Radio emission of SN1993J. The complete picture: II. Simultaneous fit of expansion and radio light curves

We report on a simultaneous modelling of the expansion and radio light curves of SN1993J. We have developed a simulation code capable of generating synthetic expansion and radio light curves of supernovae by taking into consideration the evolution of the expanding shock, magnetic fields, and relativistic electrons, as well as the finite sensitivity of the interferometric arrays used in the observations. Our software successfully fits all the available radio data of SN 1993J with an standard emission model for supernovae extended with some physical considerations, as an evolution in the opacity of the ejecta material, a radial drop of the magnetic fields inside the radiating region, and a changing radial density profile of the circumstellar medium beyond day 3100 after explosion.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Serendipitous discovery of the long-sought AGN in Arp 299-A

Context: The dusty nuclear regions of luminous infra-red galaxies (LIRGs) are heated by either an intense burst of massive star formation, an active galactic nucleus (AGN), or a combination of both. Disentangling the contribution of each of those putative dust-heating agents is a challenging task, and direct imaging of the innermost few pc can only be accomplished at radio wavelengths, using very high-angular resolution observations. Aims: We observed the nucleus A of the interacting starburst galaxy Arp 299, using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) radio observations at 1.7 and 5.0 GHz. Our aim was to characterize the compact sources in the innermost few pc region of Arp 299-A, as well as to detect recently exploded core-collapse supernovae. Methods: We used the European VLBI Network (EVN) to image the 1.7 and 5.0 GHz compact radio emission of the parsec-scale structure in the nucleus of Arp 299-A with milliarcsecond resolution. Results: Our EVN observations show that one of the compact VLBI sources, A1, previously detected at 5.0 GHz, has a flat spectrum between 1.7 and 5.0 GHz and is the brightest source at both frequencies. Our 1.7 GHz EVN image shows also diffuse, low-surface brightness emission extending westwards from A1 and displays a prominent core-jet structure. Conclusions: The morphology, radio luminosity, spectral index and ratio of radio-to-X-ray emission of the A1-A5 region is consistent with a low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN), and rules out the possibility that it is a chain of young radio supernovae (RSNe) and supernova remnants (SNRs). We therefore conclude that A1-A5 is the long-sought AGN in Arp 299-A. This finding may suggest that both starburst and AGN are frequently associated phenomena in mergers.Comment: Accepted for publication in Letters to Astronomy and Astrophysics on 12 August 2010. 4 pages, 1 figur

Absolute kinematics of radio source components in the complete S5 polar cap sample. III. First wide-field high-precision astrometry at 15.4 GHz

We report on the first wide-field, high-precision astrometric analysis of the 13 extragalactic radio sources of the complete S5 polar cap sample at 15.4 GHz. We describe new algorithms developed to enable the use of differenced phase delays in wide-field astrometric observations and discuss the impact of using differenced phase delays on the precision of the wide-field astrometric analysis. From this global fit, we obtained estimates of the relative source positions with precisions ranging from 14 to 200 $\mu$as at 15.4 GHz, depending on the angular separation of the sources (from $\sim$1.6 to $\sim$20.8 degrees). These precisions are $\sim$10 times higher than the achievable precisions using the phase-reference mapping technique.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Radio continuum and X-ray emission from the most extreme FIR-excess galaxy NGC 1377: An extremely obscured AGN revealed

Galaxies which strongly deviate from the radio-far IR correlation are of great importance for studies of galaxy evolution as they may be tracing early, short-lived stages of starbursts and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The most extreme FIR-excess galaxy NGC1377 has long been interpreted as a young dusty starburst, but millimeter observations of CO lines revealed a powerful collimated molecular outflow which cannot be explained by star formation alone. We present new radio observations at 1.5 and 10 GHz obtained with the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) and Chandra X-ray observations towards NGC1377. The observations are compared to synthetic starburst models to constrain the properties of the central energy source. We obtained the first detection of the cm radio continuum and X-ray emission in NGC1377. We find that the radio emission is distributed in two components, one on the nucleus and another offset by 4$"$.5 to the South-West. We confirm the extreme FIR-excess of the galaxy, with a $q_\mathrm{FIR}\simeq$4.2, which deviates by more than 7-$\sigma$ from the radio-FIR correlation. Soft X-ray emission is detected on the off-nucleus component. From the radio emission we estimate for a young ($<10$ Myr) starburst a star formation rate SFR$<$0.1 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. Such a SFR is not sufficient to power the observed IR luminosity and to drive the CO outflow. We find that a young starburst cannot reproduce all the observed properties of the nucleus of NGC1377. We suggest that the galaxy may be harboring a radio-quiet, obscured AGN of 10$^6$M$_\odot$, accreting at near-Eddington rates. We speculate that the off-nucleus component may be tracing an hot-spot in the AGN jet.Comment: 14 pages, accepted for publication on Astronomy and Astrophysics on 08/07/201

8.4GHz VLBI observations of SN2004et in NGC6946

We report on 8.4GHz Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations of the type II-P supernova SN2004et in the spiral galaxy NGC 6946, made on 20 February 2005 (151 days after explosion). The Very Large Array (VLA) flux density was 1.23$\pm$0.07 mJy, corresponding to an isotropic luminosity at 8.4GHz of (4.45$\pm$0.3)$\times10^{25}$ erg s$^{-1}$ Hz$^{-1}$ and a brightness temperature of (1.3$\pm$0.3)$\times10^{8}$ K. We also provide an improved source position, accurate to about 0.5 mas in each coordinate. The VLBI image shows a clear asymmetry. From model fitting of the size of the radio emission, we estimate a minimum expansion velocity of 15,700$\pm$2,000 km s$^{-1}$. This velocity is more than twice the expected mean expansion velocity estimated from a synchrotron self-absorbed emission model, thus suggesting that synchrotron self-absorption is not relevant for this supernova. With the benefit of an optical spectrum obtained 12 days after explosion, we favor an emission model which consists of two hot spots on an underlying expanding shell of width comparable to that of SN 1993J.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (22/05/07

The Core-Collapse Supernova Rate in Arp299 Revisited

We present a study of the CCSN rate in nuclei A and B1 of the luminous infrared galaxy Arp299, based on 11 years of Very Large Array monitoring of their radio emission at 8.4 GHz. Significant variations in the nuclear radio flux density can be used to identify the CCSN activity in the absence of high-resolution very long baseline interferometry observations. In the case of the B1-nucleus, the small variations in its measured diffuse radio emission are below the fluxes expected from radio supernovae, thus making it well-suited to detect RSNe through flux density variability. In fact, we find strong evidence for at least three RSNe this way, which results in a lower limit for the CCSN rate of 0.28 +/- 0.16 per year. In the A-nucleus, we did not detect any significant variability and found a SN detection threshold luminosity which allows only the detection of the most luminous RSNe known. Our method is basically blind to normal CCSN explosions occurring within the A-nucleus, which result in too small variations in the nuclear flux density, remaining diluted by the strong diffuse emission of the nucleus itself. Additionally, we have attempted to find near-infrared counterparts for the earlier reported RSNe in the Arp299 nucleus A, by comparing NIR adaptive optics images from the Gemini-N telescope with contemporaneous observations from the European VLBI Network. However, we were not able to detect NIR counterparts for the reported radio SNe within the innermost regions of nucleus A. While our NIR observations were sensitive to typical CCSNe at 300 mas from the centre of the nucleus A, suffering from extinction up to A_v~15 mag, they were not sensitive to such highly obscured SNe within the innermost nuclear regions where most of the EVN sources were detected. (abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures and 7 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Evidence of nuclear disks in starburst galaxies from their radial distribution of supernovae

Galaxy-galaxy interactions are expected to be responsible for triggering massive star formation and possibly accretion onto a supermassive black hole, by providing large amounts of dense molecular gas down to the central kiloparsec region. Several scenarios to drive the gas further down to the central ~100 pc, have been proposed, including the formation of a nuclear disk around the black hole, where massive stars would produce supernovae. Here, we probe the radial distribution of supernovae and supernova remnants in the nuclear regions of the starburst galaxies M82, Arp 299-A, and Arp 220, by using high-angular resolution (< 0."1) radio observations published in the literature (for M82 and Arp 220), or obtained by ourselves from the European VLBI Network (Arp 299-A). Our main goal was to characterize the nuclear starbursts in those galaxies and thus test scenarios that propose that nuclear disks of sizes ~100 pc form in the central regions of starburst galaxies. We obtained the radial distribution of supernovae (SNe) in the nuclear starbursts of M82, Arp 299-A, and Arp 220, and derived scale-length values for the putative nuclear disks powering the bursts in those central regions. The scale lengths for the (exponential) disks range from ~20-30 pc for Arp 299-A and Arp 220, up to ~140 pc for M82. The radial distribution of SNe for the nuclear disks in Arp 299-A and Arp 220 is also consistent with a power-law surface density profile of exponent gamma=1, as expected from detailed hydrodynamical simulations of nuclear disks. Our results support scenarios where a nuclear disk of size ~100 pc is formed in (U)LIRGs, and sustained by gas pressure, in which case the accretion onto the black hole could be lowered by supernova feedback.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Radio monitoring of NGC 7469: Late time radio evolution of SN 2000ft and the circumnuclear starburst in NGC 7469

We present the results of an eight-year long monitoring of the radio emission from the Luminous Infrared Galaxy (LIRG) NGC 7469, using 8.4 GHz Very Large Array (VLA) observations at 0.3'' resolution. Our monitoring shows that the late time evolution of the radio supernova SN 2000ft follows a decline very similar to that displayed at earlier times of its optically thin phase. The late time radio emission of SN 2000ft is therefore still being powered by its interaction with the presupernova stellar wind, and not with the interstellar medium (ISM). Indeed, the ram pressure of the presupernova wind is \rho_w v_w^2 \approx 7.6E-9 dyn/cm^2, at a supernova age of approximately 2127 days, which is significantly larger than the expected pressure of the ISM around SN 2000ft. At this age, the SN shock has reached a distance r_{sh \approx 0.06 pc, and our observations are probing the interaction of the SN with dense material that was ejected by the presupernova star about 5820 years prior to its explosion. From our VLA monitoring, we estimate that the swept-up mass by the supernova shock after about six years of expansion is \approx 0.29 M_sun, assuming an average expansion speed of the supernova of 10000 km/s. We also searched for recently exploded core-collapse supernovae in our VLA images. Apart from SN 2000ft (S_\nu \approx 1760 microJy at its peak, corresponding to 1.1E28 erg/s/Hz, we found no evidence for any other radio supernova (RSN) more luminous than \approx 6.0E26 erg/s/Hz, which suggests that no other Type IIn SN has exploded since 2000 in the circumnuclear starburst of NGC 7469.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA