but the intensity is about half of the ASCA 1993 data. Beyond this, in the BeppoSAX PDS data, we detected a bright hard X-ray emission component which dominates above 10 keV. The 10 -- 100 keV flux and luminosity of this component are respectively $2times10^{-11}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $2times10^{41}$ erg s$^{-1}$. These are about 10 times higher than the extrapolation from the soft X-ray band, and similar to the flux observed with Ginga, which found a bright power law component in 2 -- 20 keV band. Considering other wavelength properties and the X-ray luminosity, together with strong neutral Fe K line, the hard X-ray emission most likely arises from a low luminosity active nucleus, which is obscured with a column density of $sim10^{24}$cm$^{-2}$. This suggests that hidden low luminosity AGNs may well be present in other nearby galaxies. We interpret the discrepancy between Ginga and other X-ray satellites to be due to a large variability of absorption column density toward the line of sight over several years, suggesting that the Compton thick absorption material may be present on a spatial scale of a parsec. Apart from the nucleus, several ultra-luminous off-nuclear X-ray sources detected in M~51 exhibit long-term time variability, suggesting the state transition similar to that observed in Galactic black hole candidates.
Submillimetre and millimetre observations are important in probing the properties of the molecular gas and dust around obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and their feedback. With very high-resolution (0.02x0.03 (2x3 pc)) ALMA 345 GHz observations of CO 3-2, HCO$^+$ 4-3, HCN 4-3 $ u_2$=1$f$, and continuum we have studied the molecular outflow and nucleus of the extremely radio-quiet lenticular galaxy NGC1377. The outflow is resolved, revealing a 150 pc long, clumpy, high-velocity, collimated molecular jet. The molecular emission is emerging from the spine of the jet with an average diameter of 3-7 pc. A narrow-angle, rotating molecular wind surrounds the jet and is enveloped by a larger-scale, slower CO-emitting structure. The jet and narrow wind are turbulent ($sigma>$40 kms$^{-1}$) and have steep radial gas excitation gradients. The jet shows velocity reversals that we propose are caused by precession, or episodic directional changes. We suggest that an important process powering the outflow is magneto-centrifugal driving. In contrast, the large-scale CO-envelope may be a slow wind, or cocoon that stems from jet-wind interactions. An asymmetric, nuclear r$sim$2 pc and hot (>180 K) dust structure with a high molecular column density, N(H$_2$)$sim1.8 times 10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, is detected in continuum and vibrationally excited HCN. Its luminosity is likely powered by a buried AGN. The mass of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) is estimated to $sim9times10^6$ M$_odot$ and the SMBH of NGC1377 appears to be at the end of an intense phase of accretion. The nuclear growth may be fuelled by low-angular momentum gas inflowing from gas ejected in the molecular jet and wind. Such a feedback-loop of cyclic accretion and outflows would be an effective process in growing the nuclear SMBH. This result invites new questions as to SMBH growth processes in obscured, dusty galaxies.
We present the Catalog of High REsolution Spectra of Obscured Sources (CHRESOS) from the XMM-Newton Science Archive. It comprises the emission-line luminosities of H- and He-like transitions from C to Si, and the Fe 3C and Fe 3G L-shell ones. Here, we concentrate on the soft X-ray OVII(f) and OVIII Ly_alpha emission lines to shed light onto the physical processes with which their formation can be related to: active galactic nucleus vs. star forming regions. We compare their luminosity with that of two other important oxygen key lines [OIII]5007A, in the optical, and [OIV]25.89mic, in the IR. We also test OVII(f) and OVIIILy_alpha luminosities against that of continuum bands in the IR and hard X-rays, which point to different ionization processes. We probe into those processes by analyzing photoionization and colisional ionization model predictions upon our lines. We show that both scenarios can explain the formation and observed intensities of OVII(f) and OVIII Ly_alpha. By analyzing the relationships between OVII(f) and OVIII Ly_alpha, and all other observables: [OIII]5007A, [OIV]25.89mic emission lines, and MIR-12mic, FIR-60mic, FIR-100mic, 2-10 keV and 14-195 keV continuum bands, we conclude that the AGN radiation field is mainly responsible of the soft X-ray oxygen excitation.
Understanding how galaxies form in the early universe and their subsequent evolution through cosmic time is a major goal of modern astrophysics. Panchromatic look-back sky surveys significantly advanced the field in the past decades, and we are now entering an even more fruitful period - a golden age of radio astronomy - with upgraded, and new facilities delivering an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity. An overview of recent developments in radio continuum sky surveys, focusing on the physical properties and cosmic evolution of radio AGN since z~5 is presented here.
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