74 research outputs found
Four hot DOGs in the microwave
Hot dust-obscured galaxies (hot DOGs) are a rare class of hyperluminous
infrared galaxies identified with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
(WISE) satellite. The majority of them is at high redshifts (z~2-3), at the
peak epoch of star formation in the Universe. Infrared, optical, radio, and
X-ray data suggest that hot DOGs contain heavily obscured, extremely luminous
active galactic nuclei (AGN). This class may represent a short phase in the
life of the galaxies, signifying the transition from starburst- to
AGN-dominated phases. Hot DOGs are typically radio-quiet, but some of them show
mJy-level emission in the radio (microwave) band. We observed four hot DOGs
using the technique of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). The 1.7-GHz
observations with the European VLBI Network (EVN) revealed weak radio features
in all sources. The radio is free from dust obscuration and, at such high
redshifts, VLBI is sensitive only to compact structures that are characteristic
of AGN activity. In two cases (WISE J0757+5113, WISE J1603+2745), the flux
density of the VLBI-detected components is much smaller than the total flux
density, suggesting that ~70-90 per cent of the radio emission, while still
dominated by AGN, originates from angular scales larger than probed by the EVN.
The source WISE J1146+4129 appears a candidate compact symmetric object, and
WISE J1814+3412 shows a 5.1-kpc double structure, reminiscent of hot spots in a
medium-sized symmetric object. Our observations support that AGN residing in
hot DOGs may be genuine young radio sources where starburst and AGN activities
coexist.Comment: 8 pages, 4 tables, 1 figure; accepted for publication in the Monthly
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ
Constraining the parameters of the putative supermassive binary black hole in PG 1302-102 from its radio structure
We investigate the pc-scale kinematics and kpc-scale radio morphology of the
quasar PG 1302-102, which may harbour a sub-pc separation supermassive binary
black hole system at its centre as inferred from optical variability.
High-resolution radio interferometric measurements obtained with the Very Long
Baseline Array (VLBA) in the Monitoring Of Jets in Active galactic nuclei with
VLBA Experiments (MOJAVE) programme at 15 GHz at 20 epochs spanning 17 years
were analysed to investigate the pc-scale radio structure. Archival
observations with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz were obtained
to study the kpc-scale morphology. We find that the pc-scale jet is inclined
within ~2.2 deg to the line of sight and has a half-opening angle of about 0.2
deg. The parameters derived from the pc-scale radio jet are qualitatively
consistent with those obtained from the analysis of the optical light curve of
PG 1302-102. We obtain at least 0.08 for the mass ratio of the two black holes
in the system. We find some indication for a helical jet structure on
kpc-scale, but the directions of the inner and the extended radio jets are
significantly different, obstructing a straightforward connection of the pc-
and kpc-scale jets within the binary scenario.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, accepted to MNRA
A single radio-emitting nucleus in the dual AGN candidate NGC 5515
The Seyfert galaxy NGC 5515 has double-peaked narrow-line emission in its
optical spectrum, and it has been suggested that this could indicate that it
has two active nuclei. We observed the source with high resolution Very Long
Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) at two radio frequencies, reduced archival Very
Large Array data, and re-analysed its optical spectrum. We detected a single,
compact radio source at the position of NGC 5515, with no additional radio
emission in its vicinity. The optical spectrum of the source shows that the
blue and red components of the double-peaked lines have very similar
characteristics. While we cannot rule out unambiguously that NGC 5515 harbours
a dual AGN, the assumption of a single AGN provides a more plausible
explanation for the radio observations and the optical spectrum.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in MNRA
Four dual AGN candidates observed with the VLBA
According to hierarchical structure formation models, merging galaxies are
expected to be seen in different stages of their coalescence. However,
currently there are no straightforward observational methods neither to select
nor to confirm a large number of dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) candidates.
Most attempts involve the better understanding of double-peaked narrow emission
line sources, to distinguish the objects where the emission lines originate
from narrow-line kinematics or jet-driven outflows from those which might
harbour dual AGN. We observed four such candidate sources with the Very Long
Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.5 GHz with 10 milli-arcsecond angular
resolution where spectral profiles of AGN optical emission suggested the
existence of dual AGN. In SDSS J210449.13-000919.1 and SDSS J23044.82-093345.3,
the radio structures are aligned with the optical emission features, thus the
double-peaked emission lines might be the results of jet-driven outflows. In
the third detected source SDSS J115523.74+150756.9, the radio structure is less
extended and oriented nearly perpendicular to the position angle derived from
optical spectroscopy. The fourth source remained undetected with the VLBA but
it has been imaged with the Very Large Array at arcsec resolution a few months
before our observations, suggesting the existence of extended radio structure.
In none of the four sources did we detect two radio-emitting cores, a
convincing signature of duality.Comment: 35 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Ap
Signatures of a spinning supermassive black hole binary on the mas-scale jet of the quasar S5 1928+738 based on 25 years of VLBI data
In a previous work, we have identified the spin of the dominant black hole of
a binary from its jet properties. Analysing Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
observations of the quasar S5~1928+738, taken at -GHz during epochs
between and , we showed that the inclination angle variation
of the inner (~mas) jet symmetry axis naturally decomposes into a periodic
and a monotonic contribution. The former emerges due to the Keplerian orbital
evolution, while the latter is interpreted as the signature of the spin-orbit
precession of the jet emitting black hole. In this paper, we revisit the
analysis of the quasar S5~1928+738 by including new -GHz VLBA observations
extending over additional epochs, between and . The
extended data set confirms our previous findings which are further supported by
the flux density variation of the jet. By applying an enhanced jet precession
model that can handle arbitrary spin orientations with respect to the
orbital angular momentum of a binary supermassive black hole system, we
estimate the binary mass ratio as for (i.e. when
the spin direction is perpendicular to the orbital plane) and as
for (i.e. when the spin lies in the orbital
plane). We estimate more precisely the spin precession velocity, halving its
uncertainty from to
.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 7 tables. Accepted to appear in MNRA
Mid-infared Light Curve and High-resolution Radio Structure of the Candidate Neutrino Source GB6 J1040+0617
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