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  • Centrally Concentrated H I Distribution Enhances Star Formation in Galaxies

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We use a sample of 13,511 nearby galaxies from the ALFALFA and SDSS spectroscopic surveys to study the relation between the spatial distribution of H I 21 cm emission and star formation rate (SFR). We introduce a new non-parametric quantity $K$, measured from the curve-of-growth of the line, to describe the shape of the integrated H I profile. The value of $K$ increases from double-horned to single-peaked profiles, depending on projection effects and the spatial and velocity distribution of the gas. Using carefully chosen samples to control for the competing factors that influence the integrated line profile, we argue that useful inferences can be made on the spatial distribution of the gas. We find that galaxies with a high value of $K$ tend to have more centrally concentrated H I distribution within the optical disk of the galaxy at fixed conditions, and that larger values of $K$ are associated with higher levels of total and central SFR. The results suggest that the global concentration of H I plays an important role in facilitating the conversion of neutral atomic hydrogen to molecular hydrogen gas, which, in turn, affects the star formation activity throughout the optical disk. Our sample is biased against quiescent galaxies, and thus the conclusions may not hold for galaxies with low SFR or low H I content.

  • Statistical Analysis of H I Profile Asymmetry and Shape for Nearby Galaxies

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a uniform analysis of the integrated profile of the H I emission line of 29,958 nearby ($z < 0.06$) galaxies extracted from the ALFALFA 21 cm survey. We apply the curve-of-growth technique to derive a database of spectral parameters and robust estimates of their associated uncertainties. Besides the central velocity and total flux, the main catalog provides new measures of line width, profile asymmetry, and profile shape. For a subsample of 13,511 galaxies with optical properties available from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we compute inclination angle-corrected line widths, rotation velocities empirically calibrated from spatially resolved observations, and dynamical masses based on H I sizes estimated from the H I mass. To facilitate subsequent scientific applications of the database, we also compile a number of ancillary physical properties of the galaxies, including their optical morphology, stellar mass, and various diagnostics of star formation activity. We use the homogeneous catalog of H I parameters to examine the statistical properties of profile asymmetry and shape. Across the full sample, which covers a wide range of stellar masses and environments, statistically significant H I profile asymmetry is detected in $\sim 20\%$ of the galaxy population. The global H I profiles are $35.2 \pm 0.3\%$ single-peaked, $26.9 \pm 0.3\%$ flat-topped, and $37.9 \pm 0.3\%$ double-horned. At a given inclination angle, double-horned profiles are preferentially associated with galaxies of higher stellar mass or optical concentration, while galaxies of lower mass or concentration tend to have single-peaked profiles.

  • X-ray Emission from the Interstellar and Circumgalactic Medium of Elliptical Galaxies based on MACER simulations

    分类: 天文学 >> 星系和宇宙学 提交时间: 2023-02-21

    摘要: Interstellar (ISM) and circumgalactic medium (CGM) around galaxies are linked to several physical processes that drive galaxy evolution. For example, the X-ray emission from the CGM gas around ellipticals has been linked to the AGN feedback occurring in the host. Upcoming telescopes such as HUBS, with ~ 1 eV resolution, can provide us with deep insights about the hot gas properties of such galaxies thus constrain these processes. In this project, we discuss X-ray emission of the ISM and CGM of elliptical galaxies simulated using MACER code. We generate X-ray emission data from the MACER simulations with various feedback models and produce mock observations for an instrument with high spectral resolution, which is a necessary step of selecting sources for the future observations with planned mission such as HUBS. More importantly, we establish connections between the physics of AGN and stellar feedback with the emission spectra from the ISM and CGM to investigate the possibility of using observations to constrain feedback models. We fit the X-ray spectra from these simulations with standard fitting procedures and compare the retrieved physical properties with their counterparts from the simulations to understand whether the future high-resolution observations can reliably reveal the properties of the gas in the galaxies.

  • The Host Galaxy and Rapidly Evolving Broad-line Region in the Changing-look Active Galactic Nucleus 1ES 1927+654

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Changing-look active galactic nuclei (AGNs) present an important laboratory to understand the origin and physical properties of the broad-line region (BLR). We investigate follow-up optical spectroscopy spanning $\sim 500$ days after the outburst of the changing-look AGN 1ES\,1927+654. The emission lines displayed dramatic, systematic variations in intensity, velocity width, velocity shift, and symmetry. Analysis of optical spectra and multi-band images indicate that the host galaxy contains a pseudobulge and a total stellar mass of $3.56_{-0.35}^{+0.38} \times 10^{9}\, M_\odot$. Enhanced continuum radiation from the outburst produced an accretion disk wind, which condensed into BLR clouds in the region above and below the temporary eccentric disk. Broad Balmer lines emerged $\sim 100$ days after the outburst, together with an unexpected, additional component of narrow-line emission. The newly formed BLR clouds then traveled along a similar eccentric orbit ($e \approx 0.6$). The Balmer decrement of the BLR increased by a factor of $\sim 4-5$ as a result of secular changes in cloud density. The drop in density at late times allowed the production of \hei\ and \heii\ emission. The mass of the black hole cannot be derived from the broad emission lines because the BLR is not virialized. Instead, we use the stellar properties of the host galaxy to estimate $M_\mathrm{BH} = 1.38_{-0.66}^{+1.25} \times 10^{6}\, M_\odot$. The nucleus reached near or above its Eddington limit during the peak of the outburst. We discuss the nature of the changing-look AGN 1ES\,1927+654 in the context of other tidal disruption events.

  • Active galactic nuclei feedback in an elliptical galaxy (III): the impacts and fate of cosmological inflow

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The cosmological inflow of a galaxy is speculated to be able to enter the galaxy and enhance the star formation rate (SFR) and black hole accretion rate (BHAR). In this paper, by performing high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations in the framework of {\it MACER}, we investigate the fate of the inflow and its impacts on the evolution of a massive elliptical galaxy. The inflow properties are adopted from the cosmological simulation IllustrisTNG. We find that, the inflow gas hardly enters but is blocked beyond $\sim 20$ kpc from the central galaxy and becomes part of the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The gas pressure gradient, mainly contributed by the thermalized stellar wind and subdominantly by the energy input from the AGN, balances gravity and prevents the inflow from entering the galaxy. The SFR and BHAR are almost not affected by the normal inflow. However, if the rate of cosmological inflow were increased by a factor of 3, a small fraction of the inflow would enter the galaxy and contribute about 10\% of the gas in the galaxy. In this case, the gas density in the galaxy would increase by a factor of $\ga$ 20. This increase is not because of the additional gas supply by the inflow but the increase of gas density in the CGM caused by the inflow. Consequently, the SFR and BHAR would increase by a factor of $\sim$ 5 and $\sim 1000$ respectively. Finally, AGN feedback can perturb the motion of the inflow and heat the CGM through its intermittent outbursts.

  • Detection of a Parsec-Scale Jet in a Radio-Quiet Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy with Highly Accreting Supermassive Black Hole

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The jet in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is a key ingredient in understanding the co-evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Unfortunately, the mechanism of jet launching and collimation is still elusive. The observational evidence of decreasing radio loudness with increasing Eddington ratio implies that the jet should be coupled with the accretion process. To further explore the relationship between the jet and accretion, it is necessary to extend our knowledge of the jet to an extreme end of the Eddington ratio distribution of AGN. Using Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), we report the detection of the parsec-scale radio structure in Mrk 335, a radio-quiet narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy with an Eddington ratio close to/above unity. The VLBA image at 1.5 GHz reveals an elongated structure extending $\sim20$ parsec in north-south direction with a peak flux density of $1.98\pm0.05$ mJy/beam and radio brightness temperatures as high as $6\times10^{7}$ K. This feature provides a strong evidence of a parsec-scale (bipolar) jet launched from a highly accreting SMBH. We discuss the result by comparing Mrk 335 with other highly accreting systems, e.g. Galactic black holes and tidal disruption events, and recall the discovery of collimated corona in the vicinity of SMBH in Mrk 335 by previous X-ray observations, whose relation to the parsec-scale radio jet should be explored by future simultaneous X-ray spectroscopy and high resolution radio observations.

  • Reply to: Three papers regarding the origin of GN-z11-flash

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: In Jiang et al., we detected a bright flash (hereafter GN-z11-flash) that appeared as compact continuum emission during our Keck MOSFIRE observations of the galaxy GN-z11 at z ~ 11. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the origin of the flash using all available information and our current understanding of known man-made objects or moving objects in the solar system. We found that GN-z11-flash was likely a rest-frame UV flash associated with a long gamma-ray burst (GRB) from GN-z11. Recently, Steinhardt et al., Michalowski et al., and Nir et al. reported that GN-z11-flash was more likely from a satellite. While one cannot completely rule out the possibility of unknown satellites (or debris), we find that either the chance probabilities of being a satellite estimated by these authors have been largely overestimated or their identified satellites have been ruled out in our original analysis. Our new calculations show that the probability of GN-z11-flash being a satellite is still lower than that of it being a signal originated from GN-z11.

  • Reverberation Mapping of Two Luminous Quasars: the Broad-line Region Structure and Black Hole Mass

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We report the results of a multi-year spectroscopic and photometric monitoring campaign of two luminous quasars, PG~0923+201 and PG~1001+291, both located at the high-luminosity end of the broad-line region (BLR) size-luminosity relation with optical luminosities above $10^{45}~{\rm erg~s^{-1}}$. PG~0923+201 is for the first time monitored, and PG~1001+291 was previously monitored but our campaign has a much longer temporal baseline. We detect time lags of variations of the broad H$\beta$, H$\gamma$, Fe {\sc ii} lines with respect to those of the 5100~{\AA} continuum. The velocity-resolved delay map of H$\beta$ in PG~0923+201 indicates a complicated structure with a mix of Keplerian disk-like motion and outflow, and the map of H$\beta$ in PG~1001+291 shows a signature of Keplerian disk-like motion. Assuming a virial factor of $f_{\rm BLR}=1$ and FWHM line widths, we measure the black hole mass to be $118_{-16}^{+11}\times 10^7 M_{\odot}$ for PG~0923+201 and $3.33_{-0.54}^{+0.62}\times 10^7 M_{\odot}$ for PG~1001+291. Their respective accretion rates are estimated to be $0.21_{-0.07}^{+0.06} \times L_{\rm Edd}\,c^{-2}$ and $679_{-227}^{+259}\times L_{\rm Edd}\,c^{-2}$, indicating that PG~0923+201 is a sub-Eddington accretor and PG~1001+291 is a super-Eddington accretor. While the H$\beta$ time lag of PG~0923+201 agrees with the size-luminosity relation, the time lag of PG~1001+291 shows a significant deviation, confirming that in high-luminosity AGN the BLR size depends on both luminosity and Eddington ratio. Black hole mass estimates from single AGN spectra will be over-estimated at high luminosities and redshifts if this effect is not taken into account.

  • Hidden Little Monsters: Spectroscopic Identification of Low-Mass, Broad-Line AGN at $z>5$ with CEERS

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We report on the discovery of two low-luminosity, broad-line AGN at $z>5$ identified using JWST NIRSpec spectroscopy from the CEERS Survey. We detect broad H$\alpha$ emission from both sources, with FWHM of $2038\pm286$ and $1807\pm207$ km s$^{-1}$, resulting in black hole (BH) masses that are 1-2 dex below that of existing samples of luminous quasars at $z>5$. The first source, CEERS 1670 at $z=5.242$, is 2-3 dex fainter than known quasars at similar redshifts and was previously identified as a candidate low-luminosity AGN based on its rest-frame optical SED. We measure a BH mass of $M_{\rm BH}=1.3\pm0.4\times 10^{7}~M_{\odot}$, confirming that this AGN is powered by the least-massive BH known in the universe at the end of cosmic reionization. The second source, CEERS 3210 at $z=5.624$, is inferred to be a heavily obscured, broad-line AGN caught in a transition phase between a dust-obscured starburst and an unobscured quasar. We estimate its BH mass to be $M_{\rm BH}\simeq 0.9-4.7 \times 10^{7}~M_{\odot}$, depending on the level of dust obscuration assumed. We derive host stellar masses, $M_\star$, allowing us to place constraints on the BH-galaxy mass relationship in the lowest mass range yet probed in the early universe. The $M_{\rm BH}/M_\star$ ratio for CEERS 1670, in particular, is consistent with or higher than the empirical relationship seen in massive galaxies at $z=0$. We examine the emission-line ratios of both sources and find that their location on the BPT and OHNO diagrams is consistent with model predictions for low-metallicity AGN with $Z/Z_\odot \simeq 0.2-0.4$. The spectroscopic identification of low-luminosity, broad-line AGN at $z>5$ with $M_{\rm BH}\simeq 10^{7}~M_{\odot}$ demonstrates the capability of JWST to push BH masses closer to the range predicted for the BH seed population and provides a unique opportunity to study the early stages of BH-galaxy assembly.