ASCA spectroscopy of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240: X-ray emission from a starburst and a buried active nucleus

We present an X-ray spectroscopic study of the prototype far-infrared galaxy NGC 6240 from ASCA . The soft X-ray spectrum (below 2 keV) shows clear signatures of thermal emission well described by a multitemperature optically thin plasma, which probably originates in a powerful starburst. Strong hard X-ray emission is also detected with ASCA and its spectrum above 3 keV is extremely flat with a prominent iron K line complex, very similar to that seen in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 but about an order of magnitude more luminous ( L _3−10keV ≈ 1.4 × 10⁴² erg s⁻¹). The hard X-ray spectrum indicates that only reflected X-rays of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) buried in a heavy obscuration ( N _H > 2 × 10²⁴ cm⁻²) are visible. This is evidence for an AGN in NGC 6240, emitting possibly at a quasar luminosity (∼ 10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹), and suggests its significant contribution to the far-infrared luminosity.     

Neutral hydrogen absorption observations of the central region of NGC 3628

Using MERLIN with 0.2-arcsec resolution we have observed neutral hydrogen absorption against the central region of the starburst galaxy NGC 3628. The central region resolves into ∼16 continuum components at 1.4 GHz. From comparison with published 15-GHz data, we infer that these components are supernova remnants, although three components may be consistent with a weak active galactic nucleus. Neutral hydrogen absorption is seen against the continuum emission with column densities ∼10²² cm⁻². The absorption appears to be from two separate absorbing structures. Assuming a simple morphology, the main velocity structure can be attributed to a ring of neutral gas with a radius 130 pc rotating around a central starburst with a velocity gradient of 1270 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹. From simple assumptions, the mass interior to this ring is 0.9 × 10⁹ M_⊙. The second absorption structure may represent outflow from the starburst region or a large-scale galactic structure. Alternatively the absorption structure may be non-axisymmetric, such as a bar.     

Chandra HRC and HST observations of NGC 6240: resolving the active galactic nucleus and starburst

We present high spatial resolution X-ray Chandra HRC and HST WFPC2 H α observations of the prototypical infrared-luminous galaxy NGC 6240. The central region of this system shows a remarkably complex morphology, with filaments and loops observed in the optical and X-rays. The total X-ray luminosity is dominated by the extended emission. Both nuclei are clearly detected in the HRC image and both appear to be extended. The energetics of the nuclei imply that the southern nucleus is the more plausible counterpart to the obscured active galactic nucleus. The overall spectral energy distribution of the galaxy is in good agreement with a blend of starburst and AGN components that have similar bolometric luminosities,   L _bol∼5×10⁴⁵ erg s^-1  , with the starburst dominating the observed continuum in the near-infrared ( K band), optical and soft X-ray bands.     

Neutral hydrogen absorption observations of the central region of NGC 5929

We present 0.15-arcsec (25-pc) resolution MERLIN observations of neutral hydrogen absorption detected towards the nuclear region of the type 2 Seyfert galaxy NGC 5929. Absorption is detected only towards the north-eastern radio component with a column density of (6.5 ± 0.6) × 10²¹ cm⁻². Based on comparison with an HST WFPC2 continuum image, we propose that the absorption is caused by a 1.5-arcsec structure of neutral gas and dust offset 0.3 arcsec south-east of the nucleus and running NE–SW. A separate cloud of dust is apparent 1.5 arcsec to the south-west of the nucleus in the HST image. A comparison of the centroid velocity (2358 ± 5 km s⁻¹) and full width at half-maximum (43 ± 6 km s⁻¹) of the absorbing gas with previous [O  III ] observations suggests that both the neutral and ionized gas are undergoing galactic rotation towards the observer in the north-east and away from the observer in the south-west. The main structure is consistent with an inclined ring of gas and dust encircling the active galactic nucleus (AGN); alternatively it may be a bar or inner spiral arm. We do not detect neutral hydrogen absorption or dust obscuration against the radio nucleus (column density < 3.1 × 10²¹ cm⁻²) expected by a torus of neutral gas and dust in unified models of AGNs for a type 2 Seyfert galaxy.     

A high-resolution radio study of neutral gas in the starburst galaxy NGC 520

We present subarcsec angular resolution observations of the neutral gas in the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 520. The central kpc region of NGC 520 contains an area of significantly enhanced star formation. The radio continuum structure of this region resolves into ∼10 continuum components. By comparing the flux densities of the brightest of these components at 1.4 GHz with published 15-GHz data we infer that these components detected at 1.4 and 1.6 GHz are related to the starburst and are most likely to be collections of several supernova remnants within the beam. None of these components is consistent with emission from an active galactic nuclei. Both neutral hydrogen (H  i ) and hydroxyl (OH) absorption lines are observed against the continuum emission, along with a weak OH maser feature probably related to the star formation activity in this galaxy. Strong H  i absorption  ( N _H∼ 10²² atoms cm⁻²)  traces a velocity gradient of 0.5 km s⁻¹ pc⁻¹ across the central kpc of NGC 520. The H  i absorption velocity structure is consistent with the velocity gradients observed in both the OH absorption and in CO emission observations. The neutral gas velocity structure observed within the central kpc of NGC 520 is attributed to a kpc-scale ring or disc. It is also noted that the velocity gradients observed for these neutral gas components appear to differ with the velocity gradients observed from optical ionized emission lines. This apparent disagreement is discussed and attributed to the extinction of the optical emission from the actual centre of this source hence implying that optical ionized emission lines are only detected from regions with significantly different radii to those sampled by the observations presented here.     

A radio study of the superwind galaxy NGC 1482

We present multifrequency radio continuum as well as H  i observations of the superwind galaxy NGC 1482, with both the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) and the Very Large Array (VLA). This galaxy has a remarkable hourglass-shaped optical emission-line outflow as well as bipolar soft X-ray bubbles on opposite sides of the galactic disc. The low-frequency, lower-resolution radio observations show a smooth structure. From the non-thermal emission, we estimate the available energy in supernovae, and examine whether this would be adequate to drive the observed superwind outflow. The high-frequency, high-resolution radio image of the central starburst region located at the base of the superwind bi-cone shows one prominent peak and more extended emission with substructure. This image has been compared with the infrared, optical red continuum, Hα, and soft and hard X-ray images from Chandra to understand the nature and relationship of the various features seen at different wavelengths. The peak of the infrared emission is the only feature that is coincident with the prominent radio peak, and possibly defines the centre of the galaxy.
The H  i observations with the GMRT show two blobs of emission on opposite sides of the central region. These are rotating about the centre of the galaxy and are located at ∼2.4 kpc from it. In addition, these observations also reveal a multicomponent H  i absorption profile against the central region of the radio source, with a total width of ∼250 km s⁻¹. The extreme blue- and redshifted absorption components are at 1688 and 1942 km s⁻¹, respectively, while the peak absorption is at 1836 km s⁻¹. This is consistent with the heliocentric systemic velocity of  1850 ± 20 km s⁻¹  , estimated from a variety of observations. We discuss possible implications of these results.     

Chandra observations of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 3256

We present a detailed analysis of high-resolution Chandra observations of the merger system NGC 3256, the most infrared-luminous galaxy in the nearby universe. The X-ray data show that several discrete sources embedded in complex diffuse emission contribute ≳20 per cent of the total emission     in the  0.5–10 keV  energy range). The compact sources are hard and extremely bright and their emission is probably dominated by accretion-driven processes. Both galaxy nuclei are detected with  L_X∼3–10×10⁴⁰ erg s⁻¹  . No evidence is found for the presence of an active nucleus in the southern nucleus, contrary to previous speculation. Once the discrete sources are removed, the diffuse component has a soft spectrum that can be modelled by the superposition of three thermal plasma components with temperatures   kT =0.6  , 0.9 and 3.9 keV. Alternatively, the latter component can be described as a power law with index  Γ∼3  . Some evidence is found for a radial gradient of the amount of absorption and temperature of the diffuse component. We compare the X-ray emission with optical, H α and NICMOS images of NGC 3256 and find a good correlation between the inferred optical/near-infrared and X-ray extinctions. Although inverse Compton scattering could be important in explaining the hard X-rays seen in the compact sources associated with the nuclei, the observed diffuse emission is probably of thermal origin. The observed X-ray characteristics support a scenario in which the powerful X-ray emission is driven solely by the current episode of star formation.     

亮红外星系NGC 1614中多谱线示踪的致密分子气体

利用高空间分辨率的¹²CO(1-0)、¹³CO(1-0)、¹²CO(3-2)、¹²CO(6-5)、HCN(3-2)、\lk HCN(4-3)、 HCO⁺(3-2)和HCO⁺(4-3)分子谱线的ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array)归档数据, 来研究近邻亮红外星系NGC 1614的分子气体性质, 尤其是致密分子气体的性质. 在高分辨率分子气体谱线的积分强度图中, 在星系中心区域($<$ 1kpc)可以看到环状结构, 分子气体主要分布于星系中心区域, 核区分子气体含量较少. ¹²CO(1-0)显示出向南部、 北部以及东南部的延展结构, 高阶的CO ($J \ge$ 3, J为转振能级量子数)分子谱线和致密分子HCN、HCO⁺谱线显示, 较致密的分子气体主要集中于星系中心区域. HCN(4-3)/¹²CO(1-0)和HCN⁺(4-3)/¹²CO(1-0)积分强度比值图显示, 致密分子气体主要集中于中心区域的环状结构上. HCN/HCO⁺强度比值的分布变化表明星暴环的不同区域可能具有不同的激发条件. HCN/HCO⁺(4-3)强度比值分布在环的东、西部(sim0.44 pm 0.04)高于环的南、北部(sim0.35 pm 0.03). HCN/HCO⁺(3-2)强度比值较高的区域(sim0.38 pm 0.04)分布在HCN(3-2)峰值位置, 而环的西北、东南部强度比值相对较低(sim0.3 pm 0.03). 对于中心不同区域 HCN/HCO⁺比值变化的原因进行了讨论.     

基于ALMA高分辨率的多谱线数据对 NGC 1068核区中物理性质的研究

利用ALMA干涉阵望远镜(Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array)的高分辨(～0.2′′–0.7′′)的多谱线数据,包括CO (1-0)、CO (2-1)、CO (3-2)、HCN (1-0)、HCO⁺(1-0)、 HCN (3-2)、 HCO⁺(3-2)、HCN (4-3)和HCO+(4-3),并结合连续谱数据对近邻星系NGC 1068核区的物理性质进行了研究.速度积分强度图显示核周盘(CircumNuclear Disk, CND)呈现不对称的环状结构,尺度～300 pc.各分子谱线均显示, CND上的东发射结(E-knot)比西发射结(W-knot)有着更强的发射,且E-knot处表现出的分子气体的速度比W-knot更高.致密分子气体含量占比(用HCN或HCO⁺不同转动跃迁线与CO (1-0)的积分强度比值表示),以及致密分子气体比值(HCN/HCO⁺)均在CND的东部表现出更高的值,意味着CND东部和西部有着不同的物理环境或化学组成. CO ...     

The 3.4-μm absorption feature towards the nucleus of NGC 5506

We report the results of 3-μm spectroscopy towards the nucleus of a nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy, NGC 5506. A weak absorption feature of carbonaceous dust is detected at ∼3.4 μm. The optical depth ratio of the 3.4-μm carbonaceous dust absorption to the 9.7-μm silicate dust absorption is smaller by more than a factor of 2 than that in the interstellar medium in our Galaxy. The small ratio is consistent with the idea that the obscuration towards the nucleus of NGC 5506 is caused mainly by dust grains in its host galaxy (type S0/a) and that the contribution of carbonaceous dust grains to the visual extinction there is smaller than that in our Galaxy (type Sb/bc).     

RXTE observation of NGC 6240: a search for the obscured active nucleus

We present new data taken at 850 μm with SCUBA at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope for a sample of 19 luminous infrared galaxies. Fourteen galaxies were detected. We have used these data, together with fluxes at 25, 60 and 100 μm from IRAS , to model the dust emission. We find that the emission from most galaxies can be described by an optically thin, single temperature dust model with an exponent of the dust extinction coefficient ( k _λ ∝ λ ^{− β} ) of β ≃1.4–2. A lower β ≃1 is required to model the dust emission from two of the galaxies, Arp 220 and NGC 4418. We discuss various possibilities for this difference and conclude that the most likely is a high dust opacity. In addition, we compare the molecular gas mass derived from the dust emission, M _850 μm, with the molecular gas mass derived from the CO emission, M _CO, and find that M _CO is on average a factor 2–3 higher than M _850 μm.