Teacup galaxy

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Teacup galaxy
The Teacup Galaxy SDSS 1430.jpg
The Teacup Galaxy as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope
Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Keel (University of Alabama), and the Galaxy Zoo Team
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
Constellation Boötes [1]
Right ascension 14h 30m 29.868s [2]
Declination +13° 39′ 11.79″ [2]
Redshift 0.08513 [2]
Distance 1,100  Mly (337.26  Mpc)
Characteristics
Apparent size  (V)0.223'  × 0.197' [2]
Other designations
FIRST J143029.9+133912, IRAS  F14281+1352, LEDA 1436754, NVSS  J143030+133912, SDSS  J1430+1339

The Teacup galaxy, [3] also known as the Teacup AGN [2] or SDSS J1430+1339 is a low redshift type 2 quasar, [4] 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. [5]

Contents

Galaxy

The Teacup galaxy is dominated by a bulge and has an asymmetric structure with a shell-like structure and a tidal tail. The shell and tail are signatures of a recent merger of two galaxies. [6] Dust lanes in the system are interpreted as a gas-rich merger. [7] Several candidate star clusters were identified in this galaxy with Hubble Space Telescope images. [6] Observations with the Gran Telescopio Canarias showed that the Teacup Galaxy has a giant reservoir of ionized gas extending up to 111 kpc. The optical/radio bubbles seem to be expanding across this intergalactic medium. [4]

Active galactic nucleus

Early studies of the Teacup AGN suggested that it is fading, [8] although there was no clear evidence. [9] Observations with VLT/SINFONI showed a blueshifted nuclear outflow with a velocity of 1600–1800 km/s. [10] Observations in x-rays with Swift, XMM-Newton and Chandra revealed a powerful, highly obscured active galactic nucleus. This new result suggests that the AGN might not require fading. The quasar has dimmed by only a factor of 25 or less over the past 100,000 years. [11] [1]

Bubbles

The Teacup Galaxy with images from Hubble (blue) and the Very Large Array (orange), showing both bubbles VLA-Finds-Unexpected-Storm-at-Galaxys-Core.jpg
The Teacup Galaxy with images from Hubble (blue) and the Very Large Array (orange), showing both bubbles

One bubble was discovered by Galaxy Zoo volunteers in SDSS images as a 5 kpc loop of ionized gas. [5] The loop is dominated by emission lines, such as hydrogen alpha and doubly ionized oxygen, which gives the loop seen in SDSS images a purple color. The emission of [O II] is extremely strong in the Teacup AGN and the quasar 3C 48 shows a similar [O II]/Hβ ratio. [8]

Follow-up observations with the Very Large Array showed two 10-12 kpc bubbles, one "eastern bubble", consistent with the loop in optical observations and a "western bubble", only visible in radio wavelengths. The study also found a bright emission towards the north-east of the AGN, which is consistent with high-velocity ionized gas (-740 km/s). The bubbles are either created by small-scale radio jets or by quasar winds. [7]

Observations with Chandra revealed a loop in x-ray emission, consistent with the "eastern bubble". The Chandra data also show evidence for hotter gas within the bubble, which may imply that a wind of material is blowing away from the black hole. Such a wind, which was driven by radiation from the quasar, may have created the bubbles found in the Teacup. [11] [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Cox</span> French astronomer

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Chandra :: Photo Album :: SDSS J1430+1339 :: March 14, 2019". chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Teacup AGN". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  3. ↑ "Hubble view of green filament in Teacup galaxy". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  4. 1 2 Martin, Montserrat Villar; Lavers, Antonio Cabrera; Humphrey, Andrew; Silva, Marckelson; Almeida, Cristina Ramos; Piqueras, Javier; Emonts, Bjorn (2018-02-21). "A 100 kpc nebula associated with the "Teacup" fading quasar". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 474 (2): 2302–2312. arXiv: 1711.02529 . doi:10.1093/mnras/stx2911. ISSN   0035-8711.
  5. 1 2 Keel, William C.; Chojnowski, S. Drew; Bennert, Vardha N.; Schawinski, Kevin; Lintott, Chris J.; Lynn, Stuart; Pancoast, Anna; Harris, Chelsea; Nierenberg, A. M.; Sonnenfeld, Alessandro; Proctor, Richard (2012-02-11). "The Galaxy Zoo survey for giant AGN-ionized clouds: past and present black hole accretion events". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 420 (1): 878–900. arXiv: 1110.6921 . Bibcode:2012MNRAS.420..878K. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20101.x . ISSN   0035-8711.
  6. 1 2 Keel, William C.; Maksym, W. Peter; Bennert, Vardha N.; Lintott, Chris J.; Chojnowski, S. Drew; Moiseev, Alexei; Smirnova, Aleksandrina; Schawinski, Kevin; Urry, C. Megan; Evans, Daniel A.; Pancoast, Anna (2015-04-14). "HST Imaging of Fading AGN Candidates I: Host-Galaxy Properties and Origin of the Extended Gas". The Astronomical Journal. 149 (5): 155. arXiv: 1408.5159 . Bibcode:2015AJ....149..155K. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/149/5/155. ISSN   1538-3881. S2CID   14855152.
  7. 1 2 Harrison, C. M.; Thomson, A. P.; Alexander, D. M.; Bauer, F. E.; Edge, A. C.; Hogan, M. T.; Mullaney, J. R.; Swinbank, A. M. (2015-02-06). "Storm in a "Teacup": a radio-quiet quasar with ~10kpc radio-emitting bubbles and extreme gas kinematics". The Astrophysical Journal. 800 (1): 45. arXiv: 1410.4198 . doi:10.1088/0004-637X/800/1/45. ISSN   1538-4357. S2CID   119219986.
  8. 1 2 Gagne, J. P.; Crenshaw, D. M.; Kraemer, S. B.; Schmitt, H. R.; Keel, W. C.; Rafter, S.; Fischer, T. C.; Bennert, V. N.; Schawinski, K. (2014-08-18). "Spatially-Resolved Spectra of the "Teacup" AGN: Tracing the History of a Dying Quasar". The Astrophysical Journal. 792 (1): 72. arXiv: 1407.1729 . doi:10.1088/0004-637X/792/1/72. ISSN   1538-4357. S2CID   34883241.
  9. ↑ Keel, William C.; Lintott, Chris J.; Maksym, W. Peter; Bennert, Vardha N.; Chojnowski, S. Drew; Moiseev, Alexei; Smirnova, Aleksandrina; Schawinski, Kevin; Sartori, Lia F.; Urry, C. Megan; Pancoast, Anna (2017-02-01). "Fading AGN Candidates: AGN Histories and Outflow Signatures". The Astrophysical Journal. 835 (2): 256. arXiv: 1612.06006 . Bibcode:2017ApJ...835..256K. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/835/2/256 . ISSN   1538-4357. S2CID   106396364.
  10. ↑ Almeida, Cristina Ramos; López, Javier Piqueras; Villar-Martín, Montserrat; Bessiere, Patricia S. (2017-09-01). "An infrared view of AGN feedback in a type-2 quasar: the case of the Teacup galaxy". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 470 (1): 964–976. arXiv: 1705.07631 . doi:10.1093/mnras/stx1287. ISSN   0035-8711.
  11. 1 2 Lansbury, G. B.; Jarvis, M. E.; Harrison, C. M.; Alexander, D. M.; Del Moro, A.; Edge, A. C.; Mullaney, J. R.; Thomson, A. (2018-03-19). "Storm in a Teacup: X-ray view of an obscured quasar and superbubble". The Astrophysical Journal. 856 (1): L1. arXiv: 1803.00009 . Bibcode:2018ApJ...856L...1L. doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/aab357 . ISSN   2041-8213. S2CID   55431218.
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