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Storm in a Teacup: X-Ray View of an Obscured Quasar and Superbubble

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Chris HarrisonORCiD

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This is the final published version of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by Institute of Physics Publishing, 2018.

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Abstract

© 2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. We present the X-ray properties of the "Teacup AGN" (SDSS J1430+1339), a z = 0.085 type 2 quasar that is interacting dramatically with its host galaxy. Spectral modeling of the central quasar reveals a powerful, highly obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) with a column density of N H = (4.2-6.5) ×1023 cm-2 and an intrinsic luminosity of L 2-10 keV = (0.8-1.4) ×1044 erg s-1. The current high bolometric luminosity inferred (L bol ≈1045-1046 erg s-1) has ramifications for previous interpretations of the Teacup as a fading/dying quasar. High-resolution Chandra imaging data reveal a ≈10 kpc loop of X-ray emission, cospatial with the "eastern bubble" previously identified in luminous radio and ionized gas (e.g., [O iii] line) emission. The X-ray emission from this structure is in good agreement with a shocked thermal gas, with T = (4-8) ×106 K, and there is evidence for an additional hot component with T3 ×107 K. Although the Teacup is a radiatively dominated AGN, the estimated ratio between the bubble power and the X-ray luminosity is in remarkable agreement with observations of ellipticals, groups, and clusters of galaxies undergoing AGN feedback.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Lansbury GB, Jarvis ME, Harrison CM, Alexander DM, Moro AD, Edge AC, Mullaney JR, Thomson AP

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Astrophysical Journal Letters

Year: 2018

Volume: 856

Issue: 1

Online publication date: 19/03/2018

Acceptance date: 27/02/2018

Date deposited: 04/02/2020

ISSN (print): 2041-8205

ISSN (electronic): 2041-8213

Publisher: Institute of Physics Publishing

URL: https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aab357

DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aab357


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