257 research outputs found
Highly extinguished emission line outflows in the young radio source PKS 1345+12
(Abridged) We present new, intermediate resolution spectra (~4A) of the
compact radio source PKS 1345+12. Our spectra clearly show extended line
emission (~20kpc) consistent with the asymmetric halo of diffuse emission
observed in optical and infra-red images. In the nucleus we observe complex
emission line profiles requiring 3 Gaussian components (narrow, intermediate
and broad). The broadest component (FWHM ~2000 km/s) is blue shifted by ~2000
km/s with respect to the galaxy halo and HI absorption. We interpret this as
material in outflow. We find evidence for high reddening and measure
E(B-V)>0.92 for the broadest component. From [S II]6716,6731 we estimate
electron densities of n_e5300 cm^{-3} and n_{e}>4200 cm^{-3}
for the regions emitting the narrow, intermediate and broad components
respectively. We calculate a total mass of line emitting gas of M_{gas}<10^6
solar masses. Not all emission line profiles can be reproduced by the same
model: [O I]6300,6363 and [S II] require separate, unique models. We argue that
PKS 1345+12 is a young radio source whose nuclear regions are enshrouded in a
dense cocoon of gas and dust. The radio jets are expanding, sweeping material
out of the nuclear regions. Emission originates from three kinematically
distinct regions though gradients (e.g. density, ionisation potential,
acceleration) must exist across the regions responsible for the emission of the
intermediate and broad components.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 8 postscript figure
The evidence for jet-cloud interactions in a sample of high/intermediate-redshift radio galaxies
We present the result obtained from a study, based on long-slit spectroscopy,
of the kinematics and ionization mechanisms of the line-emitting gas for a
sample of four high/intermediate-redshift radio galaxies. In two of the
galaxies (3C352 and 3C435A) the radio sources are of the same scale as the
emission-line regions, whereas in the other two (3C34 and 3C330) the radio
sources are extended on a larger scale than the emission-line structures. We
see evidence for shock-acceleration of the emission-line gas in the extended
regions of all the galaxies, even in the largest radio sources of our sample,
in which the radio hot spots have passed the extended gas of the galaxies. The
extended regions present highly disturbed kinematics (line-splitting and/or
underlying broad components), which are difficult to explain if we do not
consider a strong interaction between the radio-emitting components and the
ambient gas. However, the dominant ionization mechanism of the line-emitting
gas remains uncertain. We have compared the optical diagnostic line ratios of
the galaxies in our sample with both AGN-photoionization and shock-ionization
models. We find a lack of consistency in explaining the main ionization
mechanism of the emission-line gas. This suggest that, if the extended regions
are shock-ionized, some of the assumptions implicit in the shock models may
need to be reconsidered. In addition, we have investigated the nebular
continuum cointribution to the UV excess in the galaxies of our sample. We find
a substantial nebular emission contribution to the UV continuum in all the
cases. However, after the subtraction iof the nebular component, a significant
UV excess remains in the extended nebulae of most of the objects.Comment: 33 pages, 24 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. (Abstract
shortened for astro-ph
Jet-Induced Emission-Line Nebulosity and Star Formation in the High-Redshift Radio Galaxy 4C41.17
The high redshift radio galaxy 4C41.17 consists of a powerful radio source in
which previous work has shown that there is strong evidence for jet-induced
star formation along the radio axis. We argue that nuclear photoionization is
not responsible for the excitation of the emission line clouds and we construct
a jet-cloud interaction model to explain the major features revealed by the
data. The interaction of a high-powered jet with a dense cloud in the halo of
4C41.17 produces shock-excited emission-line nebulosity through ~1000 km/s
shocks and induces star formation. The CIII to CIV line ratio and the CIV
luminosity emanating from the shock, imply that the pre-shock density in the
line-emitting cloud is high enough (~1-10 cm^-3) that shock initiated star
formation could proceed on a timescale of order a few x 10^6 yrs, well within
the estimated dynamical age of the radio source. Broad (FWHM ~ 100 - 1400 km/s)
emission lines are attributed to the disturbance of the gas cloud by a partial
bow--shock and narrow emission lines (FWHM ~ 500 - 650 km/s) (in particular
CIV) arise in precursor emission in relatively low metallicity gas. The implied
baryonic mass ~ 8 \times 10^{10} solar masses of the cloud is high and implies
that Milky Way size condensations existed in the environments of forming radio
galaxies at a redshift of 3.8. Our interpretation of the data provides a
physical basis for the alignment of the radio, emission-line and UV continuum
images in some of the highest redshift radio galaxies and the analysis
presented here may form a basis for the calculation of densities and cloud
masses in other high redshift radio galaxies.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures; uses astrobib.sty and aaspp4.sty. Better
versions of figures available via anonymous from
ftp://mso.anu.edu.au:pub/pub/geoff/4C41.1
The impact of the warm outflow in the young (GPS) radio source & ULIRG PKS 1345+12 (4C 12.50)
(Abridged) We present new deep VLT/FORS optical spectra with intermediate
resolution and large wavelength coverage of the GPS radio source and ULIRG
PKS1345+12 (4C12.50; z=0.122), taken with the aim of investigating the impact
of the nuclear activity on the circumnuclear ISM. PKS1345+12 is a powerful
quasar and is also the best studied case of an emission line outflow in a
ULIRG. Using the density sensitive transauroral emission lines [S II]4068,4076
and [O II]7318,7319,7330,7331, we pilot a new technique to accurately model the
electron density for cases in which it is not possible to use the traditional
diagnostic [S II]6716/6731, namely sources with highly broadened complex
emission line profiles and/or high (Ne > 10^4 cm^-3) electron densities. We
measure electron densities of Ne=2.94x10^3 cm^-3, Ne=1.47x10^4 cm^-3 and
Ne=3.16x10^5 cm^-3 for the regions emitting the narrow, broad and very broad
components respectively. We calculate a total mass outflow rate of 8 M_sun
yr^-1. We estimate the total mass in the warm gas outflow is 8x10^5 M_sun. The
total kinetic power in the warm outflow is 3.4x10^42 erg s^-1. We find that
only a small fraction (0.13% of Lbol) of the available accretion power is
driving the warm outflow, significantly less than currently required by the
majority of quasar feedback models (~5-10\% of Lbol), but similar to recent
findings by Hopkins et al. (2010) for a two-stage feedback model. The models
also predict that AGN outflows will eventually remove the gas from the bulge of
the host galaxy. The visible warm outflow in PKS1345+12 is not currently
capable of doing so. However, it is entirely possible that much of the outflow
is either obscured by a dense and dusty natal cocoon and/or in cooler or hotter
phases of the ISM. This result is important not just for studies of young
(GPS/CSS) radio sources, but for AGN in general.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 11 pages, 4 figure
The properties of the stellar populations in ULIRGs I: sample, data and spectral synthesis modelling
We present deep long-slit optical spectra for a sample of 36 Ultraluminous
Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), taken with the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) on
La Palma with the aim of investigating the star formation histories and testing
evolutionary scenarios for such objects. Here we present the sample, the
analysis techniques and a general overview of the properties of the stellar
populations. Spectral synthesis modelling has been used in order to estimate
the ages of the stellar populations found in the diffuse light sampled by the
spectra in both the nuclear and extended regions of the target galaxies. We
find that adequate fits can be obtained using combinations of young stellar
populations (YSPs,t_YSP<=2 Gyr), with ages divided into two groups: very young
stellar populations (VYSPs, t_VYSP <=100 Myr) and intermediate-young stellar
populations (IYSPs, 0.1 < t_IYSP <= 2 Gyr). Our results show that YSPs are
present at all locations of the galaxies covered by our slit positions, with
the exception of the northern nuclear region of the ULIRG IRAS 23327+2913.
Furthermore, VYSPs are presents in at least 85% of the 133 extraction apertures
used for this study. Old stellar populations (OSPs, t_{OSP} > 2 Gyr) do not
make a major contribution to the optical light in the majority of the apertures
extracted. In fact they are essential for fitting the spectra in only 5% (7) of
the extracted apertures. The estimated total masses for the YSPs (VYSPs+IYSPs)
are in the range 0.18 x 10^{10} <= M_YSP <= 50 x 10^{10} Msun. We have also
estimated the bolometric luminosities associated with the stellar populations
detected at optical wavelengths, finding that they fall in the range 0.07 x
10^{12} < L_bol < 2.2 x 10^{12} Lsun. In addition, we find that reddening is
significant at all locations in the galaxies.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Fast Outflows of Neutral Hydrogen in Radio Galaxies
AGN activity is known to drive fast outflows of gas. We report the discovery
of fast outflows of neutral gas with velocities over 1000 km/s in a number of
radio galaxies. In the best studied object, 3C~293, the kinematical properties
of the neutral and ionised outflows are similar, indicating a common origin.
Moreover, the outflow appears to be located near the radio lobes and not near
the nucleus. This suggests that the interaction between the radio jet and the
ISM is driving the outflow.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 222,"The Interplay
among Black Holes, Stars and ISM in Galactic Nuclei", eds Storchi-Bergmann et
al; 2 pages, 1 figur
INTEGRAL spectroscopy of three powerful radio galaxies: Jet-cloud interactions seen in 3-D
Integral-field spectroscopic observations are presented for three powerful
radio galaxies, namely 3C277.3 (Coma A; z=0.0857), 3C171 (z=0.2384) and 3C265
(z=0.811), which are known to be undergoing jet-cloud interactions. The
morphology, kinematics and ionization of the gas in the emission-line structure
of these sources are mapped and analysed. One-dimensional spectra are also
extracted and integrated over the different emission-line regions in each
galaxy. In two of the galaxies (3C277.3 and 3C171) the radio sizes are of
similar extent to the emission-line structure. For these, enhanced
emission-line regions are found associated with the radio structures, in
addition to complex kinematics and low ionization states close to the radio
hotspots, indicating that jet-induced shocks disturb and ionize the gas.
Interestingly, the bright -- presumably shock-ionized -- emission-line region
coincident with the radio jet knot in 3C277.3 shows quiescent kinematics and
high ionization state. Possible explanations for this puzzling result are
proposed. The images of 3C171 and 3C265 indicate that the lateral expansion of
the cocoon has a significant effect on the kinematics and ionization of the
gas, showing for the first time that the effects of the radio source are felt
far from the jet axis. In addition, the presence of a stellar-photoionized HII
region is detected in the extended emission-line nebula of the radio galaxy
3C277.3.Comment: 19 pages, including 16 figures (4 in colour), MNRAS accepte
- …