On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40 − 8 + 8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 M ⊙ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 Mpc ) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.
Aims. We investigate the fueling and the feedback of star formation and nuclear activity in NGC 1068, a nearby (D = 14 Mpc) Seyfert 2 barred galaxy, by analyzing the distribution and kinematics of the molecular gas in the disk. We aim to understand if and how gas accretion can self-regulate. Methods. We have used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to map the emission of a set of dense molecular gas (n(H 2 ) 10 5−6 cm −3 ) tracers (CO(3-2), CO(6-5), HCN(4-3), HCO + (4-3), and CS(7-6)) and their underlying continuum emission in the central r ∼ 2 kpc of NGC 1068 with spatial resolutions ∼0.3 −0.5 (∼20-35 pc for the assumed distance of D = 14 Mpc). Results. The sensitivity and spatial resolution of ALMA give an unprecedented detailed view of the distribution and kinematics of the dense molecular gas (n(H 2 ) ≥ 10 5−6 cm −3 ) in NGC 1068. Molecular line and dust continuum emissions are detected from a r ∼ 200 pc off-centered circumnuclear disk (CND), from the 2.6 kpc-diameter bar region, and from the r ∼ 1.3 kpc starburst (SB) ring. Most of the emission in HCO + , HCN, and CS stems from the CND. Molecular line ratios show dramatic order-of-magnitude changes inside the CND that are correlated with the UV/X-ray illumination by the active galactic nucleus (AGN), betraying ongoing feedback. We used the dust continuum fluxes measured by ALMA together with NIR/MIR data to constrain the properties of the putative torus using CLUMPY models and found a torus radius of 20 +6 −10 pc. The Fourier decomposition of the gas velocity field indicates that rotation is perturbed by an inward radial flow in the SB ring and the bar region. However, the gas kinematics from r ∼ 50 pc out to r ∼ 400 pc reveal a massive (M mol ∼ 2.7 +0.9 −1.2 × 10 7 M ) outflow in all molecular tracers. The tight correlation between the ionized gas outflow, the radio jet, and the occurrence of outward motions in the disk suggests that the outflow is AGN driven. Conclusions. The molecular outflow is likely launched when the ionization cone of the narrow line region sweeps the nuclear disk. The outflow rate estimated in the CND, dM/dt ∼ 63 +21 −37 M yr −1 , is an order of magnitude higher than the star formation rate at these radii, confirming that the outflow is AGN driven. The power of the AGN is able to account for the estimated momentum and kinetic luminosity of the outflow. The CND mass load rate of the CND outflow implies a very short gas depletion timescale of ≤1 Myr. The CND gas reservoir is likely replenished on longer timescales by efficient gas inflow from the outer disk.
We report Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of CO(3-2) emission in a sample of seven Seyfert/LINER galaxies at the unprecedented spatial resolution of 0 . 1 = 4-9 pc. Our aim is to explore the close environment of active galactic nuclei (AGN), and the dynamical structures leading to their fueling, through the morphology and kinematics of the gas inside the sphere of influence of the black hole. The selected galaxies host low-luminosity AGN and have a wide range of activity types (Seyferts 1 to 2, LINERs), and barred or ringed morphologies. The observed maps reveal the existence of circumnuclear disk structures, defined by their morphology and decoupled kinematics, in most of the sample. We call these structures molecular tori, even though they often appear as disks without holes in the center. They have varying orientations along the line of sight, unaligned with the host galaxy orientation. The radius of the tori ranges from 6 to 27 pc, and their mass from 0.7 × 10 7 to 3.9 × 10 7 M . The most edge-on orientations of the torus correspond to obscured Seyferts. In only one case (NGC 1365), the AGN is centered on the central gas hole of the torus. On a larger scale, the gas is always piled up in a few resonant rings 100 pc in scale that play the role of a reservoir to fuel the nucleus. In some cases, a trailing spiral is observed inside the ring, providing evidence for feeding processes. More frequently, the torus and the AGN are slightly off-centered with respect to the bar-resonant ring position, implying that the black hole is wandering by a few 10 pc amplitude around the center of mass of the galaxy. Our spatial resolution allows us to measure gas velocities inside the sphere of influence of the central black holes. By fitting the observations with different simulated cubes, varying the torus inclination and the black hole mass, it is possible to estimate the mass of the central black hole, which is in general difficult for such late-type galaxies, with only a pseudo-bulge. In some cases, AGN feedback is revealed through a molecular outflow, which will be studied in detail in a subsequent article.
Aims. We present a detailed analysis of Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Bands 7 and 9 data of CO, HCO + , HCN, and CS, augmented with Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) data of the ∼200 pc circumnuclear disc (CND) and the ∼1.3 kpc starburst ring (SB ring) of NGC 1068, a nearby (D = 14 Mpc) Seyfert 2 barred galaxy. We aim to determine the physical characteristics of the dense gas present in the CND, and to establish whether the different line intensity ratios we find within the CND, as well as between the CND and the SB ring, are due to excitation effects (gas density and temperature differences) or to a different chemistry. Methods. We estimate the column densities of each species in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). We then compute large one-dimensional, non-LTE radiative transfer grids (using RADEX) by using only the CO transitions first, and then all the available molecules to constrain the densities, temperatures, and column densities within the CND. We finally present a preliminary set of chemical models to determine the origin of the gas. Results. We find that, in general, the gas in the CND is very dense (>10 5 cm −3 ) and hot (T > 150 K), with differences especially in the temperature across the CND. The AGN position has the lowest CO/HCO + , CO/HCN, and CO/CS column density ratios. The RADEX analyses seem to indicate that there is chemical differentiation across the CND. We also find differences between the chemistry of the SB ring and some regions of the CND; the SB ring is also much colder and less dense than the CND. Chemical modelling does not succeed in reproducing all the molecular ratios with one model per region, suggesting the presence of multi-gas phase components. Conclusions. The LTE, RADEX, and chemical analyses all indicate that more than one gas-phase component is necessary to uniquely fit all the available molecular ratios within the CND. A higher number of molecular transitions at the ALMA resolution is necessary to determine quantitatively the physical and chemical characteristics of these components.
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