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D. Mukherjee

Publications and source records attributed to D. Mukherjee.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Non-thermal emission in jets and winds: Expected emission and spectral index distributions

The origin of synchrotron emission in compact radio sources associated with active galactic nuclei (AGN) remains poorly understood. In a series of papers, we have examined diagnostic tools to disentangle the dominant underlying processes. In this study, we investigate the in situ evolution of cosmic-ray electrons (CREs) in compact AGN jets and winds, and examine how their evolution shapes the resulting observable radio properties. In jets, CREs experience multiple shock interactions as they propagate along the spine toward the hotspot and flow into the cocoon via backflows. In winds, CREs are predominantly accelerated at the Mach disc, with occasional re-acceleration within turbulent cocoon backflows. The continuous mixing of different CRE populations within the cocoon produces observational signatures that cannot be inferred from instantaneous conditions alone. In all jet simulations, spectral indices are flattest near the hotspot and steepen progressively away from the hotspots. In winds, spectra steepen with increasing distance from the Mach disc, with this trend becoming more pronounced at high radio frequencies due to radiative losses. We find the Mach disc to be a significantly more efficient CRE acceleration site than the forward shock in winds, which weakens as the wind expands to large scales. Since morphology, especially at low resolution, can be ambiguous for compact sources, spatially resolved spectral indices, particularly when combined with emission and polarization signatures, can provide a powerful diagnostic.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2023

Quasar Feedback Survey: molecular gas affected by central outflows and by ~10 kpc radio lobes reveal dual feedback effects in `radio quiet' quasars

We present a study of molecular gas, traced via CO (3-2) from ALMA data, of four z< 0.2, `radio quiet', type 2 quasars (log [L(bol)/(erg/s)] = 45.3 - 46.2; log [L(1.4 GHz)/(W/Hz)] = 23.7 - 24.3). Targets were selected to have extended radio lobes (>= 10 kpc), and compact, moderate-power jets (1 - 10 kpc; log [Pjet/(erg/s)]= 43.2 - 43.7). All targets show evidence of central molecular outflows, or injected turbulence, within the gas disks (traced via high-velocity wing components in CO emission-line profiles). The inferred velocities (Vout = 250 - 440 km/s) and spatial scales (0.6 - 1.6 kpc), are consistent with those of other samples of luminous low-redshift AGN. In two targets, we observe extended molecular gas structures beyond the central disks, containing 9 - 53 % of the total molecular gas mass. These structures tend to be elongated, extending from the core, and wrap-around (or along) the radio lobes. Their properties are similar to the molecular gas filaments observed around radio lobes of, mostly `radio loud', Brightest Cluster Galaxies. They have: projected distances of 5 - 13 kpc; bulk velocities of 100 - 340 km/s; velocity dispersion of 30 - 130 km/s; inferred mass outflow rates of 4 - 20 Msolar/yr; and estimated kinetic powers of log [Ekin/(erg/s)]= 40.3 - 41.7. Our observations are consistent with simulations that suggest moderate-power jets can have a direct (but modest) impact on molecular gas on small scales, through direct jet-cloud interactions. Then, on larger scales, jet-cocoons can push gas aside. Both processes could contribute to the long-term regulation of star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2023

Ab initio spectroscopic studies of AlF and AlCl molecules

In this work, we report results from our extensive spectroscopic study on AlF and AlCl molecules, keeping in mind potential laboratory as well as astrophysical applications. We carry out detailed electronic structure calculations in both the molecules, including obtaining the potential energy surfaces of the $X^1\Sigma$ ground electronic state and some of the relevant low-lying excited electronic states belonging to $\Sigma$ and $\Pi$ symmetries. This is followed by evaluating spectroscopic constants and molecular properties such as electric dipole moments and electric quadrupole moments. Throughout, we employ the multi-reference configuration interaction method and work with high-quality quadruple zeta basis sets, keeping in mind the need for precise results. Further, transition dipole moments between the ground electronic state and singlet excited states are also studied. The relevant vibrational parameters are computed by solving the vibrational Schr\"odinger equation. Subsequently, the vibrational energy spacings and transition dipole moments between the vibrational levels belonging to the same electronic states are used to evaluate the spontaneous and black-body radiation induced transition rates, followed by computing lifetimes. Finally, the energy differences between rotational levels belonging to different vibrational levels and within an electronic state as well as Einstein coefficients are reported.

physics.atom-ph↗
arXiv2023

Jet-induced molecular gas excitation and turbulence in the Teacup

In order to investigate the impact of radio jets on the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN), we present subarcsecond resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(2-1) and CO(3-2) observations of the Teacup galaxy. This is a nearby ($D_{\rm L}$=388 Mpc) radio-quiet type-2 quasar (QSO2) with a compact radio jet ($P_{\rm jet}\approx$10$^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$) that subtends a small angle from the molecular gas disc. Enhanced emission line widths perpendicular to the jet orientation have been reported for several nearby AGN for the ionised gas. For the molecular gas in the Teacup, not only do we find this enhancement in the velocity dispersion but also a higher brightness temperature ratio (T32/T21) perpendicular to the radio jet compared to the ratios found in the galaxy disc. Our results and the comparison with simulations suggest that the radio jet is compressing and accelerating the molecular gas, and driving a lateral outflow that shows enhanced velocity dispersion and higher gas excitation. These results provide further evidence that the coupling between the jet and the ISM is relevant to AGN feedback even in the case of radio-quiet galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2022

Adapting the HHL algorithm to quantum many-body theory

Rapid progress in developing near- and long-term quantum algorithms for quantum chemistry has provided us with an impetus to move beyond traditional approaches and explore new ways to apply quantum computing to electronic structure calculations. In this work, we identify the connection between quantum many-body theory and a quantum linear solver, and implement the Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd (HHL) algorithm to make precise predictions of correlation energies for light molecular systems via the (non-unitary) linearised coupled cluster theory. We alter the HHL algorithm to integrate two novel aspects- (a) we prescribe a novel scaling approach that allows one to scale any arbitrary symmetric positive definite matrix A, to solve for Ax = b and achieve x with reasonable precision, all the while without having to compute the eigenvalues of A, and (b) we devise techniques that reduce the depth of the overall circuit. In this context, we introduce the following variants of HHL for different eras of quantum computing- AdaptHHLite in its appropriate forms for noisy intermediate scale quantum (NISQ), late-NISQ, and the early fault-tolerant eras, as well as AdaptHHL for the fault-tolerant quantum computing era. We demonstrate the ability of the NISQ variant of AdaptHHLite to capture correlation energy precisely, while simultaneously being resource-lean, using simulation as well as the 11-qubit IonQ quantum hardware.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2022

Accurate Computation of Relativistic Excitation Energies Using Quantum Annealing

We report the first results for the computation of relativistic effects in quantum many-body systems using quantum annealers. An average accuracy of 98.9% in the fine structure splitting of boron-like ions with respect to experiments has been achieved using the Quantum Annealer Eigensolver (QAE) algorithm on the D-Wave Advantage hardware. We obtain these results in the framework of the many-electron Dirac theory. We implement QAE through our quantum annealing workflow that includes a novel qubit encoding scheme and a perturbation theory-based decomposition strategy.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2022

Jet-ISM interaction in NGC 1167 / B2 0258+35, A LINER with an AGN past

We report the results of joint Chandra/ACIS - NuSTAR deep observations of NGC 1167, the host galaxy of the young radio jet B2 0258+35. In the ACIS data we detect X-ray emission, extended both along and orthogonal to the jet. At the end of the SE radio jet, we find lower-energy X-ray emission that coincides with a region of CO turbulence and fast outflow motions. This suggests that the hot Interstellar Medium (ISM) may be compressed by the jet and molecular outflow, resulting in more efficient cooling. Hydrodynamic simulations of jet-ISM interaction tailored to NGC 1167 are in agreement with this conclusion and with the overall morphology and spectra of the X-ray emission. The faint hard nuclear source detected with Chandra and the stringent NuSTAR upper limits on the harder X-ray emission show that the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in NGC 1167 is in a very low-accretion state. However, the characteristics of the extended X-ray emission are more consonant to those of luminous Compton Thick AGNs, suggesting that we may be observing the remnants of a past high accretion rate episode, with sustained strong activity lasting ~ 2 x 103 yr. We conclude that NGC1167 is presently a LINER, but was an AGN in the past, given the properties of the extended X-ray emission and their similarity with those of CT AGN extended emission.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2022

The Quasar Feedback Survey: Revealing the Interplay of Jets, Winds & Emission Line Gas in Type 2 Quasars with Radio Polarization

We present results from a combined radio polarization and emission line study of five type 2 quasars at $z<0.2$ with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) B-array at 5 GHz and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) [O III] observations. These five sources are known to exhibit close association between radio structures and ionized gas morphology and kinematics. Four sources (J0945+1737, J1000+1242, J1356+1026 and J1430+1339) show polarization in the current data. J1010+1413 is the unpolarized source in our sample. We detect $0.5-1\%$ fractional polarization in the radio cores and a high fractional polarization ($10-30\%$) in the lobes of these sources. The morphological, spectral and polarization properties suggest a jet origin for radio emission in J0945+1737, J1000+1242, J1010+1413 and J1430+1339 whereas the current data cannot fully discern the origin of radio emission (jet or wind) in J1356+1026. An anti-correlation between various polarized knots in the radio and [O III] emission is observed in our sources, similar to that observed in some radio-loud AGN in the literature. This suggests that the radio emission is likely to be depolarized by the emission-line gas. By modeling the depolarization effects, we estimate the size of the emission-line gas clouds to be $\sim(2.8\pm1.7)\times10^{-5}$ parsec and the amount of thermal material mixed with the synchrotron plasma to be $\sim(1.01\pm0.08)\times10^{6}$M$_\odot$ in the lobe of J0945+1737 (which exhibits the most prominent polarization signature in its lobe). The current work demonstrates that the interplay of jets/winds and emission-line gas is most likely responsible for the nature of radio outflows in radio-quiet AGN.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2022

Quasar Feedback Survey: Multi-phase outflows, turbulence and evidence for feedback caused by low power radio jets inclined into the galaxy disk

We present a study of a luminous, z=0.15, type-2 quasar (log [L([OIII])/(erg/s)]=42.8) from the Quasar Feedback Survey. It is classified as 'radio-quiet' (log [L(1.4 GHz)/(W/Hz)]=23.8); however, radio imaging reveals ~1 kpc low-power jets (log [Pjet/(erg/s)]=44) inclined into the plane of the galaxy disk. We combine MUSE and ALMA observations to map stellar kinematics and ionised and molecular gas properties. The jets are seen to drive galaxy-wide bi-conical turbulent outflows, reaching W80 = 1000-1300 km/s, in the ionised phase (traced via optical emission-lines), which also have increased electron densities compared to the quiescent gas. The turbulent gas is driven perpendicular to the jet axis and is escaping along the galaxy minor axis, reaching 7.5 kpc on both sides. Traced via CO(3-2) emission, the turbulent material in molecular gas phase is one-third as spatially extended and has 3 times lower velocity-dispersion as compared to ionised gas. The jets are seen to be strongly interacting with the interstellar medium (ISM) through enhanced ionised emission and disturbed/depleted molecular gas at the jet termini. We see further evidence for jet-induced feedback through significantly higher stellar velocity-dispersion aligned, and co-spatial with, the jet axis (<5 deg). We discuss possible negative and positive feedback scenarios arising due to the interaction of the low-power jets with the ISM in the context of recent jet-ISM interaction simulations, which qualitatively agree with our observations. We discuss how jet-induced feedback could be an important feedback mechanism even in bolometrically luminous 'radio-quiet' quasars.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2021

AGN Jets and Winds in Polarised Light: The Case of Mrk 231

We present the results of a multi-frequency, multi-scale radio polarimetric study with the Very Large Array (VLA) of the Seyfert 1 galaxy and BALQSO, Mrk 231. We detect complex total and polarized intensity features in the source. Overall, the images indicate the presence of a broad, one-sided, curved outflow towards the south which consists of a weakly collimated jet with poloidal inferred magnetic fields, inside a broader magnetized ``wind'' or ``sheath'' component with toroidal inferred magnetic fields. The model of a kpc-scale weakly collimated jet/lobe in Mrk 231 is strengthened by its C-shaped morphology, steep spectral index throughout, complexities in the magnetic field structures, and the presence of self-similar structures observed on the 10-parsec-scale in the literature. The ``wind'' may comprise both nuclear starburst (close to the core) and AGN winds, where the latter maybe the primary contributor. Moving away from the core, the ``wind'' component may also comprise the outer layers (or ``sheath'') of a broadened jet. The inferred value of the (weakly collimated) jet production efficiency, $η_\mathrm{jet}\sim$0.01 is consistent with the estimates in the literature. The composite jet and wind outflow in Mrk 231 appears to be low-power and matter-dominated, and oriented at a small angle to our line of sight.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2021

Morphology of radio relics II: Properties of polarised emission

Radio relics are diffuse radio sources in galaxy clusters that are associated with merger shock waves. Detailed observations of radio relics in total intensity and in polarisation show complex structures on kiloparsec scales. The relation between the observed features and the underlying morphology of the magnetic field is not clear. Using three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamical simulations, we study the polarised emission produced by a shock wave that propagates through a turbulent medium that resembles the intracluster medium. We model the polarised synchrotron emission on the basis of diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic-ray electrons. We find that the synchrotron emission produced in a shocked turbulent medium can reproduce some of the observed features in radio relics. Shock compression can give rise to a high polarisation fraction at the shock front and a partial alignment of the polarisation $E$-vectors with the shock normal. Our work confirms that radio relics can also be formed in an environment with a tangled magnetic field. We also discuss the effect of Faraday Rotation intrinsic to the source, and how our results depend on the angular resolution of observations.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2021

Jet-driven AGN feedback on molecular gas and low star-formation efficiency in a massive local spiral galaxy with bright X-ray halo

It has long been suspected that powerful radio sources may lower the efficiency with which stars form from the molecular gas in their host galaxy, but so far, alternative mechanisms, in particular related to the stellar mass distribution in the massive bulges of their host galaxies, are not ruled out. We present new ALMA CO(1-0) interferometry of cold molecular gas in the nearby (z=0.0755), massive (M_stellar=4x10^11 M_sun), isolated, late-type spiral galaxy 2MASSX J23453269-044925, which is outstanding for having two pairs of powerful, giant radio jets, and a bright X-ray halo. The molecular gas is in a massive (M_gas=2x10^10 M_sun), 24 kpc wide, rapidly rotating ring, which is associated with the inner stellar disk. Broad (FWHM=70-180 km s^-1) lines with complex profiles associated with the radio source are seen over large regions in the ring, indicating gas velocities that are high enough to keep the otherwise marginally Toomre-stable gas from fragmenting into gravitationally bound, star-forming clouds. About 1-2% of the jet kinetic energy are required to power these motions. Resolved star-formation rate surface densities fall factors 50-75 short of expectations from the Kennicutt-Schmidt law of star-forming galaxies, and near gas-rich early-type galaxies with signatures of star formation lowered by jet feedback. We argue that radio AGN feedback is the only plausible mechanism to explain the low star-formation rates in this galaxy. Previous authors have already noted that the X-ray halo of J2345-0449 implies a baryon fraction near the cosmic average, which is very high for a galaxy. We contrast this finding with other, equally massive baryon-rich spiral galaxies without prominent radio sources. Most of the baryons in these galaxies are in stars, not in the halos. We also discuss the implications of our results for our general understanding of AGN feedback in massive galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2021

The Quasar Feedback Survey: Discovering hidden Radio-AGN and their connection to the host galaxy ionised gas

We present the first results from the Quasar Feedback Survey, a sample of 42 z<0.2, [O III] luminous AGN (L[O III]>10^42.1 ergs/s) with moderate radio luminosities (i.e. L(1.4GHz)>10^23.4 W/Hz; median L(1.4GHz)=5.9x10^23 W/Hz). Using high spatial resolution (~0.3-1 arcsec), 1.5-6 GHz radio images from the Very Large Array, we find that 67 percent of the sample have spatially extended radio features, on ~1-60 kpc scales. The radio sizes and morphologies suggest that these may be lower radio luminosity versions of compact, radio-loud AGN. By combining the radio-to-infrared excess parameter, spectral index, radio morphology and brightness temperature, we find radio emission in at least 57 percent of the sample that is associated with AGN-related processes (e.g. jets, quasar-driven winds or coronal emission). This is despite only 9.5-21 percent being classified as radio-loud using traditional criteria. The origin of the radio emission in the remainder of the sample is unclear. We find that both the established anti-correlation between radio size and the width of the [O III] line, and the known trend for the most [O III] luminous AGN to be associated with spatially-extended radio emission, also hold for our sample of moderate radio luminosity quasars. These observations add to the growing evidence of a connection between the radio emission and ionised gas in quasar host galaxies. This work lays the foundation for deeper investigations into the drivers and impact of feedback in this unique sample.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2020

Morphology of radio relics I: What causes the substructure of synchrotron emission?

High-resolution radio observations of cluster radio relics often show complex spatial and spectral features. However, it is not clear what these features reveal about the underlying magnetic field properties. We performed three-dimensional magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of merger shock waves propagating through a magnetised, turbulent intracluster medium. Our model includes the diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic-ray electrons, their spatial advection and energy losses at run-time. With this set-up we can investigate the relation between radio substructure and pre-shock plasma conditions in the host cluster. We find that upstream turbulence plays a major role in shaping the properties of radio relics produced downstream. Within the assumption of diffusive shock acceleration, we can reproduce the observed discrepancy between the X-ray derived Mach number of shocks, and the Mach number inferred from radio spectra. Our simulated spectral index maps and profiles across the radio relic also suggest that the standard deviation of the upstream magnetic field must be relatively small ($σ_B\leq 1 \, μ$G) in order to reproduce observations and therefore, radio relics can potentially constrain the distribution of magnetic fields in galaxy clusters outskirts.

astro-ph.HE↗
arXiv2020

Gas, dust, and star formation in the positive AGN feedback candidate 4C 41.17 at z=3.8

We present new, spatially resolved [CI]1-0, [CI]2-1, CO(7-6), and dust continuum observations of 4C 41.17 at $z=3.8$ obtained with the IRAM NOEMA interferometer. This is one of the best-studied radio galaxies in this epoch and is arguably the best candidate of jet-triggered star formation at high redshift currently known in the literature. 4C 41.17 shows a narrow ridge of dust continuum extending over 15 kpc near the radio jet axis. Line emission is found within the galaxy in the region with signatures of positive feedback. Using the [CI]1-0 line as a molecular gas tracer, and multifrequency observations of the far-infrared dust heated by star formation, we find a total gas mass of $7.6\times 10^{10}$ M$_{\odot}$, which is somewhat greater than that previously found from CO(4-3). The gas mass surface density of $10^3$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ pc$^{-2}$ and the star formation rate surface density of 10 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$ were derived over the 12 kpc$\times$8 kpc area, where signatures of positive feedback have previously been found. These densities are comparable to those in other populations of massive, dusty star-forming galaxies in this redshift range, suggesting that the jet does not currently enhance the efficiency with which stars form from the gas. This is consistent with expectations from simulations, whereby radio jets may facilitate the onset of star formation in galaxies without boosting its efficiency over longer timescales, in particular after the jet has broken out of the interstellar medium, as is the case in 4C 41.17.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2016

Universality of Load Balancing Schemes on Diffusion Scale

We consider a system of $N$ parallel queues with identical exponential service rates and a single dispatcher where tasks arrive as a Poisson process. When a task arrives, the dispatcher always assigns it to an idle server, if there is any, and to a server with the shortest queue among $d$ randomly selected servers otherwise $(1 \leq d \leq N)$. This load balancing scheme subsumes the so-called Join-the-Idle Queue (JIQ) policy $(d = 1)$ and the celebrated Join-the-Shortest Queue (JSQ) policy $(d = N)$ as two crucial special cases. We develop a stochastic coupling construction to obtain the diffusion limit of the queue process in the Halfin-Whitt heavy-traffic regime, and establish that it does not depend on the value of $d$, implying that assigning tasks to idle servers is sufficient for diffusion level optimality.

math.PR↗
arXiv2015

Variations in the Cyclotron Resonant Scattering Features during 2011 outburst of 4U 0115+63

We study the variations in the Cyclotron Resonant Scattering Feature (CRSF) during 2011 outburst of the high mass X-ray binary 4U 0115+63 using observations performed with Suzaku, RXTE, Swift and INTEGRAL satellites. The wide-band spectral data with low energy coverage allowed us to characterize the broadband continuum and detect the CRSFs. We find that the broadband continuum is adequately described by a combination of a low temperature (kT ~ 0.8 keV) blackbody and a power-law with high energy cutoff (Ecut ~ 5.4 keV) without the need for a broad Gaussian at ~ 10 keV as used in some earlier studies. Though winds from the companion can affect the emission from the neutron star at low energies (< 3 keV), the blackbody component shows a significant presence in our continuum model. We report evidence for the possible presence of two independent sets of CRSFs with fundamentals at ~ 11 keV and ~ 15 keV. These two sets of CRSFs could arise from spatially distinct emitting regions. We also find evidence for variations in the line equivalent widths, with the 11 keV CRSF weakening and the 15 keV line strengthening with decreasing luminosity. Finally, we propose that the reason for the earlier observed anti-correlation of line energy with luminosity could be due to modelling of these two independent line sets (~ 11 keV and ~ 15 keV) as a single CRSF.

astro-ph.HE↗