Markarian 501

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Markarian 501
SDSS Mrk 501.jpg
Sloan Digital Sky Survey image of Mrk 501
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Hercules
Right ascension 16h 53m 52.21s [1]
Declination 39° 45′ 37.6″ [1]
Redshift 9915±25 km/s or 0.033640 Z
Distance 456 Mly (140 Mpc; 4.32x1024 m)
Group or cluster zw1707.6+4045
Characteristics
Type S0 [2]
Size~210,000  ly (64  kpc) (estimated) [3] [2] [lower-alpha 1]
Apparent size  (V)94.86" × 71.1" [2]
Notable featuresbrightest object in very-high-energy gamma rays
Other designations
4C39.49, PGC 59214, UGC 10599

Markarian 501 (or Mrk 501) is a galaxy with a spectrum extending to the highest energy gamma rays. [4] It is a blazar or BL Lac object, which is an active galactic nucleus with a jet that is shooting towards the Earth. The object has a redshift of z = 0.034. [5]

Contents

Mrk 501 is an extremely variable source of gamma rays, undergoing violent outbursts. [5] During an outburst in 1997, it was the brightest object in the sky in the very-high-energy gamma ray region of the spectrum, at energies above 1011  eV (100 GeV). [6]

The galaxy hosting the blazar was studied and catalogued by Benjamin Markarian in 1974. [7] It was first determined to be a very high energy gamma ray emitter in 1996 by John Quinn at the Whipple Observatory. [5] [8]

Galaxy

The elliptical galaxy is located in the constellation of Hercules at right ascension 16h 53.9m and declination +39° 45'. Its visible size appears to be 1.2 by 1 minute of arc. [9]

Gamma rays

The gamma rays from Mrk 501 are extremely variable, undergoing violent outbursts. [5] The gamma ray spectrum of Mrk 501 shows two humps. One is below 1 keV and can be considered to be X-rays and the other is above 1 TeV. During flares and outbursts the peaks increase in power and frequency. [5] Flares lasting 20 minutes with rise times of 1 minute have been measured by MAGIC. In these flares the higher energy gamma rays (of 1.2 Tev) were delayed 4 minutes over the 0.25 TeV gamma rays. [10] This delay has led to various theories, including that space is bigger at small dimensions with a foamy quantum texture. [11] The foam would create a variation in the speed of light for higher-energy light gamma-rays and the lower-energy radio waves and visible light. Such a variation would contradict Lorentz invariance, but could provide a clue for unification theory. Observations of Dr. Floyd Stecker of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center of Mrk 501 and Mrk 421 demonstrated that there is no violation of Lorentz invariance. [12] The galaxy is also variable in visible light between magnitude 14.5 and 13.6. [13]

During the discovery observations flashes at the average rate of one in seven minutes were observed. Cosmic rays (that is, fermionic or massive cosmic rays, as opposed to photons) were ruled out by the shape and size of the flashes which are small and elliptical for gamma rays. The flux for photons over 300 GeV at this point in time in 1995 was 8.1±1.5 x 10−12 cm−2s−1 [8]

Black hole

Blazars are likely to originate from matter falling into a black hole and possibly a binary black hole. The velocity dispersion (which is the maximum difference in the velocity toward or away from Earth) observed in the galaxy is 372 km/s which predicts a black hole mass of (0.9 − 3.4) × 109 M⊙. However, dispersion of velocity was also measured as 291 and 270 km/s so the central mass may be less. [14] A 23-day variability suggested that an object may be orbiting the central black hole with a 23-day period. [14]

Jet

With very-long-baseline interferometry, the fine detail of radio waves can be seen down to milliarcsecond (mas) resolution. A central very bright single point called the core is observed. From the core an extremely high-speed blast of plasma emerges in a narrow cone shape as a one-sided jet.

After 30 milliarcseconds, the jet, which is 300 pc long, does a 90° turn and fans out. The inner jet before the kink shows bright edges or a limb-brightened structure less than 10 mas wide. This is probably due to a fast-moving central part to the jet, combined with slower edges. [15]

Normally, there would be jets of gas shooting out in opposite directions. The observed jet is the one that faces the earth and projects plasma towards Earth. There is also a jet heading away from Earth called a counter jet. Close into the core, this counter jet is so much dimmer than the main jet that it is invisible in radio waves.

The brightness of the counter jet is less than the main jet by a factor of 1250. This implies that the jet is relativistic with Γ about 15 (that is, the plasma is moving at 99.8% of the speed of light) and at an angle between 15° and 25° from the line of sight from the Earth. At 408 MHz, the power level is 1.81 Jy, although this is variable. [16]

Beyond 10 kpc from the core, the counter jet becomes visible, showing that the jets have become non-relativistic; that is, plasma is no longer moving close to the speed of light. [16] The symmetrical radio emission extends to 70", which corresponds to 120 to 200 kpc. [16]

Blazar research

In March 2022, scientists led by Ioannis Liodakis studied Markarian 501 during an average state while discerning how blazars make such a bright light using Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). The researchers were "able to show that the particles in these jets are supercharged by shock fronts, resolving a longstanding 'unanswered question' about the dynamics of these brilliant objects." [17] [18]

We’ve known about these sources from the 60s. They are among the brightest objects in X-rays and for years we did not know how the X-rays are made. We had a few theories, but the radio and optical data we could get are not able to tell us much.

— Ioannis Liodakis, Postdoctoral Researcher, Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO

Catalog entries

Early designations were 4C 39.49 and B2 1652+39. [19] The Uppsala General Catalogue of Galaxies lists this as UGC 10599. [20]

Other designations: B1652+39 or 1H1652+398 or TeV J1653+397. [21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Calculated from apparent size and distance:
Mrk 501 (2MASS) MRK 0501 2MASS.jpg
Mrk 501 (2MASS)

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">Blazar</span> Very compact quasi-stellar radio source

A blazar is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) with a relativistic jet directed very nearly towards an observer. Relativistic beaming of electromagnetic radiation from the jet makes blazars appear much brighter than they would be if the jet were pointed in a direction away from Earth. Blazars are powerful sources of emission across the electromagnetic spectrum and are observed to be sources of high-energy gamma ray photons. Blazars are highly variable sources, often undergoing rapid and dramatic fluctuations in brightness on short timescales. Some blazar jets appear to exhibit superluminal motion, another consequence of material in the jet traveling toward the observer at nearly the speed of light.

<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">MAGIC (telescope)</span> Very-high-energy photon telescope in the Canary Islands, Spain

MAGIC is a system of two Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes situated at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, at about 2200 m above sea level. MAGIC detects particle showers released by gamma rays, using the Cherenkov radiation, i.e., faint light radiated by the charged particles in the showers. With a diameter of 17 meters for the reflecting surface, it was the largest in the world before the construction of H.E.S.S. II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VERITAS</span> Ground-based gamma-ray observatory

VERITAS is a major ground-based gamma-ray observatory with an array of four 12 meter optical reflectors for gamma-ray astronomy in the GeV – TeV photon energy range. VERITAS uses the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope technique to observe gamma rays that cause particle showers in Earth's atmosphere that are known as extensive air showers. The VERITAS array is located at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory, in southern Arizona, United States. The VERITAS reflector design is similar to the earlier Whipple 10-meter gamma-ray telescope, located at the same site, but is larger in size and has a longer focal length for better control of optical aberrations. VERITAS consists of an array of imaging telescopes deployed to view atmospheric Cherenkov showers from multiple locations to give the highest sensitivity in the 100 GeV – 10 TeV band. This very high energy observatory, completed in 2007, effectively complements the Large Area Telescope (LAT) of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope due to its larger collection area as well as coverage in a higher energy band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markarian 421</span> Blazar located in the constellation Ursa Major

Markarian 421 is a blazar located in the constellation Ursa Major. The object is an active galaxy and a BL Lacertae object, and is a strong source of gamma rays. It is about 397 million light-years to 434 million light-years (133Mpc) from the Earth. It is one of the closest blazars to Earth, making it one of the brightest quasars in the night sky. It is suspected to have a supermassive black hole (SMBH) at its center due to its active nature. An early-type high inclination spiral galaxy is located 14 arc-seconds northeast of Markarian 421.

<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.

The Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) is an international consortium of astronomers created in 1997, with the aim to study a particular category of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) called blazars, which are characterized by strong and fast brightness variability, on time scales down to hours or less.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markarian 231</span> Seyfert galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

Markarian 231 is a Type-1 Seyfert galaxy that was discovered in 1969 as part of a search of galaxies with strong ultraviolet radiation. It contains the nearest known quasar. Markarian 231 is located about 581 million light years away from Earth, in the constellation of Ursa Major.

TXS 0506+056 is a very high energy blazar – a quasar with a relativistic jet pointing directly towards Earth – of BL Lac-type. With a redshift of 0.3365 ± 0.0010, it has a luminosity distance of about 1.75 gigaparsecs. Its approximate location on the sky is off the left shoulder of the constellation Orion. Discovered as a radio source in 1983, the blazar has since been observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AP Librae</span> Active galactic nucleus in the constellation Libra

AP Librae is a BL Lacertae object located at a distance of 700 million light years in the southern constellation of Libra. In the visual band it is one of the most active blazars known. AP Lib is surrounded by an extended source with a spectrum characteristic of a red-shifted giant elliptical galaxy. The derived visual magnitude of this region is 15.0, and it follows a radially decreasing brightness that is characteristic of an elliptical. Seven fainter galaxies are visible within an angular radius of 9′, suggesting it is the brightest member of a galactic cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3C 345</span> Quasar in the Hercules constellation

3C 345 is a blazar/flat spectrum radio quasar located in the constellation of Hercules. It is noted for hosting a superluminal jet and its variability in almost all wave bands.

<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">IC 310</span> Lenticular galaxy in the constellation Perseus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKS 1402+044</span> Quasar in the constellation of Virgo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markarian 463</span> Galaxy in the constellation of Boötes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markarian 1018</span> Galaxy in the constellation Cetus

Markarian 1018, also known as UGC 1597, is a lenticular galaxy with a peculiar structure located in the constellation Cetus. It is located at an approximate distance of 607 million light years from Earth and has an apparent dimensions of 0.99 by 0.52 arcmin. It is classified as a change looking Seyfert galaxy and galaxy merger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1ES 0229+200</span> BL Lacertae object located in the constellation Aries

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References

  1. 1 2 Ochsenbein, F.; Bauer, P.; Marcout, J. (10 April 2000). "The VizieR database of astronomical catalogues". Astronomy & Astrophysics Supplement Series. 143: 23–32. arXiv: astro-ph/0002122 . Bibcode:2000A&AS..143...23O. doi:10.1051/aas:2000169. S2CID   17377096.
  2. 1 2 3 "Results for Mrk 501". MARKARIAN2 – Markarian Galaxies Optical Database. Archived from the original on 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2011-12-06. Data base query page is at . Fill in Mrk 501 for name and click start search at bottom of page.
  3. ↑ "Parameter Display for single row in Markarian Galaxies Optical Database".
  4. ↑ Aharonian, F. A. (1999). "The time averaged TeV energy spectrum of Mkn 501 of the extraordinary 1997 outburst as measured with the stereoscopic Cherenkov telescope system of HEGRA" (PDF). Astronomy and Astrophysics. 349: 11–28. arXiv: astro-ph/9903386 . Bibcode:1999A&A...349...11A.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Acciari, V. A.; et al. (VERITAS Collaboration and MAGIC Collaboration) (2011). "Spectral Energy Distribution of Markarian 501: Quiescent State vs. Extreme Outburst". Astrophysical Journal. 729 (2): 2. arXiv: 1012.2200 . Bibcode:2011ApJ...729....2A. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/729/1/2. S2CID   15451643.
  6. ↑ Protheroe, Ray J.; C.L. Bhat; P. Fleury; E. Lorenz; M. Teshima; T.C. Weekes (12 October 1997). "Very high energy gamma rays from Markarian 501". arXiv: astro-ph/9710118 .
  7. ↑ Markaryan, B. E.; V. A. Lipovetskii (1974). "Galaxies with ultraviolet continuum V". Astrophysics. 8 (2): 89–99. Bibcode:1972Ap......8...89M. doi:10.1007/BF01002156. ISSN   0571-7256. S2CID   122248004.
  8. 1 2 Quinn J, Akerlof CW, Biller S, Buckley J, Carter-Lewis DA, Cawley MF, Catanese M, Connaughton V, et al. (10 January 1996). "Detection of Gamma Rays with E > 300 GeV from Markarian 501". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 465 (2): L83–L86. Bibcode:1996ApJ...456L..83Q. doi: 10.1086/309878 .
  9. ↑ "Object: Galaxy UGC 10599 = Markarian 501".
  10. ↑ Albert, J; et al. (MAGIC Collaboration) (5 December 2007). "Variable VHE gamma-ray emission from Markarian 501" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 669 (2): 862–883. arXiv: astro-ph/0702008 . Bibcode:2007ApJ...669..862A. doi:10.1086/521382. S2CID   118954339.
  11. ↑ Albert J, Ellis J, Mavromatos NE, Nanopoulos DV, Sakharov AS, Sarkisyan EKG (2008). "Probing quantum gravity using photons from a flare of the active galactic nucleus Markarian 501 observed by the MAGIC telescope". Physics Letters B. 668 (4): 253–257. arXiv: 0708.2889 . Bibcode:2008PhLB..668..253M. doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2008.08.053. S2CID   5103618.
  12. ↑ "Einstein Makes Extra Dimensions Toe The Line". NASA . Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  13. ↑ Barbieri, G; G. Romano (1977). "The optical variability of the galaxy Markarian 501". Acta Astronomica. 27 (2): 195–197. Bibcode:1977AcA....27..195B.
  14. 1 2 Rieger, F. M.; Mannheim, K. (2003). "On the central black hole mass in Mkn 501". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 397: 121–125. arXiv: astro-ph/0210326v1 . Bibcode:2003A&A...397..121R. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20021482. S2CID   14579804.
  15. ↑ Bondi, M.; L. Feretti; M. Giroletti; K.-H. Mack; F. Mantovani; C. Stanghellini; T. Venturi; D. Dallacasa; et al. "Very Long Baseline Interferometry Research". Instituto di Radioastronomia. Archived from the original on 3 February 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2011. with further detail at Giroletti, M.; Giovannini, G.; Feretti, L.; Cotton, W. D.; Edwards, P. G.; Lara, L.; Marscher, A. P.; Mattox, J. R.; Piner, B. G.; Venturi, T. (2004). "Parsec‐Scale Properties of Markarian 501". The Astrophysical Journal. 600 (1): 127–140. arXiv: astro-ph/0309285 . Bibcode:2004ApJ...600..127G. doi:10.1086/379663. S2CID   18078543.
  16. 1 2 3 Giroletti, M.; G. Giovannini; L. Feretti; W.D. Cotton; P.G. Edwards; L. Lara; A.P. Marscher; J.R. Mattox; et al. (11 September 2003). "Parsec Scale Properties of Markarian 501" (PDF). Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  17. ↑ "Scientists Solve Major Mystery of Powerful Energy Beams Pointed at Earth". www.vice.com. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  18. ↑ Liodakis, Ioannis; Marscher, Alan P.; Agudo, Iván; Berdyugin, Andrei V.; Bernardos, Maria I.; Bonnoli, Giacomo; Borman, George A.; Casadio, Carolina; Casanova, Vı́ctor; Cavazzuti, Elisabetta; Rodriguez Cavero, Nicole; Di Gesu, Laura; Di Lalla, Niccoló; Donnarumma, Immacolata; Ehlert, Steven R. (2022-11-23). "Polarized blazar X-rays imply particle acceleration in shocks". Nature. 611 (7937): 677–681. arXiv: 2209.06227 . Bibcode:2022Natur.611..677L. doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05338-0 . ISSN   1476-4687. PMC   9684068 . PMID   36418451.
  19. ↑ Ulrich, Marie Helene; Shakeshaft, John R. (1974). "Optical Observations of Nuclei of Galaxies". The Formation and Dynamics of Galaxies. Dordrecht, Holland: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 292. ISBN   978-90-277-0461-0.
  20. ↑ "UGC 10599". VII/26D/catalog Uppsala General Catalogue of Galaxies (UGC) (Nilson 1973). Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  21. ↑ "Markarian 501". TeVCat. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
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