Pulsars, transients and relativistic astrophysics

Abstract:

NGC 5128 (also known as Centaurus A) is the most nearby powerful AGN, widely studied at all wavelengths. Molecular gas has been found in the halo at a distance of ~ 20 kpc from the galaxy center, associated with H I shells, through CO line detection at SEST (Charmandaris et al. 2000, A&A, 356, L1). The molecular gas lies inside some IR and UV bright star-forming filaments that have recently been observed in the direction of the radio jets. These archival data from GALEX (FUV) and Herschel (IR) show that there is dust and very weak star formation (a few 10-5−10-4M⊙ yr-1) on scales of hundreds of parsecs. NGC 5128 is thus a perfect target for detailed studies of the star formation processes at the interface of the jet/gas interaction. On top of analysing combined archival data, we have performed searches of HCN(1–0) and HCO+(1–0) emission with ATCA at the interaction of the northern filaments and the northern H I shell of Centaurus A. Measuring the dense gas is another indicator of star formation efficiency inside the filaments. However, we only derived upper limits L′HCN < 1.6×103 K km s-1 pc2 and L′HCO < 1.6×103 K km s-1 pc2 at 3σ in the synthesised beam of 3.1′′. Compared with the CO luminosity, this lead to a dense-to-molecular gas fraction < 23%. We also compared the CO masses with the star formation rate estimates in order to measure a star formation efficiency. Using a standard conversion factor leads to long depletion times (7 Gyr). We then corrected the mass estimates from metallicity effect by using gas-to-dust mass ratio as a proxy. From MUSE data, we estimated the metallicity spread (0.4−0.8Z⊙) in an other region of the filament, that corresponds to gas-to-dust ratios of ~200−400. Assuming the same metallicity range in the CO-detected part of the filament, the CO/H2 conversion ratio is corrected for low metallicity by a factor between 1.4 and 3.2. Such a low-metallicity correction leads to even more massive clouds with higher depletion times (16 Gyr). We finally present ALMA observations that detect 3 unresolved CO(2−1) clumps of size < 37 × 21 pc and masses around 104M⊙. The velocity width of the CO emission line is ~ 10 km s-1, leading to a rather high virial parameter. This is a hint of a turbulent gas probably powered by kinetic energy injection from the AGN jet/wind and leading to molecular gas reservoir not forming star efficiently. This work shows the importance of high resolution data analysis to bring a new light on the local processes of AGN/jet feedback likely negative (quenching star formation) in the case of Cen A filaments.

Abstract:

We examine deep Chandra X-ray observations of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies, Abell 3526. Applying a gradient magnitude filter reveals a wealth of structure, from filamentary soft emission on 100 pc (0.5 arcsec) scales close to the nucleus to features 10 s of kpc in size at larger radii. The cluster contains multiple high-metallicity regions with sharp edges. Relative to an azimuthal average, the deviations of metallicity and surface brightness are correlated, and the temperature is inversely correlated, as expected if the larger scale asymmetries in the cluster are dominated by sloshing motions. Around the western cold front are a series of ∼7 kpc ‘notches’, suggestive of Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities. The cold front width varies from 4 kpc down to close to the electron mean free path. Inside the front are multiple metallicity blobs on scales of 5–10 kpc, which could have been uplifted by AGN activity, also explaining the central metallicity drop and flat inner metallicity profile. Close to the nucleus are multiple shocks, including a 1.9-kpc-radius inner shell-like structure and a weak 1.1–1.4 Mach number shock around the central cavities. Within a 10 kpc radius are nine depressions in surface brightness, several of which appear to be associated with radio emission. The shocks and cavities imply that the nucleus has been repeatedly active on 5–10 Myr time-scales, indicating a tight balance between heating and cooling. We confirm the presence of a series of linear quasi-periodic structures. If they are sound waves, the ∼5 kpc spacing implies a period of 6 Myr, similar to the ages of the shocks and cavities. Alternatively, these structures may be Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities, their associated turbulence or amplified magnetic field layers.

Abstract:

© Copyright owned by the author(s). We discuss the ground-breaking science that will be possible with a wide area survey, using the MeerKAT telescope, known as MeerKLASS (MeerKAT Large Area Synoptic Survey). The current specifications of MeerKAT make it a great fit for cosmological applications, which require large volumes. In particular, a large survey over ∼ 4,000deg2for ∼ 4,000 hours will potentially provide the first ever measurements of the baryon acoustic oscillations using the 21cm intensity mapping technique, with enough accuracy to impose constraints on the nature of dark energy. The combination with multi-wavelength data will give unique additional information, such as the first constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity using the multi-tracer technique, as well as a better handle on foregrounds and systematics. The survey will also produce a large continuum galaxy sample down to a depth of 5 µJy in L-band, unmatched by any other concurrent telescope, which will allow to study the large-scale structure of the Universe out to high redshifts. Finally, the same survey will supply unique information for a range of other science applications, including a large statistical investigation of galaxy clusters, and the discovery of rare high-redshift AGN that can be used to probe the epoch of reionization as well as produce a rotation measure map across a huge swathe of the sky. The MeerKLASS survey will be a crucial step on the road to using SKA1-MID for cosmological applications, as described in the top priority SKA key science projects.