Deep Chandra observations of NGC 1404: cluster plasma physics revealed by an infalling early-type galaxy
Yuanyuan Su, Ralph P. Kraft, Elke Roediger, Paul E. J. Nulsen, William R. Forman, Eugene Churazov, Scott W. Randall, Christine Jones, Marie E. Machacek
备注：
11 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Comments are welcome
The intracluster medium (ICM), as a magnetized and highly ionized fluid, provides an ideal laboratory to study plasma physics under extreme conditions that cannot yet be achieved on Earth. NGC 1404 is a bright elliptical galaxy that is being gas stripped as it falls through the ICM of the Fornax Cluster. We use the new {\sl Chandra} X-ray observations of NGC 1404 to study ICM microphysics. The interstellar medium (ISM) of NGC 1404 is characterized by a sharp leading edge, 8 kpc from the galaxy center, and a short downstream gaseous tail. Contact discontinuities are resolved on unprecedented spatial scales ($0\farcs5=45$\,pc) due to the combination of the proximity of NGC 1404, the superb spatial resolution of {\sl Chandra}, and the very deep (670 ksec) exposure. At the leading edge, we observe sub-kpc scale eddies generated by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and put an upper limit of 5\% Spitzer on the isotropic viscosity of the hot cluster plasma. We also observe mixing between the hot cluster gas and the cooler galaxy gas in the downstream stripped tail, which provides further evidence of a low viscosity plasma. The assumed ordered magnetic fields in the ICM ought to be smaller than 5\,$μ$G to allow KHI to develop. The lack of evident magnetic draping layer just outside the contact edge is consistent with such an upper limit.
Hot atmospheres pervading galaxy clusters, groups, and early-type galaxies are rich in metals, produced during epochs and diffused via processes that are still to be determined. While this enrichment has been routinely investigated in clusters, metals in lower mass systems are more challenging to probe with standard X-ray exposures and spectroscopy. In this paper, we focus on very deep XMM-Newton ($\sim$350 ks) observations of NGC 1404, a massive elliptical galaxy experiencing ram-pressure stripping of its hot atmosphere while infalling toward the centre of the Fornax cluster, with the aim to …
Galaxies can grow through their mutual gravitational attraction and subsequent union. While orbiting a regular high-surface-brightness galaxy, the body of a low-mass galaxy can be stripped away. However, the stellar heart of the infalling galaxy, if represented by a tightly-bound nuclear star cluster, is more resilient. From archival Hubble Space Telescope images, we have discovered a red, tidally-stretched star cluster positioned ~5 arcseconds (~400 pc in projection) from, and pointing toward the center of, the post-merger spiral galaxy NGC 4424. The star cluster, which we refer to as `Nikhul…
We report a clumpy elongated feature found with deep Chandra ACIS high-resolution imaging of the Fe Kα line emission in the nuclear region of the Compton Thick Active Galactic Nucleus (CT AGN) galaxy NGC 5643. This feature extends for ~65 pc N-S. No corresponding feature is seen in the 3.0-6.0 keV continuum. The Fe Kα feature is spatially consistent with the N-S elongation found in the CO(2-1) high resolution imaging with ALMA (Alonso-Herrero et al 2018), but slightly more extended than the rotating molecular disk of r=26 pc indicated by the kinematics of the CO(2-1) line. The Chandra detectio…
Spectral variability in Swift and Chandra observations of the Ultraluminous source NGC 55 ULX1
NGC 55 ULX 1是一个明亮的超铝X射线源，距离地球1.78 Mpc。我们分析了2013年4月至8月期间拍摄的20个Swift观测样本，以及2001年9月和2004年6月拍摄的两个Chandra观测样本。我们只发现了有限数量的光变曲线的下降，以前报道发生在这个源的边缘提示，虽然由于数据的低计数统计的不确定性很大。Chandra和Swift光谱显示出清晰的光谱变异性，这与在其他ULX中观察到的相似。我们可以解释这种光谱的变化方面的变化，在两个标准化和固有的柱密度的两个组件的模型组成的黑体（软组件）和多色吸积盘（硬组件）。我们讨论的可能性，强大的外流喷出的光盘是部分负责这种光谱的变化。
We report the results of a deep search for faint Chandra X-ray sources, radio sources, and optical counterparts in the nearby, core-collapsed globular cluster, NGC 6752. We combined new and archival Chandra imaging to detect 51 X-ray sources (12 of which are new) within the 1.9 arcmin half-light radius. Three radio sources in deep ATCA 5 and 9 GHz radio images match with Chandra sources. We have searched for optical identifications for the expanded Chandra source list using deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry in B, R, H-alpha, UV, and U. Among the entire sample of 51 Chandra sources, we ide…
Recent observations of nearby Compton thick (CT) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with Chandra have resolved hard (>3 keV) X-ray emission extending out from the central supermassive black hole to kiloparsec scales, challenging the long-held belief that the characteristic hard X-ray continuum and fluorescent Fe K lines originate in the inner ~parsec due to the excitation of obscuring material. In this paper we present the results of the most recent Chandra ACIS-S observations of NGC 7212, a CT AGN in a compact group of interacting galaxies, with a total effective exposure of ~150 ks. We find ~20 p…
We present a reanalysis of the cumulative ACIS S Chandra data set pointed at the double AGNs of the NGC 6240 merging galaxy, focusing on the hard energy bands containing the hard spectral continuum (5.5-5.9 keV), the redshifted Fe I K alpha line (6.0-6.4 keV), and the redshifted Fe XXV line (6.4-6.7 keV). We have used to the full the Chandra telescope angular resolution, and we have modeled the Chandra PSF by comparing pre-flight calibration model to the data for the two bright AGNs. With two complementary approaches: (1) studying the residuals after PSF subtraction, and (2) producing reconstr…
The main idea of our research is to estimate the physical coalescence time of the double supermassive black hole (SMBH) system in the centre of NGC 6240 based on the X-ray observations from the Chandra space observatory. The spectra of the Northern and Southern nuclei were fitted by spectral models from Sherpa and both presented the narrow component of the Fe K$α$ emission line. It enabled us to apply the spectral model to these lines and to find relative offset $\approx0.02$ keV. The enclosed dynamical mass of the central region of NGC 6240 with radius 1 kpc was estimated $\approx 2.04\times …
A recent ALMA study of the Seyfert 2 Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) NGC 2110 by Rosario et al. (2019) has reported a remarkable lack of CO 2-1 emission from the circumnuclear region, where optical lines and H2 emission are observed, leading to the suggestion of excitation of the molecular clouds by the AGN. Since interaction with X-ray photons could be the cause of this excitation, we have searched the archival Chandra data for corroborating evidence. We report an extra-nuclear ~1'' (~170 pc) feature found in the soft (<1.0 keV) Chandra data of the Seyfert 2 Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) NGC 21…
We present Chandra imaging and spectral observations of Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4388. Three extended X-ray structures around the nucleus on kpc scale are well imaged, allowing an in-depth spatially resolved study. Both the extended hard continuum and the Fe K$α$ line show similar morphology, consistent with a scenario where the ionizing emission from nucleus is reprocessed by circumnuclear cold gas, resulting in a weak reflection continuum and an associated neutral Fe K$α$ line. This has been seen in other Compton thick active galactic nuclei (AGN), but NGC 4388 is one of the rare cases with a lo…
A Chandra Study of the Radio Galaxy NGC 326: Wings, Outburst History, and AGN Feedback
NGC 326是最突出的X或Z形射电星系（XRG/ZRG）之一，并一直是几项研究的主题，试图通过流体运动或喷流轴的重新定向来解释其形态。我们研究了一个100 ks的档案钱德拉曝光，并发现与射电星系相关的几个功能：高温前，可能表明一个冲击，高温结周围的无线电发射的边缘，和一个腔与东翼的射电星系。根据射电数据对这些特征的合理解释使我们能够重建活动星系核爆发的历史。这次活跃的爆发很可能曾经是一个强大的射电源，但后来已经衰减，间接证据表明，重新定向是产生翅膀的手段。由于射电星系与ICM之间存在明显的相互作用，并且主动叶和翼之间存在很大的间隔，我们得出结论，XRG是通过测量与主动和被动加热机制相关的加热率来研究星系群中AGN反馈的极好来源。
We present a comprehensive X-ray point source catalog of NGC 404 obtained as part of the Chandra Local Volume Survey. A new, 97 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of NGC 404 was combined with archival observations for a total exposure of ~123 ks. Our survey yields 74 highly significant X-ray point sources and is sensitive to a limiting unabsorbed luminosity of ~6x10^35 erg s^-1 in the 0.35-8 keV band. To constrain the nature of each X-ray source, cross-correlations with multi-wavelength data were generated. We searched overlapping HST observations for optical counterparts to our X-ray detections, b…
We present a new X-ray study of NGC188, one of the oldest open clusters known in our Galaxy (7 Gyr). Our observation with the Chandra X-ray Observatory is aimed at uncovering the population of close interacting binaries in NGC188. We detect 84 sources down to a luminosity of Lx ~ 4e29 erg/s (0.3-7 keV), of which 73 are within the half-mass radius rh. Of the 60 sources inside rh with more than 5 counts, we estimate that ~38 are background sources. We detected 55 new sources, and confirmed 29 sources previously detected by ROSAT and/or XMM-Newton. A total of 13 sources detected are cluster membe…
The CHandra Extended Emission Line Region Survey (CHEERS) is an X-ray study of nearby active galactic nuclei (AGN) designed to take full advantage of Chandra's unique angular resolution by spatially resolving feedback signatures and effects. In the second paper of a series on CHEERS target NGC 3393, we examine deep high-resolution Chandra images and compare them with Hubble narrow line images of [O III], [S II] and H$α$, as well as previously-unpublished mid-ultraviolet (MUV) images. The X-rays provide unprecedented evidence that the S-shaped arms which envelope the nuclear radio outflows exte…
We present spatially resolved Chandra narrow-band imaging and imaging spectroscopy of NGC 3393. This galaxy hosts a Compton-thick Seyfert 2 AGN with sub-kpc bipolar outflows that are strongly interacting with the circumnuclear gas. We identify narrow-band excess emission associated with the Ne IX 0.905 keV transition (with likely contributions due to intermediate-state iron emission) that points to strong shocks driven by AGN feedback. Imaging spectroscopy resolves outflow-ISM interaction sites and the surrounding ISM at ~100 pc scales, and suggests the presence of a hot AGN wind above the pla…
Actively accreting supermassive black holes significantly impact the evolution of their host galaxies, truncating further star formation by expelling large fractions of gas with wide-angle outflows. The X-ray band is key to understanding how these black hole winds affect their environment, as the outflows have high temperatures ($\sim$10$^{5-8}$K). We have developed a Bayesian framework for characterizing Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) outflows with an improved ability to explore parameter space and perform robust model selection. We applied this framework to a new 700 ks and an archival 315 ks …
Transitional millisecond pulsars are millisecond pulsars that switch between a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar state and an accretion-powered X-ray binary state, and are thought to be an evolutionary stage between neutron star low-mass X-ray binaries and millisecond pulsars. So far, only three confirmed systems have been identified in addition to a handful of candidates. We present the results of a multi-wavelength study of the low-mass X-ray binary NGC 6652B in the globular cluster NGC 6652, including simultaneous radio and X-ray observations taken by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array a…
We investigate the physical structure of the AGN wind in the Seyfert-1 galaxy NGC 7469 through high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy with Chandra HETGS and photoionisation modelling. Contemporaneous data from Chandra, HST, and Swift are used to model the optical-UV-X-ray continuum and determine the spectral energy distribution (SED) at two epochs, 13 years apart. For our investigation we use new observations taken in December 2015-January 2016, and historical ones taken in December 2002. We study the impact of a change in the SED shape, seen between the two epochs, on the photoionisation of the w…
High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of the low and high states of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051 with Chandra LETGS
方法.本文分析了Chandra低能透射光栅光谱仪的两个观测结果。我们研究了光谱响应突然通量减少的一个因素，这发生在第二次观察。结果我们检测到一个高度电离的吸收组件的流出速度为-4670公里/秒，在塞弗特1星系中观察到的最高流出速度的组件之一。该光谱包含一个相对论O VIII Ly α线，和四个吸收组件跨越范围的电离参数XI在0.07和3.19之间。在低态出现了产生CVI和CV辐射复合连续谱的发射分量。黑体温度随着第二次观测中观测到的通量的下降而下降。结论.对于所有的吸收器组件，我们排除了电离参数线性响应通量的减少了5倍。吸收体的可变性表明，四个检测到的组分中至少有三个位于0.02-1 pc的范围内。删节
