Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Wrobel, J M
• Nyland, K

Titel

DISCOVERY OF A FLAT-SPECTRUM RADIO NUCLEUS IN NGC 3115

Ist Teil von

• The Astronomical journal, 2012-12, Vol.144 (6), p.1-4

Ort / Verlag

United States

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• The early-type galaxy NGC 3115, at a distance of 10.2 Mpc, hosts the nearest billion-solar-mass black hole. Wong et al. recently inferred a substantial Bondi accretion rate near the black hole. Bondi-like accretion is thought to fuel outflows, which can be traced through their radio emission. This paper reports the discovery of a radio nucleus in NGC 3115, with a diameter less than 0".17 (8.4 pc), a luminosity at 8.5 GHz of 3.1 x 10 super(35) erg s super(-1), and a flat spectrum ( alpha = -0.23 + or - 0.20, S [Proportionalto] v super( alpha )). The radio source coincides with the galaxy's photocenter and candidate X-ray nucleus. The emission is radio loud, suggesting the presence of an outflow on scales less than 10 pc. On such scales, the Bondi accretion could be impeded by heating due to disruption of the outflow.