A Multi-Wavelength Investigation of Seyfert 1.8 and 1.9 Galaxies

We focus on determining the underlying physical cause of a Seyfert galaxy\u27s appearance as type a 1.8 or 1.9. Are these intermediate Seyfert types typical Seyfert 1 nuclei reddened by central dusty tori or by nuclear dust lanes/spirals in the narrow-line region? Or, are they similar to NGC 2992, objects that have intrinsically weak continua and weak broad emission lines? Our study compares measurements of the reddenings of the narrow and broad-line regions with each other and with the X-ray column derived from XMM Newton 0.5-10 keV spectra to determine the presence and location of dust in the line of sight for a sample of 35 Seyfert 1.8s and 1.9s. From this, we find that Seyfert 1.9s are an almost equal mix of low-flux objects with unreddened broad line regions, and objects with broad line regions reddened by an internal dust source, either the torus or dust structures on the same size scale as the narrow line region. The 1.9s that recieved this designation due to a low continuum flux state showed variable type classifications. All three of the Seyfert 1.8s in our study are probably in low continuum states. Many objects have been misclassified as Seyfert 1.8/1.9s in the past, probably due to improper [N II]/H-alpha deconvolution leading to a false detection of weak broad H-alpha

The Swift BAT Survey Detects Two Optical Broad Line, X-ray Heavily Obscured Active Galaxies: NVSS 193013+341047 and IRAS 05218-1212

The Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) is discovering interesting new objects while monitoring the sky in the 14-195 keV band. Here we present the X-ray properties and spectral energy distributions for two unusual AGN sources. Both NVSS 193013+341047 and IRAS 05218-1212 are absorbed, Compton-thin, but heavily obscured (NH \sim 10^23 cm-2), X-ray sources at redshifts < 0.1. The spectral energy distributions reveal these galaxies to be very red, with high extinction in the optical and UV. A similar SED is seen for the extremely red objects (EROs) detected in the higher redshift universe. This suggests that these unusual BAT-detected sources are a low- redshift (z << 1) analog to EROs, which recent evidence suggests are a class of the elusive type II quasars. Studying the multi-wavelength properties of these sources may reveal the properties of their high redshift counterparts.Comment: 20 pages, accepted to Ap

First search for an x-ray–optical reverberation signal in an ultraluminous x-ray source

Using simultaneous optical (VLT/FORS2) and X-ray (XMM-Newton) data of NGC 5408, we present the first ever attempt to search for a reverberation signal in an ultraluminous X-ray source (NGC 5408 X-1). The idea is similar to active galactic nucleus broad line reverberation mapping where a lag measurement between the X-ray and the optical flux combined with a Keplerian velocity estimate should enable us to weigh the central compact object. We find that although NGC 5408 X-1's X-rays are variable on a timescale of a few hundred seconds (rms of 9.0 ± 0.5%), the optical emission does not show any statistically significant variations. We set a 3? upper limit on the rms optical variability of 3.3%. The ratio of the X-ray to the optical variability is an indicator of X-ray reprocessing efficiency. In X-ray binaries, this ratio is roughly 5. Assuming a similar ratio for NGC 5408 X-1, the expected rms optical variability is ?2%, which is still a factor of roughly two lower than what was possible with the VLT observations in this study. We find marginal evidence (3?) for optical variability on a ~24 hr timescale. Our results demonstrate that such measurements can be made, but photometric conditions, low sky background levels, and longer simultaneous observations will be required to reach optical variability levels similar to those of X-ray binaries

HOP Queue: Hyperspectral Onboard Processing Queue Demonstration

The HOP Queue (Hyperspectral Onboard Processing Queue) demonstration leverages emerging COTS AI accelerators and GPUs to perform on-board processing of hyperspectral imagery data, with the aim of providing near- real time conservation-oriented data and metrics from Low Earth Orbit (LEO). These include forest health, fire detection, and coastal water health. Phase 1 of this project is currently underway, including a completed lab demonstration of this technology and ongoing flight testing. The data from this mission will support Northrop Grumman’s enterprise “Technology for Conservation” campaign and will be provided to NASA’s Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) organization, as well as other conservation efforts

Galactic Winds across the Gas-rich Merger Sequence. I. Highly Ionized N v and O vi Outflows in the QUEST Quasars*

Abstract This program is part of QUEST (Quasar/ULIRG Evolutionary Study) and seeks to examine the gaseous environments of z ≲ 0.3 quasars and ULIRGs as a function of host galaxy properties and age across the merger sequence from ULIRGs to quasars. This first paper in the series focuses on 33 quasars from the QUEST sample and on the kinematics of the highly ionized gas phase traced by the N v λ λ 1238,1243 and O vi λ λ 1032,1038 absorption lines in high-quality Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) data. N v and O vi outflows are present in about 60% of the QUEST quasars and span a broad range of properties, both in terms of equivalent widths (from 20 mÅ to 25 Å) and kinematics (outflow velocities from a few×100 km s−1 up to ∼10,000 km s−1). The rate of incidence and equivalent widths of the highly ionized outflows are higher among X-ray weak or absorbed sources. The weighted outflow velocity dispersions are highest among the X-ray weakest sources. No significant trends are found between the weighted outflow velocities and the properties of the quasars and host galaxies, although this may be due to the limited dynamic range of properties of the current sample. These results will be re-examined in an upcoming paper where the sample is expanded to include the QUEST ULIRGs. Finally, a lower limit of ∼0.1% on the ratio of time-averaged kinetic power to bolometric luminosity is estimated in the 2–4 objects with blueshifted P v λ λ 1117,1128 absorption features.</jats:p

First Search for an X-Ray-Optical Reverberation Signal in an Ultraluminous X-Ray Source

Using simultaneous optical (VLT/FORS2) and X-ray (XMM-Newton) data of NGC 5408, we present the first ever attempt to search for a reverberation signal in an ultraluminous X-ray source (NGC 5408 X-1). The idea is similar to active galactic nucleus broad line reverberation mapping where a lag measurement between the X-ray and the optical flux combined with a Keplerian velocity estimate should enable us to weigh the central compact object. We find that although NGC 5408 X-1s X-rays are variable on a timescale of a few hundred seconds (rms of 9.0 +/- 0.5%), the optical emission does not show any statistically significant variations. We set a 3 upper limit on the rms optical variability of 3.3%. The ratio of the X-ray to the optical variability is an indicator of X-ray reprocessing efficiency. In X-ray binaries, this ratio is roughly 5. Assuming a similar ratio for NGC 5408 X-1, the expected rms optical variability is approximately equal to 2%, which is still a factor of roughly two lower than what was possible with the VLT observations in this study. We find marginal evidence (3 sigma) for optical variability on an approximately 24 hr timescale. Our results demonstrate that such measurements can be made, but photometric conditions, low sky background levels, and longer simultaneous observations will be required to reach optical variability levels similar to those of X-ray binaries

A MONTE CARLO MARKOV CHAIN BASED INVESTIGATION OF BLACK HOLE SPIN IN THE ACTIVE GALAXY NGC 3783

The analysis of relativistically broadened X-ray spectral features from the inner accretion disk provides a powerful tool for measuring the spin of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, AGN spectra are often complex and careful analysis employing appropriate and self-consistent models is required if one has to obtain robust results. In this paper, we revisit the deep 2009 July Suzaku observation of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3783 in order to study in a rigorous manner the robustness of the inferred black hole spin parameter. Using Monte Carlo Markov chain techniques, we identify a (partial) modeling degeneracy between the iron abundance of the disk and the black hole spin parameter. We show that the data for NGC 3783 strongly require both supersolar iron abundance (Z [subscript Fe] = 2-4 Z ☉) and a rapidly spinning black hole (a > 0.89). We discuss various astrophysical considerations that can affect the measured abundance. We note that, while the abundance enhancement inferred in NGC 3783 is modest, the X-ray analysis of some other objects has found extreme iron abundances. We introduce the hypothesis that the radiative levitation of iron ions in the innermost regions of radiation-dominated AGN disks can enhance the photospheric abundance of iron. We show that radiative levitation is a plausible mechanism in the very inner regions of high accretion rate AGN disks.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Long Term Space Astrophysics grant NAG513065)United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA Suzaku Guest Observer Program, grant NNX10AR31G