Serendipitous discovery of the magnetic cataclysmic variable SRGE J075818−612027

We report the discovery of SRGE J075818−612027, a deep stream-eclipsing magnetic cataclysmic variable found serendipitously in SRG/eROSITA calibration and performance verification phase (CalPV) observations of the open cluster NGC 2516 as an unrelated X-ray source. An X-ray timing and spectral analysis of the eROSITA data is presented and supplemented by an analysis of TESS photometry and SALT spectroscopy. X-ray photometry reveals two pronounced dips repeating with a period of 106.144(1) min. The 14-month TESS data reveal the same unique period. A low-resolution identification spectrum obtained with SALT displays hydrogen Balmer emission lines on a fairly blue continuum. The spectrum and the stability of the photometric signal led to the classification of the new object as a polar-type cataclysmic variable. In this context, the dips in the X-ray light curve are explained by absorption in the intervening accretion stream and by a self-eclipse of the main accretion region. The object displays large magnitude differences on long timescales (months) both at optical and X-ray wavelengths, which are interpreted as high and low states and thus support its identification as a polar. The bright phase X-ray spectrum can be reflected with single temperature thermal emission with 9.7 keV and bolometric X-ray luminosity LX ≃ 8 × 1032 erg s−1 at a distance of about 2.7 kpc. The X-ray spectrum lacks the pronounced soft X-ray emission component prominently found in ROSAT-discovered polars

The complex gaseous and stellar environments of the nearby dual active galactic nucleus mrk 739

We present integral field spectroscopic observations of the nearby (z ∼ 0.03) dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) Mrk 739, whose projected nuclear separation is ∼3.4 kpc, obtained with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer at the Very Large Telescope. We find that the galaxy has an extended AGN-ionized emission-line region extending up to ∼20 kpc away from the nuclei, while star-forming regions are more centrally concentrated within 2-3 kpc. We model the kinematics of the ionized gas surrounding the eastern nucleus using a circular disk profile, resulting in a peak velocity of - 237+ km s- 28 26 1 at a distance of ∼1.2 kpc. The enclosed dynamical mass within 1.2 kpc is logM(M⊙) = 10.20 ±0.06, ∼1000 times larger than the estimated supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass of Mrk 739E. The morphology and dynamics of the system are consistent with an early stage of the collision, where the foreground galaxy (Mrk 739W) is a young star-forming galaxy in an ongoing first passage with its background companion (Mrk 739E). Since the SMBH in Mrk 739W does not show evidence of being rapidly accreting, we claim that the northern spiral arms of Mrk 739W are ionized by the nuclear activity of Mrk 739E

Detailed Accretion History of the Supermassive Black Hole in NGC 5972 over the Past ≳10⁴ yr through the Extended Emission-line Region

We present integral field spectroscopic observations of NGC 5972 obtained with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer at the Very Large Telescope. NGC 5972 is a nearby galaxy containing both an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and an extended emission-line region (EELR) reaching out to ∼17 kpc from the nucleus. We analyze the physical conditions of the EELR using spatially resolved spectra, focusing on the radial dependence of ionization state together with the light-travel time distance to probe the variability of the AGN on ≳10⁴ yr timescales. The kinematic analysis suggests multiple components: (a) a faint component following the rotation of the large-scale disk, (b) a component associated with the EELR suggestive of extraplanar gas connected to tidal tails, and (c) a kinematically decoupled nuclear disk. Both the kinematics and the observed tidal tails suggest a major past interaction event. Emission-line diagnostics along the EELR arms typically evidence Seyfert-like emission, implying that the EELR was primarily ionized by the AGN. We generate a set of photoionization models and fit these to different regions along the EELR. This allows us to estimate the bolometric luminosity required at different radii to excite the gas to the observed state. Our results suggest that NGC 5972 is a fading quasar, showing a steady gradual decrease in intrinsic AGN luminosity, and hence the accretion rate onto the SMBH, by a factor ∼100 over the past 5 × 10⁴ yr.ISSN:0004-637XISSN:2041-821

Discovery of the lensed quasar eRASS1 J050129.5−073309 with SRG/eROSITA and

We report the discovery and spectroscopic identification of the bright doubly lensed quasar eRASS1 J050129.5−073309 at redshift z = 2.47, selected from the first all-sky survey of the Spectrum Roentgen Gamma (SRG) eROSITA telescope and the Gaia EDR3 catalog. We systematically searched for extragalactic sources with eROSITA X-ray positions that have multiple Gaia counterparts, and we have started spectroscopic follow-up of the most promising candidates using long-slit spectroscopy with NTT/EFOSC2 to confirm the lens nature. The two images are separated by 2.7″, and their average Gaia g-band magnitudes are 16.95 and 17.33. Legacy Survey DR10 imaging and image modeling reveal both the lensing galaxy and tentatively the lensed image of the quasar host galaxy. Archival optical light curves show evidence of a variability time delay, with the fainter component lagging the brighter by about 100 days. The brightness of the fainter image has also decreased by about one magnitude since 2019. This dimming was still obvious at the time of the spectroscopic observations and is probably caused by microlensing. The optical spectroscopic follow-up obtained from NTT/EFOSC2 and the evidence provided by the imaging and timing analysis allow us to confirm the lensed nature of eRASS1 J050129.5−073309