415 research outputs found
The Spitzer discovery of a galaxy with infrared emission solely due to AGN activity
We present a galaxy (SAGE1CJ053634.78-722658.5) at a redshift of 0.14 of
which the IR is entirely dominated by emission associated with the AGN. We
present the 5-37 um Spitzer/IRS spectrum and broad wavelength SED of
SAGE1CJ053634, an IR point-source detected by Spitzer/SAGE (Meixner et al
2006). The source was observed in the SAGE-Spec program (Kemper et al., 2010)
and was included to determine the nature of sources with deviant IR colours.
The spectrum shows a redshifted (z=0.14+-0.005) silicate emission feature with
an exceptionally high feature-to-continuum ratio and weak polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAH) bands. We compare the source with models of emission from
dusty tori around AGNs from Nenkova et al. (2008). We present a diagnostic
diagram that will help to identify similar sources based on Spitzer/MIPS and
Herschel/PACS photometry. The SED of SAGE1CJ053634 is peculiar because it lacks
far-IR emission and a clear stellar counterpart. We find that the SED and the
IR spectrum can be understood as emission originating from the inner ~10 pc
around an accreting black hole. There is no need to invoke emission from the
host galaxy, either from the stars or from the interstellar medium, although a
possible early-type host galaxy cannot be excluded based on the SED analysis.
The hot dust around the accretion disk gives rise to a continuum, which peaks
at 4 um, whereas the strong silicate features may arise from optically thin
emission of dusty clouds within ~10 pc around the black hole. The weak PAH
emission does not appear to be linked to star formation, as star formation
templates strongly over-predict the measured far-IR flux levels. The SED of
SAGE1CJ053634 is rare in the local universe but may be more common in the more
distant universe. The conspicuous absence of host-galaxy IR emission places
limits on the far-IR emission arising from the dusty torus alone.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 7 pages, 6 figure
Evidence for a mass-dependent AGN Eddington ratio distribution via the flat relationship between SFR and AGN luminosity
The lack of a strong correlation between AGN X-ray luminosity (L X ; a proxy for AGN power) and the star formation rate (SFR) of their host galaxies has recently been attributed to stochastic AGNvariability. Studies using population synthesis models have incorporated this by assuming a broad, universal (i.e. does not depend on the host galaxy properties) probability distribution for AGN specific X-ray luminosities (i.e. the ratio of L X to host stellar mass; a common proxy for Eddington ratio). However, recent studies have demonstrated that this universal Eddington ratio distribution fails to reproduce the observed X-ray luminosity functions beyond z ~ 1.2. Furthermore, empirical studies have recently shown that the Eddington ratio distribution may instead depend upon host galaxy properties, such as SFR and/or stellarmass. To investigate this further, we develop a population synthesis model in which the Eddington ratio distribution is different for star-forming and quiescent host galaxies. We showthat, although this model is able to reproduce the observed X-ray luminosity functions out to z ~ 2, it fails to simultaneously reproduce the observed flat relationship between SFR and X-ray luminosity. We can solve this, however, by incorporating a mass dependency in the AGN Eddington ratio distribution for starforming host galaxies. Overall, our models indicate that a relative suppression of low Eddington ratios (λ Edd < ~0.1) in lower mass galaxies (M * < ~10 10-11 Mâ) is required to reproduce both the observed X-ray luminosity functions and the observed flat SFR/X-ray relationship
The XMM deep survey in the CDF-S III. Point source catalogue and number counts in the hard X-rays
Nuclear obscuration plays a key role in the initial phases of AGN growth, yet not many highly obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) are currently known beyond the local Universe, and their search is an active topic of research. The XMM-Newton survey in the Chandra Deep Field South (XMM-CDFS) aims at detecting and studying the spectral properties of a significant number of obscured and Compton-thick (NH âł 1024 cm-2) AGN. The large effective area of XMM-Newton in the 2â10 and 5â10 keV bands, coupled with a 3.45 Ms nominal exposure time (2.82 and 2.45 Ms after light curve cleaning for MOS and PN, respectively), allows us to build clean samples in both bands, and makes the XMM-CDFS the deepest XMM-Newton survey currently published in the 5â10 keV band. The large multi-wavelength and spectroscopic coverage of the CDFS area allows for an immediate and abundant scientific return. In this paper, we present the data reduction of the XMM-CDFS observations, the method for source detection in the 2â10 and 5â10 keV bands, and the resulting catalogues. A number of 339 and 137 sources are listed in the above bands with flux limits of 6.6 Ă 10-16 and 9.5 Ă 10-16 ergâs-1âcm-2, respectively. The flux limits at 50% of the maximum sky coverage are 1.8 Ă 10-15 and 4.0 Ă 10-15 ergâs-1âcm-2, respectively. The catalogues have been cross-correlated with the Chandra ones: 315 and 130 identifications have been found with a likelihood-ratio method, respectively. A number of 15 new sources, previously undetected by Chandra, is found; 5 of them lie in the 4 Ms area. Redshifts, either spectroscopic or photometric, are available for ~ 95% of the sources. The number counts in both bands are presented and compared to other works. The survey coverage has been calculated with the help of two extensive sets of simulations, one set per band. The simulations have been produced with a newly-developed simulator, written with the aim of the most careful reproduction of the background spatial properties. For this reason, we present a detailed decomposition of the XMM-Newton background into its components: cosmic, particle, and residual soft protons.The three components have different spatial distributions. The importance of these three components depends on the band and on the camera; the particle background is the most important one (80â90% of the background counts), followed by the soft protons (4â20%)
Bulge growth through disk instabilities in high-redshift galaxies
The role of disk instabilities, such as bars and spiral arms, and the
associated resonances, in growing bulges in the inner regions of disk galaxies
have long been studied in the low-redshift nearby Universe. There it has long
been probed observationally, in particular through peanut-shaped bulges. This
secular growth of bulges in modern disk galaxies is driven by weak,
non-axisymmetric instabilities: it mostly produces pseudo-bulges at slow rates
and with long star-formation timescales. Disk instabilities at high redshift
(z>1) in moderate-mass to massive galaxies (10^10 to a few 10^11 Msun of stars)
are very different from those found in modern spiral galaxies. High-redshift
disks are globally unstable and fragment into giant clumps containing 10^8-10^9
Msun of gas and stars each, which results in highly irregular galaxy
morphologies. The clumps and other features associated to the violent
instability drive disk evolution and bulge growth through various mechanisms,
on short timescales. The giant clumps can migrate inward and coalesce into the
bulge in a few 10^8 yr. The instability in the very turbulent media drives
intense gas inflows toward the bulge and nuclear region. Thick disks and
supermassive black holes can grow concurrently as a result of the violent
instability. This chapter reviews the properties of high-redshift disk
instabilities, the evolution of giant clumps and other features associated to
the instability, and the resulting growth of bulges and associated sub-galactic
components.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures. Invited refereed review to appear in "Galactic
Bulges", E. Laurikainen, D. Gadotti, R. Peletier (eds.), Springe
PACS Evolutionary Probe (PEP) - A Herschel Key Program
Deep far-infrared photometric surveys studying galaxy evolution and the
nature of the cosmic infrared background are a key strength of the Herschel
mission. We describe the scientific motivation for the PACS Evolutionary Probe
(PEP) guaranteed time key program and its role in the complement of Herschel
surveys, and the field selection which includes popular multiwavelength fields
such as GOODS, COSMOS, Lockman Hole, ECDFS, EGS. We provide an account of the
observing strategies and data reduction methods used. An overview of first
science results illustrates the potential of PEP in providing calorimetric star
formation rates for high redshift galaxy populations, thus testing and
superseeding previous extrapolations from other wavelengths, and enabling a
wide range of galaxy evolution studies.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Evidence for feedback in action from the molecular gas content in the z~1.6 outflowing QSO XID2028
Gas outflows are believed to play a pivotal role in shaping galaxies, as they regulate both star formation and black hole growth. Despite their ubiquitous presence, the origin and the acceleration mechanism of such powerful and extended winds is not yet understood. Direct observations of the cold gas component in objects with detected outflows at other wavelengths are needed to assess the impact of the outflow on the host galaxy interstellar medium (ISM). We observed with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer an obscured quasar at z~1.5, XID2028, for which the presence of an ionised outflow has been unambiguously signalled by NIR spectroscopy. The detection of CO(3-2) emission in this source allows us to infer the molecular gas content and compare it to the ISM mass derived from the dust emission. We then analyze the results in the context of recent insights on scaling relations, which describe the gas content of the overall population of star-forming galaxies at a similar redshifts. The Star formation efficiency (~100) and gas mass (M_gas=2.1-9.5x10^{10} M_sun) inferred from the CO(3-2) line depend on the underlying assumptions on the excitation of the transition and the CO-to-H2 conversion factor. However, the combination of this information and the ISM mass estimated from the dust mass suggests that the ISM/gas content of XID2028 is significantly lower than expected for its observed Mâ, sSFR and redshift, based on the most up-to-date calibrations (with gas fraction <20% and depletion time scale <340 Myr). Overall, the constraints we obtain from the far infrared and millimeter data suggest that we are observing QSO feedback able to remove the gas from the host
ALMA and Herschel reveal that AGN and main-sequence galaxies have different star formation rate distributions
Using deep Herschel and ALMA observations, we investigate the star formation rate (SFR) distributions of X-ray AGN host galaxies at 0.5<z<1.5 and 1.5<z<4, comparing them to that of normal, star-forming (i.e., "main-sequence", or MS) galaxies. We find 34-55 per cent of AGNs have SFRs at least a factor of two below that of the average MS galaxy, compared to ~15 per cent of all MS galaxies, suggesting significantly different SFR distributions. Indeed, when both are modelled as log-normal distributions, the mass and redshift-normalised SFR distributions of AGNs are roughly twice as broad, and peak ~0.4 dex lower, than that of MS galaxies. However, like MS galaxies, the normalised SFR distribution of AGNs appears not to evolve with redshift. Despite AGNs and MS galaxies having different SFR distributions, the linear-mean SFR of AGNs derived from our distributions is remarkably consistent with that of MS galaxies, and thus with previous results derived from stacked Herschel data. This apparent contradiction is due to the linear-mean SFR being biased by bright outliers, and thus does not necessarily represent a true characterisation of the typical SFR of AGNs
The AGN content in luminous IR galaxies at z\sim2 from a global SED analysis including Herschel data
We use Herschel-PACS far-infrared data, combined with previous multi-band
information and mid-IR spectra, to properly account for the presence of an
active nucleus and constrain its energetic contribution in luminous infrared
(IR) sources at z\sim2. The sample is composed of 24 sources in the GOODS-South
field, with typical IR luminosity of 10^{12} Lo. Data from the 4 Ms Chandra
X-ray imaging in this field are also used to identify and characterize AGN
emission. We reproduce the observed spectral energy distribution (SED),
decomposed into a host-galaxy and an AGN component. A smooth-torus model for
circum-nuclear dust is used to account for the direct and re-processed
contribution from the AGN. We confirm that galaxies with typical
L_{8-1000um}\sim10^{12}Lo at z\sim2 are powered predominantly by
star-formation. An AGN component is present in nine objects (\sim35% of the
sample) at the 3sigma confidence level, but its contribution to the 8-1000 um
emission accounts for only \sim5% of the energy budget. The AGN contribution
rises to \sim23% over the 5-30 um range (in agreement with Spitzer IRS results)
and to \sim60% over the narrow 2-6 um range. The presence of an AGN is
confirmed by X-ray data for 3 (out of nine) sources, with X-ray spectral
analysis indicating the presence of significant absorption, i.e.
NH\sim10^{23}-10^{24} cm^{-2}. An additional source shows indications of
obscured AGN emission from X-ray data. The comparison between the
mid-IR--derived X-ray luminosities and those obtained from X-ray data suggests
that obscuration is likely present also in the remaining six sources that
harbour an AGN according to the SED-fitting analysis.Comment: 12 pages, including 5 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
The Quasar Feedback Survey: characterising CO excitation in quasar host galaxies
We present a comprehensive study of the molecular gas properties of 17 Type 2
quasars at 10^{42.1}\rm ergs^{-1}_{up}r_{21}_{21}_{CO(2-1)}_{CO(1-0)}r_{21}r_{21}\sim_{21}\simr_{21} values, for the 7
targets with the required data we find low excitation in CO(6-5) & CO(7-6)
(r_{61}r_{62}$ < 0.6 in all but one target), unlike high redshift
quasars in the literature, which are far more luminous and show higher line
ratios. The ionised gas traced by [OIII] exhibit systematically higher
velocities than the molecular gas traced by CO. We conclude that any effects of
quasar feedback (e.g. via outflows and radio jets) do not have a significant
instantaneous impact on the global molecular gas content and excitation and we
suggest that it only occurs on more localised scales.Comment: 32 pages (20 in the main body of the paper and 12 in the appendix),
28 figures (10 in main body of paper and 18 in appendix) Accepted for
publication in MNRAS. Data available at
https://doi.org/10.25405/data.ncl.2431250
Herschel FIR counterparts of selected Ly-alpha emitters at z~2.2. Fast evolution since z~3 or missed obscured AGNs?
Ly-alpha emitters (LAEs) are seen everywhere in the redshift domain from
local to z~7. Far-infrared (FIR) counterparts of LAEs at different epochs could
provide direct clues on dust content, extinction, and spectral energy
distribution (SED) for these galaxies. We search for FIR counterparts of LAEs
that are optically detected in the GOODS-North field at redshift z~2.2 using
data from the Herschel Space Telescope with the Photodetector Array Camera and
Spectrometer (PACS). The LAE candidates were isolated via color-magnitude
diagram using the medium-band photometry from the ALHAMBRA Survey, ancillary
data on GOODS-North, and stellar population models. According to the fitting of
these spectral synthesis models and FIR/optical diagnostics, most of them seem
to be obscured galaxies whose spectra are AGN-dominated. From the analysis of
the optical data, we have observed a fraction of AGN or composite over source
total number of ~0.75 in the LAE population at z~2.2, which is marginally
consistent with the fraction previously observed at z=2.25 and even at low
redshift (0.2<z<0.45), but significantly different from the one observed at
redshift ~3, which could be compatible either with a scenario of rapid change
in the AGN fraction between the epochs involved or with a non detection of
obscured AGN in other z=2-3 LAE samples due to lack of deep FIR observations.
We found three robust FIR (PACS) counterparts at z~2.2 in GOODS-North. This
demonstrates the possibility of finding dust emission in LAEs even at higher
redshifts.Comment: 11 pages (including Appendices), 6 figures. Accepted for publication
in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters (two references added
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