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. [1] An EELR can appear as a resolved cloud in relative nearby galaxies and as narrow emission lines in more distant galaxies.
EELRs were first discovered in radio galaxies. Usually the clouds emitting the narrow emission lines are restricted to a few kiloparsecs within the AGN, but some galaxies have narrow emission lines that extend a few kiloparsec to over 100 kiloparsecs. These clouds where therefore called extended emission-line regions (EELRs) and usually have a large doubly ionized oxygen [O III]/Hβ ratio, as well as a strong ionized helium He II/Hβ ratio (oxygen line at 5007 Å, helium line at 4686 Å). In some cases these EELRs show highly ionized species, such as calcium [Ca V] and iron [Fe VII] [Fe X]. [2] Another common highly ionized species is the emission of neon [Ne V] (main line at 3426 Å). [3] [4] This high level of ionization shows that the EELRs must be ionized by a mechanism related to the nucleus of the galaxy. HII regions do not show this high level of ionization. [2] The first [O III] images of EELRs were around galaxies, such as 3C 79, [5] 4C 37.43, [6] NGC 3516 [7] or NGC 4151. [8]
In 2009 a large cloud was discovered that had similar spectral features as EELRs, but had no ionizing AGN nearby. It was concluded that the nearby galaxy IC 2497 hosted an AGN in the past. Today this AGN faded into inactivity. The hard ionizing radiation did however need time to travel the thousands of lightyears towards a cloud, which would later become Hanny's Voorwerp. This makes Hanny's Voorwerp the first EELR associated with a fading AGN. Previously EELRs were commonly first discovered via spectroscopy and required high-resolution imaging to further resolve the EELRs. Hanny's Voorwerp was however discovered in broad band imaging from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. [3] This prompted a search for more EELRs in broad-band imaging surveys by galaxy zoo volunteers, who also discovered Hanny's Voorwerp. EELRs are called "Voorwerpjes" by the galaxy zoo members. [4] EELRs that are ionized by the AGN of a companion galaxy were also discovered. This type of ionization is called cross-ionization. [9]
In broad-band images the [O III] emission lines usually lie at the g-band. The true color of an EELR would be dominated by the [O III] emission, which is a cyan color. In astronomical imaging slightly false-color images that transform g, r and i bands into RGB-images are more common. Sometimes the i-band is replaced with a z-band image. The EELRs appear as blue (g-band) objects in these survey images. Sometimes the H-alpha line is redshifted enough to lie at the i-band, which can make the EELR appear as a blue-violet object in these survey images. [4] Sometimes the [O III] is redshifted enough that this line overlaps with the r-band or i-band, which makes them green or red in survey images of the Hyper Suprime-Cam. [10] At around 0.1 < z < 0.38 the 5006.843 Å [O III] line is redshifted to the r-band and at 0.38 < z < 0.68 it is redshifted to the i-band. [note 1] A team of researchers detected a resolved EELR at a high redshift of 4.54 in a galaxy protocluster with JWST. [12]
Another related type of cloud is a extended narrow-line region (ENLR). The EELRs usually have dynamically chaotic structures and high velocities and are probably the result of mergers. ENLRs on the other hand follow the disk structure of the galaxy and have a low velocity. [10]
This is a list of EELRs with resolved [O III] images or other emission-lines
Name Host galaxy | Image EELR | Distance to nucleus (kpc) | Date/Reference |
---|---|---|---|
MR 2251-178 | 30-50 | 1990 [13] | |
Centaurus A outer and inner filaments | 7 & 16 | 1991 [14] | |
IC 5063 | 22 | 1991 [15] | |
3CR 368 | 45 | 1991 [16] | |
3C 352 | 15.6 | 1992 [17] | |
NGC 4151 | 1.16 | 1993 [8] | |
NGC 3516 | 4 | 1995 [7] | |
3C 273 | 14.4 | 1996 [18] | |
PKS 2250–41 | 40-65 | 1997 [19] | |
NGC 5643 | 1.8 | 1997 [20] | |
PKS 2356–61 | 25 | 1998 [21] | |
NGC 5256 | 7 | 2000 [22] | |
NGC 4388 | 35 | 2002 [23] | |
4C 37.43 | 20 | 2002 [24] | |
3C 171 | 5 | 2003 [25] | |
PKS 1932–46 | 100 | 2007 [26] | |
3C 79 | 2008 [5] | ||
IC 2497 | 40 [4] | 2009 [3] | |
3C 48 | 2009 [1] | ||
Mrk 1014 | 2009 [1] | ||
3C 249.1 | 2009 [1] | ||
Ton 616 | 2009 [1] | ||
Ton 202 | 2009 [1] | ||
PKS 2251+11 | 2009 [1] | ||
Mrk 78 | 16 | 2012 [4] | |
SDSS J095559.88+395446.9 | 10 | 2012 [4] | |
SDSS J100507.88+283038.5 | 13 | 2012 [4] | |
IC 2637 | 11 | 2012 [4] | |
NGC 3758 | 17 | 2012 [4] | |
UGC 7342 | 38 | 2012 [4] | |
NGC 5252 | 21 | 2012 [4] | |
Mrk 273 | 19 | 2012 [4] | |
Mrk 463 | 16 | 2012 [4] | |
Teacup galaxy | 18 | 2012 [4] | |
SDSS J151004.01+074037.1 | 10 | 2012 [4] | |
CGCG 077-117 (SDSS J152412.58+083241.2) | 19 | 2012 [4] | |
NGC 5972 | 33 | 2012 [4] | |
Mrk 1498 | 21 | 2012 [4] | |
Mrk 883 | 37 | 2012 [4] | |
UGC 11185 | 11 | 2012 [4] | |
SDSS J220141.64+115124.3 | 16 | 2012 [4] | |
3C 305 | 2012 [27] | ||
3C 381 | 38 | 2013 [28] | |
NGC 7252 | 4 | 2013 [29] | |
PGC 043234 | 10 | 2016 [30] | |
ShaSS 073 | 21 | 2018 [31] | |
J023106−034513 | 30 | 2018 [10] | |
J083823+015012 | 29 | 2018 [10] | |
J090254+001116 | 10 | 2018 [10] | |
J091113+032604 | 10 | 2018 [10] | |
J092203−004443 | 13 | 2018 [10] | |
J155143+434758 | 11 | 2018 [10] | |
J162913+441442 | 15 | 2018 [10] | |
J220347+020443 | 12 | 2018 [10] | |
J220440+005232 | 8 | 2018 [10] | |
J224027+004347 | 9 | 2018 [10] | |
3C 17 | 10.5 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 18 | 13 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 33 | 6.3 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 63 | 30.1 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 318.1 | 11.7 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 327 | 8.1 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 353 | 12.7 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 386 | 4.2 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 403 | 11.3 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 424 | 2.4 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 442 | 3 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 445 | 17 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 458 | 80.2 | 2019 [32] | |
3C 459 | 69 | 2019 [32] | |
SDSS J002944.89+001011.1 | 2019 [9] | ||
SDSS J005754.03+012013.8 | 2019 [9] | ||
SDSS J083902.96+470756.3 | 2019 [9] | ||
Z 180–9 | 2019 [9] | ||
NGC 3341 | 2019 [9] | ||
UGC 6081 | 2019 [9] | ||
SDSS J120149.74-015327.5 | 2019 [9] | ||
SDSS J121418.25+293146.7 | 2019 [9] | ||
Arp 239 (NGC 5278/NGC 5279) | 2019 [9] | ||
SDSS J135429.05+132757.2 | 2019 [9] | ||
Mrk 1172 | 14 | 2021 [33] | |
NGC 235 | 26 | 2022 [34] | |
NGC 5514 | 75 | 2022 [34] | |
3C 98 | 6 | 2022 [35] | |
3C 135 | 31.6 | 2022 [35] | |
3C 180 | 59.8 | 2022 [35] | |
3C 196.1 | 9.3 | 2022 [35] | |
3C 198 | 32.6 | 2022 [35] | |
3C 227 | 46.1 | 2022 [35] | |
3C 300 | 17.2 | 2022 [35] | |
2MASS J08001609+2928172 | 2023 [36] | ||
Z 119–12 | 2023 [36] | ||
2MASX J13020015+2746579 | 2023 [36] | ||
2MASS J08152577+3720258 | 2023 [36] | ||
2MASX J09515536+0329006 | 2023 [36] | ||
UGC 5941 | 2024 [37] | ||
Markarian 950 | 6.5 | 2024 [38] | |
J1000+0234 | >8.6 | 2024 [12] | |
GSN 069 | 9.2 | 2024 [39] | |
RXJ1301 | 2.8 | 2024 [39] | |
eRO-QPE2 | 4.6 | 2024 [39] |
In the fields of Big Bang theory and cosmology, reionization is the process that caused electrically neutral atoms in the universe to reionize after the lapse of the "dark ages".
In astronomy, the intracluster medium (ICM) is the superheated plasma that permeates a galaxy cluster. The gas consists mainly of ionized hydrogen and helium and accounts for most of the baryonic material in galaxy clusters. The ICM is heated to temperatures on the order of 10 to 100 megakelvins, emitting strong X-ray radiation.
3C 305, also known as IC 1065, is a lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Draco. The galaxy is located 577 million light-years away from Earth. It has an active galactic nucleus and is classified as a Seyfert 2 galaxy. This galaxy was discovered by American astronomer Lewis Swift when he came upon it on April 7th, 1888.
3C 249.1 is a Seyfert galaxy located in the constellation Draco. It hosts a powerful radio source and is located at redshift 0.3115, with a peculiar radio structure. One of its radio lobes is classified as having a Fanaroff-Riley classification Type II, while the other lobe has no features nor containing hotspots.
Hanny's Voorwerp is a type of astronomical object called a quasar ionization echo. It was discovered in 2007 by Dutch schoolteacher Hanny van Arkel while she was participating as a volunteer in the Galaxy Zoo project, part of the Zooniverse group of citizen science websites. Photographically, it appears as a bright blob close to spiral galaxy IC 2497 in the constellation Leo Minor.
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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.
NGC 3860 is a spiral galaxy located about 340 million light-years away in the constellation Leo. NGC 3860 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 27, 1785. The galaxy is a member of the Leo Cluster and is a low-luminosity AGN (LLAGN). Gavazzi et al. however classified NGC 3860 as a strong AGN which may have been triggered by a supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy.
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.
The Teacup galaxy, also known as the Teacup AGN or SDSS J1430+1339 is a low redshift type 2 quasar, showing an extended loop of ionized gas resembling a handle of a teacup, which was discovered by volunteers of the Galaxy Zoo project and labeled as a Voorwerpje.
4C+55.16 is an elliptical galaxy, classified type E, located in Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 2.84 billion light-years from Earth, which means given its apparent dimensions, 4C+55.16 is approximately 445,000 light-years across making it a type-cD galaxy. It is the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in a cluster bearing its same name and a part of the galaxy cluster called WHL J083454.9+553421.
4C +29.30 is an elliptical galaxy located in Cancer constellation. Its redshift is 0.064840 which corresponds to a light travel time of 850 million light-years from Earth. It is a wide-angled tailed radio galaxy (WAT) and a Seyfert galaxy.
IRAS 09104+4109 is a galaxy located in the constellation Lynx. With a redshift of 0.440797, the light travel time for this galaxy, corresponds to 4.8 billion light-years from Earth. It is the brightest cluster galaxy in CDGS 25, also known as WHL J091345.5+405628 and a notable, unique ultraluminous infrared galaxy.
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.
PKS 1402-012, also known as UM 632, is a quasar located in the constellation of Virgo. With a redshift of 2.51, the object is located 10.7 billion light-years from Earth.
4C +03.10 also known as PKS 0505+03 and OG +008, is a quasar located in the constellation of Orion. At a redshift of 2.46, the object is located 10.6 billion light-years away from Earth.
2MASX J17201001+2637317 also known as PGC 1782937, is a massive type-cD elliptical galaxy located in the constellation of Hercules. With redshift of 0.16, the galaxy is located 2.4 billion light-years from Earth and the brightest cluster galaxy in the galaxy cluster, RX J1720.1+2638.
Abell 68 is massive and rich galaxy cluster located in the constellation of Pisces with a projected co-moving distance of approximately 1124.6 Mpc or 3.668 billion light-years away from Earth. The cluster is especially notable for its gravitational lensing and was first discovered by George O. Abell in 1958.
PG 1543+489, also known as QSO B1544+4855 and PGC 2325245, is a quasar located in the constellation of Boötes. At the redshift of 0.399, the object is located 4.5 billion light-years away from Earth. It was first discovered in 1983, by researchers who presented 114 objects in the Palomar-Green bright quasar survey, as one of the best studied samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN).
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