Teacup galaxy

Summary

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]

Teacup galaxy
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)
ConstellationBoötes[1]
Right ascension14h 30m 29.868s[2]
Declination+13° 39′ 11.79″[2]
Redshift0.08513[2]
Distance1,100 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

Galaxy edit

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 edit

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 edit

 
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 edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Chandra :: Photo Album :: SDSS J1430+1339 :: March 14, 2019". chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e "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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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.

External links edit

  • Hubble spies the Teacup, and I spy Hubble blog post from the Galaxy Zoo website
  • Voorwerpjes in Space NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
  • VLA Finds Unexpected Storm at Galaxy's Core press-release by NRAO
  • SDSS J1430+1339: Storm Rages in Cosmic Teacup photo album by the website of Chandra