S. Pellegrini

The X-ray and radio connection in low-luminosity active nuclei

We present the results of the correlation between the nuclear 2–10 keV X-ray and radio (at 2 cm, 6 cm, and 20 cm) luminosities for a well-defined sample of local Seyfert galaxies. We use a sample of low luminosity radio galaxies (LLRGs) for comparison. In both Seyfert and LLRG samples, X-ray and radio luminosities are significantly correlated over 8 orders of magnitude, indicating that the X-ray and radio emission sources are strongly coupled. Moreover, both samples show a similar regression slope, LX ∝ L 0.97 R , but Seyfert galaxies are three orders of magnitude less luminous in the radio band than LLRGs. This suggests that either similar physical mechanisms are responsible for the observed emission or a combination of different mechanisms ends up producing a similar correlation slope. Indeed, the common belief for LLRG is that both the X-ray and radio emission are likely dominated by a relativistic jet component, while in Seyfert galaxies the X-ray emission probably arises from a disk-corona system and the radio emission is attributed to a jet/outflow component. We investigate the radio loudness issue in the two samples and find that the Seyfert galaxies and the LLRGs show a different distribution of the radio loudness parameters. No correlation is found between the luminosity and the radio loudness; however, the latter is related to the black hole mass and anti-correlated with the Eddington ratio. The dichotomy in the radio loudness between Seyfert and LLRG observed down to low Eddington ratios, L2−10 keV/LEdd ∼ 10 −8 , does not support the idea that the origin of the radio loudness is due to a switch in the accretion mode.

Functional Analysis via Standardized Whole-Blood Stimulation Systems Defines the Boundaries of a Healthy Immune Response to Complex Stimuli

Standardization of immunophenotyping procedures has become a high priority. We have developed a suite of whole-blood, syringe-based assay systems that can be used to reproducibly assess induced innate or adaptive immune responses. By eliminating preanalytical errors associated with immune monitoring, we have defined the protein signatures induced by (1) medically relevant bacteria, fungi, and viruses; (2) agonists specific for defined host sensors; (3) clinically employed cytokines; and (4) activators of T cell immunity. Our results provide an initial assessment of healthy donor reference values for induced cytokines and chemokines and we report the failure to release interleukin-1α as a common immunological phenotype. The observed naturally occurring variation of the immune response may help to explain differential susceptibility to disease or response to therapeutic intervention. The implementation of a general solution for assessment of functional immune responses will help support harmonization of clinical studies and data sharing.

The HI content of early-type galaxies from the ALFALFA survey - I. Catalogued HI sources in the Virgo cluster

Aims. We are using the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey (ALFALFA), which is covering 17% of the sky at 21 cm, to study the HI content of early-type galaxies (ETG) in an unbiased way. The aim is to get an overall picture of the hot, warm and cold ISM of ETG, as a function of galaxy mass and environment, to understand its origin and fate, and to relate it to the formation and evolution history of these objects. Methods. This paper deals with the first part of our study, which is devoted to the 8-16 deg. declination strip in the Virgo cluster. In this sky region, using the Virgo Cluster Catalogue (VCC), we have defined an optical sample of 939 ETG, 457 of which are brighter than the VCC completeness limit at B T = 18.0. We have correlated this optical sample with the catalogue of detected HI sources from ALFALFA. Results. Out of the 389 ETG from the VCC with B T < 18.0, outside the 1 deg. region of poor HI detection around M 87, and corrected for background contamination of VCC galaxies without a known radial velocity, only 9 galaxies (2.3%) are detected in HI with a completeness limit of 3.5 and 7.6 x 10 7 M ⊙ of HI for dwarf and giant ETG, respectively. In addition 4 VCC ETG with fainter magnitudes are also detected. Our HI detection rate is lower than previously claimed. The majority of the detected ETG appear to have peculiar morphology and to be located near the edges of the Virgo cluster. Conclusions. Our preliminary conclusion is that cluster ETG contain very little neutral gas, with the exceptions of a few peculiar dwarf galaxies at the edge of the ETG classification and of very few larger ETG, where the cold gas could have a recent external origin.

The X-ray-faint Emission of the Supermassive Nuclear Black Hole of IC 1459

Chandra observations of the supermassive black hole in the nucleus of IC 1459 show a weak (LX=8×10 40 erg s −1 , 0.3-8 keV), unabsorbed nuclear X-ray source, with a slope = 1.88 ±0.09, and no strong Fe-K line at 6.4 keV (EW<382 eV). This describes a normal AGN X-ray spectrum, but lies at 3×10 −7 below the Eddington limit. The SED of the IC 1459 nucleus is extremely radio loud compared to normal radio-loud quasars. The nucleus is surrounded by hot ISM (kT�0.50.6 keV) with an average density of 0.3 cm −3 , within the central �180 pc radius, which is comparable to the gravitational capture radius, rA �140 pc. We estimate that for a standard AGN efficiency of 10%, the Bondi accretion would correspond to a luminosity of �6×10 44 erg s −1 , nearly four orders of magnitude higher than LX. ADAF solutions can explain the X-ray spectrum, but not the high radio/X-ray ratio. A jet model fits the radio-100µm and X-ray spectra well. The total power in this jet is �10% of LBondi, implying that accretion close to the Bondi rate is needed.

An XMM-Newton and Chandra investigation of the nuclear accretion in the Sombrero galaxy (NGC 4594)

We present an analysis of the XMM-Newton and Chandra ACIS-S observations of the LINER nucleus of the Sombrero galaxy, and we discuss possible explanations for its very sub-Eddington luminosity by complementing the X-ray results with high angular resolution observations in other bands. The X-ray investigation shows a hard (Γ = 1.89) and moderately absorbed (NH = 1.8 × 1021 cm-2) nuclear source of 1.5 × 1040 ergs s-1 in the 2-10 keV band, surrounded by hot gas at a temperature of ~0.6 keV. The bolometric nuclear luminosity is at least ~200 times lower than expected if mass accreted on the supermassive black hole, which Hubble Space T elescope shows to reside at the center of this galaxy, at the rate predicted by the spherical and adiabatic Bondi accretion theory and with the high radiative efficiency of a standard accretion disk. The low luminosity, coupled to the observed absence of Fe K emission in the nuclear spectrum, indicates that such a disk is not present. This nucleus also differs from bright unobscured active galactic nuclei in the lack of high flux variability and prominent broad Hα emission. However, it is also too faint for the predictions of simple radiatively inefficient accretion taking place at the Bondi rate; it could instead be too radio bright for radiatively inefficient accretion that includes strong mass outflows or convection. This discrepancy could be solved by the possible presence of nuclear radio jets. An alternative explanation of the low luminosity, in place of radiative inefficiency, could be unsteady accretion.

THE VERY SOFT X-RAY EMISSION OF X-RAY-FAINT EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES

A recent reanaylsis of Einstein data, and new ROSAT observations, have revealed the presence of at least two components in the X-ray spectra of X-ray faint early-type galaxies: a relatively hard component (kT greater than 1.5 keV), and a very soft component (kT approximately 0.2-0.3 keV). In this paper we address the problem of the nature of the very soft component and whether it can be due to a hot interstellar medium (ISM), or is most likely originated by the collective emission of very soft stellar sources. To this purpose, hydrodynamical evolutionary sequences for the secular behavior of gas flows in ellipticals have been performed, varying the Type Ia supernovae rate of explosion, and the dark matter amount and distribution. The results are compared with the observational X-ray data: the average Einstein spectrum for six X-ray faint early-type galaxies (among which are NGC 4365 and NGC 4697), and the spectrum obtained by the ROSAT pointed observation of NGC 4365. The very soft component could be entirely explained with a hot ISM only in galaxies such as NGC 4697, i.e., when the depth of the potential well-on which the average ISM temperature strongly depends-is quite shallow; in NGC 4365 a diffuse hot ISM would have a temperature larger than that of the very soft component, because of the deeper potential well. So, in NGC 4365 the softest contribution to the X-ray emission comes certainly from stellar sources. As stellar soft X-ray emitters, we consider late-type stellar coronae, supersoft sources such as those discovered by ROSAT in the Magellanic Clouds and M31, and RS CVn systems. All these candidates can be substantial contributors to the very soft emission, though none of them, taken separately, plausibly accounts entirely for its properties. We finally present a model for the X-ray emission of NGC 4365, to reproduce in detail the results of the ROSAT pointed observation, including the Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) spectrum and radial surface brightness distribution. The present data may suggest that the X-ray surface brightness is more extended than the optical profile. In this case, a straightforward explanation in terms of stellar sources could not be satisfactory. The available data can be better explained with three different contributions: a very soft component of stellar origin, a hard component from X-ray binaries, and an approximately 0.6 keV hot ISM. The latter can explain the extended X-ray surface brightness profile, if the galaxy has a dark-to-luminous mass ratio of 9, with the dark matter very broadly distributed, and a SN Ia explosive rate of approximately 0.6 the Tammann rate.

A Deep Chandra, Very Large Array, and Spitzer Infrared Array Camera Study of the Very Low Luminosity Nucleus of the Elliptical NGC 821

The relatively nearby (distance = 24.1 Mpc) elliptical galaxy NGC 821 hosts an extreme example of a quiescent central massive black hole, for which deep Chandra observations revealed a nuclear source for the first time, with L2-10 keV/LEdd ~ 10-8. We present here a multiwavelength study of this nucleus, including Very Large Array (VLA) observations that detect a radio counterpart to the Chandra nuclear source at 1.4 GHz, with a flux density of 127 μJy and possibly a flat spectral shape; we also consider new Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) observations and archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images. With these data we discuss possible scenarios for the accretion modalities of the sole material that seems available for fueling, i.e., the stellar mass losses steadily replenishing the circumnuclear region. The final stages of accretion could be radiatively inefficient and coupled to a compact nuclear jet/outfow. The stellar mass losses could instead end up in a standard disk only if a Compton-thick active galactic nucleus (AGN) is present. Two extended sources detected by Chandra close to the nucleus could be due to several unresolved knots in a jet. If a jet is present, however, its kinetic energy would be only a very small fraction of the energy associated with the rest mass of the material being accreted. Star formation close to the nucleus is not shown by the available data. Deeper Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) radio and far-IR observations are expected to further constrain the accretion process in this intriguing nucleus.

Unveiling the AGN powering the \Composite" Seyfert/Star-forming galaxy NGC 7679: BeppoSAX and ASCA results

We discuss BeppoSAX observations and archive ASCA data of NGC 7679, a nearby, nearly face-on SB0 galaxy in which starburst and AGN activities coexist. The X-ray observations reveal a bright (L0:1 50 keV 2:9 10 43 erg s 1 ) and variable source having a minimum observed doubling/halving time scale of10{20 ksec. A simple power law with photon index of 1:75 and small absorption (NH < 4 10 20 cm 2 ) can reproduce the NGC 7679 spectrum from 0.1 up to 50 keV. These X-ray properties are unambiguous signs of Seyfert 1 activity in the nucleus of NGC 7679. The starburst activity, revealed by the IR emission, optical spectroscopy and H imaging, and dominating in the optical and IR bands, is clearly overwhelmed by the AGN in the X-ray band. Although, at rst glance, this is similar to what is observed in other starburst-AGN galaxies (e.g. NGC 6240, NGC 4945), most strikingly here and at odds with the above examples, the X-ray spectrum of NGC 7679 does not appear to be highly absorbed. The main peculiarity of objects like NGC 7679 is not the strength of their starburst but the apparent optical weakness of the Seyfert 1 nucleus when compared with its X-ray luminosity. To date NGC 7679 is one of the few Seyfert 1/Starburst composites for which the broad-band X-ray properties have been investigated in detail. The results presented here imply that optical and infrared spectroscopy could be highly inecient in revealing the presence of an AGN in these kinds of objects, which instead is clearly revealed from X-ray spectroscopic and variability investigations.

Nuclear and global X-ray properties of LINER galaxies:

We report on the 0.1–100 keV BeppoSAX observations of two nearby LINER galaxies, Sombrero and NGC 4736. Chandra ACIS-S observations supplement this broad-beam spectral study with a high resolution look into the nuclear region, and show a dominating central point source in Sombrero and a complex X-ray binary dominated/starburst region in NGC 4736. A compact non-thermal radio source, present in the nucleus of both galaxies, coincides with the central source in Sombrero, while in NGC 4736 its X-ray counterpart is a much fainter point source, not the brightest of the central region. On the basis of these and other results, we conclude that the LINER activity is linked to the presence of a low luminosity AGN in Sombrero and to a recent starburst in NGC 4736, and that Chandra s spectroscopic capabilities coupled to high resolution imaging are essential to establish the origin of the nuclear activity.

Chandra

We present the first low luminosity (LX > 5 - 10 1036 erg s-1) X-ray luminosity functions (XLFs) of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) determined for two typical old elliptical galaxies, NGC 3379 and NGC 4278. Because both galaxies contain little diffuse emission from hot ISM and no recent significant star formation (hence no high-mass X-ray binary contamination), they provide two of the best homogeneous sample of LMXBs. With 110 and 140 ks Chandra ACIS S3 exposures, we detect 59 and 112 LMXBs within the D25 ellipse of NGC 3379 and NGC 4278, respectively. The resulting XLFs are well represented by a single power-law with a slope (in a differential form) of 1.9 0.1. In NGC 4278, we can exclude the break at LX ~ 5 x 1037 erg s-1 that was recently suggested to be a general feature of LMXB XLFs. In NGC 3379 instead we find a localized excess over the power law XLF at ~4 x 1037 erg s-1, but with a marginal significance of ~1.6s. Because of the small number of luminous sources, we cannot constrain the high luminosity break (at 5 x 1038 erg s-1) found in a large sample of early type galaxies. While the optical luminosities of the two galaxies are similar, their integrated LMXB X-ray luminosities differ by a factor of 4, consistent with the relation between the X-ray to optical luminosity ratio and the globular cluster specific frequency.