scholarly journals Evidence for an accreting massive black hole in He 2–10 from adaptive optics integral field spectroscopy

2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (2) ◽  
pp. 2004-2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogemar A Riffel

ABSTRACT Henize 2–10 is a blue dwarf galaxy with intense star formation and one the most intriguing question about it is whether or not it hosts an accreting massive black hole. We use H and K-band integral field spectra of the inner 130 pc × 130 pc of He 2–10 to investigate the emission and kinematics of the gas at unprecedented spatial resolution. The observations were done using the Gemini Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) operating with the ALTAIR adaptive optics module and the resulting spatial resolutions are 6.5 and 8.6 pc in the K and H bands, respectively. Most of the line emission is due to excitation of the gas by photoionization and shocks produced by the star forming regions. In addition, our data provide evidence of emission of gas excited by an active galactic nucleus located at the position of the radio and X-ray sources, as revealed by the analysis of the emission-line ratios. The emission lines from the ionized gas in the field present two kinematic components: one narrow with a velocity field suggesting a disc rotation and a broad component due to winds from the star forming regions. The molecular gas shows only the narrow component. The stellar velocity dispersion map presents an enhancement of about 7 km s−1 at the position of the black hole, consistent with a mass of $1.5^{+1.3}_{-1.3}\times 10^6$ M⊙.

2003 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 87-90
Author(s):  
M. Tamura ◽  
T. Naoi ◽  
Y. Oasa ◽  
Y. Nakajima ◽  
C. Nagashima ◽  
...  

We are currently conducting three kinds of IR surveys of star forming regions (SFRs) in order to seek for very low-mass young stellar populations. First is a deep JHKs-bands (simultaneous) survey with the SIRIUS camera on the IRSF 1.4m or the UH 2.2m telescopes. Second is a very deep JHKs survey with the CISCO IR camera on the Subaru 8.2m telescope. Third is a high resolution companion search around nearby YSOs with the CIAO adaptive optics coronagraph IR camera on the Subaru. In this contribution, we describe our SIRIUS camera and present preliminary results of the ongoing surveys with this new instrument.


2021 ◽  
Vol 648 ◽  
pp. A59
Author(s):  
S. Petrus ◽  
M. Bonnefoy ◽  
G. Chauvin ◽  
B. Charnay ◽  
G.-D. Marleau ◽  
...  

Medium-resolution integral-field spectrographs (IFS) coupled with adaptive-optics such as Keck/OSIRIS, VLT/MUSE, or SINFONI are appearing as a new avenue for enhancing the detection and characterization capabilities of young, gas giant exoplanets at large heliocentric distances (>5 au). We analyzed K-band VLT/SINFONI medium-resolution (Rλ ~5577) observations of the young giant exoplanet HIP 65426 b. Our dedicated IFS data analysis toolkit (TExTRIS) optimized the cube building, star registration, and allowed for the extraction of the planet spectrum. A Bayesian inference with the nested sampling algorithm coupled with the self-consistent forward atmospheric models BT-SETTL15 and Exo-REM using the ForMoSA tool yields Teff = 1560 ± 100 K, log(g) ≤ 4.40 dex, [M/H] = 0.05−0.22+0.24 dex, and an upper limit on the C/O (≤0.55). The object is also re-detected with the so-called “molecular mapping” technique. The technique yields consistent atmospheric parameters, but the loss of the planet pseudo-continuum in the process degrades or modifies the constraints on these parameters. The solar to sub-solar C/O ratio suggests an enrichment by solids at formation if the planet was formed beyond the water snowline (≥20 au) by core accretion (CA hereafter). However, a formation by gravitational instability (GI hereafter) cannot be ruled out. The metallicity is compatible with the bulk enrichment of massive Jovian planets from the Bern planet population models. Finally, we measure a radial velocity of 26 ± 15 km s−1 compatible with our revised measurement on the star. This is the fourth imaged exoplanet for which a radial velocity can be evaluated, illustrating the potential of such observations for assessing the coevolution of imaged systems belonging to star forming regions, such as HIP 65426.


2020 ◽  
Vol 640 ◽  
pp. L12
Author(s):  
S. Y. Haffert ◽  
R. G. van Holstein ◽  
C. Ginski ◽  
J. Brinchmann ◽  
I. A. G. Snellen ◽  
...  

Context. Direct imaging provides a steady flow of newly discovered giant planets and brown dwarf companions. These multi-object systems can provide information about the formation of low-mass companions in wide orbits and/or help us to speculate about possible migration scenarios. Accurate classification of companions is crucial for testing formation pathways. Aims. In this work we further characterise the recently discovered candidate for a planetary-mass companion CS Cha b and determine if it is still accreting. Methods. MUSE is a four-laser-adaptive-optics-assisted medium-resolution integral-field spectrograph in the optical part of the spectrum. We observed the CS Cha system to obtain the first spectrum of CS Cha b. The companion is characterised by modelling both the spectrum from 6300 Å to 9300 Å and the photometry using archival data from the visible to the near-infrared (NIR). Results. We find evidence of accretion and outflow signatures in Hα and OI emission. The atmospheric models with the highest likelihood indicate an effective temperature of 3450 ± 50 K with a log g of 3.6 ± 0.5 dex. Based on evolutionary models, we find that the majority of the object is obscured. We determine the mass of the faint companion with several methods to be between 0.07 M⊙ and 0.71 M⊙ with an accretion rate of Ṁ = 4 × 10−11±0.4 M⊙ yr−1. Conclusions. Our results show that CS Cha B is most likely a mid-M-type star that is obscured by a highly inclined disc, which has led to its previous classification using broadband NIR photometry as a planetary-mass companion. This shows that it is important and necessary to observe over a broad spectral range to constrain the nature of faint companions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (2) ◽  
pp. 1891-1904
Author(s):  
Mark L A Richardson ◽  
Laurence Routledge ◽  
Niranjan Thatte ◽  
Matthias Tecza ◽  
Ryan C W Houghton ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present simulated observations of gas kinematics in a galaxy formed in a 10 pc resolution cosmological simulation with the hydrodynamical +   N-body code ramses, using the new ramses2hsim pipeline with the simulated observing pipeline (hsim) for the Extremely Large Telescope High Angular Resolution Monolithic Optical and Near-infrared Integral field spectrograph (HARMONI IFS). We post-process the galaxy's gas kinematics and Hα line emission for each simulation cell, and integrate the emission to produce an extinction-corrected input cube. We then simulate observations of the input cube with HARMONI, for a range of exposure times, spatial sampling, and spectral resolution. We analyse the mock observations to recover galaxy properties such as its kinematics and compare with the known simulation values. We investigate the cause of biases between the ‘real’ and ‘observed’ kinematic values, demonstrating the sensitivity of the inferred rotation curve to knowledge of the instrument’s point spread function.


2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thierry Fusco ◽  
Niranjan Thatte ◽  
Serge Meimon ◽  
Matthias Tecza ◽  
Fraser Clarke ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S309) ◽  
pp. 339-339
Author(s):  
Rogemar A. Riffel ◽  
Thaisa Storchi-Bergmann ◽  
Rogério Riffel

AbstractWe present two-dimensional (2D) near-infrared spectra of the inner 300×300 pc2 of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 5929 at a spatial resolution of ~20 pc obtained with the Gemini Near infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS). We present 2D maps for the emission line flux distributions and kinematics and report the discovery of a linear structure ~300 pc in extent and of ~50 pc in width oriented perpendicular to the radio jet, showing broadened emission-line profiles.While over most of the field the emission-line profiles have full-widths-at-half-maximum (FWHM) of ~210 km/s, at a linear structure perpendicular do the radio jet the emission-line FWHMs are twice this value, and are due to two velocity components, one blueshifted and the other redshifted relative to the systemic velocity. We attribute these velocities to an outflow from the nucleus which is launched perpendicular to the radio jet. We reported the detection of this peculiar outflow in Riffel, Storchi-Bergmann & Riffel (2014a), where more details of the analysis can be found. Since, NGC 5929 has a Type 2 nucleus, this detection implies that: (1) both ionizing radiation and relativistic particles are escaping through holes in the torus perpendicular to the radio jet; and/or (2) the torus is also outflowing, as proposed by recent models of tori as winds from the outer parts of an accretion flow; or (3) the torus is absent in NGC 5929.At other locations the gas kinematics is dominated by rotation in a disk, although some evidences of interaction of the radio jet with the emitting gas are seen as a broadening of the line profiles at the locations of the radio structures.The flux distributions for the [P ii], [Fe ii], H i and H2 emission lines show that the line emission is more extended along the PA = 60/240^, extending to up to 1.5” to both sides of the nucleus, while to the perpendicular direction (PA = -30/150^) the emission is extended to 0.7” from the nucleus. The flux distributions of all emission lines show a good correlation with radio the radio structures, with the two peak of emission associated to the soutwestern and northeastern radio knots. Some differences are observed among distinct emission lines. While the [Fe ii] and H2 emission peak at the location of the soutwestern radio structure at 0.6” from the nucleus, the H i recombination lines present the their highest fluxes at the location of the northeastern radio hotspot at 0.5” from the nucleus. Another difference is that the H2 emission is less collimated than that for other lines, being more extended perpendicularly to the radio jet. A detailed analysis of the line emission and kinematics will be presented in Riffel, Storchi-Bergmann & Riffel (2014b).


2017 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
pp. A28 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Baumgardt ◽  
P. Amaro-Seoane ◽  
R. Schödel

Context. The distribution of stars around a massive black hole (MBH) has been addressed in stellar dynamics for the last four decades by a number of authors. Because of its proximity, the centre of the Milky Way is the only observational test case where the stellar distribution can be accurately tested. Past observational work indicated that the brightest giants in the Galactic centre (GC) may show a density deficit around the central black hole, not a cusp-like distribution, while we theoretically expect the presence of a stellar cusp. Aims. We here present a solution to this long-standing problem. Methods. We performed direct-summation N-body simulations of star clusters around massive black holes and compared the results of our simulations with new observational data of the GC’s nuclear cluster. Results. We find that after a Hubble time, the distribution of bright stars as well as the diffuse light follow power-law distributions in projection with slopes of Γ ≈ 0.3 in our simulations. This is in excellent agreement with what is seen in star counts and in the distribution of the diffuse stellar light extracted from adaptive-optics (AO) assisted near-infrared observations of the GC. Conclusions. Our simulations also confirm that there exists a missing giant star population within a projected radius of a few arcsec around Sgr A*. Such a depletion of giant stars in the innermost 0.1 pc could be explained by a previously present gaseous disc and collisions, which means that a stellar cusp would also be present at the innermost radii, but in the form of degenerate compact cores.


2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (3) ◽  
pp. 2620-2629
Author(s):  
T V Ricci ◽  
J E Steiner

ABSTRACT Most galaxies with a well-structured bulge host a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in their centre. Stellar kinematics models applied to adaptive optics (AO) assisted integral field unit observations are well-suited to measure the SMBH mass (MBH) and also the total mass-to-light ratio [(M/L)TOT] and possible anisotropies in the stellar velocity distribution in the central region of galaxies. In this work, we used new AO assisted Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) observations and also photometric data from the Hubble Space Telescope Legacy Archive of the galaxy NGC 4546 in order to determine its SMBH mass. To do this, we applied the Jeans Anisotropic Modelling (JAM) method to fit the average second velocity moment in the line of sight $(\overline{v^2_{\mathrm{ los}}})$ of the stellar structure. In addition, we also obtained (M/L)TOT and the classical anisotropy parameter βz = 1-(σz/σR)2 for this object within a field of view of 200 × 200 pc2. Maps of the stellar radial velocity and of the velocity dispersion were built for this galaxy using the penalized pixel fitting (ppxf) technique. We applied the Multi Gaussian Expansion procedure to fit the stellar brightness distribution. Using JAM, the best-fitting model for $\overline{v^2_{\mathrm{ los}}}$ of the stellar structure was obtained with (M/L)TOT = 4.34 ± 0.07 (Johnson’s R band), MBH = (2.56 ± 0.16) × 108 M⊙ and βz = −0.015 ± 0.03 (3σ confidence level). With these results, we found that NGC 4546 follows the MBH × σ relation. We also measured the central velocity dispersion within a radius of 1 arcsec of this object as σc = 241 ± 2 km s−1.


Author(s):  
Marianne Takamiya ◽  
Daniel Berke ◽  
Forrest Bremer ◽  
Casey Jones ◽  
Guillaume Poquet

AbstractWe present star formation rates and nebular abundances of 59 different star-forming regions in 16 nearby galaxies. The star-forming regions were selected to be bright in Hα and were observed with the SNIFS integral field spectrograph on the UH 2.2m telescope. The spectra span the wavelength range between 3200Å and 1μm. We find that the local star formation rates depend on the local abundances in that low SFRs show a dependence but high SFR appear insensitive to it.


2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S245) ◽  
pp. 207-210
Author(s):  
Rainer Schödel ◽  
A. Eckart

AbstractHigh-resolution seeing limited and adaptive optics near-infrared imaging observations of the stellar cluster within about one parsec of the massive black hole Sagittarius A* allow us to obtain a detailed picture of the structure of the nuclear star cluster of the Milky Way. We find that the stellar number counts and the diffuse light of the unresolved stellar population can be described very well by a stellar density function in the form of a broken-power law. This agrees well with theoretical predictions on the structure of a dynamically relaxed star cluster around a massive black hole. However, the cusp slope is found to be too shallow, which may be related to mixing of different stellar populations and continuous star formation, phenomena that are not taken into account by current theory. Mass densities larger than 107 solar masses per pc3 are reached within 0.1 pc of the central black hole. Intriguingly, up to several tens of percent of the total cluster mass in the central parsec may be in the form of dark stellar remnants.


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