arXiv subjects

Fangzheng Shi

Publications and source records attributed to Fangzheng Shi.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

ASKAP discovery of a pair of large radio bubbles: on the origin of odd radio circles

We report the serendipitous discovery of a large, low-surface-brightness radio bubble in 944 MHz continuum data from the ASKAP Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) survey. The structure, centred on the elliptical galaxy LEDA 217397 at a redshift of $z=0.040$, spans $\sim$8.4 arcmin, corresponding to a projected diameter of $\sim$399 kpc, and consists of two partly overlapping shells both with radii of $\sim$114 kpc. The integrated flux density of the bubble is $56.8\pm2.9$ mJy at 944 MHz, implying a rest-frame 1.4 GHz luminosity of $\sim$ $1.4\times10^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$. Combining the EMU measurement with MWA GLEAM-X data at 88--185 MHz, we derive a steep integrated spectral index of $α=-1.04\pm0.04$, and a two-frequency spectral-index map suggesting a possible exterior flattening. Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting indicates a massive ($\log M_{\ast}/M\odot = 10.97\pm0.09$), quiescent (SFR=$0.025\pm0.083\,M\odot$ yr$^{-1}$) early-type host with no mid-infrared AGN signature and no overdense environment. We compare the bubble with odd radio circles (ORCs) and large radio shells, and discuss three scenarios for its origin: a starburst-driven wind, a merger-driven shock, and AGN jet-inflated bubbles. The starburst wind is disfavoured on energetic grounds ($\gtrsim$$10^{59}$ erg required versus $\sim$$10^{8}$ yr electron lifetimes), and neither a halo-scale merger shock nor a spherical nuclear blast wave can explain the unusually regular, double-shell geometry; a bipolar nuclear outburst -- a relic AGN jet episode, possibly triggered by a supermassive-black-hole merger -- provides the most natural explanation, with later shocks possibly re-energising the plasma. Deeper broad-band radio, polarimetric, spectroscopic and X-ray observations are needed to confirm its nature.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Simulating the Formation of the Young "Fermi Bubbles" in the Circinus Galaxy

The Fermi and eROSITA bubbles in the Milky Way represent an archetypal case of galactic nucleus feedback, yet their origin remains highly debated. Here we use hydrodynamic simulations to investigate the formation of the "Fermi bubbles" in the nearby Circinus galaxy, a pair of kpc-scaled elliptical bubbles seen in both radio and X-ray observations. We find that a pair of active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets drive forward shocks in the circumgalactic medium, and after evolving for ~0.95 Myr, the shock-delineated bubble pair roughly matches the observed Circinus bubbles in size and morphology. Our mock X-ray image and spectrum reproduce the observed edge-brightened X-ray surface brightness distribution and spectrum quite well, and suggest that non-thermal emissions from the jet ejecta also contribute substantially to radio and X-ray emissions from the inner "hotspot" region. We further show that AGN winds tend to produce more spherical bubbles with a wider base near the galactic plane, inconsistent with observations. The hotspot emissions and the misalignment between the galaxy rotational axis and the bubble's axis argue against a starburst wind origin. Our study thus corroborates the AGN jet-shock model for the origin of both the Circinus bubbles and the Fermi bubbles, and suggests that AGN jet feedback may be a common origin of extended gaseous bubbles in regular disk galaxies, potentially playing an important role in their evolution.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Fast inflowing ionized absorber tracing the gas dynamics at sub-parsec scale around Mrk 3

Accretion onto supermassive black hole (SMBH) can release energy via radiation, jets or winds, providing feedback effects on the circumnuclear gas environment. However, not all active galactic nuclei (AGNs) exhibit clear signature of such feedback, and the dynamics of accreting gas on the inner sub-parsec scales remains poorly understood. Using high-resolution Chandra X-ray grating spectra of Mrk 3, we detect a fast inflowing ionized absorber characterized by redshifted Fe XXV and Fe XXVI absorption lines with confidence level in the $94-99.6\%$ range. Photoionization modeling reveals the inflowing absorber is located at $\lesssim0.04-0.74\rm~pc$, with red-shifted velocity decreasing from $6.1\pm0.5\times10^3\rm~km~s^{-1}$ to $3.4\pm0.3\times10^3\rm~km~s^{-1}$ over 11 years. Only $\sim0.6$\%--$3$\% of the inflowing material is estimated to reach the event horizon. This direct evidence of sub-parsec scale fueling inflow bridges the gap between the torus and the outer accretion disk. Additionally, a $0.86$-keV gas component with sub-solar metallicity ($Z\sim0.22$), outflowing at a velocity of $\sim330\rm~km~s^{-1}$, is detected in the soft X-ray band from XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer, probably corresponding to shocked interstellar medium in the narrow-line region (NLR). The simultaneous presence of the apparent decelerating sub-parsec inflow and the NLR outflow favors a coherent scenario where a putative disk wind or broad-line region clouds may impede or even eject the accretion material, although other possibilities cannot be fully excluded.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

Warm absorber outflows in radio-loud active galactic nucleus 3C~59

Both jets and ionized outflows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are thought to play important roles in affecting the star formation and evolution of host galaxies, but their relationship is still unclear. As a pilot study, we performed a detailed spectral analysis for a radio-loud (RL) AGN 3C~59 ($z=0.1096$) by systematically considering various factors that may affect the fitting results, and thereby establishing a general spectral fitting strategy for subsequent research with larger sample. 3C~59 is one rare target for simultaneously studying jets and warm absorbers (WAs) that is one type of ionized outflows. Based on the multi-wavelength data from near-infrared (NIR) to hard X-ray bands detected by DESI, GALEX, and XMM-Newton, we used SPEX code to build broadband continuum models and perform photoionization modeling with PION code to constrain the physical parameters of WAs in 3C~59. We found two WAs with ionization parameter of $\log [ξ/(\rm{erg\ cm\ s}^{-1})] = 2.65^{+0.10}_{-0.09}$ and $1.65\pm 0.11$, respectively, and their outflowing velocities are $v_{\rm out} = -528^{+163}_{-222}\ \rm{km\ s}^{-1}$ and $-228^{+121}_{-122}\ \rm{km\ s}^{-1}$, respectively. These WAs are located between outer torus and narrow (emission-)line region, and their positive $v_{\rm out}$-$ξ$ relation can be explained by the radiation-pressure-driven mechanism. We found that the estimations of these physical properties are affected by the different spectral fitting strategies, such as the inclusion of NIR to ultra-violet data, the choice of energy range of spectrum, or the composition of the spectral energy distribution. Based on the same fitting strategy, this work presents a comparative study of outflow driven mechanism between a RL AGN (3C 59) and a radio-quiet AGN (NGC 3227), which suggests a similar driven mechanism of their WA outflows and a negligible role of jets in this process.

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arXiv2025

Comparing observed properties of winds in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei with theoretical predictions

Theoretical and numerical simulations of black hole hot accretion flows have shown the ubiquitous existence of winds and predicted their properties such as velocity and mass flux. In this paper, we have summarized from literature the physical properties of winds launched from low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN), which are believed to be powered by hot accretion flows, and compared them with theoretical predictions. We infer that for both ultra-fast outflows and hot winds, the observed wind velocity as a function of their launching radius and the ratio between wind mass flux and black hole accretion rate show good consistency with theoretical predictions. For the prototype LLAGN M81* with abundant observational data, we have examined various observed properties of wind in detail, including velocity, mass flux of the wind, the power-law index of the radial profile of inflow rate, and the jet-to-wind power ratio. Good agreements are found with theoretical predictions, providing strong support to the theory of wind launched from hot accretion flows.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Variable ionized disk wind in MAXI J1803-298 revealed by NICER

We present the results from the NICER observation data of MAXI J1803-298 across the entire 2021 outburst. In the intermediate and soft state, we detect significant absorption lines at $\sim 7.0$ keV and $\sim 6.7$ keV, arising from the X-ray disk wind outflowing with a velocity of hundreds of km per second along our line of sight. The fitting results from photoionized model suggest that the wind is driven by thermal pressure and the mass-loss rate is low. We find a clear transition for iron from predominantly H-like to predominantly He-like during the intermediate-to-soft state transition. Our results indicate this transition for iron is caused by the evolution of the illuminating spectrum and the slow change of the geometric properties of the disk wind together. The coexistence of disk wind and QPOs features in intermediate state is also reported. Our study makes MAXI J1803-298 the first source in which a transition from optical wind to X-ray wind is detected, offering new insights into the evolution of disk winds across an entire outburst and long-term coupling of accretion disks and mass outflows around accreting black holes.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

Observational Evidence for Hot Wind Impact on pc-scale in Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus

Supermassive black holes in galaxies spend majority of their lifetime in the low-luminosity regime, powered by hot accretion flow. Strong winds launched from the hot accretion flow have the potential to play an important role in active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback. Direct observational evidence for these hot winds with temperature around 10 keV, has been obtained through the detection of highly ionized iron emission lines with Doppler shifts in two prototypical low-luminosity AGNs, namely M81* and NGC 7213. In this work, we further identify blueshifted H-like O/Ne emission lines in the soft X-ray spectra of these two sources. These lines are interpreted to be associated with additional outflowing components possessing velocity around several $10^3$ km/s and lower temperature (~0.2-0.4 keV). Blue-shifted velocity and the X-ray intensity of these additional outflowing components are hard to be explained by previously detected hot wind freely propagating to larger radii. Through detailed numerical simulations, we find the newly detected blue-shifted emission lines would come from circumnuclear gas shock-heated by the hot wind instead. Hot wind can provide larger ram pressure force on the clumpy circumnuclear gas than the gravitational force from central black hole, effectively impeding the black hole accretion of gas. Our results provide strong evidences for the energy and momentum feedback by the hot AGN wind.

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arXiv2023

Scientific Objectives of the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) Mission

The Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) is a proposed space-based X-ray telescope for detecting X-ray emissions from the hot gas content in our universe. With its unprecedented spatially-resolved high-resolution spectroscopy and large field of view, the HUBS mission will be uniquely qualified to measure the physical and chemical properties of the hot gas in the interstellar medium, the circumgalactic medium, the intergalactic medium, and the intracluster medium. These measurements will be valuable for two key scientific goals of HUBS, namely to unravel the AGN and stellar feedback physics that governs the formation and evolution of galaxies, and to probe the baryon budget and multi-phase states from galactic to cosmological scales. In addition to these two goals, the HUBS mission will also help us solve some problems in the fields of galaxy clusters, AGNs, diffuse X-ray backgrounds, supernova remnants, and compact objects. This paper discusses the perspective of advancing these fields using the HUBS telescope.

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arXiv2023

Black Hole Feeding and Feedback in a Compact Galaxy

We perform high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations using the framework of {\it MACER} to investigate supermassive black hole (SMBH) feeding and feedback in a massive compact galaxy, which has a small effective radius but a large stellar mass, with a simulation duration of 10 Gyr. We compare the results with a reference galaxy with a similar stellar mass but a less concentrated stellar density distribution, as typically found in local elliptical galaxies. We find that about 10% of the time, the compact galaxy develops multi-phase gas within a few kpc, but the accretion flow through the inner boundary below the Bondi radius is always a single phase. The inflow rate in the compact galaxy is several times larger than in the reference galaxy, mainly due to the higher gas density caused by the more compact stellar distribution. Such a higher inflow rate results in stronger SMBH feeding and feedback and a larger fountain-like inflow-outflow structure. Compared to the reference galaxy, the star formation rate in the compact galaxy is roughly two orders of magnitude higher but is still low enough to be considered quiescent. Over the whole evolution period, the black hole mass grows by $\sim$50% in the compact galaxy, much larger than the value of $\sim$ 3% in the reference galaxy.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Evidence for A Hot Wind from High-resolution X-ray Spectroscopic Observation of the Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus in NGC 7213

Super-massive black holes (SMBHs) spend most of their lifetime accreting at a rate well below the Eddington limit, manifesting themselves as low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGNs). The prevalence of a hot wind from LLAGNs is a generic prediction by theories and numerical simulations of black hole accretion and is recently becoming a crucial ingredient of AGN kinetic feedback in cosmological simulations of galaxy evolution. However, direct observational evidence for this hot wind is still scarce. In this work, we identify significant Fe XXVI Ly$α$ and Fe XXV K$α$ emission lines from high-resolution Chandra grating spectra of the LLAGN in NGC\,7213, a nearby Sa galaxy hosting a $\sim10^8\rm~M_\odot$ SMBH, confirming previous work. We find that these lines exhibit a blueshifted line-of-sight velocity of $\sim1100\rm~km s^{-1}$ and a high XXVI Ly$α$ to XXV K$α$ flux ratio implying for a $\sim16$ keV hot plasma. By confronting these spectral features with synthetic X-ray spectra based on our custom magnetohydrodynamical simulations, we find that the high-velocity, hot plasma is naturally explained by the putative hot wind driven by the hot accretion flow powering this LLAGN. Alternative plausible origins of this hot plasma, including stellar activities, AGN photoionization and the hot accretion flow itself, are quantitatively disfavored. The inferred kinetic energy and momentum carried by the wind can serve as strong feedback to the environment. We compare NGC\,7213 to M81*, in which strong evidence for a hot wind was recently presented, and discuss implications on the universality and detectability of hot winds from LLAGNs.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

Investigating the Accretion Nature of Binary Supermassive Black Hole Candidate SDSS J025214.67-002813.7

We present results on a multi-wavelength analysis of SDSS J025214.67-002813.7, a system which has been previously classified as a binary AGN candidate based on periodic signals detected in the optical light curves. We use available radio-X-ray observations of the system to investigate the true accretion nature. Analyzing new observations from XMM-Newton and NuSTAR, we characterize the X-ray emission and search for evidence of circumbinary accretion. Although the 0.5-10 keV spectrum shows evidence of an additional soft emission component, possibly due to extended emission from hot nuclear gas, we find the spectral shape consistent with a single AGN. Compiling a full multi-wavelength SED, we also search for signs of circumbinary accretion, such as a "notch" in the continuum due to the presence of minidisks. We find that the radio-optical emission agrees with the SED of a standard, radio-quiet, AGN, however there is a large deficit in emission blueward of ~1400 A. Although this deficit in emission can plausibly be attributed to a binary AGN system, we find that the SED of SDSS J0252-0028 is better explained by emission from a reddened, single AGN. However, future studies on the expected hard X-ray emission associated with binary AGN (especially in the unequal-mass regime), will allow for more rigorous analyses of the binary AGN hypothesis.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2021

An Energetic Hot Wind from the Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus M81*

For most of their lifetime, super-massive black holes (SMBHs) commonly found in galactic nuclei obtain mass from the ambient at a rate well below the Eddington limit, which is mediated by a radiatively inefficient, hot accretion flow. Both theory and numerical simulations predict that a strong wind must exist in such hot accretion flows. The wind is of special interest not only because it is an indispensable ingredient of accretion, but perhaps more importantly, it is believed to play a crucial role in the evolution of the host galaxy via the so-called kinetic mode AGN feedback. Observational evidence for this wind, however, remains scarce and indirect. Here we report the detection of a hot outflow from the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus in M81, based on {\it Chandra} high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. The outflow is evidenced by a pair of Fe XXVI Ly$α$ lines redshifted and blueshifted at a bulk line-of-sight velocity of $\pm2.8\times10^3 \rm~km~s^{-1}$ and a high Fe XXVI Ly$α$-to-Fe XXV K$α$ line ratio implying a plasma temperature of $1.3\times10^8$ Kelvin. This high-velocity, hot plasma cannot be produced by stellar activity or the accretion inflow onto the SMBH. Our magnetohydrodynamical simulations show, instead, it is naturally explained by a wind from the hot accretion flow, propagating out to $\gtrsim10^6$ times the gravitational radius of the SMBH. The kinetic energy and momentum of this wind can significantly affect the evolution of the circumnuclear environment and beyond.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2018

Multi-epoch analysis of the X-ray spectrum of the active galactic nucleus in NGC 5506

We present a multi-epoch X-ray spectroscopy analysis of the nearby narrow-line Seyfert I galaxy NGC 5506. For the first time, spectra taken by Chandra, XMM-Newton, Suzaku, and NuSTAR - covering the 2000-2014 time span - are analyzed simultaneously, using state-of-the-art models to describe reprocessing of the primary continuum by optical thick matter in the AGN environment. The main goal of our study is determining the spin of the supermassive black hole (SMBH). The nuclear X-ray spectrum is photoelectrically absorbed by matter with column density $\simeq 3 \times 10^{22}$ cm$^{-2}$. A soft excess is present at energies lower than the photoelectric cut-off. Both photo-ionized and collisionally ionized components are required to fit it. This component is constant over the time-scales probed by our data. The spectrum at energies higher than 2 keV is variable. We propose that its evolution could be driven by flux-dependent changes in the geometry of the innermost regions of the accretion disk. The black hole spin in NGC 5506 is constrained to be 0.93$\pm _{ 0.04 }^{0.04}$ at 90% confidence level for one interesting parameter.

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