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The Relation between Star Formation Rate and Accretion Rate in LINERs
It has been argued that there is a linear correlation between starformation rate (SFR) and accretion rate for normal bright activegalactic nuclei (AGNs). However, it is still unclear whether thiscorrelation holds for LINERs, the accretion rates of which arerelatively low compared to those of normal bright AGNs. Radiativelyinefficient accretion flows (RIAFs) are believed to be present in theseLINERs. In this work, we derive accretion rates for a sample of LINERsfrom their hard X-ray luminosities, based on spectral calculations forRIAFs. We find that LINERs follow the same correlation between SFR andaccretion rate defined by normal bright AGNs when reasonable parametersare adopted for RIAFs. This means that the gases feeding black hole andstar formation in these low-luminosity LINERs may follow the samepattern as those in normal bright AGNs, which is roughly consistent withrecent numerical simulations on quasar evolution.
| Origin of the counterrotating gas in NGC 1596
We present Australia Telescope Compact Array HI imaging of the edge-ongalaxy NGC 1596, which was recently found to have counterrotatingionized gas in its centre (<15 arcsec). We find a large HI envelopeassociated with a nearby companion, the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 1602.The HI covers a region ~11.9 × 13.4 arcmin2 (62 ×70 kpc2) and the total HI mass detected is 2.5 +/- 0.1× 109Msolar (assuming an 18-Mpc distance).The HI is centred on NGC 1602 but appears to have two tidal tails, oneof which crosses over NGC 1596. The HI located at the position of NGC1596 has a velocity gradient in the same sense as the ionized gas, thatis, opposite to the stellar rotation. Both the existence of a large gasreservoir and the velocity gradient of the HI and the ionized gasstrongly suggest that the ionized gas in NGC 1596 originated from NGC1602. From the length of the HI tails, we conclude that the interactionstarted at least 1 Gyr ago, but the unsettled, asymmetric distributionof the ionized gas suggests that the accretion occurred more recently.NGC 1596 thus provides a good example where the presence ofcounterrotating gas can be directly linked to an accretion event. Afterthe accretion has stopped or the merging is complete, NGC 1596 mayevolve to a system with more extended counterrotating gas but no obvioussignature of interaction. There is a substantial local HI peak in one ofthe two tails, where we also find a faint stellar counterpart. TheMHI/LB ratio in this region is too high for anormal dwarf elliptical or a low surface brightness galaxy, so weconclude that a tidal dwarf is currently forming there.
| Southern GEMS groups - I. Dynamical properties
Here, we present an investigation of the properties of 16 nearby galaxygroups and their constituent galaxies. The groups are selected from theGroup Evolution Multiwavelength Study (GEMS) and all have X-ray as wellas wide-field neutral hydrogen (HI) observations. Group membership isdetermined using a friends-of-friends algorithm on the positions andvelocities from the 6-degree Field Galaxy Survey and NASA/IPACExtragalactic Database. For each group we derive their physicalproperties using this membership, including: velocity dispersions(σv), virial masses (MV), total K-bandluminosities [LK(Tot)] and early-type fractions(fearly) and present these data for the individual groups. Wefind that the GEMS X-ray luminosity is proportional to the groupvelocity dispersions and virial masses: LX(r500) ~σ3.11+/-0.59v andLX(r500) ~ M1.13+/-0.27V,consistent with the predictions of self-similarity between group andclusters. We also find that MV ~LK(Tot)2.0+/-0.9, i.e. mass grows faster thanlight and that the fraction of early-type galaxies in the groups iscorrelated with the group X-ray luminosities and velocity dispersions.We examine the brightest group galaxies (BGGs), finding that, while theluminosity of the BGG correlates with its total group luminosity, thefraction of group luminosity contained in the BGG decreases withincreasing total group luminosity. This suggests that BGGs grow bymergers at early times in group evolution while the group continues togrow by accreting infalling galaxies. We form a composite galaxy groupin order to examine the properties of the constituent galaxies andcompare their properties with those of field galaxies. There are clearradial trends, with group galaxies becoming fainter, bluer andmorphologically later types with increasing radius from the groupcentre, reaching field levels at radii>r500(>0.7r200). We divide the compositegroup-by-group X-ray luminosity and find that galaxies in high X-rayluminosity groups [log10 LX(r500) >=41.7 ergs-1] are redder with a higher giant-to-dwarf ratioand are more likely to be early-type galaxies than are those galaxies inlow X-ray luminosity groups. We conclude that harassment andram-pressure stripping processes are unlikely to cause thesedifferences. The differences are more likely to be due to galaxy-galaxymergers and possibly some further mechanism such as strangulation. Ifmergers are the dominant mechanism then the properties of galaxies inthe higher X-ray luminosity groups are a result of mergers at earlierepochs in smaller mass groups that have since merged to become thestructures we observe today, while lower X-ray luminosity groups arestill undergoing mergers today.
| HI content in galaxies in loose groups
Gas deficiency in cluster spirals is well known and ram-pressurestripping is considered the main gas removal mechanism. In some compactgroups too gas deficiency is reported. However, gas deficiency in loosegroups is not yet well established. Lower dispersion of the membervelocities and the lower density of the intragroup medium in small loosegroups favour tidal stripping as the main gas removal process in them.Recent releases of data from the HI Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) andcatalogues of nearby loose groups with associated diffuse X-ray emissionhave allowed us to test this notion. In this paper, we address thefollowing questions: (i) do galaxies in groups with diffuse X-rayemission statistically have lower gas content compared to the ones ingroups without diffuse X-ray emission? (ii) does HI deficiency vary withthe X-ray luminosity, LX, of the loose group in a systematicway? We find that (i) galaxies in groups with diffuse X-ray emission, onaverage, are HI deficient, and have lost more gas compared to those ingroups without X-ray emission; the latter are found not to havesignificant HI deficiency; (ii) no systematic dependence of the HIdeficiency with LX is found. Ram-pressure-assisted tidalstripping and evaporation by thermal conduction are the two possiblemechanisms to account for this excess gas loss.
| The central kinematics of NGC 1399 measured with 14 pc resolution
We present near-infrared (NIR) adaptive optics-assisted spectroscopicobservations of the CO(Δμ= 2) absorption bands towards thecentre of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1399. The observations weremade with NAOS-CONICA (on the European Southern Observatory's Very LargeTelescope) and have a full width at half-maximum resolution of0.15arcsec (14pc). Kinematic analysis of the observations reveals adecoupled core and strongly non-Gaussian line-of-sight velocity profilesin the central 0.2arcsec (19pc). NIR imaging also indicates anasymmetric elongation of the central isophotes in the same region.We use spherical orbit-superposition models to interpret the kinematics,using a set of orthogonal `eigen-velocity profiles' that allow us to fitmodels directly to spectra. The models require a central black hole ofmass 1.2+0.5-0.6× 109Msolar, with a strongly tangentially biased orbitdistribution in the inner 40pc.
| NGC 4435: a bulge-dominated galaxy with an unforeseen low-mass central black hole
We present the ionized gas kinematics of the SB0 galaxy NGC 4435 fromspectra obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. Thisgalaxy has been selected on the basis of its ground-based spectroscopy,for displaying a position-velocity diagram consistent with the presenceof a circumnuclear Keplerian disc rotating around a supermassive blackhole (SMBH). We obtained the Hα and [NII]λ6583 kinematicsin the galaxy nucleus along the major axis and two parallel offsetpositions. We built a dynamical model of the gaseous disc taking intoaccount the whole bi-dimensional velocity field and the instrumentalsetup. For the mass of the central SMBH, we found an upper limit of 7.5× 106Msolar at the 3σ level. Thisindicates that the mass of the SMBH of NGC 4435 is lower than the oneexpected from the M•-σc (5 ×107Msolar) and near-infraredM•-Lbulge (4 ×107Msolar) relationships.
| Exploring the range of black hole masses with Chandra
Efficiently accreting super-massive black holes (SMBHs) in activegalactic nuclei (AGNs, with masses in excess of 106 Mȯ)and black holes in Galactic X-ray binaries (with masses 10 Mȯ,e.g., see Tanaka & Lewin 1995) have long been studied in X-rays.AGNs and black hole X-ray binaries are luminous and fairly common X-raysources that have been successfully observed with many X-rayobservatories, since the beginning of X-ray astronomy nearly fourdecades ago. The study of black holes in X-rays has now acquired newdimensions thanks to the sub-arcsecond resolution, sensitiveobservations of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. In this paper I addresstwo new lines of investigation that have been blossoming thanks toChandra: quiescent galactic nuclei (QGNs) associated with SMBHs, and thehunt for intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs).
| The Two-dimensional XMM-Newton Group Survey: z < 0.012 Groups
We present the results of the two-dimensional XMM-Newton Group Survey(2dXGS), an archival study of nearby galaxy groups. In this paper weconsider 11 nearby systems (z<0.012) in Mulchaey et al., which span abroad range in X-ray luminosity from 1040 to 1043ergs s-1. We measure the iron abundance and temperaturedistribution in these systems and derive pressure and entropy maps. Wefind statistically significant evidence for structure in the entropy andpressure of the gas component of seven groups on the 10%-20% level. TheXMM-Newton data for the three groups with best statistics also suggestpatchy metallicity distributions within the central 20-50 kpc of thebrightest group galaxy, probed with 2-10 kpc resolution. This providesinsights into the processes associated with thermalization of thestellar mass loss. Analysis of the global properties of the groupsreveals a subclass of X-ray-faint groups, which are characterized byboth higher entropy and lower pressure. We suggest that the mergerhistory of the central elliptical is responsible for both the source andthe observed thermodynamical properties of the hot gas of theX-ray-faint groups.
| Accretion and Nuclear Activity of Quiescent Supermassive Black Holes. II. Optical Study and Interpretation
Our X-ray study of the nuclear activity in a new sample of six quiescentearly-type galaxies, as well as in a larger sample from the literature,confirmed (Paper I) that the Bondi accretion rate of diffuse hot gas isnot a good indicator of the SMBH X-ray luminosity. Here we suggest thata more reliable estimate of the accretion rate must include the gasreleased by the stellar population inside the sphere of influence of theSMBH, in addition to the Bondi inflow of hot gas across that surface. Weuse optical surface brightness profiles to estimate the mass-loss ratefrom stars in the nuclear region: we show that for our sample ofgalaxies it is an order of magnitude higher (~10-4 to10-3 Msolar yr-1) than the Bondi inflowrate of hot gas, as estimated from Chandra (Paper I). Only by takinginto account both sources of fuel can we constrain the true accretionrate, the accretion efficiency, and the power budget. Radiativelyefficient accretion is ruled out, for quiescent SMBHs. For typicalradiatively inefficient flows, the observed X-ray luminosities of theSMBHs imply accretion fractions ~1%-10% (i.e., ~90%-99% of the availablegas does not reach the SMBH) for at least five of our six targetgalaxies and most of the other galaxies with known SMBH masses. Wediscuss the conditions for mass conservation inside the sphere ofinfluence, so that the total gas injection is balanced by accretion plusoutflows. We show that a fraction of the total accretion power(mechanical plus radiative) would be sufficient to sustain aself-regulating, slow outflow that removes from the nuclear region allthe gas that does not sink into the BH (``BH feedback''). The rest ofthe accretion power may be carried out in a jet or advected. We alsodiscuss scenarios that would lead to an intermittent nuclear activity.
| Accretion and Nuclear Activity of Quiescent Supermassive Black Holes. I. X-Ray Study
We have studied the nuclear activity in a sample of six quiescentearly-type galaxies, with new Chandra data and archival HST opticalimages. Their nuclear sources have X-ray luminosities~1038-1039 ergs s-1(LX/LEdd~10-8 to 10-7) andcolors or spectra consistent with accreting supermassive black holes(SMBHs), except for the nucleus of NGC 4486B, which is softer thantypical AGN spectra. In a few cases, the X-ray morphology of the nuclearsources shows hints of marginally extended structures, in addition tothe surrounding diffuse thermal emission from hot gas, which isdetectable on scales >~1 kpc. In one case (NGC 5845), a dusty diskmay partially obstruct our direct view of the SMBH. We have estimatedthe temperature and density of the hot interstellar medium, which is onemajor source of fuel for the accreting SMBH; typical central densitiesare ne~(0.02+/-0.01) cm-3. Assuming that the hotgas is captured by the SMBH at the Bondi rate, we show that the observedX-ray luminosities are too faint to be consistent with standard diskaccretion, but brighter than predicted by radiatively inefficientsolutions (e.g., advection-dominated accretion flows [ADAFs]). In total,there are ~20 galaxies for which SMBH mass, hot gas density, and nuclearX-ray luminosity are simultaneously known. In some cases, the nuclearsources are brighter than predicted by the ADAF model; in other cases,they are consistent or fainter. We discuss the apparent lack ofcorrelations between Bondi rate and X-ray luminosity and suggest that,in order to understand the observed distribution, we need to know twoadditional parameters: the amount of gas supplied by the stellarpopulation inside the accretion radius, and the fraction (possibly<<1) of the total gas available that is accreted by the SMBH. Weleave a detailed study of these issues to a subsequent paper.
| Type I Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: Transition Stage from ULIRGs to QSOs
We examine whether the ultraluminous infrared galaxies that contain atype 1 Seyfert nucleus (a type I ULIRG) are in the transition stage fromULIRGs to quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). To investigate this issue, wecompare the black hole (BH) mass, the bulge luminosity, and thefar-infrared luminosity among type I ULIRGs, QSOs, and ellipticalgalaxies. As a result, we find the following results: (1) The type IULIRGs have systematically smaller BH masses in spite of the comparablebulge luminosity relative to QSOs and elliptical galaxies. (2) Thefar-infrared luminosity of most type I ULIRGs is larger than theEddington luminosity. We show that the above results do not changesignificantly for three type I ULIRGs for which we can estimate thevisual extinction from the column density. Also, for all eight type IULIRGs, we investigate the effect of uncertainties of BH massmeasurements and our sample bias to make sure that our results are notaltered even if we consider the above two effects. In addition, Anabukirecently revealed that their X-ray properties are similar to those ofthe narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. These would indicate that activegalactic nuclei (AGNs) with a high mass accretion rate exist in type IULIRGs. On the basis of all of these findings, we conclude that it wouldbe a natural interpretation that type I ULIRGs are the early phase of BHgrowth, namely, the missing link between ULIRGs and QSOs. Moreover, bycomparing our results with a theoretical model of a coevolution scenarioof a QSO BH and a galactic bulge, we show clearly that this explanationcould be valid.
| Scaling Mass Profiles around Elliptical Galaxies Observed with Chandra and XMM-Newton
We investigated the dynamical structure of 53 elliptical galaxies usingthe Chandra archival X-ray data. In X-ray-luminous galaxies, temperatureincreases with radius and gas density is systematically higher at theoptical outskirts, indicating the presence of a significant amount ofthe group-scale hot gas. In contrast, X-ray-dim galaxies show a flat ordeclining temperature profile against radius and the gas density isrelatively lower at the optical outskirts. Thus, it is found thatX-ray-bright and faint elliptical galaxies are clearly distinguished bythe temperature and gas density profile. The mass profile is well scaledby a virial radius r200 rather than an optical half-radiusre, is quite similar at (0.001-0.03)r200 betweenX-ray-luminous and dim galaxies, and smoothly connects to those profilesof clusters of galaxies. At the inner region of(0.001-0.01)r200 or (0.1-1)re, the mass profilewell traces a stellar mass with a constant mass-to-light ratio ofM/LB=3-10 Msolar/Lsolar. TheM/LB ratio of X-ray-bright galaxies rises up steeply beyond0.01r200 and thus requires a presence of massive dark matterhalo. From the deprojection analysis combined with the XMM-Newton data,we found that X-ray-dim galaxies NGC 3923, NGC 720, and IC 1459 alsohave a high M/LB ratio of 20-30 at 20 kpc, comparable to thatof X-ray-luminous galaxies. Therefore, dark matter is indicated to becommon in elliptical galaxies; their dark matter distribution, as wellas that of galaxy clusters, almost follows the NFW profile.
| Understanding the Nuclear Gas Dispersion in Early-Type Galaxies in the Context of Black Hole Demographics
The majority of nearby early-type galaxies contain detectable amounts ofemission-line gas at their centers. The nuclear gas kinematics form avaluable diagnostic of the central black hole (BH) mass. Here we analyzeand model Hubble Space Telescope STIS observations of a sample of 27galaxies; 16 Fanaroff-Riley Type I radio galaxies and 11 (more) normalearly-type galaxies. We focus here on what can be learned from thenuclear velocity dispersion (line width) of the gas as a complement tothe many studies dealing with gas rotation velocities. We find that thedispersion in a STIS aperture of ~0.1"-0.2" generally exceeds thelarge-scale stellar velocity dispersion of the galaxy. This isqualitatively consistent with the presence of central BHs but raises thequestions of whether the excess gas dispersion is of gravitational ornongravitational origin and whether the implied BH masses are consistentwith our current understanding of BH demography (as predicted by theM-σ relation between BH mass and stellar velocity dispersion). Toaddress this we construct purely gravitational axisymmetric dynamicalmodels for the gas, both thin-disk models and models with more generalaxis ratios and velocity anisotropies. For the normal galaxies thenuclear gas dispersions are adequately reproduced assuming disks aroundthe BHs with masses that follow the M-σ relation. In contrast, thegas dispersions observed for the radio galaxies generally exceed thosepredicted by any of the models. We attribute this to the presence ofnongravitational motions in the gas that are similar to or larger thanthe gravitational motions. The nongravitational motions are presumablydriven by the active galactic nucleus (AGN), but we do not find arelation between the radiative output of the AGN and thenongravitational dispersion. Given the uncertainties about the dynamicalstate of the gas, it is not possible to uniquely determine the BH massfor each galaxy from its nuclear gas dispersion. However, for the sampleas a whole the observed dispersions do not provide evidence forsignificant deviations from the M-σ relation.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS5-26555.
| Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes
Central black hole masses for 117 spiral galaxies representingmorphological stages S0/a through Sc and taken from the largespectroscopic survey of Ho et al. are derived using Ks-banddata from the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Black hole masses are foundusing a calibrated black hole-Ks bulge luminosity relation,while bulge luminosities are measured by means of a two-dimensionalbulge-disk decomposition routine. The black hole masses are correlatedagainst a variety of parameters representing properties of the nucleusand host galaxy. Nuclear properties such as line width (FWHM [N II]), aswell as emission-line ratios (e.g., [O III]/Hβ, [O I]/Hα, [NII]/Hα, and [S II]/Hα), show a very high degree ofcorrelation with black hole mass. The excellent correlation with linewidth supports the view that the emission-line gas is in virialequilibrium with either the black hole or bulge potential. The very goodemission-line ratio correlations may indicate a change in ionizingcontinuum shape with black hole mass in the sense that more massiveblack holes generate harder spectra. Apart from theinclination-corrected rotational velocity, no excellent correlations arefound between black hole mass and host galaxy properties. Significantdifferences are found between the distributions of black hole masses inearly-, mid-, and late-type spiral galaxies (subsamples A, B, and C) inthe sense that early-type galaxies have preferentially larger centralblack holes, consistent with observations that Seyfert galaxies arefound preferentially in early-type systems. The line width distributionsshow a marked difference among subsamples A, B, and C in the sense thatearlier type galaxies have larger line widths. There are also cleardifferences in line ratios between subsamples A+B and C that likely arerelated to the level of ionization in the gas. Finally, aKs-band Simien & de Vaucouleurs diagram shows excellentagreement with the original B-band relation, although there is a largedispersion at a given morphological stage.
| Globular cluster kinematics and X-ray emission in the early-type galaxy NGC 1399
Context: .Of the various observational methods used to address thequestion of dark matter in early-type galaxies there is the possibilityof spatial overlap in using kinematics of stars, clusters and X-rayhalos. Aims: .To investigate methods for the determination ofvelocity distribution profiles and deviations from a Gaussiandistribution using globular clusters in early-type galaxies, and theimplications for dark matter. Methods: .The maximum likelihoodmethod together with standard statistical procedures were used tocalculate the velocity dispersion. A new "tracer mass estimator" wasapplied to obtain a mass estimate based on the globular clusters, whichis then compared to the mass obtained using X-rays. Results: .InNGC 1399 the departures from a Gaussian distribution of the velocitiesat all radial distances are small. Our conclusion is that in spite ofthe observations that show that the velocity dispersion decreasesbetween 4 and 10 Re there is evidence that dark matter existsbeyond 3 R_e.
| The ATESP 5 GHz radio survey. I. Source counts and spectral index properties of the faint radio population
Context: .The nature and evolutionary properties of the faint radiopopulation, responsible for the steepening observed in the 1.4 GHzsource counts below 1 milliJy, are not yet entirely clear. Radiospectral indices may help to constrain the origin of the radio emissionin such faint radio sources and may be fundamental in understandingeventual links to the optical light. Aims: .We study the spectralindex behaviour of sources that were found in the 1.4 GHz ATESP survey(Prandoni et al. 2000a, A&AS, 146, 31; 2000b, A&AS, 146, 41),considering that the ATESP is one of the most extensive sub-mJy surveysexisting at present. Methods: .Using the Australia TelescopeCompact Array we observed at 5 GHz part of the region covered by thesub-mJy ATESP survey. In particular we imaged a one square degree areafor which deep optical imaging in UBVRIJK is available. In this paper wepresent the 5 GHz survey and source catalogue, we derive the 5 GHzsource counts and we discuss the 1.4-5 GHz spectral index properties ofthe ATESP sources. The analysis of the optical properties of the samplewill be the subject of a following paper. Results: .The 5 GHzsurvey has produced a catalogue of 111 radio sources, complete down to a(6σ) limit S_lim(5~GHz) 0.4 mJy. We take advantage of thebetter spatial resolution at 5 GHz (~2 arcsec compared to ~8 arcsec at1.4 GHz) to infer radio source structures and sizes. The 5 GHz sourcecounts derived by the present sample are consistent with those reportedin the literature, but improve significantly the statistics in the fluxrange 0.4 S5~GHz 1 mJy. The ATESP sources show aflattening of the 1.4-5 GHz spectral index with decreasing flux density,which is particularly significant for the 5 GHz selected sample. Such aflattening confirm previous results coming from smaller samples and isconsistent with a flattening of the 5 GHz source counts occurring atfluxes 0.5 mJy.
| Multi-aperture photometry of extended IR sources with ISOPHOT. I. The nature of extended IR emission of planetary Nebulae
Context: .ISOPHOT multi-aperture photometry is an efficient method toresolve compact sources or to detect extended emission down torelatively faint levels with single detectors in the wavelength range 3to 100 μm. Aims: .Using ISOPHOT multi-aperture photometry andcomplementary ISO spectra and IR spectral energy distributions wediscuss the nature of the extended IR emission of the two PNe NGC 6543and NGC 7008. Methods: .In the on-line appendix we describe thedata reduction, calibration and interpretation methods based on asimultaneous determination of the IR source and background contributionsfrom the on-source multi-aperture sequences. Normalized profiles enabledirect comparison with point source and flat-sky references. Modellingthe intensity distribution offers a quantitative method to assess sourceextent and angular scales of the main structures and is helpful inreconstructing the total source flux, if the source extends beyond aradius of 1 arcmin. The photometric calibration is described and typicalaccuracies are derived. General uncertainty, quality and reliabilityissues are addressed, too. Transient fitting to non-stabilised signaltime series, by means of combinations of exponential functions withdifferent time constants, improves the actual average signals andreduces their uncertainty. Results: .The emission of NGC 6543 inthe 3.6 μm band coincides with the core region of the optical nebulaand is homogeneously distributed. It is comprised of 65% continuum and35% atomic hydrogen line emission. In the 12 μm band a resolved butcompact double source is surrounded by a fainter ring structure with allemission confined to the optical core region. Strong line emission of[ArIII] at 8.99 μm and in particular [SIV] at 10.51 μm shapes thisspatial profile. The unresolved 60 μm emission originates from dust.It is described by a modified (emissivity index β = 1.5) blackbodywith a temperature of 85 K, suggesting that warm dust with a mass of 6.4× 10-4 Mȯ is mixed with the ionisedgas. The gas-to-dust mass ratio is about 220. The 25 μm emission ofNGC 7008 is characterised by a FWHM of about 50´´ with anadditional spot-like or ring-like enhancement at the bright rim of theoptical nebula. The 60 μm emission exhibits a similar shape, but isabout twice as extended. Analysis of the spectral energy distributionsuggests that the 25 μm emission is associated with 120 K warm dust,while the 60 μm emission is dominated by a second dust component with55 K. The dust mass associated with this latter component amounts to 1.2× 10-3 Mȯ, significantly higher thanpreviously derived. The gas-to-dust mass ratio is 59 which, compared tothe average value of 160 for the Milky Way, hints at dust enrichment bythis object.
| The host galaxy/AGN connection in nearby early-type galaxies. Is there a miniature radio-galaxy in every "core" galaxy?
This is the second of a series of three papers exploring the connectionbetween the multiwavelength properties of AGN in nearby early-typegalaxies and the characteristics of their hosts. We selected two sampleswith 5 GHz VLA radio flux measurements down to 1 mJy, reaching levels ofradio luminosity as low as 1036 erg s-1. In PaperI we presented a study of the surface brightness profiles for the 65objects with available archival HST images out of the 116 radio-detectedgalaxies. We classified early-type galaxies into "core" and "power-law"galaxies, discriminating on the basis of the slope of their nuclearbrightness profiles, following the Nukers scheme. Here we focus on the29 core galaxies (hereafter CoreG). We used HST and Chandra data toisolate their optical and X-ray nuclear emission. The CoreG invariablyhost radio-loud nuclei, with an average radio-loudness parameter of LogR = L5 {GHz} / LB 3.6. The optical and X-raynuclear luminosities correlate with the radio-core power, smoothlyextending the analogous correlations already found for low luminosityradio-galaxies (LLRG) toward even lower power, by a factor of 1000, covering a combined range of 6 orders of magnitude. This supportsthe interpretation of a common non-thermal origin of the nuclearemission also for CoreG. The luminosities of the nuclear sources, mostlikely dominated by jet emission, set firm upper limits, as low asL/L_Edd 10-9 in both the optical and X-ray band, on anyemission from the accretion process. The similarity of CoreG and LLRGwhen considering the distributions host galaxies luminosities and blackhole masses, as well as of the surface brightness profiles, indicatesthat they are drawn from the same population of early-type galaxies.LLRG represent only the tip of the iceberg associated with (relatively)high activity levels, with CoreG forming the bulk of the population. Wedo not find any relationship between radio-power and black hole mass. Aminimum black hole mass of M_BH = 108 Mȯ isapparently associated with the radio-loud nuclei in both CoreG and LLRG,but this effect must be tested on a sample of less luminous galaxies,likely to host smaller black holes. In the unifying model for BL Lacsand radio-galaxies, CoreG likely represent the counterparts of the largepopulation of low luminosity BL Lac now emerging from the surveys at lowradio flux limits. This suggests the presence of relativistic jets alsoin these quasi-quiescent early-type "core" galaxies.
| Constraints on evolutionary properties of GHz Peaked Spectrum galaxies
We have used the available samples of Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS)galaxies to investigate their evolution properties in the framework ofthe "youth" scenario. Care was taken to properly allow for the differentselection criteria used to define the samples. We find that the observedredshift and peak frequency distributions can be satisfactorilyaccounted for in terms of simple luminosity evolution of individualsources, along the lines discussed by Fanti et al. (1995, A&A, 302,317) and Begelman (1996, in Proc. Cygnus A, Study of Radio Galaxy; 1999,in Proc. of KNAW Colloq.), although the derived parameter values havelarge uncertainties due to ambiguities in the selection of GPS sourcesand to the incompleteness of redshift measurements. However the simplestself-similar model, whereby the evolution is controlled only by theradial profile of the density of the ambient medium is not good enoughand one additional parameter needs to be introduced. The fit requires adecrease of the emitted power and of the peak luminosity with source ageor with decreasing peak frequency, at variance with the Snellen et al.(2000, MNRAS, 319, 445) model. On the other hand, our analysis confirmsthe rather flat slope of the luminosity function, found by Snellen etal. (2000) who also report indications of a high luminosity break, notrequired by the data sets we have used. Our results suggest that the GPSgalaxies are the precursors of extended radio sources with luminositiesbelow the break of the luminosity function. No cosmological evolution ofthe GPS galaxy population is required by presently available data.
| Nearby early-type galaxies with ionized gas. II. Line-strength indices for 18 additional galaxies
We previously presented a data-set of line-strength indices for 50early-type galaxies in the nearby Universe. The galaxy sample is biasedtoward galaxies showing emission lines, located in environmentscorresponding to a broad range of local galaxy densities, althoughpredominantly in low density environments. The present addendum enlargesthe above data-set of line-strength indices by analyzing 18 additionalearly-type galaxies (three galaxies, NGC 3607, NGC 5077 and NGC 5898were presented in the previous set). We measured 25 line-strengthindices, defined by the Lick IDS "standard" system (Trager et al. 1998,ApJS, 116, 1; Worthey & Ottaviani 1997, ApJS, 111, 377), for 7luminosity weighted apertures and 4 gradients of each galaxy. Thisaddendum presents the line-strength data-set and compares it with theavailable data in the literature.
| Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei: Past, Present and Future Research
This review discusses the current status of supermassive black holeresearch, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since theearly ‘90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launchof the Hubble Space Telescope, the commissioning of the VLBA andimprovements in near-infrared speckle imaging techniques, have not onlygiven us incontrovertible proof of the existence of supermassive blackholes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the mass of thecentral singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy. It isthanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in aposition to understand the origin, evolution and cosmic relevance ofthese fascinating objects.
| Water-Vapor Maser Survey for Active Galactic Nuclei: A Megamaser in NGC 6926
We made a survey of water-vapor maser emission for 93 AGNs with theNobeyama 45-m and Mopra 22-m telescopes from 1999 to 2002. A megamaserwas detected in a Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 6926, at a distance of 80Mpc, in2002 June. [Greenhill et al. (2003a) have also reported a detection ofthe megamaser at the close date.] The peak flux density was 110mJy, andthe total isotropic luminosity was 340 Lȯ. The masershows triply peaked spectrum, suggesting an edge-on disk. A narrow-linefeature of the maser components at VLSR = 6001 kms-1 was strongly variable with a time scale of a few tens ofdays, and the variation should be of intrinsic origin. We also showed apossibility of variability of water-vapor maser emission of a megamaserpreviously detected in a Seyfert/ultraluminous FIR galaxy, NGC 6240.
| The X-ray emission properties and the dichotomy in the central stellar cusp shapes of early-type galaxies
The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a dichotomy in the centralsurface brightness profiles of early-type galaxies, which havesubsequently been grouped into two families: core, boxy, anisotropicsystems; and cuspy (`power-law'), discy, rotating ones. Here weinvestigate whether a dichotomy is also present in the X-ray propertiesof the two families. We consider both their total soft emission(LSX,tot), which is a measure of the galactic hot gascontent, and their nuclear hard emission (LHX,nuc), mostlycoming from Chandra observations, which is a measure of the nuclearactivity. At any optical luminosity, the highest LSX,totvalues are reached by core galaxies; this is explained by their beingthe central dominant galaxies of groups, subclusters or clusters, inmany of the logLSX,tot (ergs-1) >~ 41.5 cases.The highest LHX,nuc values, similar to those of classicalactive galactic nuclei (AGNs), in this sample are hosted only by core orintermediate galaxies; at low luminosity AGN levels, LHX,nucis independent of the central stellar profile shape. The presence ofoptical nuclei (also found by HST) is unrelated to the level ofLHX,nuc, even though the highest LHX,nuc are allassociated with optical nuclei. The implications of these findings forgalaxy evolution and accretion modalities at the present epoch arediscussed.
| Dark matter in early-type galaxies: dynamical modelling of IC 1459, IC 3370, NGC 3379 and NGC 4105
We analyse long-slit spectra of four early-type galaxies which extendfrom ~1 to 3 effective radii: IC 1459; IC 3370; NGC 3379 and NGC 4105.We have extracted the full line-of-sight velocity distribution (in thecase of NGC 3379 we also used data from the literature), which we modelusing the two-integral approach. Using two-integral modelling, we findno strong evidence for dark haloes, but the fits suggest thatthree-integral modelling is necessary. We also find that the inferredconstant mass-to-light ratio in all the four cases is typical forearly-type galaxies. Finally, we also discuss the constraints on themass-to-light ratio, which can be obtained using X-ray haloes in thecase of IC 1459, NGC 3379 and NGC 4105, and compare the estimated valueswith the predictions from the dynamical modelling.
| Evidence for radio-source heating of groups
We report evidence that the gas properties of X-ray groups containingradio galaxies differ from those of radio-quiet groups. For awell-studied sample of ROSAT-observed groups, we found that more thanhalf of the elliptical-dominated groups can be considered `radio-loud',and that radio-loud groups are likely to be hotter at a given X-rayluminosity than radio-quiet groups. We tested three different models forthe origin of the effect and conclude that radio-source heating is themost likely explanation. We found several examples of groups where thereis strong evidence from Chandra or XMM-Newton images for interactionsbetween the radio source and the group gas. A variety of radio-sourceheating processes are important, including shock-heating by youngsources and gentler heating by larger sources. The heating effects canbe longer-lasting than the radio emission. We show that the sample ofX-ray groups used in our study is not significantly biased in thefraction of radio-loud groups that it contains. This allows us toconclude that the energy per particle that low-power radio galaxies caninject over the group lifetime is comparable to the requirements ofstructure formation models.
| Ultraluminous X-Ray Sources in Nearby Galaxies from ROSAT High Resolution Imager Observations I. Data Analysis
X-ray observations have revealed in other galaxies a class ofextranuclear X-ray point sources with X-ray luminosities of1039-1041 ergs s-1, exceeding theEddington luminosity for stellar mass X-ray binaries. Theseultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) may be powered by intermediate-massblack holes of a few thousand Msolar or stellar mass blackholes with special radiation processes. In this paper, we present asurvey of ULXs in 313 nearby galaxies withD25>1' within 40 Mpc with 467 ROSAT HighResolution Imager (HRI) archival observations. The HRI observations arereduced with uniform procedures, refined by simulations that help definethe point source detection algorithm employed in this survey. A sampleof 562 extragalactic X-ray point sources withLX=1038-1043 ergs s-1 isextracted from 173 survey galaxies, including 106 ULX candidates withinthe D25 isophotes of 63 galaxies and 110 ULX candidatesbetween 1D25 and 2D25 of 64 galaxies, from which aclean sample of 109 ULXs is constructed to minimize the contaminationfrom foreground or background objects. The strong connection betweenULXs and star formation is confirmed based on the striking preference ofULXs to occur in late-type galaxies, especially in star-forming regionssuch as spiral arms. ULXs are variable on timescales over days to yearsand exhibit a variety of long term variability patterns. Theidentifications of ULXs in the clean sample show some ULXs identified assupernovae (remnants), H II regions/nebulae, or young massive stars instar-forming regions, and a few other ULXs identified as old globularclusters. In a subsequent paper, the statistic properties of the surveywill be studied to calculate the occurrence frequencies and luminosityfunctions for ULXs in different types of galaxies to shed light on thenature of these enigmatic sources.
| O VI in Elliptical Galaxies: Indicators of Cooling Flows
Early-type galaxies often contain a hot X-ray-emitting interstellarmedium [(3-8)×106 K] with an apparent radiative coolingtime much less than a Hubble time. If unopposed by a heating mechanism,the gas will radiatively cool to temperatures <~104 K at arate proportional to LX/TX, typically 0.03-1Msolar yr-1. We can test whether gas is coolingthrough the 3×105 K range by observing the O VIdoublet, whose luminosity is proportional to the cooling rate. Here wereport on a study of an unbiased sample of 24 galaxies, obtaining FarUltraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer spectra to complement the X-ray dataof ROSAT and Chandra. The O VI line emission was detected in about 40%of the galaxies and at a luminosity level similar to the prediction fromthe cooling flow model. There is a correlation betweenM˙OVI and M˙X, although there issignificant dispersion about the relationship, where the O VI isbrighter or dimmer than expected by a factor of 3 or more. If thecooling flow picture is to be retained, then this dispersion requiresthat cooling flows be time-dependent, as might occur by the activity ofan AGN. However, of detected objects, those with the highest or lowestvalues of M˙OVI/M˙X are not systematicallyhot or cool, as one might predict from AGN heating.
| UV/Optical Nuclear Activity in the gE Galaxy NGC 1399
Using HST STIS, we have detected far-ultraviolet nuclear activity in thegiant elliptical galaxy NGC 1399, the central and brightest galaxy inthe Fornax I cluster. The source reached a maximum observed far-UVluminosity of ~1.2×1039 ergs s-1 in 1999January. It was detectable in earlier HST archival images in 1996 (Bband) but not in 1991 (V band) or 1993 (UV). It faded by a factor of ~4by mid-2000. The source is almost certainly associated with thelow-luminosity AGN responsible for the radio emission in NGC 1399. Theproperties of the outburst are remarkably similar to the UV-brightnuclear transient discovered earlier in NGC 4552 by Renzini andcoworkers. The source is much fainter than expected from its Bondiaccretion rate (estimated from Chandra high-resolution X-ray images),even in the context of ``radiatively inefficient accretion flow''models, and its variability also appears inconsistent with such models.High spatial resolution UV monitoring is a valuable means to studyactivity in nearby LLAGNs.
| A Fundamental Plane Relation for the X-Ray Gas in Normal Elliptical Galaxies
We report on the discovery of a new correlation between globalparameters of the hot interstellar gas in elliptical galaxies. Wereanalyze archival Chandra data for 30 normal early-type systems,removing the contributions of resolved and unresolved point sources toreveal the X-ray morphology of the hot gas. We determine the half-lightradius, RX, and the mean surface brightness, IX,from the gas surface brightness profiles. A spectral analysis determinesthe temperature, TX, of the gas within 3 optical effectiveradii. We find that the galaxies lie on an X-ray gas fundamental plane(XGFP) of the formTX~R0.28XI0.22X.This is close to, but distinct from, a simple luminosity-temperaturerelation. The intrinsic width of the XGFP is only 0.07 dex, nearlyidentical to that of the stellar (optical) fundamental plane (SFP). Thisis surprising since X-ray gas masses are typically ~10-2 ofthe stellar masses. We show that the XGFP is not a simple consequence ofthe virial theorem or hydrostatic equilibrium and that it is essentiallyindependent of the SFP. The XGFP thus represents a genuinely newconstraint on the hydrodynamical evolution of elliptical galaxies.
| The Link between Star Formation and Accretion in LINERs: A Comparison with Other Active Galactic Nucleus Subclasses
We present archival high-resolution X-ray imaging observations of 25nearby LINERs observed by ACIS on board Chandra. This sample builds onour previously published proprietary and archival X-ray observations andincludes the complete set of LINERs with published black hole masses andFIR luminosities that have been observed by Chandra. Of the 82 LINERsobserved by Chandra, 41 (50%) display hard nuclear cores consistent withan AGN. The nuclear 2-10 keV luminosities of these AGN-LINERs range from~2×1038 to ~1×1044 ergss-1. Reinforcing our previous work, we find a significantcorrelation between the Eddington ratio,Lbol/LEdd, and the FIR luminosity,LFIR, as well as the IR brightness ratio,LFIR/LB, in the host galaxy of AGN-LINERs thatextends over 7 orders of magnitude in Lbol/LEdd.Combining our AGN-LINER sample with galaxies from other AGN subclasses,we find that this correlation is reinforced in a sample of 129 AGNs,extending over almost 9 orders of magnitude inLbol/LEdd. Using archival and previously publishedobservations of the 6.2 μm PAH feature from ISO, we find that it isunlikely that dust heating by the AGN dominates the FIR luminosity inour sample of AGNs. Our results may therefore imply a fundamental linkbetween the mass accretion rate (M˙), as measured by the Eddingtonratio, and the star formation rate (SFR), as measured by the FIRluminosity. Apart from the overall correlation, we find that thedifferent AGN subclasses occupy distinct regions in the LFIRand Lbol/LEdd plane. Assuming a constant radiativeefficiency for accretion, our results may imply a variation in theSFR/M˙ ratio as a function of AGN activity level, a result that mayhave significant consequences for our understanding of galaxy formationand black hole growth.
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