ALBERT

Description: Aims. Metis is the first solar coronagraph designed for a space mission and is capable of performing simultaneous imaging of the off-limb solar corona in both visible and UV light. The observations obtained with Metis aboard the Solar Orbiter ESA-NASA observatory will enable us to diagnose, with unprecedented temporal coverage and spatial resolution, the structures and dynamics of the full corona in a square field of view (FoV) of ±2.9° in width, with an inner circular FoV at 1.6°, thus spanning the solar atmosphere from 1.7 R⊙ to about 9 R⊙, owing to the eccentricity of the spacecraft orbit. Due to the uniqueness of the Solar Orbiter mission profile, Metis will be able to observe the solar corona from a close (0.28 AU, at the closest perihelion) vantage point, achieving increasing out-of-ecliptic views with the increase of the orbit inclination over time. Moreover, observations near perihelion, during the phase of lower rotational velocity of the solar surface relative to the spacecraft, allow longer-term studies of the off-limb coronal features, thus finally disentangling their intrinsic evolution from effects due to solar rotation. Methods. Thanks to a novel occultation design and a combination of a UV interference coating of the mirrors and a spectral bandpass filter, Metis images the solar corona simultaneously in the visible light band, between 580 and 640 nm, and in the UV H I Lyman-α line at 121.6 nm. The visible light channel also includes a broadband polarimeter able to observe the linearly polarised component of the K corona. The coronal images in both the UV H I Lyman-α and polarised visible light are obtained at high spatial resolution with a spatial scale down to about 2000 km and 15 000 km at perihelion, in the cases of the visible and UV light, respectively. A temporal resolution down to 1 s can be achieved when observing coronal fluctuations in visible light. Results. The Metis measurements, obtained from different latitudes, will allow for complete characterisation of the main physical parameters and dynamics of the electron and neutral hydrogen/proton plasma components of the corona in the region where the solar wind undergoes the acceleration process and where the onset and initial propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) take place. The near-Sun multi-wavelength coronal imaging performed with Metis, combined with the unique opportunities offered by the Solar Orbiter mission, can effectively address crucial issues of solar physics such as: the origin and heating/acceleration of the fast and slow solar wind streams; the origin, acceleration, and transport of the solar energetic particles; and the transient ejection of coronal mass and its evolution in the inner heliosphere, thus significantly improving our understanding of the region connecting the Sun to the heliosphere and of the processes generating and driving the solar wind and coronal mass ejections. Conclusions. This paper presents the scientific objectives and requirements, the overall optical design of the Metis instrument, the thermo-mechanical design, and the processing and power unit; reports on the results of the campaigns dedicated to integration, alignment, and tests, and to the characterisation of the instrument performance; describes the operation concept, data handling, and software tools; and, finally, the diagnostic techniques to be applied to the data, as well as a brief description of the expected scientific products. The performance of the instrument measured during calibrations ensures that the scientific objectives of Metis can be pursued with success.

Description: Context. The MBH–σ⋆ relation is considered a result of coevolution between the host galaxies and their supermassive black holes. For elliptical bulge hosting inactive galaxies, this relation is well established, but there is still discussion concerning whether active galaxies follow the same relation. Aims. In this paper, we estimate black hole masses for a sample of 19 local luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs; LLAMA) to test their location on the MBH–σ⋆ relation. In addition, we test how robustly we can determine the stellar velocity dispersion in the presence of an AGN continuum and AGN emission lines, and as a function of signal-to-noise ratio. Methods. Supermassive black hole masses (MBH) were derived from the broad-line-based relations for Hα, Hβ, and Paβ emission line profiles for Type 1 AGNs. We compared the bulge stellar velocity dispersion (σ⋆) as determined from the Ca II triplet (CaT) with the dispersion measured from the near-infrared CO (2-0) absorption features for each AGN and find them to be consistent with each other. We applied an extinction correction to the observed broad-line fluxes and we corrected the stellar velocity dispersion by an average rotation contribution as determined from spatially resolved stellar kinematic maps. Results. The Hα-based black hole masses of our sample of AGNs were estimated in the range 6.34 ≤ log MBH ≤ 7.75 M⊙ and the σ⋆CaT estimates range between 73 ≤ σ⋆CaT ≤ 227 km s−1. From the so-constructed MBH − σ⋆ relation for our Type 1 AGNs, we estimate the black hole masses for the Type 2 AGNs and the inactive galaxies in our sample. Conclusions. We find that our sample of local luminous AGNs is consistent with the MBH–σ⋆ relation of lower luminosity AGNs and inactive galaxies, after correcting for dust extinction and the rotational contribution to the stellar velocity dispersion.

Description: We investigate the relation between the detection of the 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) feature in the nuclear (∼24−230 pc) regions of 22 nearby Seyfert galaxies and the properties of the cold molecular gas. For the former we use ground-based (0.3−0.6″ resolution) mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectroscopy. The cold molecular gas is traced by ALMA and NOEMA high (0.2−1.1″) angular resolution observations of the CO(2–1) transition. Galaxies with a nuclear detection of the 11.3 μm PAH feature contain more cold molecular gas (median 1.6 × 107 M⊙) and have higher column densities (N(H2) = 2 × 1023 cm−2) over the regions sampled by the mid-IR slits than those without a detection. This suggests that molecular gas plays a role in shielding the PAH molecules in the harsh environments of Seyfert nuclei. Choosing the PAH molecule naphthalene as an illustration, we compute its half-life in the nuclear regions of our sample when exposed to 2.5 keV hard X-ray photons. We estimate shorter half-lives for naphthalene in nuclei without a 11.3 μm PAH detection than in those with a detection. The Spitzer/IRS PAH ratios on circumnuclear scales (∼4″ ∼ 0.25−1.3 kpc) are in between model predictions for neutral and partly ionized PAHs. However, Seyfert galaxies in our sample with the highest nuclear H2 column densities are not generally closer to the neutral PAH tracks. This is because in the majority of our sample galaxies, the CO(2–1) emission in the inner ∼4″ is not centrally peaked and in some galaxies traces circumnuclear sites of strong star formation activity. Spatially resolved observations with the MIRI medium-resolution spectrograph on the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to distinguish the effects of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) and star formation on the PAH emission in nearby AGN.

Description: We study the impact of active galactic nuclei (AGN) ionised outflows on star formation in high-redshift AGN host galaxies, by combining near-infrared integral field spectroscopic (IFS) observations, mapping the Hα emission and [O III]λ5007 outflows, with matched-resolution observations of the rest-frame far-infrared (FIR) emission. We present high-resolution ALMA Band 7 observations of eight X-ray selected AGN (L2 − 10 keV = 1043.8 − 1045.2 erg s−1) at z ∼ 2 from the SUPER (SINFONI Survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback) sample, targeting the observed-frame 870 μm (rest-frame ∼260 μm) continuum at ∼2 kpc (0.2″) spatial resolution. The targets were selected among the SUPER AGN with an [O III] detection in the IFS maps and with a detection in the FIR photometry. We detected six out of eight targets with signal-to-noise ratio S/N ≳ 10 in the ALMA maps, from which we measured continuum flux densities in the range 0.27 − 2.58 mJy and FIR half-light radii (Re) in the range 0.8 − 2.1 kpc. The other two targets were detected with S/N of 3.6 and 5.9, which are insufficient for spatially resolved analysis. The FIR Re of our sample are comparable to other AGN and star-forming galaxies at a similar redshift from the literature. However, combining our sample with the literature samples, we find that the mean FIR size in X-ray AGN (Re = 1.16 ± 0.11 kpc) is slightly smaller than in non-AGN (Re = 1.69 ± 0.13 kpc). From spectral energy distribution fitting, we find that the main contribution to the 260 μm flux density is dust heated by star formation, with ≤4% contribution from AGN-heated dust and ≤1% from synchrotron emission. The majority of our sample show different morphologies for the FIR (mostly due to reprocessed stellar emission) and the ionised gas emission (Hα and [O III], mostly due to AGN emission). This could be due to the different locations of dust and ionised gas, the different sources of the emission (stars and AGN), or the effect of dust obscuration. We are unable to identify any residual Hα emission, above that dominated by AGN, that could be attributed to star formation. Under the assumption that the FIR emission is a reliable tracer of obscured star formation, we find that the obscured star formation activity in these AGN host galaxies is not clearly affected by the ionised outflows. However, we cannot rule out that star formation suppression is happening on smaller spatial scales than the ones we probe with our observations (〈 2 kpc) or on different timescales.

Description: The relation between nuclear (≲50 pc) star formation and nuclear galactic activity is still elusive; theoretical models predict a link between the two, but it is unclear whether active galactic nuclei (AGNs) should appear at the same time, before, or after nuclear star formation activity. We present a study of this relation in a complete, volume-limited sample of nine of the most luminous (log L14 − 195 keV 〉 1042.5 erg s−1) local AGNs (the LLAMA sample), including a sample of 18 inactive control galaxies (six star-forming; 12 passive) that are matched by Hubble type, stellar mass (9.5 ≲ log M⋆/M⊙ ≲ 10.5), inclination, and distance. This allows us to calibrate our methods on the control sample and perform a differential analysis between the AGN and control samples. We performed stellar population synthesis on VLT/X-shooter spectra in an aperture corresponding to a physical radius of ≈150 pc. We find young (≲30 Myr) stellar populations in seven out of nine AGNs and in four out of six star-forming control galaxies. In the non-star-forming control population, in contrast, only two out of 12 galaxies show such a population. We further show that these young populations are not indicative of ongoing star formation, providing evidence for models that see AGN activity as a consequence of nuclear star formation. Based on the similar nuclear star formation histories of AGNs and star-forming control galaxies, we speculate that the latter may turn into the former for some fraction of their time. Under this assumption, and making use of the volume completeness of our sample, we infer that the AGN phase lasts for about 5% of the nuclear starburst phase.

Description: Context. Space weathering is a process that changes the surface of airless planetary bodies. Prime space weathering agents are solar wind irradiation and micrometeoroid bombardment. These processes alter planetary reflectance spectra and often modify their compositional diagnostic features. Aims. In this work we focused on simulating and comparing the spectral changes caused by solar wind irradiation and by micrometeoroid bombardment to gain a better understanding of these individual space weathering processes. Methods. We used olivine and pyroxene pellets as proxies for planetary materials. To simulate solar wind irradiation we used hydrogen, helium, and argon ions with energies from 5 to 40 keV and fluences of up to 1018 particles cm−2. To simulate micrometeoroid bombardment we used individual femtosecond laser pulses. We analysed the corresponding evolution of different spectral parameters, which we determined by applying the Modified Gaussian Model, and we also conducted principal component analysis. Results. The original mineralogy of the surface influences the spectral evolution more than the weathering agent, as seen from the diverse evolution of the spectral slope of olivine and pyroxene upon irradiation. The spectral slope changes seen in olivine are consistent with observations of A-type asteroids, while the moderate to no slope changes observed in pyroxene are consistent with asteroid (4) Vesta. We also observed some differences in the spectral effects induced by the two weathering agents. Ions simulating solar wind have a smaller influence on longer wavelengths of the spectra than laser irradiation simulating micrometeoroid impacts. This is most likely due to the different penetration depths of ions and laser pulses. Our results suggest that in some instances it might be possible to distinguish between the contributions of the two agents on a weathered surface.