A method for the microlensed flux variance of QSOs

A fast and practical method is described for calculating the microlensed flux variance of an arbitrary source by uncorrelated stars. The required inputs are the mean convergence and shear due to the smoothed potential of the lensing galaxy, the stellar mass function, and the absolute square of the Fourier transform of the surface brightness in the source plane. The mathematical approach follows previous authors but has been generalized, streamlined, and implemented in publicly available code. Examples of its application are given for Dexter and Agol's inhomogeneous-disk models as well as the usual gaussian sources. Since the quantity calculated is a second moment of the magnification, it is only logarithmically sensitive to the sizes of very compact sources. However, for the inferred sizes of actual QSOs, it has some discriminatory power and may lend itself to simple statistical tests. At the very least, it should be useful for testing the convergence of microlensing simulations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Sizes and Kinematics of Extended Narrow-Line Regions in Luminous Obscured AGN Selected by Broadband Images

To study the impact of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback on the galactic ISM, we present Magellan long-slit spectroscopy of 12 luminous nearby type 2 AGN (L_bol~10^{45.0-46.5} erg/s, z~0.1). These objects are selected from a parent sample of spectroscopically identified AGN to have high [OIII]{\lambda}5007 and WISE mid-IR luminosities and extended emission in the SDSS r-band images, suggesting the presence of extended [OIII]{\lambda}5007 emission. We find spatially resolved [OIII] emission (2-35 kpc from the nucleus) in 8 out of 12 of these objects. Combined with samples of higher luminosity type 2 AGN, we confirm that the size of the narrow-line region (R_NLR) scales with the mid-IR luminosity until the relation flattens at ~10 kpc. Nine out of 12 objects in our sample have regions with broad [OIII] linewidths (w_80>600 km/s), indicating outflows. We define these regions as the kinematically-disturbed region (KDR). The size of the KDR (R_KDR) is typically smaller than R_NLR by few kpc but also correlates strongly with the AGN mid-IR luminosity. Given the unknown density in the gas, we derive a wide range in the energy efficiency {\eta}=dot{E}/L_bol=0.01%-30%. We find no evidence for an AGN luminosity threshold below which outflows are not launched. To explain the sizes, velocity profiles, and high occurrence rates of the outflows in the most luminous AGN, we propose a scenario in which energy-conserving outflows are driven by AGN episodes with ~10^8-year durations. Within each episode the AGN flickers on shorter timescales, with a cadence of ~10^6 year active phases separated by ~10^7 years.Comment: 32 pages, 21 figures, ApJ in revie

ALMA Observations of a Candidate Molecular Outflow in an Obscured Quasar

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO (1-0) and CO (3-2) observations of SDSS J135646.10+102609.0, an obscured quasar and ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) with two merging nuclei and a known 20-kpc-scale ionized outflow. The total molecular gas mass is M_{mol} ~ 9^{+19}_{-6} x 10^8 Msun, mostly distributed in a compact rotating disk at the primary nucleus (M_{mol} ~ 3 x 10^8 Msun) and an extended tidal arm (M_{mol} ~ 5 x 10^8 Msun). The tidal arm is one of the most massive molecular tidal features known; we suggest that it is due to the lower chance of shock dissociation in this elliptical/disk galaxy merger. In the spatially resolved CO (3-2) data, we find a compact (r ~ 0.3 kpc) high velocity (v ~ 500 km/s) red-shifted feature in addition to the rotation at the N nucleus. We propose a molecular outflow as the most likely explanation for the high velocity gas. The outflowing mass of M_{mol} ~ 7 x 10^7 Msun and the short dynamical time of t_{dyn} ~ 0.6 Myr yield a very high outflow rate of \dot{M}_{mol} ~ 350 Msun/yr and can deplete the gas in a million years. We find a low star formation rate (< 16 Msun/yr from the molecular content and < 21 Msun/yr from the far-infrared spectral energy distribution decomposition) that is inadequate to supply the kinetic luminosity of the outflow (\dot{E} ~ 3 x 10^43 erg/s). Therefore, the active galactic nucleus, with a bolometric luminosity of 10^46 erg/s, likely powers the outflow. The momentum boost rate of the outflow (\dot{p}/(Lbol/c) ~ 3) is lower than typical molecular outflows associated with AGN, which may be related to its compactness. The molecular and ionized outflows are likely two distinct bursts induced by episodic AGN activity that varies on a time scale of 10^7 yr.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, ApJ accepte

Extended X-ray Emission From a Quasar-Driven Superbubble

We present observations of extended, 20-kpc scale soft X-ray gas around a luminous obscured quasar hosted by an ultra-luminous infrared galaxy caught in the midst of a major merger. The extended X-ray emission is well fit as a thermal gas with a temperature of kT ~ 280 eV and a luminosity of L_X ~ 10^42 erg/s and is spatially coincident with a known ionized gas outflow. Based on the X-ray luminosity, a factor of ~10 fainter than the [OIII] emission, we conclude that the X-ray emission is either dominated by photoionization, or by shocked emission from cloud surfaces in a hot quasar-driven wind.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 6 pages, 2 figure

Refining the M_BH-V_c scaling relation with HI rotation curves of water megamaser galaxies

Black hole - galaxy scaling relations provide information about the coevolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. We compare the black hole mass - circular velocity (MBH - Vc) relation with the black hole mass - bulge stellar velocity dispersion (MBH - sigma) relation, to see whether the scaling relations can passively emerge from a large number of mergers, or require a physical mechanism, such as feedback from an active nucleus. We present VLA H I observations of five galaxies, including three water megamaser galaxies, to measure the circular velocity. Using twenty-two galaxies with dynamical MBH measurements and Vc measurements extending to large radius, our best-fit MBH - Vc relation, log MBH = alpha + beta log(Vc /200 km s^-1), yields alpha = 7.43+/-0.13, beta = 3.68+1.23/-1.20, and intrinsic scatter epsilon_int = 0.51+0.11/-0.09. The intrinsic scatter may well be higher than 0.51, as we take great care to ascribe conservatively large observational errors. We find comparable scatter in the MBH - sigma relations, epsilon_int = 0.48+0.10/-0.08, while pure merging scenarios would likely result in a tighter scaling with the dark halo (as traced by Vc) than baryonic (sigma) properties. Instead, feedback from the active nucleus may act on bulge scales to tighten the MBH - sigma relation with respect to the MBH - Vc relation, as observed.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, ApJ accepte

Ionized gas outflows in infrared-bright dust-obscured galaxies selected with WISE and SDSS

We present the ionized gas properties of infrared (IR)-bright dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) that show an extreme optical/IR color, $(i - [22])_{\rm AB} > 7.0$, selected with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). For 36 IR-bright DOGs that show [OIII]$\lambda$5007 emission in the SDSS spectra, we performed a detailed spectral analysis to investigate their ionized gas properties. In particular, we measured the velocity offset (the velocity with respect to the systemic velocity measured from the stellar absorption lines) and the velocity dispersion of the [OIII] line. We found that the derived velocity offset and dispersion of most IR-bright DOGs are larger than those of Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s) at $z < 0.3$, meaning that the IR-bright DOGs show relatively strong outflows compared to Sy2s. This can be explained by the difference of IR luminosity contributed from active galactic nucleus, $L_{\rm IR}$ (AGN), because we found that (i) $L_{\rm IR}$ (AGN) correlates with the velocity offset and dispersion of [OIII] and (ii) our IR-bright DOGs sample has larger $L_{\rm IR}$ (AGN) than Sy2s. Nevertheless, the fact that about 75% IR-bright DOGs have a large ($>$ 300 km s$^{-1}$) velocity dispersion, which is a larger fraction compared to other AGN populations, suggests that IR-bright DOGs are good laboratories to investigate AGN feedback. The velocity offset and dispersion of [OIII] and [NeIII]$\lambda$3869 are larger than those of [OII]$\lambda$3727, which indicates that the highly ionized gas tends to show more stronger outflows.Comment: 19 pages, 16 figures, and 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap

Morphology of AGN Emission Line Regions in SDSS-IV MaNGA Survey

Extended narrow-line regions (NLRs) around active galactic nuclei (AGN) are shaped by the distribution of gas in the host galaxy and by the geometry of the circumnuclear obscuration, and thus they can be used to test the AGN unification model. In this work, we quantify the morphologies of the narrow-line regions in 308 nearby AGNs ($z=0-0.14$, \lbol $\sim 10^{42.4-44.1}$ \erg{}) from the MaNGA survey. Based on the narrow-line region maps, we find that a large fraction (81\%) of these AGN have bi-conical NLR morphology. The distribution of their measured opening angles suggests that the intrinsic opening angles of the ionization cones has a mean value of 85--98$^\circ$ with a finite spread of 39-44$^\circ$ (1-$\sigma$). Our inferred opening angle distribution implies a number ratio of type I to type II AGN of 1:1.6--2.3, consistent with other measurements of the type I / type II ratio at low AGN luminosities. Combining these measurements with the WISE photometry data, we find that redder mid-IR color (lower effective temperature of dust) corresponds to stronger and narrower photo-ionized bicones. This relation is in agreement with the unification model that suggests that the bi-conical narrow-line regions are shaped by a toroidal dusty structure within a few pc from the AGN. Furthermore, we find a significant alignment between the minor axis of host galaxy disks and AGN ionization cones. Together, these findings suggest that obscuration on both circumnuclear ($\sim$pc) and galactic ($\sim$ kpc) scales are important in shaping and orienting the AGN narrow-line regions.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, and 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRA

Joint Device-Edge Digital Semantic Communication with Adaptive Network Split and Learned Non-Linear Quantization

Semantic communication, an intelligent communication paradigm that aims to transmit useful information in the semantic domain, is facilitated by deep learning techniques. Although robust semantic features can be learned and transmitted in an analog fashion, it poses new challenges to hardware, protocol, and encryption. In this paper, we propose a digital semantic communication system, which consists of an encoding network deployed on a resource-limited device and a decoding network deployed at the edge. To acquire better semantic representation for digital transmission, a novel non-linear quantization module is proposed with the trainable quantization levels that efficiently quantifies semantic features. Additionally, structured pruning by a sparse scaling vector is incorporated to reduce the dimension of the transmitted features. We also introduce a semantic learning loss (SLL) function to reduce semantic error. To adapt to various channel conditions and inputs under constraints of communication and computing resources, a policy network is designed to adaptively choose the split point and the dimension of the transmitted semantic features. Experiments using the CIFAR-10 dataset for image classification are employed to evaluate the proposed digital semantic communication network, and ablation studies are conducted to assess the proposed modules including the quantization module, structured pruning and SLL