您选择的条件: Juan Molina
  • Dynamics of Molecular Gas in the Central Region of the Quasar I$\,$Zwicky$\,$1

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a study of the molecular gas distribution and kinematics in the cicumnuclear region (radii $\lesssim 2\,$kpc) of the $z\approx0.061$ quasar I$\,$Zwicky$\,$1 using a collection of available Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the carbon monoxide (CO) emission. With an angular resolution of $\sim0.36''$ (corresponding to $\sim\,400\,\rm pc$), the host galaxy sub-structures including the nuclear molecular gas disk, spiral arms, and a compact bar-like component are resolved. We analyzed the gas kinematics based on the CO image cube and obtained the rotation curve and radial distribution of velocity dispersion. The velocity dispersion is about $30\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ in the outer CO disk region and rises up to $\gtrsim 100\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ at radius $\lesssim 1\,$kpc, suggesting that the central region of disk is dynamically hot. We constrain the CO-to-$\rm H_2$ conversion factor, $\alpha_{\rm CO}$, by modeling the cold gas disk dynamics. We find that, with prior knowledge about the stellar and dark matter components, the $\alpha_{\rm CO}$ value in the circumnuclear region of this quasar host galaxy is $1.55_{-0.49}^{+0.47}\,M_\odot\,\left(\rm K\,km\,s^{-1}\,pc^2\right)^{-1}$, which is between the value reported in ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and in the Milky-Way. The central 1$\,$kpc region of this quasar host galaxy has significant star formation activity, which can be identified as a nuclear starburst. We further investigate the high velocity dispersion in the central region. We find that the ISM turbulent pressure derived from the gas velocity dispersion is in equilibrium with the weight of the ISM. This argues against extra power from AGN feedback that significantly affects the kinematics of the cold molecular gas.

  • A Candidate of a Least-Massive Black Hole at the First 1.1 Billion Years of the Universe

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We report a candidate of a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) at z=5 that was selected from the first near-infrared images of the JWST CEERS project. This source, named CEERS-AGN-z5-1 at absolute 1450 A magnitude M1450=-19.5 +/- 0.3, was found via a visual selection of compact sources from a catalog of Lyman break galaxies at z>4, taking advantage of the superb spatial resolution of the JWST/NIRCam images. The 20 photometric data available from CFHT, HST, Spitzer, and JWST suggest that the continuum shape of this source is reminiscent of that for an unobscured AGN, and there is a clear color excess in the filters where the redshifted Hbeta+[OIII] and Halpha are covered. The estimated line luminosity is L_Hbeta+[OIII] =10^43.0 erg s-1 and L_Halpha =10^42.9 erg s-1 with the corresponding rest-frame equivalent width EW_{Hbeta+[OIII]} =1100 A and EW_Halpha =1600 A, respectively. Our SED fitting analysis favors the scenario that this object is either a strong broad-line emitter or even a super-Eddington accreting black hole (BH), although a possibility of an extremely young galaxy with moderate dust attenuation is not completely ruled out. The bolometric luminosity, L_bol=2.5 +/- 0.3 \times 10^44 erg s-1, is consistent with those of z<0.35 broad-line AGNs with M_BH = 10^6 M_sun accreting at the Eddington limit. This new AGN population at the first 1.1 billion years of the universe may close the gap between the observed BH mass range at high redshift and that of BH seeds. Spectroscopic confirmation is awaited to secure the redshift and its AGN nature.

  • Dynamics of Molecular Gas in the Central Region of the Quasar I$\,$Zwicky$\,$1

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a study of the molecular gas distribution and kinematics in the cicumnuclear region (radii $\lesssim 2\,$kpc) of the $z\approx0.061$ quasar I$\,$Zwicky$\,$1 using a collection of available Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the carbon monoxide (CO) emission. With an angular resolution of $\sim0.36''$ (corresponding to $\sim\,400\,\rm pc$), the host galaxy sub-structures including the nuclear molecular gas disk, spiral arms, and a compact bar-like component are resolved. We analyzed the gas kinematics based on the CO image cube and obtained the rotation curve and radial distribution of velocity dispersion. The velocity dispersion is about $30\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ in the outer CO disk region and rises up to $\gtrsim 100\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ at radius $\lesssim 1\,$kpc, suggesting that the central region of disk is dynamically hot. We constrain the CO-to-$\rm H_2$ conversion factor, $\alpha_{\rm CO}$, by modeling the cold gas disk dynamics. We find that, with prior knowledge about the stellar and dark matter components, the $\alpha_{\rm CO}$ value in the circumnuclear region of this quasar host galaxy is $1.55_{-0.49}^{+0.47}\,M_\odot\,\left(\rm K\,km\,s^{-1}\,pc^2\right)^{-1}$, which is between the value reported in ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and in the Milky-Way. The central 1$\,$kpc region of this quasar host galaxy has significant star formation activity, which can be identified as a nuclear starburst. We further investigate the high velocity dispersion in the central region. We find that the ISM turbulent pressure derived from the gas velocity dispersion is in equilibrium with the weight of the ISM. This argues against extra power from AGN feedback that significantly affects the kinematics of the cold molecular gas.

  • Enhanced Star Formation Efficiency in the Central Regions of Nearby Quasars Hosts

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We combine Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer observations tracing the molecular gas, millimeter continuum, and ionized gas emission in six low-redshift ($z \lesssim 0.06$) Palomar-Green quasar host galaxies to investigate their ongoing star formation at $\sim$kpc-scale resolution. The AGN contribution to the cold dust emission and the optical emission-line flux is carefully removed to derive spatial distributions of the star formation rate (SFR), which, complemented with the molecular gas data, enables the mapping of the depletion time ($t_{\rm dep}$). We report ubiquitous star formation activity within the quasar host galaxies, with the majority of the ongoing star formation occurring in the galaxy center. The rise of the star formation rate surface density ($\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$) toward the nucleus is steeper than that observed for the cold molecular gas surface density, reaching values up to $\Sigma_{\rm SFR} \approx 0.15-0.80\,M_\odot\,$yr$^{-1}\,$kpc$^{-2}$. The gas in the nuclear regions is converted into stars at a shortened depletion time ($t_{\rm dep} \approx 0.2-2.0\,$Gyr), suggesting that those zones can be deemed as starbursts. At large galactocentric radius, we find that the ongoing star formation takes place within spiral arms or H$\,$II region complexes, with an efficiency comparable to that reported for nearby inactive spirals ($t_{\rm dep} \approx 1.8\,$Gyr). We find no evidence of star formation activity shutoff in the PG quasar host galaxies. On the contrary, these observations shed light on how the central environments of galaxies hosting actively accreting supermassive black holes builds up stellar mass.

  • 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.