Jet-gas interactions in z~2.5 radio galaxies: evolution of the ultraviolet line and continuum emission with radio morphology

We present an investigation into the nature of the jet-gas interactions in a sample of 10 radio galaxies at 2.3<z<2.9 using deep spectroscopy of the UV line and continuum emission obtained at Keck II and the Very Large Telescope. Kinematically perturbed gas, which we have shown to be within the radio structure in previous publications, is always blueshifted with respect to the kinematically quiescent gas, is usually spatially extended, and is usually detected on both sides of the nucleus. In the three objects from this sample for which we are able to measure line ratios for both the perturbed and quiescent gases, we suggest that the former has a lower ionization state than the latter. We propose that the perturbed gas is part of a jet-induced outflow, with dust obscuring the outflowing gas that lies on the far side of the object. The spatial extent of the blueshifted perturbed gas, typically ~35 kpc, implies that the dust is spatially extended at least on similar spatial scales. We also find interesting interrelationships between UV line, UV continuum and radio continuum properties of this sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Dust detection by the wave instrument on STEREO: nanoparticles picked up by the solar wind?

The STEREO/WAVES instrument has detected a very large number of intense voltage pulses. We suggest that these events are produced by impact ionisation of nanoparticles striking the spacecraft at a velocity of the order of magnitude of the solar wind speed. Nanoparticles, which are half-way between micron-sized dust and atomic ions, have such a large charge-to-mass ratio that the electric field induced by the solar wind magnetic field accelerates them very efficiently. Since the voltage produced by dust impacts increases very fast with speed, such nanoparticles produce signals as high as do much larger grains of smaller speeds. The flux of 10-nm radius grains inferred in this way is compatible with the interplanetary dust flux model. The present results may represent the first detection of fast nanoparticles in interplanetary space near Earth orbit.Comment: In press in Solar Physics, 13 pages, 5 figure

Nano dust impacts on spacecraft and boom antenna charging

High rate sampling detectors measuring the potential difference between the main body and boom antennas of interplanetary spacecraft have been shown to be efficient means to measure the voltage pulses induced by nano dust impacts on the spacecraft body itself (see Meyer-Vernet et al, Solar Phys. 256, 463 (2009)). However, rough estimates of the free charge liberated in post impact expanding plasma cloud indicate that the cloud's own internal electrostatic field is too weak to account for measured pulses as the ones from the TDS instrument on the STEREO spacecraft frequently exceeding 0.1 V/m. In this paper we argue that the detected pulses are not a direct measure of the potential structure of the plasma cloud, but are rather the consequence of a transitional interruption of the photoelectron return current towards the portion of the antenna located within the expanding cloud

Deep spectroscopy of the FUV-optical emission lines from a sample of radio galaxies at z~2.5: metallicity and ionization

We present long-slit NIR spectra, obtained using the ISAAC instrument at the Very Large Telescope, for nine radio galaxies at z~2.5. One-dimensional spectra have been extracted and cross calibrated with optical spectra from the literature to produce line spectra spanning a rest wavelength of ~1200-7000 A. We have also produced a composite of the rest-frame UV-optical line fluxes of powerful, z~2.5 radio galaxies. We have investigated the relative strengths of Ly-alpha, H-beta, H-alpha, HeII 1640 and HeII 4687, and we find that Av can vary significantly from object to object. In addition, we identify new line ratios to calculate electron temperature: [NeV] 1575/[NeV] 3426, [NeIV] 1602/[NeIV] 2423, OIII] 1663/[OIII] 5008 and [OII] 2471/[OII]3728. We model the emission line spectra and conclude they are best explained by AGN-photoionization with the ionization parameter U varying between objects. Single slab photoionization models are unable to reproduce the high- and the low-ionization lines simultaneously: this may be alleviated either by combining two or more single slab photoionization models with different U, or by using mixed-medium models such as those of Binette, Wilson & Storchi-Bergmann (1996). On the basis of NV/NIV] and NIV]/CIV we argue that shocks make a fractional contribution to the ionization of the EELR. We find that in the EELR of z~2 radio galaxies the N/H abundance ratio is close to its solar value. We conclude that N/H and metallicity do not vary by more than a factor of two in our sample. This is consistent with the idea that massive ellipticals are assembled very early in the history of the universe, and then evolve relatively passively up to the present day.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRA

The MUSE 3D view of feedback in a high-metallicity radio galaxy at z = 2.9

We present a detailed study of the kinematic, chemical and excitation properties of the giant Ly$\alpha$ emitting nebula and the giant \ion{H}{I} absorber associated with the $z = 2.92$ radio galaxy MRC 0943--242, using spectroscopic observations from VLT/MUSE, VLT/X-SHOOTER and other instruments. Together, these data provide a wide range of rest-frame wavelength (765 \AA$\,$ -- 6378 \AA$\,$ at $z = 2.92$) and 2D spatial information. We find clear evidence for jet gas interactions affecting the kinematic properties of the nebula, with evidence for both outflows and inflows being induced by radio-mode feedback. We suggest that the regions of relatively lower ionization level, spatially correlated with the radio hotspots, may be due to localised compression of photoionized gas by the expanding radio source, thereby lowering the ionization parameter, or due to a contribution from shock-heating. We find that photoionization of super-solar metallicity gas ($Z/Z_{\odot}$ = 2.1) by an AGN-like continuum ($\alpha$=--1.0) at a moderate ionization parameter ($U$ = 0.018) gives the best overall fit to the complete X-SHOOTER emission line spectrum. We identify a strong degeneracy between column density and Doppler parameter such that it is possible to obtain a reasonable fit to the \ion{H}{I} absorption feature across the range log N(\ion{H}{I}/cm$^{-2}$) = 15.20 and 19.63, with the two best-fitting occurring near the extreme ends of this range. The extended \ion{H}{I} absorber is blueshifted relative to the emission line gas, but shows a systematic decrease in blueshift towards larger radii, consistent with a large scale expanding shell.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Published: 23 November 201