Detection of the "Active" Nucleus of M32

Details Detection of the "Active" Nucleus of M32 Detection of the "Active" Nucleus of M32

2003-03-03

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0303060v1

Astrophys.J. 589 (2003) 783-789

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

To appear in ApJ. 7 pages

Scientific paper

10.1086/374738

M32 hosts a 2.5x10^6 solar mass central black hole, but signs of nuclear activity in this galaxy have long eluded detection. We report the first conclusive detection of the nucleus of M32 in X-rays, based on high-resolution, sensitive observations made with Chandra. The 2-10 keV luminosity is merely 9.4x10^35 erg/s, 3x10^-9 of the Eddington luminosity of the black hole. Weak diffuse emission, consistent with thermal gas at a temperature of 0.37 keV, is seen in an annular region ~100 pc from the center. We also present a deep, moderately high-resolution (0.9"), radio continuum observation obtained with the Very Large Array, which places a tight upper bound on the nuclear radio power at 8.4 GHz. We combine these new measurements with upper limits at other wavelengths to discuss implications for the nature of accretion onto the central black hole.

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