We show that individual (single-epoch) spectra of AGN can constrain some of the geometry and dynamics of the AGN broad line region. Studies of the cosmic influence of supermassive black holes are limited by the current large uncertainties in the determination of black hole masses. One dominant limitation is the unknown geometry, dynamics and line-of-sight inclination of the broad line region, used to probe the central black hole mass. Recent progress has been made to constrain the spatial and kinematic structure of the broad line region using dynamical modelling of AGN monitoring data and an underlying physical model for the broad line region. In this work we test the ability of a modified version of this dynamical modelling code to constrain the broad line region structure using single-epoch spectra. We test our modelling code on single-epoch spectra of nearby Arp 151 by comparing our results with those obtained with monitoring data of this same object. We find that a significant fraction of the broad line region parameters can indeed be adequately constrained, with uncertainties that are comparable to, or at most a factor of ~ a few higher than those obtained from modelling of monitoring data. Considering the wealth of available single-epoch spectroscopic observations, this method is promising for establishing the overall AGN population trends in the geometry and dynamics of the broad line region. This method can be applied to spectra of AGN at low and high redshift making it valuable for studies of cosmological black hole and AGN evolution.
Arp 187 is one of the fading active galactic nuclei (AGN), whose AGN activity is currently decreasing in luminosity. We investigate the observational signatures of AGN in Arp 187, which trace various physical scales from less than 0.1 pc to the nearly 10 kpc, to estimate the longterm luminosity change over $10^{4}$ years. The VLA 5 GHz, 8 GHz, and the ALMA 133 GHz images reveal bimodal jet lobes with $\sim$5 kpc size and the absence of the central radio-core. The 6dF optical spectrum shows that Arp 187 hosts narrow line region with the estimated size of $\sim$1 kpc, and the line strengths give…
Galaxy mergers are central to our understanding of galaxy formation, especially within the context of hierarchical models. Besides having a large impact on the star formation history, mergers are also able to influence gas motions at the centre of galaxies and trigger an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). In this paper, we present a case study of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992, which together with NGC 2993 forms the early-stage merger system Arp 245. Using Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) integral field unit (IFU) data from the inner 1.1 kpc of the galaxy we were able to spatially resolve the …
Mid-infrared Variability-based AGN Selection using the Multi-epoch Photometric Data from WISE
Yonsei University（延世大学）；Kyungpook National University（庆北国立大学）；Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University（北京大学柯利天体物理研究所）；Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院天文学系）
Cluster galaxies exhibit substantially lower star formation rates than field galaxies today, but it is conceivable that clusters were sites of more active star formation in the early universe. Herein, we present an interpretation of the star formation history (SFH) of group/cluster galaxies based on the large-scale cosmological hydrodynamic simulation, Horizon-AGN. We find that massive galaxies in general have small values of e-folding timescales of star formation decay (i.e., ``mass quenching'') regardless of their environment, whilst low-mass galaxies exhibit prominent environmental dependen…
Evolution of AGN Across Cosmic Epochs with the SKAO
University of Durham（达勒姆大学）；Durham University（达勒姆大学）；Physical Research Laboratory（物理研究实验室）；Indian Institute of Technology Indore（印度理工学院印多尔分校）；Indian Institute of Astrophysics（印度天体物理学研究所）；University of Hertfordshire（赫特福德大学）；Leiden University（莱顿大学）；University of Oslo（奥斯陆大学）；University of Tasmania（塔斯马尼亚大学）；University of Southampton（南安普顿大学）
Diverse Origins of Broad H$α$ Lines in Heavily Obscured AGNs Revealed by Multi-epoch Spectroscopy
Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics（中央研究院天文及天文物理研究所）；The University of Tokyo（东京大学）；National Astronomical Observatory of Japan（日本国立天文台）
Context. We present our findings for the HCN/H13CN 1-0 line ratio in the molecular outflow of Arp 220 west based on high-resolution ALMA data. Aims. Molecular gas masses in the outflowing gas of galaxies driven by active galactic nuclei (AGNs) or starbursts are important parameters for understanding the feedback of these latter two phenomena and star-formation quenching. The conversion factor of line luminosities to masses is related to the optical depth of the molecular lines. Methods. Using H13CN 1-0, the isotopic line of HCN 1-0, to obtain the line ratio of HCN/H13CN 1-0 is an ideal way to …
In this work, the sixth of a series, we use the ASTRAEUS (semi-numerical rAdiative tranSfer coupling of galaxy formaTion and Reionization in N-body dark matter simUlationS) framework to investigate the nature of the sources that reionized the Universe. We extend ASTRAEUS, which already couples a galaxy formation semi-analytical model with a detailed semi-numerical reionization scheme, to include a model for black hole formation, growth, and the production of ionizing radiation from associated AGN (active galactic nuclei). We calibrate our fiducial AGN model to reproduce the bolometric luminosi…
Recent active galactic nucleus (AGN) and quasar surveys have revealed a population showing rapid AGN luminosity variability by a factor of $\sim10$. Here we present the most drastic AGN luminosity decline by a factor of $\gtrsim 10^{3}$ constrained by a NuSTAR X-ray observation of the nearby galaxy Arp 187, which is a promising "dead" quasar whose current activity seems quiet but whose past activity of $L_\mathrm{bol} \sim 10^{46}$ erg s$^{-1}$ is still observable at a large scale by its light echo. The obtained upper bound of the X-ray luminosity is $\log (L_{\rm 2-10 keV}/{\rm erg} {\rm s}^{…
Nearby merging pairs are unique laboratories in which one can study the gravitational effects on the individual interacting components. In this manuscript, we report the characterization of selected HII regions along the peculiar galaxy NGC 2936, member of the galaxy pair Arp 142, an E+S interaction, known as "The Penguin". Using Gemini South spectroscopy we have derived a high enhancement of the global star formation rate SFR=35.9 Msun/yr probably stimulated by the interaction. Star-forming regions on this galaxy display oxygen abundances that are consistent with solar metallicities. The curr…
The structure of the broad line region (BLR) is an essential ingredient in the determination of active galactic nuclei (AGN) virial black hole masses, which in turn are important to study the role of black holes in galaxy evolution. Constraints on the BLR geometry and dynamics can be obtained from velocity-resolved studies using reverberation mapping data (i.e. monitoring data). However, monitoring data are observationally expensive and only available for a limited sample of AGN, mostly confined to the local Universe. Here we explore a new version of a Bayesian inference, physical model of the…
We present an analysis of the core linear polarization properties of 387 parsec-scale active galactic nuclei (AGN) jets. Using 15 GHz VLBA data, we revisit the conclusions of the first paper in this series with multi-epoch measurements and more detailed analysis of a larger AGN sample which spans a broader range of synchrotron peak frequencies. Each AGN has been observed for at least five epochs between 1996 and 2017. We find that BL Lac objects have core electric vector position angles (EVPAs) which tend towards alignment with the local jet direction; compared to flat spectrum radio quasars (…
SUNRISE-3D: Sharp UNveiling of AGN feedback Regulation and its Impact on Star-formation at the cosmic noon Epoch
INAF – Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica Cosmica Milano（意大利国家天体物理研究所空间天体物理与宇宙学米兰研究所）；INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma（意大利国家天体物理研究所罗马天文台）；Department of Mathematics and Physics, Roma Tre University（罗马第三大学数学与物理系）
The radius-luminosity (R-L) relationship of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) established by the reverberation mapping (RM) observations has been widely used as a single-epoch black hole mass estimator in the research of large AGN samples. However, the recent RM campaigns discovered that the AGNs with high accretion rates show shorter time lags by factors of a few comparing with the predictions from the R-L relationship. The explanation of the shortened time lags has not been finalized yet. We collect 8 different single-epoch spectral properties to investigate how the shortening of the time lags c…
Pandora cluster Lensing, AGN, and Transient Exploration (PLATE) from JWST Multi-Epoch Imaging. I. Discovery of a type II supernova candidate in a spiral galaxy at $z=0.7$
School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS)（中国科学院大学天文与空间科学学院）；National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台）；Institute for Frontiers in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Beijing Normal University（北京师范大学前沿天文与天体物理研究院）；Institute for Advanced Study in Physics, Zhejiang University（浙江大学物理学高等研究中心）；Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, Zhejiang University（浙江大学物理学院天体物理研究所）；Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University（北京大学物理学院天文学系）
It is well known that reverberation mapping of active galactic nuclei (AGN) reveals a relationship between AGN luminosity and the size of the broad-line region, and that use of this relationship, combined with the Doppler width of the broad emission line, enables an estimate of the mass of the black hole at the center of the active nucleus based on a single spectrum. An unresolved key issue is the choice of parameter used to characterize the line width, either FWHM or line dispersion (the square root of the second moment of the line profile). We argue here that use of FWHM introduces a bias, s…
Motivated by evidences favoring a rapid and late hydrogen reionization process completing at z~5.2-5.5 and mainly driven by rare and luminous sources, we have reassessed the estimate of the space density of ultra-luminous QSOs at z~5 in the framework of the QUBRICS survey. A ~90% complete sample of 14 spectroscopically confirmed QSOs at M1450<-28.3 and 4.5<z<5.0 has been derived in an area of 12,400 sq. deg., thanks to multi-wavelength selection and GAIA astrometry. The space density of z~5 QSOs within -29.3<M1450<-28.3 is three times higher than previous determinations. Our results suggest a …
Gaseous outflows appear to be a universal property of type-1 and type-2 active galactic nuclei (AGN). The main diagnostic is provided by emission features shifted to higher frequency via the Doppler effect, implying that the emitting gas is moving toward the observer. However, beyond the presence of blueshift, the observational signatures of the outflows are often unclear, and no established criteria exist to isolate the outflow contribution in the integrated, single-epoch spectra of type-1 AGN. The emission spectrum collected with the typical apertures of long-slit spectroscopy or of fiber op…
First Light and Reionization Epoch Simulations (FLARES) -- XV: The physical properties of super-massive black holes and their impact on galaxies in the early universe
The importance of some atom hydrogen collisions in AGN has been investigated. The results are useful for better estimate of the hydrogen Balmer lines uxes, which usage for effective temperature diagnostics in astrophysical plasma is limited by errors from the line formation models. The data could be also useful for modeling cooler and denser parts of AGN BLR clouds, as well as for the investigation of Rydberg states of hydrogen and for the study of their in uence during the cosmological recombination epoch. The results of the present work suggest that the investigated processes are of interest…
Tracing Active Galactic Nuclei Properties Through a Changing-look Event
School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton（南安普顿大学物理与天文学学院）；DARK, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen（哥本哈根大学尼尔斯·玻尔研究所DARK）；Astrophysics Research Centre, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University Belfast（贝尔法斯特女王大学数学与物理学院天体物理学研究中心）；School of Physics, The University of Melbourne（墨尔本大学物理学院）；Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz（加州大学圣克鲁兹分校天文与天体物理系）
We discuss the possible origin of the double-peaked profiles recently observed in Lyman-Alpha Emitters (LAEs) at the epoch of reionization ($z \gtrsim 6.5$) from obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN). Combining the extent of the Lyman-$α$ near-zones estimated from the blue peak velocity offset in these galaxies, with the ionizing emissivity of quasars at $z \gtrsim 6$, we forecast the intrinsic UV and X-ray luminosities of the AGN needed to give rise to their double-peaked profiles. We also estimate the extent of the obscuration of the AGN by comparing their luminosities to those of similar qu…
