A Possible Detection of M31* with<i>Chandra</i>

Garcia, M. R.; Williams, Benjamin F.; Yuan, Feng; Kong, Albert; Primini, F. A.; Barmby, P.; Kaaret, P.; Murray, Stephen S.

doi:10.1086/432967

Cited by 25 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…As in previous studies (Garcia et al 2005(Garcia et al , 2010Li et al 2009), our identification of P2 as the X-ray counterpart of M31 * rests on positional coincidence. The uncertainty of the registration among the X-ray, optical, and radio images is ∼0.…”

Section: P2 As M31 *supporting

confidence: 72%

“…A marginal 8.4 GHz flux variation was reported by Crane et al (1993). Based on a Chandra/High Resolution Camera (HRC) observation, Garcia et al (2005) claimed a 2.5σ detection of X-ray emission from the position of P2. Based on a set of Chandra/Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) observations taken before 2006, Li et al (2009) determined an intrinsic luminosity of ∼1.2 × 10 36 erg s −1 at the position of P2, which places a firm upper limit to the (quiescent) X-ray emission from the SMBH, corresponding to only ∼10 −10 L Edd .…”

Section: The Smbh In M31mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Four X-ray sources are immediately identified within 4 of the nucleus. Following Garcia et al (2005) and Li et al (2009), we label these sources in Figure 1(a) as P2 for the source positionally coincident with the nucleus, N1 for the source just ∼0. 5 northeast of P2, SSS for the source ∼1.…”

Section: X-ray Sources In the Nuclear Region Of M31mentioning

confidence: 99%

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THE MURMUR OF THE HIDDEN MONSTER: CHANDRA 'S DECADAL VIEW OF THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN M31

Garcia

Forman

et al. 2011

ApJ

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The Andromeda galaxy (M31) hosts a central supermassive black hole (SMBH), known as M31 * , which is remarkable for its mass (∼10 8 M ) and extreme radiative quiescence. Over the past decade, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory has pointed to the center of M31 ∼100 times and accumulated a total exposure of ∼900 ks. Based on these observations, we present an X-ray study of a highly variable source that we associate with M31 * based on positional coincidence. We find that M31 * remained in a quiescent state from late 1999 to 2005, exhibiting an average 0.5-8 keV luminosity 10 36 erg s −1 , or only ∼10 −10 of its Eddington luminosity. We report the discovery of an outburst that occurred on 2006 January 6 during which M31 * radiated at ∼4.3 × 10 37 erg s −1 . After the outburst, M31* entered a more active state that apparently lasts to the present, which is characterized by frequent flux variability around an average luminosity of ∼4.8 × 10 36 erg s −1 . These flux variations are similar to the X-ray flares found in the SMBH of our Galaxy (Sgr A * ), making M31 * the second SMBH known to exhibit recurrent flares. Future coordinated X-ray/radio observations will provide useful constraints on the physical origin of the flaring emission and help rule out a possible stellar origin of the X-ray source.

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Section: P2 As M31 *supporting

confidence: 72%

Section: The Smbh In M31mentioning

confidence: 95%

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THE MURMUR OF THE HIDDEN MONSTER: CHANDRA 'S DECADAL VIEW OF THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN M31

Garcia

Forman

et al. 2011

ApJ

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“…At the opposite extreme, sources with L bol /L Edd ∼ < 10 −6.5 may also show a systematic downturn, in possible agreement with the proposal by Yuan & Cui (2005) that below a critical threshold, L X ≈ 10 −5.5 L Edd , both the radio and the X-rays should be dominated by emission from the jet. M31 (Garcia et al 2005), NGC 821 (Pellegrini et al 2007), and NGC 4621 and NGC 4697 (Wrobel, Terashima & Ho 2008) seem to conform to Yuan & Cui's prediction, but M32 and especially Sgr A * clearly do not. Additional deep radio and X-ray observations of ultra-low-luminosity nuclei would be very valuable to clarify the situation in this regime.…”

Section: The Disk-jet Connectionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Not only has the near ubiquity of diffuse gas been confirmed in many nearby galaxies Eracleous et al 2002;Terashima & Wilson 2003b;Pellegrini 2005;Rinn, Sambruna & Gliozzi 2005;Cappi et al 2006;González-Martín et al 2006;Soria et al 2006), including our own (Muno et al 2004) and our close neighbor M31 (Garcia et al 2005), but quantitative, statistical properties of the gas are now becoming available. In the comprehensive investigation of 19 LINERs by Flohic et al (2006), the diffuse emission, detected in 70% of the sample, is concentrated within the central few hundred pc.…”

Section: Circumnuclear Thermal Plasmamentioning

confidence: 97%

Nuclear Activity in Nearby Galaxies

2008

Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys.

1,122

104

1,195

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A significant fraction of nearby galaxies show evidence of weak nuclear activity unrelated to normal stellar processes. Recent high-resolution, multiwavelength observations indicate that the bulk of this activity derives from black hole accretion with a wide range of accretion rates. The low accretion rates that typify most low-luminosity active galactic nuclei induce significant modifications to their central engine. The broad-line region and obscuring torus disappear in some of the faintest sources, and the optically thick accretion disk transforms into a three-component structure consisting of an inner radiatively inefficient accretion flow, a truncated outer thin disk, and a jet or outflow. The local census of nuclear activity supports the notion that most, perhaps all, bulges host a central supermassive black hole, although the existence of active nuclei in at least some late-type galaxies suggests that a classical bulge is not a prerequisite to seed a nuclear black hole.

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Astrophysics in 2006

2007

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The fastest pulsar and the slowest nova; the oldest galaxies and the youngest stars; the weirdest life forms and the commonest dwarfs; the highest energy particles and the lowest energy photons. These were some of the extremes of Astrophysics 2006. We attempt also to bring you updates on things of which there is currently only one (habitable planets, the Sun, and the universe) and others of which there are always many, like meteors and molecules, black holes and binaries.Comment: 244 pages, no figure

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A Possible Detection of M31* withChandra

Cited by 25 publications

References 28 publications

THE MURMUR OF THE HIDDEN MONSTER: CHANDRA 'S DECADAL VIEW OF THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN M31

THE MURMUR OF THE HIDDEN MONSTER: CHANDRA 'S DECADAL VIEW OF THE SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN M31

Nuclear Activity in Nearby Galaxies

Astrophysics in 2006

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