Time Variation of Fine-Structure Constant Constrained by [O III] Emission-Lines at 1.1<z<3.7

[O III]$\lambda\lambda$4960,5008 doublet are often the strongest narrow emission lines in starburst galaxies and quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), and thus are a promising probe to possible variation of the fine-structure constant $\alpha$ over cosmic time. Previous such studies using QSOs optical spectra were limited to $z<1$. In this work, we constructed a sample of 40 spectra of Ly$\alpha$ emitting galaxies (LAEs) and a sample of 46 spectra of QSOs at $1.09<z<3.73$ using the VLT/X-Shooter near-infrared spectra publicly available. We measured the wavelength ratios of the two components of the spin-orbit doublet and accordingly calculated $\alpha(z)$ using two methods. Analysis on all of the 86 spectra yielded $\Delta\alpha/\alpha=(-3\pm6)\times10^{-5}$ with respect to the laboratory $\alpha$ measurements, consistent with no variation over the explored time interval. If assuming a uniform variation rate, we obtained $\alpha^{-1}{\rm d}\alpha/{\rm d}t = (-3\pm6)\times10^{-15}$ yr$^{-1}$ within the last 12 Gyrs. Extensive tests indicate that $\alpha$ variation could be better constrained using starburst galaxies' spectra than using QSO spectra in future studies.Comment: 24 pages, 22 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Discovery of An Active Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Candidate in the Barred Bulgeless Galaxy NGC 3319

We report the discovery of an active intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) candidate in the center of nearby barred bulgeless galaxy $\rm NGC~3319$. The point X-ray source revealed by archival Chandra and XMM-Newton observations is spatially coincident with the optical and UV galactic nuclei from Hubble Space Telescope observations. The spectral energy distribution derived from the unresolved X-ray and UV-optical flux is comparable with active galactic nuclei (AGNs) rather than ultra-luminous X-ray sources, although its bolometric luminosity is only $3.6\times10^{40}~\rm erg~s^{-1}$. Assuming an Eddington ratio range between 0.001 and 1, the black hole mass (M_\rm{BH}) will be located at $3\times10^2-3\times10^5~M_{\odot}$, placing it in the so-called IMBH regime and could be the one of the lowest reported so far. Estimates from other approaches (e.g., fundamental plane, X-ray variability) also suggest M_\rm{BH}\lesssim10^5~M_{\odot}.Similar to other BHs in bulgeless galaxies, the discovered IMBH resides in a nuclear star cluster with mass of $\sim6\times10^6~M_{\odot}$. The detection of such a low-mass BH offers us an ideal chance to study the formation and early growth of SMBH seeds, which may result from the bar-driven inflow in late-type galaxies with a prominent bar such as $\rm NGC~3319$.Comment: ApJ accepted, 2 tables, 6 figure

SDSS J163459.82+204936.0: A Ringed Infrared-Luminous Quasar with Outflows in both Absorption and Emission Lines

SDSS J1634+2049 is a local (z = 0.1293) infrared-luminous quasar with LIR= 10^11.91 Lsun. We present a detailed multiwavelength study of both the host galaxy and the nucleus. The host galaxy demonstrates violent, obscured star formation activities with SFR ~ 140 Msun yr^-1, estimated from either the PAH emission or IR luminosity. The optical to NIR spectra exhibit a blueshifted narrow cuspy component in Hb, HeI5876,10830 and other emission lines consistently with an offset velocity of ~900 km/s, as well as additional blueshifting phenomena in high-ionization lines , while there exist blueshifted broad absorption lines (BALs) in NaID and HeI*3889,10830, indicative of the AGN outflows producing BALs and emission lines. Constrained mutually by the several BALs with CLOUDY, the physical properties of the absorption-line outflow are derived as follows: 10^4 < n_H <= 10^5 cm^-3, 10^-1.3 <= U <= 10^-0.7 and 10^22.5<= N_H <= 10^22.9 cm^-2 , similar to those derived for the emission-line outflows. The similarity suggests a common origin. Taking advantages of both the absorption lines and outflowing emission lines, we find that the outflow gas is located at a distance of 48 - 65 pc from the nucleus, and that the kinetic luminosity of the outflow is 10^44-10^46 erg s^-1. J1634+2049 has a off-centered galactic ring on the scale of ~ 30 kpc that is proved to be formed by a recent head-on collision by a nearby galaxy. Thus this quasar is a valuable object in the transitional phase emerging out of dust enshrouding as depicted by the co-evolution scenario.Comment: 13 figures, 6 tables; accepted for publication in Ap

PHOTOMETRIC OBSERVATION OF 3024 HAINAN, 3920 AUBIGNAN, AND 5951 ALICEMONET

Three minor planets were measured photometrically between 2012 September 4 and 21 using the SARA (Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy) South telescope, located in Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The following synodic periods were found: 3024 Hainan, P = 11.785 ± 0.005 h; 3920 Aubignan, P = 4.4762 ± 0.0005 h; and 5951 Alicemonet, P = 3.8871 ± 0.0005 h