3C 346

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3C 346
SDSS image of 3C 346.jpg
SDSS image of 3C 346.
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
Constellation Hercules
Right ascension 16h 43m 48.59s
Declination +17° 15′ 49.46″
Redshift 0.163025
Heliocentric radial velocity 48,874 km/s
Distance 2.484 Gly (761.59 Mpc)
Apparent magnitude  (B)17.2
Characteristics
Type E;NLRG, Sy2
Notable features Radio galaxy
Other designations
4C 17.70, PKS J1643+1715, PGC 58857, DA 422, OS 170, NVSS J164348+171548

3C 346 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Hercules. It is located nearly 2.5 billion light years away from Earth and classified a Seyfert galaxy and a compact steep-spectrum source (CSS), [1] although later studies confirm it as a Fanaroff-Riley class II source. [2]

Contents

Characteristics

3C 346 is classified a narrow-line radio galaxy. [3] It has a projected 0.5-3 keV luminosity of 1.4 x 1044 ergs s−1. The galaxy has lack of X-ray emission given most of them originates from a cluster environment with a temperature of 1.9+1.3-0.7. [4] It is a part of a double galaxy system which the object is found merging with a nearby companion galaxy. [5] 3C 346 also contains a jetted double radio source when observed in X-rays [6] and a bright hotspot region showing strong emission in ultraviolet, mainly caused by synchrotron radiation. [7]

The point-like emission of 3C 346 is found to be unabsorbed, measuring NH ≤ 2 x 1021 cm−2 with spectral slope of αx = 0.69+0.16-0.14 and flux of 7.4 x 10−13erg cm−2 s−1 when observed by ROSAT PSPC observations. However, when observed by Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) two years later, the emission presents a different spectral slope of αx = 0.73+0.17-0.23 with a lower flux level of 7.4 x 10−13 erg cm−2 s−1. [8]

The nucleus of 3C 346 is found to be luminous. [5] It contains a core component which a one-sided radio jet is seen emerging with a projected extension of around ~ 2 arcsecs hinting the jet's inclination to the line of sight has a tiny angle. [9] Reaching at high radio frequencies, the jet of 3C 346 is spitted into individual bright knots located at different positions with increased distances from the core region. [4]

According to the jet being detected using Hubble Space Telescope optical polarimetry, Very Large Array polarimetry at 14.9 and 22.5 GHz and data from Chandra X-ray observatory, it shows similarities between optical and radio morphology. However the X-ray emission is found offset by 0.80 ± 0.17 kiloparsecs from both optical and radio peak positions. Based on polarization modeling, the jet of 3C 346 has a relativistic upstream flow of βu = 0.91+0.05-0.07 with an inclined shock front plane angle of η = 51° ± 11° and upstream flow angle of θ = 14+8-7 degrees. The defection angle of the jet on the other hand, is 22°. [10]

There is also presence of an extended structure with an extend of ~ 12" around the jet and its opposite side. When shown at 1.7 GHz, the region has two other components with an estimated separation of ~ 2".2. One of the components is found more stronger and compacted, while the other component is merely a glowing knot inside the jet and mainly surrounded by extended emission. [11]

Related Research Articles

An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such excess, non-stellar emissions have been observed in the radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an active galaxy. The non-stellar radiation from an AGN is theorized to result from the accretion of matter by a supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 273</span> Brightest quasar from Earth located in the constellation Virgo

3C 273 is a quasar located at the center of a giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation of Virgo. It was the first quasar ever to be identified and is the visually brightest quasar in the sky as seen from Earth, with an apparent visual magnitude of 12.9. The derived distance to this object is 749 megaparsecs. The mass of its central supermassive black hole is approximately 886 million times the mass of the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BL Lacertae object</span> Type of active galactic nucleus

A BL Lacertae object or BL Lac object is a type of active galactic nucleus (AGN) or a galaxy with such an AGN, named after its prototype, BL Lacertae. In contrast to other types of active galactic nuclei, BL Lacs are characterized by rapid and large-amplitude flux variability and significant optical polarization. Because of these properties, the prototype of the class was originally thought to be a variable star. When compared to the more luminous active nuclei (quasars) with strong emission lines, BL Lac objects have spectra dominated by a relatively featureless non-thermal emission continuum over the entire electromagnetic range. This lack of spectral lines historically hindered identification of the nature and distance of such objects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centaurus A</span> Radio galaxy in the constellation Centaurus

Centaurus A is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from his home in Parramatta, in New South Wales, Australia. There is considerable debate in the literature regarding the galaxy's fundamental properties such as its Hubble type and distance. It is the closest radio galaxy to Earth, as well as the closest BL Lac object, so its active galactic nucleus has been extensively studied by professional astronomers. The galaxy is also the fifth-brightest in the sky, making it an ideal amateur astronomy target. It is only visible from the southern hemisphere and low northern latitudes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 449</span> Radio galaxy in the constellation Lacerta

3C 449 is a low-redshift Fanaroff and Riley class I radio galaxy. It is thought to contain a highly warped circumnuclear disk surrounding the central active galactic nucleus (AGN). The name signifies that it was the 449th object of the Third Cambridge Catalog of Radio Sources (3C), published in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 66B</span> Elliptical radio galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

3C 66B is an elliptical Fanaroff and Riley class 1 radio galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. With an estimated redshift of 0.021258, the galaxy is about 300 million light-years away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 285</span> Galaxy in constellation Canes Venatici

3C 285 is a radio galaxy located in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is located about 1 bilion light years away. It is a Fanaroff-Riley 2 radio galaxy and is hosted in a disturbed spiral galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 438</span> Galaxy in the constellation Cygnus

3C 438 is a Seyfert galaxy and Fanaroff and Riley class II radio galaxy located in the constellation Cygnus. The radio galaxy has two lobes and there is a radio jet leading to the south lobe, which also has a prominent double hot spot. There is age variation across the lobes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abell 2390</span> Galaxy cluster in the constellation Pegasus

Abell 2390 is a massive galaxy cluster located in the constellation Pegasus. It is classified as an X-ray and rich galaxy clusters measured cooling rate of 200-300 Mʘyr-1. The galaxy cluster contains a cD galaxy called Abell 2390 BCG, associated with a complex radio source, B2151+141.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hercules A</span>

Hercules A is a bright astronomical radio source in the constellation Hercules corresponding to the galaxy 3C 348.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3862</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3862 is an elliptical galaxy located 300 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. Discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785, NGC 3862 is an outlying member of the Leo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 708</span> Galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

NGC 708 is an elliptical galaxy located 240 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda and was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on September 21, 1786. It is classified as a cD galaxy and is the brightest member of Abell 262. NGC 708 is a weak FR I radio galaxy and is also classified as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2273</span> Galaxy in the constellation Lynx

NGC 2273 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Lynx. It is located at a distance of circa 95 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 2273 is about 100,000 light years across. It was discovered by Nils Dunér on September 15, 1867.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 120</span> Galaxy in the constellation Taurus

3C 120, also known as Markarian 1506, is an active galaxy located in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of about 420 million light years. It has been categorised as a type I Seyfert galaxy and a broad-line radio galaxy. 3C 120 has been found to be a variable source in all wavelengths and hosts a superluminal jet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7720</span> Galaxy in the constellation Pegasus

NGC 7720 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus. It is located at a distance of about 380 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7720 is about 180,000 light years across. NGC 7720 is the main galaxy of Abell 2634 galaxy cluster and is a radio galaxy. It was discovered by William Herschel on September 10, 1784.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKS 0637-752</span> Quasar in the constellation Mensa

PKS 0637-752 is a quasar located six billion light years in the constellation of Mensa. It is noted for having a bright and largest astrophysical jet at redshift of z = 0.651. Discovered by Einstein Observatory in 1980 through X-rays, PKS 0637-752 was the first celestial object to be observed by Chandra X-ray Observatory upon its commissioning in July 23, 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extended emission-line region</span> Interstellar clouds

An extended emission-line region (EELR) is a giant interstellar cloud ionized by the radiation of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) inside a galaxy or photons produced by the shocks associated with the radio jets. An EELR can appear as a resolved cloud in relative nearby galaxies and as narrow emission lines in more distant galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2484</span> Galaxy in the constellation Lynx

NGC 2484 is a large lenticular galaxy located in the Lynx constellation. It is situated 560 million light-years away from the Milky Way, which given by its apparent dimensions, means NGC 2484 is around 304,000 thousand light-years across. It is classified a Fanaroff and Riley radio galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MRC 2011-298</span> Brightest cluster galaxy in the constellation Sagittarius

MRC 2011-298 is an elliptical galaxy with an active galactic nucleus, located in the constellation of Sagittarius. It is located 2.1 billion light-years away from Earth. MRC 2011-298 is the brightest cluster galaxy in the galaxy cluster, Abell 3670 and classfied as a dumbbell galaxy, an optical system with two galactic nuclei separated by 7″, corresponding to ≃17 kpc according to the adopted cosmology, with similar magnitude and a common stellar halo. The galaxy is known to have an ellipticity of ε = 0.28 and a position angle of PA  =  24° that is measured from north to east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKS 1345+125</span> Galaxy merger in the constellation Boötes

PKS 1345+125 known as PKS 1345+12 and 4C +12.50, is an ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIG) with an active galactic nucleus, located in the constellation Boötes. With a redshift of 0.121740, the galaxy is located 1.7 billion light-years from Earth.

References

  1. ↑ "Your NED Search Results". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  2. ↑ Dey, Arjun; van Breugel, Wil J. M. (1994-06-01). "Blue Optical Continuum Associated With a Radio Knot in 3C346". The Astronomical Journal. 107: 1977. Bibcode:1994AJ....107.1977D. doi:10.1086/117009. ISSN   0004-6256.
  3. ↑ Trussoni, E.; Capetti, A.; Celotti, A.; Chiaberge, M. (May 2000). "X-ray observations of 3C 66B and 3C 346". Memorie della Società Astronomica Italiana. 72 (1): 111–113. Bibcode:2001MmSAI..72..111T. ISSN   0037-8720.
  4. 1 2 Worrall, D. M.; Birkinshaw, M. (2001-04-10). "The X-Ray Emission of 3C 346 and Its Environment". The Astrophysical Journal. 551 (1): 178–185. arXiv: astro-ph/0012350 . Bibcode:2001ApJ...551..178W. doi:10.1086/320068. ISSN   0004-637X.
  5. 1 2 P. Madrid, Juan; Chiaberge, Marco; Floyd, David; B. Sparks, William; Macchetto, Duccio; K. Miley, George; Axon, David; Capetti, Alessandro; P. O'Dea, Christopher; Baum, Stefi (June 2006). "Hubble Space Telescope Near-Infrared Snapshot Survey of 3CR Radio Source Counterparts at Low Redshift1". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 164 (2): 307–333. arXiv: astro-ph/0603239 . Bibcode:2006ApJS..164..307M. doi:10.1086/504480.
  6. ↑ Hardcastle, M. J.; Worrall, D. M. (1999-11-11). "ROSAT X-ray observations of 3CRR radio sources". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 309 (4): 969–990. arXiv: astro-ph/9907034 . Bibcode:1999MNRAS.309..969H. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1999.02945.x . ISSN   0035-8711.
  7. ↑ de Vries, W. H.; O'Dea, C. P.; Baum, S. A.; Sparks, W. B.; Biretta, J.; de Koff, S.; Golombek, D.; Lehnert, M. D.; Macchetto, F.; McCarthy, P.; Miley, G. K. (June 1997). "Hubble Space Telescope|Imaging of Compact Steep Spectrum Radio Sources". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 110 (2): 191–211. Bibcode:1997ApJS..110..191D. doi:10.1086/313001. ISSN   0067-0049.
  8. ↑ Trussoni, E.; Capetti, A.; Celotti, A.; Chiaberge, M.; Feretti, L. (March 2003). "A multi-wavelength test of the FR I–BL Lac unifying model" (PDF). Astronomy & Astrophysics. 403 (3): 889–899. arXiv: astro-ph/0304018 . Bibcode:2003A&A...403..889T. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030417.
  9. ↑ Gupta, Neeraj; Salter, C. J.; Saikia, D. J.; Ghosh, T.; Jeyakumar, S. (2006-11-13). "Probing radio source environments via H i and OH absorption". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 373 (3): 972–992. arXiv: astro-ph/0605423 . Bibcode:2006MNRAS.373..972G. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.11064.x . ISSN   0035-8711.
  10. ↑ Dulwich, F.; Worrall, D. M.; Birkinshaw, M.; Padgett, C. A.; Perlman, E. S. (2009-09-21). "The magnetic field and geometry of the oblique shock in the jet of 3C 346". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 398 (3): 1207–1216. arXiv: 0907.3739 . Bibcode:2009MNRAS.398.1207D. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2009.15211.x . ISSN   0035-8711.
  11. ↑ Cotton, W.D.; Feretti, L.; Giovannini, G.; Venturi, T.; Lara, L.; Marcaide, J.; Wherle, A.E. (October 1995). "VLBI Observations of a Complete Sample of Radio Galaxies. V. 3C 346 and 4C 31.04: Two Unusual Compact Steep Spectrum Sources". The Astrophysical Journal. 452: 605–612. arXiv: astro-ph/9506038 . Bibcode:1995ApJ...452..605C. doi:10.1086/176333.
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