您选择的条件: Shaohua Zhang
  • Radio observations of four active galactic nuclei hosting intermediate-mass black hole candidates: studying the outflow activity and evolution

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Observational searches for intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs; $10^2 - 10^6$ $M_\odot$) include relatively isolated dwarf galaxies. For those that host active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the IMBH nature may be discerned through the accretion - jet activity. We present radio observations of four AGN-hosting dwarf galaxies (which potentially harbor IMBHs). Very large array (VLA) observations indicate steep spectra (indices of $-$0.63 to $-$1.05) between 1.4 and 9 GHz. A comparison with the 9 GHz in-band spectral index however shows a steepening for GH047 and GH158 (implying older/relic emission) and flattening for GH106 and GH163 (implying recent activity). Overlapping emission regions in the VLA 1.4 GHz and our very long baseline array (VLBA) 1.5 GHz observations, and possibly symmetric pc-scale extensions are consistent with recent activity in the latter two. Using the compact VLBA radio luminosity, X-ray luminosity (probing the accretion activity) and the black hole masses, all AGNs are found to lie on the empirical fundamental plane relation. The four AGN are radio quiet with relatively higher Eddington ratios ($0.04 - 0.32$) and resemble the X-ray binaries during spectral state transitions that entail an outflow ejection. Furthermore, the radio to X-ray luminosity ratio $\log{R_\mathrm{X}}$ of $-3.9$ to $-5.6$ in these four sources support the scenarios including corona mass ejection from accretion disk and wind activity. The growth to kpc-scales likely proceeds along a trajectory similar to young AGNs and peaked spectrum sources. The above complex clues can thus aid in the detection and monitoring of IMBHs in the nearby Universe.

  • Radio observations of four active galactic nuclei hosting intermediate-mass black hole candidates: studying the outflow activity and evolution

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Observational searches for intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs; $10^2 - 10^6$ $M_\odot$) include relatively isolated dwarf galaxies. For those that host active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the IMBH nature may be discerned through the accretion - jet activity. We present radio observations of four AGN-hosting dwarf galaxies (which potentially harbor IMBHs). Very large array (VLA) observations indicate steep spectra (indices of $-$0.63 to $-$1.05) between 1.4 and 9 GHz. A comparison with the 9 GHz in-band spectral index however shows a steepening for GH047 and GH158 (implying older/relic emission) and flattening for GH106 and GH163 (implying recent activity). Overlapping emission regions in the VLA 1.4 GHz and our very long baseline array (VLBA) 1.5 GHz observations, and possibly symmetric pc-scale extensions are consistent with recent activity in the latter two. Using the compact VLBA radio luminosity, X-ray luminosity (probing the accretion activity) and the black hole masses, all AGNs are found to lie on the empirical fundamental plane relation. The four AGN are radio quiet with relatively higher Eddington ratios ($0.04 - 0.32$) and resemble the X-ray binaries during spectral state transitions that entail an outflow ejection. Furthermore, the radio to X-ray luminosity ratio $\log{R_\mathrm{X}}$ of $-3.9$ to $-5.6$ in these four sources support the scenarios including corona mass ejection from accretion disk and wind activity. The growth to kpc-scales likely proceeds along a trajectory similar to young AGNs and peaked spectrum sources. The above complex clues can thus aid in the detection and monitoring of IMBHs in the nearby Universe.

  • Mrk 1239: a Type-2 Counterpart of Narrow-line Seyfert-1?

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present new spectrophotometric and spectropolarimetric observations of Mrk 1239, one of the 8 prototypes that defines type-1 narrow-line Seyfert galaxies (NLS1s). Unlike the other typical NLS1s though, a high degree of polarization ($P\sim$5.6%) and red optical-IR ($g-W_4$ = 12.35) colors suggest that Mrk 1239 is more similar to type-2 active galactic nuclei like NGC 1068. Detailed analysis of spectral energy distribution in the UV-optical-IR yields two components from the nucleus: a direct and transmitted component that is heavily obscured ($E_{B-V} \approx 1.6$), and another indirect and scattered one with mild extinction ($E_{B-V} \sim$ 0.5). Such a two-light-paths scenario is also found in previous reports based on the X-ray data. Comparison of emission lines and the detection of He\,{\footnotesize I}*$\lambda$10830 BAL at [-3000,-1000] km s$^{-1}$ indicates that the obscuring clouds are at physical scale between the sublimation radius and that of the narrow emission line regions. The potential existence of powerful outflows is found as both the obscurer and scatterer are outflowing. Similar to many other type-2s, jet-like structure in the radio band is found in Mrk 1239, perpendicular to the polarization angle, suggesting polar scattering. We argue that Mrk 1239 is very probably a type-2 counterpart of NLS1s. The identification of 1 out of 8 prototype NLS1s as a type-2 counterpart implies that there can be a substantial amount of analogs of Mrk 1239 misidentified as type-1s in the optical band. Properties of these misidentified objects are going to be explored in our future works.

  • The radio dichotomy of active galactic nuclei

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: The question of radio dichotomy in the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is still in debate even it has been proposed for more than forty years. In order to solve the old riddle, we collect a sample of AGNs with optical $B$ band and radio 6cm wavelength data to analyze the radio loudness ${\rm log}R$. Our results indicate a separation of ${\rm log}R = \langle 1.37 \pm 0.02 \rangle$ between radio-loud (RL) AGNs and radio-quiet (RQ) AGNs, suggest the existence of an RL/RQ dichotomy. For the first time, we suggest combining radio luminosity and radio loudness as a double-criterion to divide AGNs into RLs and RQs to avoid misclassification problems that may happen in the single-criterion scenario, we propose the double-criterion dividing line ${\rm log}L_{\rm 6cm} = -2.7{\rm log}R +44.3$ by using a machine learning method. In addition, the key point of the RL/RQ dichotomy is the origin of radio emission for the two classes, we suggest the radio emission from RLs and RQs share the same origin, e.g. jets and mini-jets (aborted-jet or outflow), through a correlation study between radio 6cm luminosity and optical $B$ band luminosity.

  • The 2175 \AA~ Bump Features in FeLoBAL Quasars: One Indicator of MW-like Dust in the Nuclear Region of Quasar

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: To investigate the properties of dust in the nuclear region of quasars, we explored the extinction curves of the iron low-ionization broad absorption line (FeLoBAL) quasar SDSS J163004.29+311957.6 and its two analogues. The parameterized extinction curves indicated the Milky Way-like 2175 \AA~ bump features in underlying extinction, which are similar to those seen in the Local Group and a subset of high-redshift star-forming galaxies. Compared to the bump features in the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC), the detections in this work are much closer to those in the Milky Way (MW). These bump features, as well as those in the high- and low-ionization broad absorption line (BAL) quasars of Zhang et al., are probably the counterpart of the 2175 \AA~ bump features in the quasar environment. This type of dust grain is generally small, easily disrupted by high-energy photons and has difficulty surviving in the radiation field of the active galactic nucleus (AGN). However, due to the presence of absorption-line outflows, the 2175 \AA~ bump feature in quasars, which should be rare, is seen many times in BAL quasars. The shielding effect of outflow clouds allows the MW-like dust grains to be assembled or extends the survival period in the quasar nuclear region. The process, and physical and chemical conditions deserve further observational study and investigation.

  • Broad Emission and Absorption Line Outflows in the Quasar SDSS J163345.22+512748.4

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present a detailed study of the optical and NIR emission and absorption line spectrum of the quasar SDSS J163345.22+512748.4. We discovered on the newly acquired NIR spectrum a highly meta-stable neutral helium broad absorption line (BAL) \heiozetz\ with a width of $\sim$ 2000 \kmps\ and a blueshift of $\sim$ 7000 \kmps\ in the velocity space. The BAL system is also significantly detected in \mgii\ and \heiteen. We estimate a column density of $(5.0 \pm 1.7) \times 10^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$ for the HeI*(2~$^3$S) level, and infer an ionization parameter of $U_{A} = 10^{-1.9\pm 0.2}$ for the BAL outflow assuming that the BAL region is thick enough for a full development of an ionization front. The total column density of the BAL outflow is constrained in the range N$\rm _{H}$ $\sim$ 10$^{21}$-10$^{21.4}$ cm$^{-2}$. We also found that the bulk of both MgII and UV FeII, as well as H$\alpha$ broad emission lines (BELs) are blueshifted with a velocity of $\sim$ 2200 \kmps\ with respect to the quasar systemic redshift. We constrain that the blueshifted BEL region has a covering factor $C_{f}\approx 16\%$, a density n$\rm _{H}$ $\sim $ 10$^{10.6}$-10$^{11.3}$ cm$^{-3}$, a column density N$\rm _{H}\gtrsim 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$, and an ionization parameter $U_{E}\sim 10^{-2.1}-10^{-1.5}$. The outflow gas is located at $\sim$0.1 pc away from the central ionization source, at a scale comparable to the BLR. A toy kinetic model has been proposed to reproduce the profile of MgII BEL well if assuming a partial obscured axisymmetric geometry of the outflow with a radial velocity as observed by the BALs.