Galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract:

Over the past decade, observations of relativistic outflows from outbursting X-ray binaries in the Galactic field have grown significantly. In this work, we present the first detection of moving and decelerating radio-emitting outflows from an X-ray binary in a globular cluster. MAXI J1848−015 is a recently discovered transient X-ray binary in the direction of the globular cluster GLIMPSE-C01. Using observations from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, and a monitoring campaign with the MeerKAT observatory for 500 days, we model the motion of the outflows. This represents some of the most intensive, long-term coverage of relativistically moving X-ray binary outflows to date. We use the proper motions of the outflows from MAXI J1848−015 to constrain the component of the intrinsic jet speed along the line of sight, β int cos θ ejection , to be =0.19 ± 0.02. Assuming it is located in GLIMPSE-C01, at 3.4 kpc, we determine the intrinsic jet speed, β int = 0.79 ± 0.07, and the inclination angle to the line of sight, θ ejection = 76° ± 2°. This makes the outflows from MAXI J1848−015 somewhat slower than those seen from many other known X-ray binaries. We also constrain the maximum distance to MAXI J1848−015 to be 4.3 kpc. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the nature of the compact object in this system, finding that a black hole primary is a viable (but as-of-yet unconfirmed) explanation for the observed properties of MAXI J1848−015. If future data and/or analysis provide more conclusive evidence that MAXI J1848−015 indeed hosts a black hole, it would be the first black hole X-ray binary in outburst identified in a Galactic globular cluster.

Abstract:

The radio jets of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) can heat up the gas around a host galaxy and quench star formation activity. The presence of a radio jet could be related to the evolutionary path of the host galaxy and may be imprinted in the morphology and kinematics of the galaxy. In this work, we use data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey’s Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory survey and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Two-Metre Sky Survey as well as the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) Sky Survey and the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeter survey. We combine these integral field spectroscopic data and radio data to study the link between stellar kinematics and radio AGNs. We find that the luminosity-weighted stellar angular momentum λ_Re is tightly related to the range of radio luminosity and the fraction of radio AGNs F_radio present in galaxies, as high-luminosity radio AGNs are only in galaxies with a small λ_Re, and the F_radio at a fixed stellar mass decreases with λ_Re. These results indicate that galaxies with stronger random stellar motions with respect to the ordered motions might be better breeding grounds for powerful radio AGNs. This would also imply that the merger events of galaxies are important in the triggering of powerful radio jets in our sample.

Abstract:

Strong-lensing time delays enable the measurement of the Hubble constant (H₀) independently of other traditional methods. The main limitation to the precision of time-delay cosmography is mass-sheet degeneracy (MSD). Some of the previous TDCOSMO analyses broke the MSD by making standard assumptions about the mass density profile of the lens galaxy, reaching 2% precision from seven lenses. However, this approach could potentially bias the H₀ measurement or underestimate the errors. For this work, we broke the MSD for the first time using spatially resolved kinematics of the lens galaxy in RXJ1131−1231 obtained from the Keck Cosmic Web Imager spectroscopy, in combination with previously published time delay and lens models derived from Hubble Space Telescope imaging. This approach allowed us to robustly estimate H₀, effectively implementing a maximally flexible mass model. Following a blind analysis, we estimated the angular diameter distance to the lens galaxy D_d = 865₋₈₁⁺⁸⁵ Mpc and the time-delay distance D_Δt = 2180₋₂₇₁⁺⁴⁷² Mpc, giving H₀ = 77.1_−7.1^+7.3 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹ – for a flat Λ cold dark matter cosmology. The error budget accounts for all uncertainties, including the MSD inherent to the lens mass profile and line-of-sight effects, and those related to the mass–anisotropy degeneracy and projection effects. Our new measurement is in excellent agreement with those obtained in the past using standard simply parametrized mass profiles for this single system (H₀ = 78.3_−3.3^+3.4 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹) and for seven lenses (H₀ = 74.2_−1.6^+1.6 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹), or for seven lenses using single-aperture kinematics and the same maximally flexible models used by us (H₀ = 73.3_−5.8^+5.8 km s⁻¹ Mpc⁻¹). This agreement corroborates the methodology of time-delay cosmography.