Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxies of AGN

Other

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

1

Scientific paper

We know from the optical/UV emission lines that quasars at high redshift contain heavy elements, at least in the inner few tens of parsecs. But where do these elements come from? Plausibly, from inflow of enriched gaseous material from the inner regions of the quasar's host galaxy. There is only one known quasar at high redshift for which information on such gas is directly available: the Cloverleaf quasar at z = 2.56. In the Cloverleaf we have detected strong millimeter-wavelength CO emission lines in several rotational transitions, and also a fine-structure line of neutral carbon. Although the luminosity of these lines is rendered somewhat uncertain by the unknown gravitational lensing amplification factor, there is good evidence for at least 10(10) - 10(11) \ solar masses of molecular material in the inner 2 - 3 kpc surrounding the quasar nucleus. Whether most of the observed C and O were formed in situ, as a result of massive star formation, or were picked up during a merger with another gas-rich system is unclear, but in either case there seems to be a large supply of enriched material available to fuel the quasar if that material can find its way into the center. Introductory material on molecules in low-redshift quasars will be presented, and comparison of the Cloverleaf and the ultraluminous IR galaxy F10214+4724 (z = 2.3) will be discussed.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxies of AGN does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxies of AGN, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Molecular Gas in the Host Galaxies of AGN will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-882644

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.