298 research outputs found
Molecular gas in QSO host galaxies
We present the results of a survey for CO line emission from a sample of
nearby QSO hosts taken from the Hamburg/ESO survey (HES) and the Veron-Cetty
and Veron quasar catalogue. From a total of 39 observed sources we clearly
detected 5 objects with >10sigma signals (HE 0108-4743, HE 0224-2834,
J035818.7-612407, HE 1029-1831, HE 2211-3903). Further 6 sources show marginal
detections on the 2sigma level.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, submitted to "QSO Hosts: Evolution and
Environment", P.D. Barthel, D.B. Sanders, eds., August 2005, Leiden
University (The Netherlands), New Astr. Re
VLTI observations of IRS~3: The brightest compact MIR source at the Galactic Centre
The dust enshrouded star IRS~3 in the central light year of our galaxy was
partially resolved in a recent VLTI experiment. The presented observation is
the first step in investigating both IRS~3 in particular and the stellar
population of the Galactic Centre in general with the VLTI at highest angular
resolution. We will outline which scientific issues can be addressed by a
complete MIDI dataset on IRS~3 in the mid infrared.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, published in: The ESO Messenge
NIR Observations of the QSO 3C 48 Host Galaxy
In this paper we present new near infrared (NIR) imaging and spectroscopic
data of the quasar 3C 48 and its host galaxy. The data were obtained with the
ESO-VLT camera ISAAC.We report the first detection of the apparent second
nucleus 3C 48A about 100NE of the bright QSO nucleus in the NIR bands J, H, and
Ks. 3C 48A is highly reddened with respect to the host, which could be due to
warm dust, heated by enhanced star formation or by interstellar material
intercepting the radio jet. In fact, all colors on the host galaxy are reddened
by several magnitudes of visual extinction. Imaging and initial spectroscopy
also reveal a stellar content of about 30% to the overall QSO-light in the NIR.
These results are important input parameters for future models of the stellar
populations by taking extinction into account.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted by A&
The Galactic centre mini-spiral in the mm-regime
The mini-spiral is a feature of the interstellar medium in the central ~2 pc
of the Galactic center. It is composed of several streamers of dust and ionised
and atomic gas with temperatures between a few 100 K to 10^4 K. There is
evidence that these streamers are related to the so-called circumnuclear disk
of molecular gas and are ionized by photons from massive, hot stars in the
central parsec. We attempt to constrain the emission mechanisms and physical
properties of the ionized gas and dust of the mini-spiral region with the help
of our multiwavelength data sets. Our observations were carried out at 1.3 mm
and 3 mm with the mm interferometric array CARMA in California in March and
April 2009, with the MIR instrument VISIR at ESO's VLT in June 2006, and the
NIR Br-gamma with VLT NACO in August 2009. We present high resolution maps of
the mini-spiral, and obtain a spectral index of 0.5 for Sgr A*, indicating an
inverted synchrotron spectrum. We find electron densities within the range
0.8-1.5x10^4 cm-3 for the mini-spiral from the radio continuum maps, along with
a dust mass contribution of ~0.25 solar masses from the MIR dust continuum, and
extinctions ranging from 1.8-3 at 2.16 micron in the Br-gamma line. We observe
a mixture of negative and positive spectral indices in our 1.3 mm and 3 mm
observations of the extended emission of the mini-spiral, which we interpret as
evidence that there are a range of contributions to the thermal free-free
emission by the ionized gas emission and by dust at 1.3 mm.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures, accepted to A&
Nuclear Activity and the Conditions of Star-formation at the Galactic Center
The Galactic Center is the closest galactic nucleus that can be studied with
unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity. We summarize recent basic
observational results on Sagittarius A* and the conditions for star formation
in the central stellar cluster. We cover results from the radio, infrared, and
X-ray domain and include results from simulation as well. From (sub-)mm and
near-infrared variability and near-infrared polarization data we find that the
SgrA* system (supermassive black hole spin, a potential temporary accretion
disk and/or outflow) is well ordered in its geometrical orientation and in its
emission process that we assume to reflect the accretion process onto the
supermassive black hole (SMBH).Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; published in PoS-SISSA Proceedings of
the: Frontier Research in Astrophysics - II, 23-28 May 2016, Mondello
(Palermo), Ital
Experimental Indicators of Accretion Processes in Active Galactic Nuclei
Bright Active Galactic Nuclei are powered by accretion of mass onto the super
massive black holes at the centers of the host galaxies. For fainter objects
star formation may significantly contribute to the luminosity. We summarize
experimental indicators of the accretion processes in Active Galactic Nuclei
(AGN), i.e., observable activity indicators that allow us to conclude on the
nature of accretion. The Galactic Center is the closest galactic nucleus that
can be studied with unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity.
Therefore, here we also include the presentation of recent observational
results on Sagittarius A* and the conditions for star formation in the central
stellar cluster. We cover results across the electromagnetic spectrum and find
that the Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) system is well ordered with respect to its
geometrical orientation and its emission processes of which we assume to
reflect the accretion process onto the super massive black hole.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, conference proceeding: Accretion Processes in
Cosmic Sources - APCS2016 - 5-10 September 2016, Saint Petersburg, Russi
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