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Title: 1.75 h {sup -1} kpc SEPARATION DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AT z = 0.36 IN THE COSMOS FIELD

Abstract

We present strong evidence for dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the z = 0.36 galaxy COSMOS J100043.15+020637.2. COSMOS Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of the galaxy shows a tidal tail, indicating that the galaxy recently underwent a merger, as well as two bright point sources near the galaxy's center. The luminosities of these sources (derived from the HST image) and their emission line flux ratios (derived from Keck/DEIMOS slit spectroscopy) suggest that both are AGNs and not star-forming regions or supernovae. Observations from zCOSMOS, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, XMM-Newton, Spitzer, and the Very Large Array fortify the evidence for AGN activity. With HST imaging we measure a projected spatial offset between the two AGNs of 1.75 {+-} 0.03 h {sup -1} kpc, and with DEIMOS we measure a 150 {+-} 40 km s{sup -1} line-of-sight velocity offset between the two AGNs. Combined, these observations provide substantial evidence that COSMOS J100043.15+020637.2 is a merger-remnant galaxy with dual AGNs.

Authors:
;  [1]; ;  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Astronomy Department, 601 Campbell Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
  2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 169-327, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States)
  3. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, M/S 29, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, 2575 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park, CA 94725 (United States)
  4. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21333787
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal (Online)
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 702; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/702/1/L82; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1538-4357
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; EMISSION; GALAXIES; GALAXY NUCLEI; LUMINOSITY; POINT SOURCES; SPECTROSCOPY; SUPERNOVAE; TELESCOPES; UNIVERSE; VELOCITY

Citation Formats

Comerford, Julia M, Davis, Marc, Griffith, Roger L, Stern, Daniel, Gerke, Brian F, Cooper, Michael C, and Newman, Jeffrey A. 1.75 h {sup -1} kpc SEPARATION DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AT z = 0.36 IN THE COSMOS FIELD. United States: N. p., 2009. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/702/1/L82; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA).
Comerford, Julia M, Davis, Marc, Griffith, Roger L, Stern, Daniel, Gerke, Brian F, Cooper, Michael C, & Newman, Jeffrey A. 1.75 h {sup -1} kpc SEPARATION DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AT z = 0.36 IN THE COSMOS FIELD. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/702/1/L82; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)
Comerford, Julia M, Davis, Marc, Griffith, Roger L, Stern, Daniel, Gerke, Brian F, Cooper, Michael C, and Newman, Jeffrey A. 2009. "1.75 h {sup -1} kpc SEPARATION DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AT z = 0.36 IN THE COSMOS FIELD". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/702/1/L82; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA).
@article{osti_21333787,
title = {1.75 h {sup -1} kpc SEPARATION DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI AT z = 0.36 IN THE COSMOS FIELD},
author = {Comerford, Julia M and Davis, Marc and Griffith, Roger L and Stern, Daniel and Gerke, Brian F and Cooper, Michael C and Newman, Jeffrey A},
abstractNote = {We present strong evidence for dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the z = 0.36 galaxy COSMOS J100043.15+020637.2. COSMOS Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of the galaxy shows a tidal tail, indicating that the galaxy recently underwent a merger, as well as two bright point sources near the galaxy's center. The luminosities of these sources (derived from the HST image) and their emission line flux ratios (derived from Keck/DEIMOS slit spectroscopy) suggest that both are AGNs and not star-forming regions or supernovae. Observations from zCOSMOS, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, XMM-Newton, Spitzer, and the Very Large Array fortify the evidence for AGN activity. With HST imaging we measure a projected spatial offset between the two AGNs of 1.75 {+-} 0.03 h {sup -1} kpc, and with DEIMOS we measure a 150 {+-} 40 km s{sup -1} line-of-sight velocity offset between the two AGNs. Combined, these observations provide substantial evidence that COSMOS J100043.15+020637.2 is a merger-remnant galaxy with dual AGNs.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/702/1/L82; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21333787}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal (Online)},
issn = {1538-4357},
number = 1,
volume = 702,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2009},
month = {Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 2009}
}