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Luis C. Ho

Publications and source records attributed to Luis C. Ho.

At least 685 records · Page 38Linked to original sources
arXiv2000

Detailed Analysis of Early to Late-Time Spectra of Supernova 1993J

We present a detailed study of line structure in early to late-time spectra of Supernova (SN) 1993J. Spectra during the nebular phase, but within the first two years after explosion, exhibit small-scale structure in the emission lines of some species, notably oxygen and magnesium, showing that the ejecta of SN 1993J are clumpy. On the other hand, a lack of structure in emission lines of calcium implies that the source of calcium emission is uniformly distributed throughout the ejecta. These results are interpreted as evidence that oxygen emission originates in clumpy, newly synthesized material, while calcium emission arises from material pre-existing in the atmosphere of the progenitor. Spectra spanning the range 433-2454 days after the explosion show box-like profiles for the emission lines, clearly indicating circumstellar interaction in a roughly spherical shell. This is interpreted within the Chevalier & Fransson (1994) model for SNe interacting with mass lost during prior stellar winds. At very late times, the emission lines have a two-horned profile, implying the formation of a somewhat flattened or disk-like structure that is a significant source of emission. The very high signal-to-noise ratio spectra are used to demonstrate the potential significance of misinterpretation of telluric absorption lines in the spectra of bright SNe.

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arXiv2000

Radio Sources in Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei. I. VLA Detections of Compact, Flat-Spectrum Cores

We report a 0.2" resolution, 15 GHz survey of a sample of 48 low-luminosity active galactic nuclei with the Very Large Array. Compact radio emission has been detected in 57% (17 of 30) of LINERs and low-luminosity Seyferts, at least 15 of which have a flat to inverted radio spectrum (alpha > -0.3). The compact radio cores are found in both type 1 (i.e. with broad Halpha) and type 2 (without broad Halpha) nuclei. The 2 cm radio power is significantly correlated with the emission-line ([OI] lambda6300) luminosity. While the present observations are consistent with the radio emission originating in star-forming regions, higher resolution radio observations of 10 of the detected sources, reported in a companion paper (Falcke et al. 2000), show that the cores are very compact (< pc), of high brightness temperature (T(b) >= 10^8K) and probably synchrotron self-absorbed, ruling out a starburst origin. Thus, our results suggest that at least 50% of low-luminosity Seyferts and LINERs in the sample are accretion powered, with the radio emission presumably coming from jets or advection-dominated accretion flows. We have detected only 1 of 18 `transition' (i.e. LINER + HII) nuclei observed, indicating their radio cores are significantly weaker than those of `pure' LINERs.

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arXiv2000

Double-Peaked Broad Emission Lines in NGC 4450 and Other LINERs

Spectra taken with HST reveal that NGC 4450 emits Balmer emission lines with displaced double peaks and extremely high-velocity wings. This characteristic line profile, previously seen in a few nearby LINERs and in a small fraction of broad-line radio galaxies, can be interpreted as a kinematic signature of a relativistic accretion disk. We can reproduce the observed profile with a model for a disk with a radial range of 1000-2000 gravitational radii and inclined by 27 degrees along the line of sight. The small-aperture HST data also allow us to detect, for the first time, the featureless continuum at optical wavelengths in NGC 4450; the nonstellar nucleus is intrinsically very faint, with M_B = -11.2 mag for D = 16.8 Mpc. We have examined the multiwavelength properties of NGC 4450 collectively with those of other low-luminosity active nuclei which possess double-peaked broad lines and find a number of common features. These objects are all classified spectroscopically as "type 1" LINERs or closely related objects. The nuclear luminosities are low, both in absolute terms and relative to the Eddington rates. All of them have compact radio cores, whose strength relative to the optical nuclear emission places them in the league of radio-loud active nuclei. The broad-band spectral energy distributions of these sources are most notable for their deficit of ultraviolet emission compared to those observed in luminous Seyfert 1 nuclei and quasars. The double-peaked broad-line radio galaxies Arp 102B and Pictor A have very similar attributes. We discuss how these characteristics can be understood in the context of advection-dominated accretion onto massive black holes.

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arXiv2000

Evidence for a Black Hole and Accretion Disk in the LINER NGC 4203

We present spectroscopic observations from the Hubble Space Telescope that reveal for the first time the presence of a broad pedestal of Balmer-line emission in the LINER galaxy NGC 4203. The emission-line profile is suggestive of a relativistic accretion disk, and is reminiscent of double-peaked transient Balmer emission observed in a handful of other LINERs. The very broad line emission thus constitutes clear qualitative evidence for a black hole, and spatially resolved narrow-line emission in NGC 4203 can be used to constrain its mass, with M_BH less than 6 x 10^6 solar masses at 99.7% confidence. This value implies a ratio of black-hole mass to bulge mass of less than approximately 7 x 10^-4 in NGC 4203, which is less by a factor of ~3 - 9 than the mean ratio obtained for other galaxies. The availability of an independent constraint on central black-hole mass makes NGC4203 an important testbed for probing the physics of weak active galactic nuclei. Assuming M_BH near the detection limit, the ratio of observed luminosity to the Eddington luminosity is approximately 10^-4. This value is consistent with advection-dominated accretion, and hence with scenarios in which an ion torus irradiates an outer accretion disk that produces the observed double-peaked line emission. Follow-up observations will make it possible to improve the black-hole mass estimate and study variability in the nuclear emission.

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arXiv2000

The Nature of Composite LINER/HII Galaxies, As Revealed from High-Resolution VLA Observations

A sample of 37 nearby galaxies displaying composite LINER/HII and pure HII spectra was observed with the VLA in an investigation of the nature of their weak radio emission. The resulting radio contour maps overlaid on optical galaxy images are presented here, together with an extensive literature list and discussion of the individual galaxies. Radio morphological data permit assessment of the ``classical AGN'' contribution to the global activity observed in these ``transition'' LINER galaxies. One in five of the latter objects display clear AGN characteristics: these occur exclusively in bulge-dominated hosts.

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arXiv1999

Radio Cores in Low-Luminosity AGN: ADAFs or Jets?

We have surveyed two large samples of nearby low-luminosity AGN with the VLA to search for flat-spectrum radio cores, similar to Sgr A* in the Galactic Center. Roughly one third of all galaxies are detected (roughly one half if HII transition objects are excluded from the sample), many of which have compact radio cores. Follow-up observations with the VLBA have confirmed that these cores are non-thermal in origin, with lower limits for the brightness temperatures around ~10^8 K. The brightest of these are resolved into linear structures. The radio spectral indices of the cores are quite flat (alpha~0), with no evidence for the highly inverted radio cores predicted in the ADAF model. Spectrum and morphology of the compact radio emission is typical for radio jets seen also in more luminous AGN. The emission-line luminosity seems to be correlated with the radio core flux. Together with the VLBI observations this suggests that optical and radio emission in at least half the low-luminosity Seyferts and LINERs are black hole powered. We find only a weak correlation between bulge luminosity and radio flux and an apparently different efficiency between elliptical and spiral galaxies for producing radio emission at a given optical luminosity.

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arXiv1999

Possible Evidence for Truncated Thin Disks in the Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei M81 and NGC 4579

M81 and NGC 4579 are two of the few low-luminosity active galactic nuclei which have an estimated mass for the central black hole, detected hard X-ray emission, and detected optical/UV emission. In contrast to the canonical ``big blue bump,'' both have optical/UV spectra which decrease with increasing frequency in a $νL_ν$ plot. Barring significant reddening by dust and/or large errors in the black hole mass estimates, the optical/UV spectra of these systems require that the inner edge of a geometrically thin, optically thick, accretion disk lies at roughly 100 Schwarzschild radii. The observed X-ray radiation can be explained by an optically thin, two temperature, advection-dominated accretion flow at smaller radii.

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arXiv1999

Discovery of Radio Outbursts in the Active Nucleus of M81

The low-luminosity active galactic nucleus of M81 has been monitored at centimeter wavelengths since early 1993 as a by-product of radio programs to study the radio emission from Supernova 1993J. The extensive data sets reveal that the nucleus experienced several radio outbursts during the monitoring period. At 2 and 3.6 cm, the main outburst occurred roughly in the beginning of 1993 September and lasted for approximately three months; at longer wavelengths, the maximum flux density decreases, and the onset of the burst is delayed. These characteristics qualitatively resemble the standard model for adiabatically expanding radio sources, although certain discrepancies between the observations and the theoretical predictions suggest that the model is too simplistic. In addition to the large-amplitude, prolonged variations, we also detected milder changes in the flux density at 3.6 cm and possibly at 6 cm on short (less than 1 day) timescales. We discuss a possible association between the radio activity and an optical flare observed during the period that the nucleus was monitored at radio wavelengths.

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arXiv1999

The Spectral Energy Distributions of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei

As a step toward elucidating the physical conditions in nearby active galaxies, this paper presents spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of a sample of seven low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs). SEDs for four objects are presented for the first time (NGC 4261, NGC 4579, NGC 6251, and M84); the data for the remaining three (M81, M87, and NGC 4594) have been substantially updated compared to previous studies. The nuclear fluxes were carefully selected so as to avoid contamination by emission from the host galaxy, which can be substantial for very weak nuclei. The present sample of low-luminosity nuclei all exhibit SEDs that look markedly different from the canonical broad-band continuum spectrum of luminous AGNs. The most striking difference is that the low-luminosity objects lack an ultraviolet excess (the "big blue bump"), a feature normally associated with emission from a standard optically thick, geometrically thin accretion disk. The weakness of the ultraviolet band leads to an unusually steep optical-ultraviolet continuum shape and a more pronounced contribution from the X-rays to the ionizing spectrum. It is argued that the absence of the big blue bump is a property intrinsic to the SEDs and not an artifact of strong dust extinction. The integrated spectra confirm the exceptional weakness of the nuclei: the bolometric luminosities range from 2E+41 to 8E+42 erg/s, or 10^-6 to 10-3 times the Eddington rate for the black hole masses previously reported for these galaxies. (Abridged)

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arXiv1999

X-ray Properties of the Weak Seyfert 1 Nucleus in NGC 4639

We obtained observations of NGC 4639 with ASCA in order to investigate its mildly active Seyfert 1 nucleus at hard X-ray energies. Koratkar et al. (1995) have previously shown that the nucleus is a pointlike source in the ROSAT soft X-ray band. We detected in the 2-10 keV band a compact central source with a luminosity of 8.3E+40 erg/s. Comparison of the ASCA data with archival data taken with the Einstein and ROSAT satellites shows that the nucleus varies on timescales of months to years. The variability could be intrinsic, or it could be caused by variable absorption. More rapid variability, on a timescale of \~10^4 s, may be present in the ASCA data. The spectrum from 0.5 to 10 keV is well described by a model consisting of a lightly absorbed (N_H = 7.3E+20 cm^-2) power law with a photon index of 1.68. We find no evidence for significant emission from a thermal plasma; if present, it can account for no more than 25% of the flux in the 0.5-2.0 keV band. The limited photon statistics of our data do not allow us to place significant limits on the presence of iron K emission. (abridged)

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arXiv1999

Physical Conditions in the Emission Line Gas in the Extremely Low Luminosity Seyfert Nucleus of NGC 4395

We have combined Hubble Space Telescope/Faint Object Spectrograph, ground-based, and Infrared Space Observatory spectra of the nucleus of NGC 4395, the least luminous and nearest known type 1 Seyfert galaxy. The spectra show emission lines from a wide range of ionization states and critical densities. We have generated multicomponent photoionization models of both the broad and narrow emission-line regions (BLR and NLR) to investigate the physical conditions in the emission-line gas and test the proposition that the source of ionization is the non-thermal continuum radiation emitted by the central source. We show that, with a minimum of free parameters, the model predictions match the observed emission-line ratios quite well. The elemental abundances appear to be subsolar, with even greater underabundance of nitrogen.From the size of the BLR predicted by the models, we estimate a central mass of a few x 10^5 solar masses, in reasonable agreement with estimates from the stellar kinematics. Finally, our results suggest that the covering factor of the emission-line gas is close to unity, and that the observed UV to X-ray continuum is absorbed by intervening NLR gas. We argue that high covering factor is responsible for the apparent flattening of the Baldwin relation in low luminosity AGN.

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arXiv1998

VLA and VLBA observations of compact radio cores in LINER galaxies

A VLA survey of nearby LINER galaxies at 15 GHz has revealed the presence of a compact radio core in many sources. The cores seem to be correlated with the optical activity. Follow-up VLBA observations of the ten brightest sources confirm that these cores have brightness temperatures >10^8 Kelvin, thus confirming their AGN nature. The two brightest radio sources (NGC6500 and NGC4278) show extended jet-like structures and the flat spectral indices of all cores also suggest a jet nature rather than emission from an ADAF.

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arXiv1998

What Powers the Compact Radio Emission in Nearby Elliptical and S0 Galaxies?

Many nearby early-type (elliptical and S0) galaxies contain weak (milli-Jansky level) nuclear radio sources on scales a few hundred parsecs or less. The origin of the radio emission, however, has remained unclear, especially in volume-limited samples that select intrinsically less luminous galaxies. Both active galactic nuclei and nuclear star formation have been suggested as possible mechanisms for producing the radio emission. This paper utilizes optical spectroscopic information to address this issue. A substantial fraction of the early-type galaxies surveyed with the Very Large Array by Wrobel & Heeschen (1991) exhibits detectable optical emission lines in their nuclei down to very sensitive limits. Comparison of the observed radio continuum power with that expected from the thermal gas traced by the optical emission lines implies that the bulk of the radio emission is nonthermal. Both the incidence and the strength of optical line emission correlate with the radio power. At a fixed line luminosity, ellipticals have stronger radio cores than S0s. The relation between radio power and line emission observed in this sample is consistent with the low-luminosity extension of similar relations seen in classical radio galaxies and luminous Seyfert nuclei. A plausible interpretation of this result is that the weak nuclear sources in nearby early-type galaxies are the low-luminosity counterparts of more powerful AGNs. The spectroscopic evidence supports this picture. Most of the emission-line objects are optically classified as Seyfert nuclei or low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs), the majority of which are likely to be accretion-powered sources.

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arXiv1998

LINERs as Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei

Many nearby galaxies contain optical signatures of nuclear activity in the form of LINER nuclei. LINERs may be the weakest and most common manifestation of the quasar phenomenon. The physical origin of this class of objects, however, has been ambiguous. I draw upon a number of recent observations to argue that a significant fraction of LINERs are low-luminosity active galactic nuclei.

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arXiv1998

The Ultraviolet Spectra of LINERs: A Comparative Study

Imaging studies have shown that about 25% of LINER galaxies display a compact nuclear UV source. As part of a program to study the nature of LINERs and their connection to the active galaxy phenomenon, we compare the HST ultraviolet (1150-3200 Ang) spectra of seven such UV-bright LINERs. Data for three of the galaxies (NGC 404, NGC 4569, and NGC 5055) are presented for the first time, while data for four others (M81, NGC 4594, NGC 4579, and NGC 6500) have been recently published. The spectra of NGC 404, NGC 4569, and NGC 5055 show clear absorption-line signatures of massive stars, indicating a stellar origin for the UV continuum. Similar features are probably present in NGC 6500. The same stellar signatures may be present but undetectable in NGC 4594, due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of the spectrum, and in M81 and NGC 4579, due to superposed strong, broad emission lines. The compact central UV continuum source that is observed in these galaxies is a nuclear star cluster rather than a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN), at least in some cases. Except for the two LINERs with broad emission lines (M81 and NGC 4579), the LINERs have weak or no detectable UV emission lines. At least four of the LINERs suffer from an ionizing photon deficit, in the sense that the ionizing photon flux inferred from the observed far-UV continuum is insufficient to drive the optical H I recombination lines. Examination of the nuclear X-ray flux of each galaxy shows a high X-ray/UV ratio in the four ``UV-photon starved'' LINERs. Future observations can determine whether the UV continuum in LINERs is always dominated by a starburst or, alternatively, that there are two types of UV-bright LINERs: starburst-dominated and AGN-dominated.

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arXiv1998

Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei

I review the status of observational determinations of central masses in nearby galactic nuclei. Results from a variety of techniques are summarized, including ground-based and space-based optical spectroscopy, radio VLBI measurements of luminous water vapor masers, and variability monitoring studies of active galactic nuclei. I will also discuss recent X-ray observations that indicate relativistic motions arising from the accretion disks of active nuclei. The existing evidence suggests that supermassive black holes are an integral component of galactic structure, at least in elliptical and bulge-dominated galaxies. The black hole mass appears to be correlated with the mass of the spheroidal component of the host galaxy. This finding may have important implications for many astrophysical issues.

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