We report results from very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, Sgr A*, at 1.3 mm (230 GHz). The observations were performed in ...2013 March using six VLBI stations in Hawaii, California, Arizona, and Chile. Compared to earlier observations, the addition of the APEX telescope in Chile almost doubles the longest baseline length in the array, provides additional uv coverage in the N-S direction, and leads to a spatial resolution of ∼30 as (∼3 Schwarzschild radii) for Sgr A*. The source is detected even at the longest baselines with visibility amplitudes of ∼4%-13% of the total flux density. We argue that such flux densities cannot result from interstellar refractive scattering alone, but indicate the presence of compact intrinsic source structure on scales of ∼3 Schwarzschild radii. The measured nonzero closure phases rule out point-symmetric emission. We discuss our results in the context of simple geometric models that capture the basic characteristics and brightness distributions of disk- and jet-dominated models and show that both can reproduce the observed data. Common to these models are the brightness asymmetry, the orientation, and characteristic sizes, which are comparable to the expected size of the black hole shadow. Future 1.3 mm VLBI observations with an expanded array and better sensitivity will allow more detailed imaging of the horizon-scale structure and bear the potential for a deep insight into the physical processes at the black hole boundary.
Outbursts from active galactic nuclei (AGN) can inflate cavities in the intracluster medium (ICM) of galaxy clusters and are believed to play the primary role in offsetting radiative cooling in the ...ICM. However, the details of how the energy from AGN feedback thermalizes to heat the ICM is not well understood, partly due to the unknown composition and energetics of the cavities. The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect, a measure of the integrated pressure along the line of sight, provides a means of measuring the thermal contents of the cavities, to discriminate between thermal, nonthermal, and other sources of pressure support. Here we report measurements of the SZ effect at 30 GHz toward the galaxy cluster MS 0735.6+7421 (MS0735), using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). MS0735 hosts the most energetic AGN outburst known and lobes of radio synchrotron emission coincident with a pair of giant X-ray cavities ∼200 kpc across. Our CARMA maps show a clear deficit in the SZ signal coincident with the X-ray identified cavities, when compared to a smooth X-ray derived pressure model. We find that the cavities have very little SZ-contributing material, suggesting that they are either supported by very diffuse thermal plasma with temperature in excess of hundreds of keV, or are not supported thermally. Our results represent the first detection (with 4.4 significance) of this phenomenon with the SZ effect.
We present the first weak-lensing-based scaling relation between galaxy cluster mass, M sub(WL), and integrated Compton parameter Y sub(sph). Observations of 18 galaxy clusters at z Asymptotically = ...to 0.2 were obtained with the Subaru 8.2 m telescope and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array. The M sub(WL)-Y sub(sph) scaling relations, measured at Delta = 500, 1000, and 2500 rho sub(c), are consistent in slope and normalization with previous results derived under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium (HSE). We find an intrinsic scatter in M sub(WL) at fixed Y sub(sph) of 20%, larger than both previous measurements of M sub(HSE)-Y sub(sph) scatter as well as the scatter in true mass at fixed Y sub(sph) found in simulations. Moreover, the scatter in our lensing-based scaling relations is morphology dependent, with 30%-40% larger M sub(WL) for undisturbed compared to disturbed clusters at the same Y sub(sph) at r sub(500). Further examination suggests that the segregation may be explained by the inability of our spherical lens models to faithfully describe the three-dimensional structure of the clusters, in particular, the structure along the line of sight. We find that the ellipticity of the brightest cluster galaxy, a proxy for halo orientation, correlates well with the offset in mass from the mean scaling relation, which supports this picture. This provides empirical evidence that line-of-sight projection effects are an important systematic uncertainty in lensing-based scaling relations.
FIRST RESULTS FROM COPSS: THE CO POWER SPECTRUM SURVEY Keating, Garrett K.; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Marrone, Daniel P. ...
Astrophysical journal/The Astrophysical journal,
12/2015, Letnik:
814, Številka:
2
Journal Article
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ABSTRACT We present constraints on the abundance of carbon monoxide in the early universe from the CO Power Spectrum Survey. We utilize a data set collected between 2005 and 2008 using the ...Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA), which was previously used to measure arcminute-scale fluctuations of the cosmic microwave background. This data set features observations of 44 fields, covering an effective area of 1.7 square degrees, over a frequency range of 27-35 GHz. Using the technique of intensity mapping, we are able to probe the CO(1-0) transition, with sensitivity to spatial modes between k = 0.5-2 h Mpc−1 over a range in redshift of z = 2.3-3.3, spanning a comoving volume of 3.6 × 106 h−3 Mpc3. We demonstrate our ability to mitigate foregrounds, and present estimates of the impact of continuum sources on our measurement. We constrain the CO power spectrum to PCO < 2.6 × 104 K2 (h−1 Mpc)3, or Δ2CO(k = 1 h Mpc−1) < 1.3 × 103 K2, at 95% confidence. This limit resides near optimistic predictions for the CO power spectrum. Under the assumption that CO emission is proportional to halo mass during bursts of active star formation, this corresponds to a limit on the ratio of CO(1-0) luminosity to host halo mass of ACO < 1.2 × 10−5 L M −1. Further assuming a Milky Way-like conversion factor between CO luminosity and molecular gas mass ( CO = 4.3 M (K km s−1 pc−2)−1), we constrain the global density of molecular gas to .
We demonstrate the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect imaging capabilities of the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA) by presenting an SZ map of the galaxy cluster RX ...J1347.5-1145. By combining data from multiple CARMA bands and configurations, we are able to capture the structure of this cluster over a wide range of angular scales, from its bulk properties to its core morphology. We find that roughly 9% of this cluster's thermal energy is associated with sub-arcminute-scale structure imparted by a merger, illustrating the value of high-resolution SZ measurements for pursuing cluster astrophysics and for understanding the scatter in SZ scaling relations. We also find that the cluster's SZ signal is lower in amplitude than suggested by a spherically symmetric model derived from X-ray data, consistent with compression along the line of sight relative to the plane of the sky. Finally, we discuss the impact of upgrades currently in progress that will further enhance CARMA's power as an SZ imaging instrument.
Centaurus A (Cen A) is a bright radio source associated with the nearby galaxy NGC 5128 where high-resolution radio observations can probe the jet at scales of less than a light day. The South Pole ...Telescope (SPT) and the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment performed a single-baseline very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observation of Cen A in 2015 January as part of VLBI receiver deployment for the SPT. We measure the correlated flux density of Cen A at a wavelength of 1.4 mm on a ∼7000 km (5 Gλ) baseline. Ascribing this correlated flux density to the core, and with the use of a contemporaneous short-baseline flux density from a Submillimeter Array observation, we infer a core brightness temperature of 1.4 × 1011 K. This is close to the equipartition brightness temperature, where the magnetic and relativistic particle energy densities are equal. Under the assumption of a circular Gaussian core component, we derive an upper limit to the core size φ = 34.0 1.8 as, corresponding to 120 Schwarzschild radii for a black hole mass of 5.5 × 107 M .
ABSTRACT The Galactic Center black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) is a prime observing target for the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), which can resolve the 1.3 mm emission from this source on angular ...scales comparable to that of the general relativistic shadow. Previous EHT observations have used visibility amplitudes to infer the morphology of the millimeter-wavelength emission. Potentially much richer source information is contained in the phases. We report on 1.3 mm phase information on Sgr A* obtained with the EHT on a total of 13 observing nights over four years. Closure phases, which are the sum of visibility phases along a closed triangle of interferometer baselines, are used because they are robust against phase corruptions introduced by instrumentation and the rapidly variable atmosphere. The median closure phase on a triangle including telescopes in California, Hawaii, and Arizona is nonzero. This result conclusively demonstrates that the millimeter emission is asymmetric on scales of a few Schwarzschild radii and can be used to break 180° rotational ambiguities inherent from amplitude data alone. The stability of the sign of the closure phase over most observing nights indicates persistent asymmetry in the image of Sgr A* that is not obscured by refraction due to interstellar electrons along the line of sight.
We report results from very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, Sgr A*, at 1.3 mm (230 GHz). The observations were performed in ...2013 March using six VLBI stations in Hawaii, California, Arizona, and Chile. Compared to earlier observations, the addition of the APEX telescope in Chile almost doubles the longest baseline length in the array, provides additional uv coverage in the N-S direction, and leads to a spatial resolution of similar to 30 mu as (similar to 3 Schwarzschild radii) for Sgr A*. The source is detected even at the longest baselines with visibility amplitudes of similar to 4%-13% of the total flux density. We argue that such flux densities cannot result from interstellar refractive scattering alone, but indicate the presence of compact intrinsic source structure on scales of similar to 3 Schwarzschild radii. The measured nonzero closure phases rule out point-symmetric emission. We discuss our results in the context of simple geometric models that capture the basic characteristics and brightness distributions of disk-and jet-dominated models and show that both can reproduce the observed data. Common to these models are the brightness asymmetry, the orientation, and characteristic sizes, which are comparable to the expected size of the black hole shadow. Future 1.3 mm VLBI observations with an expanded array and better sensitivity will allow more detailed imaging of the horizon-scale structure and bear the potential for a deep insight into the physical processes at the black hole boundary.
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