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arXiv 0908.1820astro-ph.COastro-ph.GA
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纯盘星系中活动星系核的入射:Spitzer观点

The Incidence of Active Galactic Nuclei in Pure Disk Galaxies: The Spitzer View

S. Satyapal, T. Boeker, W. Mcalpine, M. Gliozzi, N. P. Abel, T. Heckman

摘要:

我们已经进行了高分辨率的光谱研究,使用斯皮策的18个无凸起(Sd/Sdm)星系,没有明确的签名,在其光学光谱的核活动。这是第一次系统的中红外搜索弱或隐藏的活动星系核在统计上显着的样本无凸出盘星系。基于高电离[NeV]线的检测,我们报告了在样本中的18个星系中的一个星系中发现活动星系核。这个星系,NGC 4178,是一个附近的边缘Sd星系,可能拥有一个突出的核星团(NSC)。由[NeV]光度推断活动星系核的辐射热光度为~ 8 e41 ergs/s。这几乎比NGC 4395的活动星系核的光度大两个数量级,NGC 4395是在无凸起盘星系中研究得最好的活动星系核。假设NGC 4178中活动星系核的辐射低于爱丁顿极限,那么黑洞的质量下限为~ 6e3M_sun。样本中没有其他星系显示出活动星系核的任何证据,这一事实表明,虽然基于中红外诊断的活动星系核检测率在具有伪隆起的光学静止星系中很高(30-40%),但在Sd/Sdm星系中却急剧下降。因此,我们的观测证实,在完全无凸盘星系的活动星系核并不隐藏在光学,但确实是罕见的。在目前已知的三个拥有活动星系核的Sd星系中,都有突出的NSC,这表明在没有明确的凸起的情况下,星系必须拥有NSC才能容纳活动星系核。虽然NSC的存在似乎是在无球星系中托管活动星系核的必要条件,但在晚型活动星系核宿主中,NSC和宿主星系的性质都不例外。因此,在一个没有凸起的星系中形成和成长一个中心黑洞的方法仍然是未知的。

英文摘要:

We have conducted a high-resolution spectroscopic study using Spitzer of 18 bulgeless (Sd/Sdm) galaxies that show no definitive signatures of nuclear activity in their optical spectra. This is the first systematic mid-IR search for weak or hidden AGNs in a statistically significant sample of bulgeless disk galaxies. Based on the detection of the high-ionization [NeV] line, we report the discovery of an AGN in one out of the 18 galaxies in the sample. This galaxy, NGC 4178, is a nearby edge-on Sd galaxy, which likely hosts a prominent nuclear star cluster (NSC). The bolometric luminosity of the AGN inferred from the [NeV] luminosity is ~ 8e41 ergs/s. This is almost two orders of magnitude greater than the luminosity of the AGN in NGC 4395, the best studied AGN in a bulgeless disk galaxy. Assuming that the AGN in NGC 4178 is radiating below the Eddington limit, the lower mass limit for the black hole is ~ 6e3M_sun. The fact that none of the other galaxies in the sample shows any evidence for an AGN demonstrates that while the AGN detection rate based on mid-IR diagnostics is high (30-40%) in optically quiescent galaxies with pseudobulges, it drops drastically in Sd/Sdm galaxies. Our observations therefore confirm that AGNs in completely bulgeless disk galaxies are not hidden in the optical but truly are rare. Of the three Sd galaxies with AGNs known so far, all have prominent NSCs, suggesting that in the absence of a well-defined bulge, the galaxy must possess a NSC in order to host an AGN. While the presence of a NSC appears to be a requirement for hosting an AGN in bulgeless galaxies, neither the properties of the NSC nor those of the host galaxy appear exceptional in late-type AGN hosts. The recipe for forming and growing a central black hole in a bulgeless galaxy therefore remains unknown.

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