The Mrk 231 molecular outflow as seen in OH

Astronomy and Astrophysics 561 (2014)

Authors:

E González-Alfonso, J Fischer, J Graciá-Carpio, N Falstad, E Sturm, M Meléndez, HWW Spoon, A Verma, RI Davies, D Lutz, S Aalto, E Polisensky, A Poglitsch, S Veilleux, A Contursi

Abstract:

We report on the Herschel/PACS observations of OH in Mrk 231, with detections in nine doublets observed within the PACS range, and present radiative-transfer models for the outflowing OH. Clear signatures of outflowing gas are found in up to six OH doublets with different excitation requirements. At least two outflowing components are identified, one with OH radiatively excited, and the other with low excitation, presumably spatially extended and roughly spherical. Particularly prominent, the blue wing of the absorption detected in the in-ladder 2Π3/2J= 9/2 - 7/2 OH doublet at 65 μm, with Elower = 290 K, indicates that the excited outflowing gas is generated in a compact and warm (circum)nuclear region. Because the excited, outflowing OH gas in Mrk 231 is associated with the warm, far-infrared continuum source, it is most likely more compact (diameter of ~200-300 pc) than that probed by CO and HCN. Nevertheless, its mass-outflow rate per unit of solid angle as inferred from OH is similar to that previously derived from CO, ≥ 70 × (2.5 × 10-6/XOH) M yr-1 sr-1, where XOH is the OH abundance relative to H nuclei. In spherical symmetry, this would correspond to ≥850 × (2.5 × 10-6/XOH) M yr-1, though significant collimation is inferred from the line profiles. The momentum flux of the excited component attains ~15 LAGN/c, with an OH column density of (1.5-3) × 1017 cm-2 and a mechanical luminosity of ~1011L. In addition, the detection of very excited, radiatively pumped OH peaking at central velocities indicates the presence of a nuclear reservoir of gas rich in OH, plausibly the 130 pc scale circumnuclear torus previously detected in OH megamaser emission, that may be feeding the outflow. An exceptional 18OH enhancement, with OH/18OH ≤ 30 at both central and blueshifted velocities, is most likely the result of interstellar-medium processing by recent starburst and supernova activity within the circumnuclear torus or thick disk. © ESO, 2013.

The SKA view of the interplay between SF and AGN Activity, and its role in Galaxy evolution

Proceedings of Science 9-13-June-2014 (2014)

Authors:

K Mcalpine, I Prandoni, M Jarvis, N Seymour, P Padovani, P Best, C Simpson, D Guidetti, E Murphy, M Huynh, M Vaccari, S White, R Beswick, J Afonso, M Magliocchetti, M Bondi

Abstract:

It has become apparent that active galactic nuclei (AGN) may have a significant impact on the growth and evolution of their host galaxies and vice versa but a detailed understanding of the interplay between these processes remains elusive. Deep radio surveys provide a powerful, obscuration-independent tool for measuring both star formation and AGN activity in highredshift galaxies. Multiwavelength studies of deep radio fields show a composite population of star-forming galaxies and AGN, with the former dominating at the lowest flux densities (S1:4GHz <100 mJy). The sensitivity and resolution of the SKA will allow us to identify, and separately trace, the total star formation in the bulges of individual high-redshift galaxies, the related nuclear activity and any star formation occurring on larger scales within a disc. We will therefore gain a detailed picture of the apparently simultaneous development of stellar populations and black holes in the redshift range where both star-formation and AGN activity peak (1z4). In this chapter we discuss the role of the SKA in studying the connection between AGN activity and galaxy evolution, and the most critical technical requirements for such of studies.

The astrophysics of star formation across cosmic time at &10 GHz with the square kilometre array

Proceedings of Science 9-13-June-2014 (2014)

Authors:

EJ Murphy, MT Sargent, RJ Beswick, C Dickinson, I Heywood, LK Hunt, MT Hyunh, M Jarvis, A Karim, M Krause, I Prandoni, N Seymour, E Schinnerer, FS Tabatabaei, J Wagg

Abstract:

In this chapter, we highlight a number of science investigations that are enabled by the inclusion of Band 5 (4:613:8 GHz) for SKA1-MID science operations, while focusing on the astrophysics of star formation over cosmic time. For studying the detailed astrophysics of star formation at highredshift, surveys at frequencies &10 GHz have the distinct advantage over traditional ∼1.4 GHz surveys as they are able to yield higher angular resolution imaging while probing higher rest frame frequencies of galaxies with increasing redshift, where emission of star-forming galaxies becomes dominated by thermal (free-free) radiation. In doing so, surveys carried out at &10 GHz provide a robust, dust-unbiased measurement of the massive star formation rate by being highly sensitive to the number of ionizing photons that are produced. To access this powerful star formation rate diagnostic requires that Band 5 be available for SKA1-MID. We additionally present a detailed science case for frequency coverage extending up to 30 GHz during full SKA2 operations, as this allows for highly diverse science while additionally providing contiguous frequency coverage between the SKA and ALMA, which will likely be the two most powerful interferometers for the coming decades. To enable this synergy, it is crucial that the dish design of the SKA be flexible enough to include the possibility of being fit with receivers operating up to 30 GHz.

The differential production cross section of the φ(1020) meson in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions measured with the ATLAS detector

European Physical Journal C 74:7 (2014)

Authors:

G Aad, T Abajyan, B Abbott, J Abdallah, S Abdel Khalek, AA Abdelalim, O Abdinov, R Aben, B Abi, M Abolins, OS AbouZeid, H Abramowicz, H Abreu, BS Acharya, BS Acharya, L Adamczyk, DL Adams, TN Addy, J Adelman, S Adomeit, P Adragna, T Adye, S Aefsky, JA Aguilar-Saavedra, JA Aguilar-Saavedra, M Agustoni, M Aharrouche, SP Ahlen, F Ahles, A Ahmad, M Ahsan, G Aielli, G Aielli, TPA Åkesson, G Akimoto, AV Akimov, MS Alam, MA Alam, J Albert, S Albrand, M Aleksa, IN Aleksandrov, F Alessandria, C Alexa, G Alexander, G Alexandre, T Alexopoulos, M Alhroob, M Alhroob, M Aliev, G Alimonti, J Alison, BMM Allbrooke, PP Allport, SE Allwood-Spiers, J Almond, A Aloisio, A Aloisio, R Alon, A Alonso, F Alonso, A Altheimer, B Alvarez Gonzalez, MG Alviggi, MG Alviggi, K Amako, C Amelung, VV Ammosov, SP Amor Dos Santos, A Amorim, A Amorim, N Amram, C Anastopoulos, LS Ancu, N Andari, T Andeen, CF Anders, G Anders, KJ Anderson, A Andreazza, A Andreazza, V Andrei, ML Andrieux, XS Anduaga, S Angelidakis, P Anger, A Angerami, F Anghinolfi, A Anisenkov, N Anjos, A Annovi, A Antonaki, M Antonelli, A Antonov, J Antos, F Anulli, M Aoki, S Aoun, L Aperio Bella, R Apolle

Abstract:

© CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration. Ameasurement is presented of the φ×BR(φ → K+K) production cross section at √s = 7 TeV using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 383 μb-1, collected with theATLAS experiment at the LHC. Selection of φ(1020) mesons is based on the identification of charged kaons by their energy loss in the pixel detector. The differential cross section ismeasured as a function of the transverse momentum, pT,φ , and rapidity, yφ, of the φ(1020) meson in the fiducial region 500< pT,φ <1200MeV, |yφ| < 0.8, kaon pT,K > 230 MeV and kaon momentum pK < 800 MeV. The integrated φ(1020)-meson production cross section in this fiducial range is measured to be σφ×BR(φ → K+K) = 570 ± 8 (stat) ± 66 (syst) ± 20 (lumi) μb.

The evolving polarized jet of black hole candidate swift J1745-26

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 437:4 (2014) 3265-3273

Authors:

PA Curran, M Coriat, JCA Miller-Jones, RP Armstrong, PG Edwards, GR Sivakoff, P Woudt, D Altamirano, TM Belloni, S Corbel, RP Fender, EG K̈ording, HA Krimm, S Markoff, S Migliari, DM Russell, J Stevens, T Tzioumis

Abstract:

Swift J1745-26 is an X-ray binary towards the Galactic Centre that was detected when it went into outburst in 2012 September. This source is thought to be one of a growing number of sources that display 'failed outbursts', in which the self-absorbed radio jets of the transient source are never fully quenched and the thermal emission from the geometrically thin inner accretion disc never fully dominates the X-ray flux. We present multifrequency data from the Very Large Array, Australia Telescope Compact Array and Karoo Array Telescope (KAT- 7) radio arrays, spanning the entire period of the outburst. Our rich data set exposes radio emission that displays a high level of large-scale variability compared to the X-ray emission and deviations from the standard radio-X-ray correlation that are indicative of an unstable jet and confirm the outburst's transition from the canonical hard state to an intermediate state. We also observe steepening of the spectral index and an increase of the linear polarization to a large fraction (50 per cent) of the total flux, as well as a rotation of the electric vector position angle. These are consistent with a transformation from a self-absorbed compact jet to optically thin ejecta - the first time such a discrete ejection has been observed in a failed outburst - and may imply a complex magnetic field geometry. © 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.