The preferentially magnified active nucleus in IRAS F10214+4724-II. spatially resolved cold molecular gas

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 434:1 (2013) 23-37

Authors:

RP Deane, I Heywood, S Rawlings, PJ Marshall

Abstract:

We present Jansky Very Large Array observations of the cold (CO (1→0)) molecular gas in IRAS F10214+4724, a lensed ultraluminous infraRed galaxy (ULIRG) at z = 2.3 with an obscured active nucleus. The galaxy is spatially and spectrally well resolved in the CO (1→0) emission line. The total intensity and velocity maps reveal a reasonably ordered system; however, there is some evidence for minor merger activity. A CO (10) counter-image is detected at the 3σ level. Five of the 42 kms-1 channels (with >5σ detections) are mapped back into the source plane and their total magnification posterior probability distribution functions are sampled. This reveals a roughly linear arrangement, tentatively a rotating disc. We derive a molecular gas mass of Mgas = 1.2 ± 0.2 × 1010 M, assuming a ULIRG LCOto- Mgas conversion ratio of α = 0.8 M (K km s-1 pc2)-1 that agrees well with the derived range of α = 0.3-1.3M (K km s-1 pc2)-1 for separate dynamical mass estimates at assumed inclinations of i = 90°-30°. The lens modelling and CO (1→0) spectrum asymmetry suggest that there may be substantial (factor 2) preferential lensing of certain individual channels; however, the CO (1→0) spatially integrated channel flux uncertainties limit the significance of this result. Based on the AGN and CO (1→0) peak emission positions and the lens model, we predict a distortion of the CO spectral line energy distribution where higher order J lines that may be partially excited by AGN heating will be preferentially lensed owing to their smaller solid angles and closer proximity to the AGN and therefore the cusp of the caustic. Comparison with other lensing inversion results shows that the narrow-line region and AGN radio core in IRAS F10214+4724 are preferentially lensed by a factor of >3 and 11, respectively, relative to the molecular gas emission. This distorts the global continuum emission spectral energy distribution and strongly suggests caution in unsophisticated uses of IRAS F10214+4724 as an archetype high-redshift ULIRG. We explore two large velocity gradient models, incorporating spatial CO (10) and CO (32) information and present tentative evidence for an extended, low-excitation, cold gas component that implies that the total molecular gas mass in IRAS F10214+4724 is a factor of 2 greater than that calculated using spatially unresolved CO observations. © 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.

XTE J1752-223 in outburst: A persistent radio jet, dramatic flaring,multiple ejections and linear polarization

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 432:2 (2013) 931-943

Authors:

C Brocksopp, S Corbel, A Tzioumis, JW Broderick, J Rodriguez, J Yang, RP Fender, Z Paragi

Abstract:

The black hole candidate, XTE J1752-223, was discovered in 2009 October when it entered an outburst. We obtained radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array for the duration of the ~9 month event. The light curves show that the radio emission from the compact jet persisted for the duration of an extended hard state and through the transition to the intermediate state. The flux then rose rapidly by a factor of 10 and the radio source entered a series of at least seven maxima, the first of which was likely to be emission associated with the compact jet. The subsequent six flares were accompanied by variable behaviour in terms of radio spectrum, degree of linear polarization, morphology and associated X-ray behaviour. They were, however, remarkably similar in terms of the estimated minimum power required to launch such an ejection event. We compare the timing of radio peaks with the location of the ejecta, imaged by contemporaneous Very Long Baseline Interferometry experiments. We then discuss the mechanism behind the events, in terms of whether discrete ejections are the most likely description of the behaviour. One ejection, at least, appears to be travelling with apparent superluminal motion. The range of properties, however, suggests that multiple mechanisms may be relevant and that at least some of the emission is coming from shocked interactions amongst the ejecta and between the ejecta and the interstellar medium. We also compare the radio flux density with the X-ray source during the hard state and conclude that XTE J1752-223 is a radio-weak/X-ray-bright outlier on the universal correlation for black hole transient sources. © 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.

A return to strong radio flaring by Circinus X-1 observed with the Karoo Array Telescope test array KAT-7

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 433:3 (2013) 1951-1957

Authors:

RP Armstrong, RP Fender, GD Nicolson, S Ratcliffe, M Linares, J Horrell, L Richter, MPE Schurch, M Coriat, P Woudt, J Jonas, R Booth, B Fanaroff

AN EVOLVING COMPACT JET IN THE BLACK HOLE X-RAY BINARY MAXI J1836-194

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS 768:2 (2013) ARTN L35

Authors:

DM Russell, TD Russell, JCA Miller-Jones, K O'Brien, R Soria, GR Sivakoff, T Slaven-Blair, F Lewis, S Markoff, J Homan, D Altamirano, PA Curran, MP Rupen, TM Belloni, M Cadolle Bel, P Casella, S Corbel, V Dhawan, RP Fender, E Gallo, P Gandhi, S Heinz, EG Kording, HA Krimm, D Maitra, S Migliari, RA Remillard, CL Sarazin, T Shahbaz, V Tudose

Comparison of H i and optical redshifts of galaxies - the impact of redshift uncertainties on spectral line stacking

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY 433:3 (2013) 2613-2625

Authors:

Natasha Maddox, Kelley M Hess, S-L Blyth, MJ Jarvis