Abstract
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) imaging of NGC 7469 with the Near-Infrared Camera and the Mid-InfraRed Instrument. NGC 7469 is a nearby,
z
= 0.01627, luminous infrared galaxy ...that hosts both a Seyfert Type-1.5 nucleus and a circumnuclear starburst ring with a radius of ∼0.5 kpc. The new near-infrared (NIR) JWST imaging reveals 66 star-forming regions, 37 of which were not detected by Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. Twenty-eight of the 37 sources have very red NIR colors that indicate obscurations up to
A
v
∼ 7 and a contribution of at least 25% from hot dust emission to the 4.4
μ
m band. Their NIR colors are also consistent with young (<5 Myr) stellar populations and more than half of them are coincident with the mid-infrared (MIR) emission peaks. These younger, dusty star-forming regions account for ∼6% and ∼17% of the total 1.5 and 4.4
μ
m luminosity of the starburst ring, respectively. Thanks to JWST, we find a significant number of young dusty sources that were previously unseen due to dust extinction. The newly identified 28 young sources are a significant increase compared to the number of HST-detected young sources (4–5). This makes the total percentage of the young population rise from ∼15% to 48%. These results illustrate the effectiveness of JWST in identifying and characterizing previously hidden star formation in the densest star-forming environments around active galactic nuclei (AGN).
We present the detection of four rotational emission lines of water vapor, from energy levels E u/k = 101-454 K, in the gravitationally lensed z = 3.9 QSO host galaxy APM 08279+5255. While the lowest ...H2 O lines are collisionally excited in clumps of warm, dense gas (density of hydrogen nuclei , gas temperature T g ~ 105 ? 21 K), we find that the excitation of the higher lines is dominated by the intense local infrared radiation field. Since only collisionally excited emission contributes to gas cooling, we conclude that H2 O is not a significant coolant of the warm molecular gas. Our excitation model requires the radiatively excited gas to be located in an extended region of high 100 Delta *m m opacity ( Delta *t100 = 0.9 ? 0.2). Locally, such extended infrared-opaque regions are found only in the nuclei of ultraluminous infrared galaxies. We propose a model where the infrared-opaque circumnuclear cloud, which is penetrated by the X-ray radiation field of the QSO nucleus, contains clumps of massive star formation where the H2 O emission originates. The radiation pressure from the intense local infrared radiation field exceeds the thermal gas pressure by about an order of magnitude, suggesting close to Eddington-limited star formation in these clumps.
We present Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Cycle-0 observations of the CO (6-5) line emission (rest-frame frequency = 691.473 GHz) and of the 435 mum dust continuum emission in the nuclear ...region of NGC 34, a local luminous infrared galaxy at a distance of 84Mpc (1" = 407 pc) which contains a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN) and a nuclear starburst. The CO emission is well resolved by the ALMA beam (0".26 x (0".23), with an integrated flux of f sub((CO(6-5)) = 1004 (+ or -151) Jy km s super(-1). Both the morphology and kinematics of the CO (6-5) emission are rather regular, consistent with a compact rotating disk with a size of 200 pc. A significant emission feature is detected on the redshifted wing of the line profile at the frequency of the H super(13)CN (8-7) line, with an integrated flux of 17.7 + or - 2.1 (random) + or - 2.7(systematic) Jy km s super(-1). However, it cannot be ruled out that the feature is due to an outflow of warm dense gas with a mean velocity of 400 km s super(-1). The continuum is resolved into an elongated configuration, and the observed flux corresponds to a dust mass of M sub(dust) = 10 super(6.97+ or -0.13) M sub(middot in circle). An unresolved central core (radius Asymptotically = to 50 pc) contributes 28% of the continuum flux and 19% of the CO (6-5) flux, consistent with insignificant contributions of the AGN to both emissions. Both the CO (6-5) and continuum spatial distributions suggest a very high gas column density (gap super(4) M sub(middot in circle) pc super(-2)) in the nuclear region at radius lap100 pc.
Abstract
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) integral-field spectroscopy of the nearby merging, luminous infrared galaxy, NGC 7469. This galaxy hosts a Seyfert ...type-1.5 nucleus, a highly ionized outflow, and a bright, circumnuclear star-forming ring, making it an ideal target to study active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in the local universe. We take advantage of the high spatial/spectral resolution of JWST/MIRI to isolate the star-forming regions surrounding the central active nucleus and study the properties of the dust and warm molecular gas on ∼100 pc scales. The starburst ring exhibits prominent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission, with grain sizes and ionization states varying by only ∼30%, and a total star formation rate of 10–30
M
⊙
yr
−1
derived from fine structure and recombination emission lines. Using pure rotational lines of H
2
we detect 1.2 × 10
7
M
⊙
of warm molecular gas at a temperature higher than 200 K in the ring. All PAH bands get significantly weaker toward the central source, where larger and possibly more ionized grains dominate the emission, likely the result of the ionizing radiation and/or the fast wind emerging from the AGN. The small grains and warm molecular gas in the bright regions of the ring however display properties consistent with normal star-forming regions. These observations highlight the power of JWST to probe the inner regions of dusty, rapidly evolving galaxies for signatures of feedback and inform models that seek to explain the coevolution of supermassive black holes and their hosts.
We are developing an ultra-wideband spectroscopic instrument, DESHIMA (DEep Spectroscopic HIgh-redshift MApper), based on the technologies of an on-chip filter bank and microwave kinetic inductance ...detector (MKID) to investigate dusty starburst galaxies in the distant universe at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. An on-site experiment of DESHIMA was performed using the ASTE 10-m telescope. We established a responsivity model that converts frequency responses of the MKIDs to line-of-sight brightness temperature. We estimated two parameters of the responsivity model using a set of skydip data taken under various precipitable water vapor (PWV 0.4–3.0 mm) conditions for each MKID. The line-of-sight brightness temperature of sky is estimated using an atmospheric transmission model and the PWVs. As a result, we obtain an average temperature calibration uncertainty of
1
σ
=
4
%, which is smaller than other photometric biases. In addition, the average forward efficiency of 0.88 in our responsivity model is consistent with the value expected from the geometrical support structure of the telescope. We also estimate line-of-sight PWVs of each skydip observation using the frequency response of MKIDs and confirm the consistency with PWVs reported by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.
Abstract
The nearby, luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469 hosts a Seyfert nucleus with a circumnuclear star-forming ring and is thus the ideal local laboratory for investigating the starburst–AGN ...(active galactic nucleus) connection in detail. We present integral-field observations of the central 1.3 kpc region in NGC 7469 obtained with the JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument. Molecular and ionized gas distributions and kinematics at a resolution of ∼100 pc over the 4.9–7.6
μ
m region are examined to study the gas dynamics influenced by the central AGN. The low-ionization Fe
ii
λ
5.34
μ
m and Ar
ii
λ
6.99
μ
m lines are bright on the nucleus and in the starburst ring, as opposed to H
2
S(5)
λ
6.91
μ
m, which is strongly peaked at the center and surrounding ISM. The high-ionization Mg
v
line is resolved and shows a broad, blueshifted component associated with the outflow. It has a nearly face-on geometry that is strongly peaked on the nucleus, where it reaches a maximum velocity of −650 km s
−1
, and extends about 400 pc to the east. Regions of enhanced velocity dispersion in H
2
and Fe
ii
∼ 180 pc from the AGN that also show high
L
(H
2
)/
L
(PAH) and
L
(Fe
ii
)/
L
(Pf
α
) ratios to the W and N of the nucleus pinpoint regions where the ionized outflow is depositing energy, via shocks, into the dense interstellar medium between the nucleus and the starburst ring. These resolved mid-infrared observations of the nuclear gas dynamics demonstrate the power of JWST and its high-sensitivity integral-field spectroscopic capability to resolve feedback processes around supermassive black holes in the dusty cores of nearby luminous infrared galaxies.
Abstract We present new JWST NIRSpec integral field spectroscopy (IFS) data for the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469, a nearby (70.6 Mpc) active galaxy with a Seyfert 1.5 nucleus that drives a ...highly ionized gas outflow and a prominent nuclear star-forming ring. Using the superb sensitivity and high spatial resolution of the JWST instrument NIRSpec IFS, we investigate the role of the Seyfert nucleus in the excitation and dynamics of the circumnuclear gas. Our analysis focuses on the Fe ii , H 2 , and hydrogen recombination lines that trace the radiation/shocked-excited molecular and ionized interstellar medium around the active galactic nucleus (AGN). We investigate gas excitation through H 2 /Br γ and Fe ii /Pa β emission line ratios and find that photoionization by the AGN dominates within the central 300 pc of the galaxy except in a small region that shows signatures of shock-heated gas; these shock-heated regions are likely associated with a compact radio jet. In addition, the velocity field and velocity dispersion maps reveal complex gas kinematics. Rotation is the dominant feature, but we also identify noncircular motions consistent with gas inflows as traced by the velocity residuals and the spiral pattern in the Pa α velocity dispersion map. The inflow is 2 orders of magnitude higher than the AGN accretion rate. The compact nuclear radio jet has enough power to drive the highly ionized outflow. This scenario suggests that the inflow and outflow are in a self-regulating feeding–feedback process, with a contribution from the radio jet helping to drive the outflow.
Abstract
We present observations of a remarkable submillimetre-selected galaxy, SMM J16359+6612. This distant galaxy lies behind the core of a massive cluster of galaxies, A 2218, and is ...gravitationally lensed by the foreground cluster into three discrete images which were identified in deep submillimetre maps of the cluster core at both 450 and 850 μm. Subsequent follow-up investigations using deep optical and near-infrared (NIR) images identify a faint counterpart to each of the three images, with similar red optical-NIR colours and Hubble Space Telescope morphologies. By exploiting a detailed mass model for the cluster lens we estimate that the combined images of this galaxy are magnified by a factor of ∼45, implying that this galaxy would have unlensed magnitudes K
s= 22.9 and I= 26.1, and an unlensed 850-μm flux density of only 0.8 mJy. Moreover, the highly constrained lens model predicted the redshift of SMM J16359+6612 to be z= 2.6 ± 0.4. We confirm this estimate using deep optical and NIR Keck spectroscopy, measuring a redshift of z= 2.516. SMM J16359+6612 is the faintest submillimetre (submm)-selected galaxy so far identified with a precise redshift. Thanks to the large gravitational magnification of this source, we identify three sub-components in this submm galaxy, which are also seen in the Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSPEC) data, arguing for either a strong dust (lane) absorption or a merger. Interestingly, there are two other highly amplified galaxies at almost identical redshifts in this field (although neither is a strong submm emitter). The three galaxies lie within a ∼100-kpc region on the background sky, suggesting this submm galaxy is located in a dense high-redshift group.
Abstract
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) integral field spectroscopy of the nearby luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469. We take advantage of the high ...spatial/spectral resolution and wavelength coverage of JWST/NIRSpec to study the 3.3
μ
m neutral polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) grain emission on ∼200 pc scales. A clear change in the average grain properties between the star-forming ring and the central AGN is found. Regions in the vicinity of the AGN, with Ne
iii
/Ne
ii
> 0.25, tend to have larger grain sizes and lower aliphatic-to-aromatic (3.4/3.3) ratios, indicating that smaller grains are preferentially removed by photodestruction in the vicinity of the AGN. PAH emission at the nucleus is weak and shows a low 11.3/3.3 PAH ratio. We find an overall suppression of the total PAH emission relative to the ionized gas in the central 1 kpc region of the AGN in NGC 7469 compared to what has been observed with Spitzer on 3 kpc scales. However, the fractional 3.3
μ
m–to–total PAH power is enhanced in the starburst ring, possibly due to a variety of physical effects on subkiloparsec scales, including recurrent fluorescence of small grains or multiple photon absorption by large grains. Finally, the IFU data show that while the 3.3
μ
m PAH-derived star formation rate (SFR) in the ring is 27% higher than that inferred from the Ne
ii
and Ne
iii
emission lines, the integrated SFR derived from the 3.3
μ
m feature would be underestimated by a factor of 2 due to the deficit of PAHs around the AGN, as might occur if a composite system like NGC 7469 were to be observed at high redshift.
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