Study explores spectacular ionization cones of the galaxy NGC 5252

The close by lenticular galaxy NGC 5252 hosts extraordinarily prolonged cones of ionized materials. Latest observations performed by a world crew of astronomers have inspected these outstanding buildings, offering vital insights into their properties. Outcomes of the observational marketing campaign have been published January 17 on the pre-print server arXiv.

Ionization cones are cones of ionized materials extending from active galactic nuclei (AGN). They attain sizes of tens of 1000’s of light years and are noticed primarily in sort II Seyfert galaxies. Research of those buildings might assist us higher perceive the interactions between AGN and their host galaxies.

One of many largest ionization cones within the native universe is situated in NGC 5252—a sort 1.9 Seyfert galaxy at a distance of about 329 million mild years away. Earlier observations of the ionization cones in NGC 5252 have discovered that they prolong over 130,000 mild years throughout and are composed of a number of arcs confined in a bi-cone encircling the galaxy’s nucleus.

Just lately, a gaggle of astronomers led by Chen Wang of the Xiamen College in China, took a better take a look at these cones, investigating them in X-rays. For this objective they employed NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory.

“With a total publicity time of 230 ks, the total information set of Chandra observations used on this work is sort of 4 instances deeper than the earlier one, enabling us to analyze the spatially resolved properties of the prolonged emission to a big radial distance from the nucleus,” the researchers defined.

The observations performed by Wang’s crew detected the outermost X-ray arc of the cones reaching out to roughly 65,000 mild years from the nucleus of NGC 5252. Normally, the X-ray photographs present that the cone buildings principally observe the course of the optical ionization cones within the southeast and northwest course.

Chandra information recommend that the noticed prolonged gentle X-rays are attributable to photoionization and the ionizing supply of the cones is the AGN of NGC 5252. Furthermore, it was discovered that as distance from the nucleus will increase, the photoionization parameter of ionized fuel within the sub-cones stays fixed or barely decreases.

Chandra observations additionally present that the inferred luminosity of NGC 5252’s nucleus was once a lot greater than its present luminosity. The astronomers estimate that it might have decreased by about 98% through the previous 64,000 years. They assume {that a} minor merger occasion might have brought about such a change in luminosity.

Primarily based on the collected information, the authors of the paper conclude that NGC 5252 resembles a quasar relic with a supermassive black hole (SMBH) as large as one billion suns. They suppose that the galaxy went by means of a minor merger and switched to a low accretion price state.

© 2024 Science X Community