- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/659/1040
- Title:
- VLBI monitoring of NGC 4258
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/659/1040
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report a 3yr, 18 epoch, VLBI monitoring study of H_2_O masers in the subparsec, warped, accretion disk within the NGC 4258 AGN. Our immediate goals are to trace the geometry of the underlying disk, track rotation via measurement of proper motion, and ascertain the radii of masers for which centripetal acceleration may be measured separately. The monitoring includes 4 times as many epochs, 3 times denser sampling, and tighter control over sources of systematic error than earlier VLBI investigations. Coverage of a 2400km/s bandwidth has also enabled mapping of molecular material 30% closer to the black hole than accomplished previously, which will strengthen geometric and dynamical disk models. Through repeated observation we have also measured for the first time a 5uas (1sigma) thickness of the maser medium.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/558/A149
- Title:
- VLTI/MIDI AGN Large Program observations
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/558/A149
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The AGN-heated dust distribution (the "torus") is increasingly recognized not only as the absorber required in unifying models, but as a tracer for the reservoir that feeds the nuclear Super-Massive Black Hole. Yet, even its most basic structural properties (such as its extent, geometry and elongation) are unknown for all but a few archetypal objects. In order to understand how the properties of AGN tori are related to feeding and obscuration, we need to resolve the matter distribution on parsec scales. Since most AGNs are unresolved in the mid-infrared, even with the largest telescopes, we utilize the MID-infrared interferometric Instrument (MIDI) at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) that is sensitive to structures as small as a few milli-arcseconds (mas). We present here an extensive amount of new interferometric observations from the MIDI AGN Large Program (2009-2011) and add data from the archive to give a complete view of the existing MIDI observations of AGNs. Additionally, we have obtained high-quality mid-infrared spectra from VLT/VISIR to provide a precise total flux reference for the interferometric data. We present correlated and total fluxes for 23 AGNs (16 of which with new data) and derive flux and size estimates at 12m using simple axisymmetric geometrical models.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/886/150
- Title:
- VRI and K-band light curves of type 1 AGNs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/886/150
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the results of a dust-reverberation survey of quasars at redshifts z<0.6. We found a delayed response of the K-band flux variation after the optical flux variation in 25 out of 31 targets, and obtained the lag time between them for 22 targets. Combined with the results for nearby Seyfert galaxies, we provide the largest homogeneous collection of K-band dust-reverberation data for 36 type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This doubles the sample and includes the most distant AGN and the largest lag so far measured. We estimated the optical luminosity of the AGN component of each target using three different methods: spectral decomposition, the flux-variation-gradient method, and image decomposition. We found a strong correlation between the reverberation radius for the innermost dust torus and the optical luminosity over a range of approximately four orders of magnitude in luminosity, as is already known for Seyfert galaxies. We estimated the luminosity distances of the AGNs based on their dust-reverberation lags, and found that the data in the redshift-distance diagram are consistent with the current standard estimates of the cosmological parameters. We also present the radius-luminosity relations for isotropic luminosity indicators such as the hard X-ray (14-195keV), [OIV]25.89{mu}m, and mid-infrared (12{mu}m) continuum luminosities, which are applicable to obscured AGNs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/PASJ/52/997
- Title:
- VSOP 5 GHz AGN Survey
- Short Name:
- J/PASJ/52/997
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The VSOP mission is a Japanese-led project to image radio sources with sub-milliarcsec resolution by correlating the signal from the orbiting 8-m telescope, HALCA, with a global array of telescopes. Twenty- five percent of the scientific time of this mission is devoted to a survey of 402 bright, small-diameter extra-galactic radio sources at 5-GHz. The major goals of the VSOP Survey are statistical in nature: to determine the brightness temperature and approximate structure; to provide a source list for use with future space VLBI missions; and to compare radio properties with other data throughout the EM spectrum. This paper describes: the compilation of a complete list of radio sources associated with active galactic nuclei (AGN); the selection of the subsample of sources to be observed with VSOP; the extensive ground resources used for the Survey; the status of the observations as of 2000 July; the data-analysis methods; and several examples of results from the VSOP Survey. More detailed results from the full sample will be given in future papers.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/155/33
- Title:
- VSOP 5 GHz AGN Survey. III
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/155/33
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) mission is a Japanese-led project to study radio sources with sub-milliarcsec resolution using an orbiting 8m telescope, HALCA, along with global arrays of Earth-based telescopes. Approximately 25% of the observing time is devoted to a survey of compact active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that are stronger than 1Jy at 5GHz - the VSOP AGN Survey. This paper, the third in the series, presents the results from the analysis of the first 102 Survey sources.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/616/110
- Title:
- VSOP 5GHz AGN Survey. IV
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/616/110
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) mission is a Japanese-led project to study radio sources with submilliarcsecond angular resolution, using an orbiting 8m telescope on board the satellite HALCA with a global Earth-based array of telescopes. A major program is the 5GHz VSOP Survey Program, which we supplement here with Very Long Baseline Array observations to produce a complete and flux density-limited sample. Using statistical methods of analysis of the observed visibility amplitude versus projected (u, v) spacing, we have determined the angular size and brightness temperature distribution of bright radio emission from active galactic nuclei.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/175/314
- Title:
- VSOP 5GHz AGN survey V.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/175/314
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- In 1997 February, the Japanese radio astronomy satellite HALCA was launched to provide the space-bourne element for the VLBI Space Observatory Program (VSOP) mission. Approximately 25% of the mission time was dedicated to the VSOP survey of bright compact active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 5GHz. This paper, the fifth in the series, presents images and models for the remaining 140 sources not included in the third paper in the series, which contained 102 sources. For most sources, the plots of the (u,v) coverage, the visibility amplitude versus (u,v) distance, and the high-resolution image are presented. Model fit parameters to the major radio components are determined, and the brightness temperature of the core component for each source is calculated. The brightness temperature distributions for all of the sources in the VSOP AGN survey are discussed.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+AS/70/95
- Title:
- Warm IRAS sources. I. AGN candidates
- Short Name:
- J/A+AS/70/95
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We have previously shown that a blue (warm) 60 to 25{mu}m infrared colour provides a powerful parameter for discriminating between AGNs and normal galaxies and that the far-IR spectrum is therefore an efficient tool for finding new AGNs (de Grijp et al., 1985Natur.314..140D) Here we present a list of such AGN candidates based on warm IR sources from the IRAS Point Source Catalogue (PSC, Cat. II/125). Identification data and finding charts are also given. In addition the list of warm IRAS sources is supplemented by a compendium of data from the IRAS PSC on detected sources identified with previously known AGNs whose infrared spectra do not bring them within our colour selection criterion
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/641/A162
- Title:
- Water maser data of 380 galaxies
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/641/A162
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Water megamaser emission at 22GHz has proven to be a powerful tool for astrophysical studies of active galactic nuclei (AGN) because it allows an accurate determination of the mass of the central black hole and of the accretion disc geometry and dynamics. However, after searches among thousands of galaxies, only ~200 of them have shown such spectroscopic features, most of them of uncertain classification. In addition, the physical and geometrical conditions under which a maser activates are still unknown. We characterize the occurrence of water maser emission in an unbiased sample of AGN by investigating the relation with the X-ray properties and the possible favourable geometry that is required to detect water maser. We searched for 22GHz maser emission in a hard X-ray selected sample of AGN, taken from the INTEGRAL/IBIS survey above 20keV. Only half of the 380 sources in the sample have water maser data. We also considered a volume-limited sub-sample of 87 sources, for which we obtained new observations with the Green Bank and Effelsberg telescopes (for 35 sources). We detected one new maser and increased its radio coverage to 75%. The detection rate of water maser emission in the total sample is 15+/-3%. This fraction increases to 19+/-5% for the complete sub-sample, especially when we consider type 2 (22+/-5% and 31+/-10% for the total and complete samples, respectively) and Compton-thick AGN (56+/-18% and 50+/-35% for the total and complete samples, respectively). No correlation is found between water maser and X-ray luminosity. We note that all types of masers (disc and jet) are associated with hard X-ray selected AGN. These results demonstrate that the hard X--ray selection may significantly enhance the maser detection efficiency over comparably large optical or infrared surveys. A possible decline in detection fraction with increasing luminosity might suggest that an extremely luminous nuclear environment does not favour maser emission. The large fraction of CT AGN with water maser emission could be explained in terms of geometrical effects. The maser medium would then be the very edge-on portion of the obscuring medium.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/652/136
- Title:
- Water maser emission in five AGNs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/652/136
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report the discovery of water maser emission in five active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with the 100m Green Bank Telescope (GBT). The positions of the newly discovered masers, measured with the VLA, are consistent with the optical positions of the host nuclei to within 1{sigma} (0.3" radio and 1.3" optical) and most likely mark the locations of the embedded central engines. The spectra of three sources, 2MASX J08362280+3327383, NGC 6264, and UGC 09618 NED02 (PGC 053432), display the characteristic spectral signature of emission from an edge-on accretion disk with maximum orbital velocity of ~700, ~800, and ~1300km/s, respectively. We also present a GBT spectrum of a previously known source, Mrk 0034, and interpret the narrow Doppler components reported here as indirect evidence that the emission originates in an edge-on accretion disk with orbital velocity of ~500km/s .