The cosmological process of hydrogen (H i) reionization in the intergalactic medium is thought to be driven by UV photons emitted by star-forming galaxies and ionizing active galactic nuclei (AGN). ...The contribution of quasars (QSOs) to H i reionization at z > 4 has been traditionally believed to be quite modest. However, this view has been recently challenged by new estimates of a higher faint-end UV luminosity function (LF). To set firmer constraints on the emissivity of AGN at z < 6, we here make use of complete X-ray-selected samples including deep Chandra and new Cosmic Evolution Survey data, capable to efficiently measure the 1 Ryd comoving AGN emissivity up to z ~ 5-6 and down to 5 mag fainter than probed by current optical surveys, without any luminosity extrapolation. We find good agreement between the log N sub( H) ... 21-22 cm super( -2) X-ray LF and the optically selected QSO LF at all redshifts for M sub( 1450) less than or equal to -23. The full range of the log N sub( H) ... 21-22 cm super( -2) LF (M sub( 1450) less than or equal to -17) was then used to quantify the contribution of AGN to the critical value of photon budget needed to keep the Universe ionized. We find that the contribution of ionizing AGN at z = 6 is as small as 1-7 per cent, and very unlikely to be greater than 30 per cent, thus excluding an AGN-dominated reionization scenario. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
We present two catalogs of radio-loud candidate blazars whose Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mid-infrared colors are selected to be consistent with the colors of confirmed γ-ray-emitting ...blazars. The first catalog is the improved and expanded release of the WISE Blazar-like Radio-Loud Sources (WIBRaLS) catalog presented by D'Abrusco et al. It includes sources detected in all four WISE filters, spatially cross-matched with radio sources in one of three radio surveys and radio-loud based on their q22 spectral parameter. WIBRaLS2 includes 9541 sources classified as BL Lacs, flat-spectrum radio quasars, or mixed candidates based on their WISE colors. The second catalog, called KDEBLLACS, based on a new selection technique, contains 5579 candidate BL Lacs extracted from the population of WISE sources detected in the first three WISE passbands (3.4, 4.6, and 12) only, whose mid-infrared colors are similar to those of confirmed, γ-ray BL Lacs. Members of KDBLLACS are also required to have a radio counterpart and be radio-loud based on the parameter q12, defined similarly to the q22 used for the WIBRaLS2. We describe the properties of these catalogs and compare them with the largest samples of confirmed and candidate blazars in the literature. We cross-match the two new catalogs with the most recent catalogs of γ-ray sources detected by the Fermi Large Area Telescope. Since spectroscopic observations of candidate blazars from the first WIBRaLS catalog within the uncertainty regions of γ-ray unassociated sources confirmed that ∼90% of these candidates are blazars, we anticipate that these new catalogs will again play an important role in the identification of the γ-ray sky.
We report the discovery of a luminosity distance estimator using active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We combine the correlation between the X-ray variability amplitude and the black hole (BH) mass with ...the single-epoch spectra BH mass estimates which depend on the AGN luminosity and the line width emitted by the broad-line region. We demonstrate that significant correlations do exist that allow one to predict the AGN (optical or X-ray) luminosity as a function of the AGN X-ray variability and either the H beta or the Pa beta line widths. In the best case, when the Pa beta is used, the relationship has an intrinsic dispersion of ~0.6 dex. Although intrinsically more disperse than supernovae Ia, this relation constitutes an alternative distance indicator potentially able to probe, in an independent way, the expansion history of the universe. With respect to this, we show that the new mission concept Athena should be able to measure the X-ray variability of hundreds of AGNs and then constrain the distance modulus with uncertainties of 0.1 mag up to z ~ 0.6. We also discuss how our estimator has the prospect of becoming a cosmological probe even more sensitive than the current supernovae Ia samples by using a new dedicated wide-field X-ray telescope able to measure the variability of thousands of AGNs.
ABSTRACT
NGC 3147 has been considered the best case of a true type 2 AGN: an unobscured AGN, based on the unabsorbed compact X-ray continuum, which lacks a broad-line region (BLR). However, the very ...low luminosity of NGC 3147 implies a compact BLR, which produces very broad lines, hard to detect against the dominant background host galaxy. Narrow (0.1 arcsec × 0.1 arcsec) slit HST spectroscopy allowed us to exclude most of the host galaxy light, and revealed an H α line with an extremely broad base (FWZI${\sim }27\, 000$ km s−1). The line profile shows a steep cut-off blue wing and an extended red wing, which match the signature of a mildly relativistic thin accretion disc line profile. It is indeed well fit with a nearly face on thin disc, at i ∼ 23°, with an inner radius at 77 ± 15 rg, which matches the prediction of $62^{+18}_{-14}$rg from the RBLR–L1/2 relation. This result questions the very existence of true type 2 AGN. Moreover, the detection of a thin disc, which extends below 100 rg in an L/LEdd ∼ 10−4 system, contradicts the current view of the accretion flow configuration at extremely low accretion rates.
Context. Ionized outflows, revealed by broad asymmetric wings of the O III λ5007 line, are commonly observed in active galactic nuclei (AGN) but the low intrinsic spatial resolution of the ...observations has generally prevented a detailed characterization of their properties. The MAGNUM survey aims at overcoming these limitations by focusing on the nearest AGN, including NGC 1365, a nearby Seyfert galaxy (D ∼ 17 Mpc), hosting a low-luminosity active nucleus (Lbol ∼ 2 × 1043 erg s−1). Aims. We want to obtain a detailed picture of the ionized gas in the central ∼5 kpc of NGC 1365 in terms of physical properties, kinematics, and ionization mechanisms. We also aim to characterize the warm ionized outflow as a function of distance from the nucleus and its relation with the nuclear X-ray wind. Methods. We employed optical integral-field spectroscopic observations from VLT/MUSE to investigate the warm ionized gas and Chandra ACIS-S X-ray data for the hot highly-ionized phase. We obtained flux, kinematic, and diagnostic maps of the optical emission lines, which we used to disentangle outflows from gravitational motions in the disk and measure the gas properties down to a spatial resolution of ∼70 pc. We then performed imaging spectroscopy on Chandra ACIS-S data guided by the matching with MUSE maps. Results. The O III emission mostly traces a kpc-scale biconical outflow ionized by the AGN having velocities up to ∼200 km s−1. Hα emission traces instead star formation in a circumnuclear ring and along the bar, where we detect non-circular streaming gas motions. Soft X-rays are predominantly due to thermal emission from the star-forming regions, but we manage to isolate the AGN photoionized component which nicely matches the O III emission. The mass outflow rate of the extended ionized outflow is similar to that of the nuclear X-ray wind and then decreases with radius, implying that the outflow either slows down or that the AGN activity has recently increased. However, the hard X-ray emission from the circumnuclear ring suggests that star formation might in principle contribute to the outflow. The integrated mass outflow rate, kinetic energy rate, and outflow velocity are broadly consistent with the typical relations observed in more luminous AGN.
Abstract
The nearby Type II active galactic nucleus (AGN) 1ES 1927+654 went through a violent changing-look (CL) event beginning 2017 December during which the optical and UV fluxes increased by four ...magnitudes over a few months, and broad emission lines newly appeared in the optical/UV. By 2018 July, the X-ray coronal emission had completely vanished, only to reappear a few months later. In this work we report the evolution of the radio, optical, UV and X-rays from the preflare state through mid-2021 with new and archival data from the Very Long Baseline Array, the European VLBI Network, the Very Large Array, the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, Gran Telescopio Canarias, The Neil Gehrels Swift observatory, and XMM-Newton. The main results from our work are (i) the source has returned to its pre-CL state in optical, UV, and X-ray; the disk–corona relation has been reestablished as it has been in the pre-CL state, with an
α
OX
∼ 1.02. The optical spectra are dominated by narrow emission lines. (ii) The UV light curve follows a shallower slope of ∝
t
−0.91±0.04
compared to that predicted by a tidal disruption event. We conjecture that a magnetic flux inversion event is the possible cause for this enigmatic event. (iii) The compact radio emission which we tracked in the pre-CL (2014), during CL (2018), and post-CL (2021) at spatial scales <1 pc was at its lowest level during the CL event in 2018, nearly contemporaneous with a low 2–10 keV emission. The radio to X-ray ratio of the compact source
L
Radio
/
L
X−ray
∼ 10
−5.5
follows the Güdel–Benz relation, typically found in coronally active stars and several AGNs. (iv) We do not detect any presence of nascent jets at the spatial scales of ∼5–10 pc.
ABSTRACT
The origin of radio emission in the majority of active galactic nuclei is still poorly understood. Various competing mechanisms are likely involved in the production of radio emission and ...precise diagnostic tools are needed to disentangle them, of which variability is among the most powerful. For the first time, we show evidence for significant radio variability at 5 GHz at milli-arcsecond scales on days to weeks time-scales in the highly accreting and extremely radio-quiet (RQ) Narrow Line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) Mrk 110. The simultaneous Swift/XRT light curve indicates stronger soft than hard X-ray variability. The short-term radio variability suggests that the GHz emitting region has a size smaller than ∼180 Schwarzschild radii. The high brightness temperature and the radio and X-ray variability rule out a star-formation and a disc wind origin. Synchrotron emission from a low-power jet and/or an outflowing corona is then favoured.
ABSTRACT
The masses of supermassive black holes at the centres of local galaxies appear to be tightly correlated with the mass and velocity dispersions of their galactic hosts. However, the local ...Mbh–Mstar relation inferred from dynamically measured inactive black holes is up to an order-of-magnitude higher than some estimates from active black holes, and recent work suggests that this discrepancy arises from selection bias on the sample of dynamical black hole mass measurements. In this work, we combine X-ray measurements of the mean black hole accretion luminosity as a function of stellar mass and redshift with empirical models of galaxy stellar mass growth, integrating over time to predict the evolving Mbh–Mstar relation. The implied relation is nearly independent of redshift, indicating that stellar and black hole masses grow, on average, at similar rates. Matching the de-biased local Mbh–Mstar relation requires a mean radiative efficiency ε ≳ 0.15, in line with theoretical expectations for accretion on to spinning black holes. However, matching the ‘raw’ observed relation for inactive black holes requires ε ∼ 0.02, far below theoretical expectations. This result provides independent evidence for selection bias in dynamically estimated black hole masses, a conclusion that is robust to uncertainties in bolometric corrections, obscured active black hole fractions, and kinetic accretion efficiency. For our fiducial assumptions, they favour moderate-to-rapid spins of typical supermassive black holes, to achieve ε ∼ 0.12–0.20. Our approach has similarities to the classic Soltan analysis, but by using galaxy-based data instead of integrated quantities we are able to focus on regimes where observational uncertainties are minimized.
Abstract
Roughly one third of the sources in the Fermi-LAT catalogs are listed as unidentified/unassociated
γ
-ray sources (UGS), i.e., they lack a low-energy counterpart. In addition, there is a ...growing population of blazars of uncertain type (BCUs). Spectroscopic observations are crucial to confirm the blazar nature of the UGSs candidate counterparts and BCUs. Hence, in 2013 we started an optical spectroscopic campaign to carry out the identifications and classifications. In this paper, as a continuation of the campaign we report the spectra of 39 sources: the sample comprises 37 sources classified as BCUs, one source classified as a BL Lac in the Fourth Source Catalog of the Fermi-LAT (4FGL), and one source classified as UGS. We classify 19 of the sources in the sample as BL Lacs, 13 as blazars with nonnegligible host-galaxy emission, six as Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars, and one as a normal elliptical galaxy. The source listed as BL Lac in the 4FGL seems to be a blazar with nonnegligible host-galaxy emission in our observations, most likely due to an ongoing quiescent state. We classified the UGS source as a BL Lac. Six out of the 39 sources were previously reported in the campaign; in general, both the classifications and redshifts are in agreement, except for one of them with no redshift reported before. Altogether, we provided reliable redshift estimates to 21 out of the 39 sources. Finally, we describe the statistics of the data collected in our campaign so far.
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