Notes
Slide Show
Outline
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Astr 1050     Fri., Apr 2, 2004
  •    Today:  Extra Credit Articles
  •                  Start Chapter 14, Active Galaxies


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Chapter 14: Galaxies with Active Nuclei
  • Discovery of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)
    • Seyfert Galaxies and Radio Sources
  • The Unified Model
    • Black Holes in Galaxies, disks, orientation, +
  • Quasars
    • Distances and Relativistic Redshifts
    • Quasars as extreme AGN
    • Evolution of Quasars/Galaxies
    • Gravitational Lensing
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The (slightly) active nucleus of our galaxy
  • Probable Black hole
    • High velocities
    • Large energy generation


  • At  a=275 AU  P=2.8 yr Þ 2.7 million solar masses


  • Radio image of Sgr A*
    about 3 pc across, with model of surrounding disk


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Active Galactic Nuclei:  AGNs
  • A small fraction of galaxies have extremely bright “unresolved” star-like cores (active nuclei)


  • Shown here is an HST image of NGC 7742, a so-called “Seyfert galaxy” after Carl Seyfert who did pioneering work in the 1940s
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NGC4151 with a range of exposures
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Spectra of Stars, Spectra of AGNs
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Active Galactic Nuclei:  AGNs
  • Small fraction of galaxies have extremely
    bright “unresolved” star-like nuclei
    • Very large energy generation
    • Brightness often varies quickly
      • Implies small size (changes not smeared out by light-travel time)
    • High velocities often seen (> 10,000 km/s in lines)
    • Emission all over the electro-magnetic spectrum


  • Jets seen emerging from galaxies
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3C31
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Many Views of Radio Galaxy Centaurus A
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Active Galactic Nuclei:  AGNs
  • Many galaxies have extremely
    bright “unresolved” star-like nuclei
    • Very large energy generation
    • Brightness often varies quickly
      • Implies small size (changes not smeared out by light-travel time)
    • High velocities often seen (> 10,000 km/s in lines)
    • Emission all over the electro-magnetic spectrum


  • Jets seen emerging from galaxies
  • More common in colliding galaxies
  • More common at large distances (redshift): Quasars!
    • So more common in distant past  (look-back time)
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Relativistic Doppler (Red) Shift
  • Classical Doppler Effect:


  • Also refer to Δλ/λ as the “redshift” or “z”


  • What if z is so large that v => c?
  • v       (z + 1)2 - 1
  •   c       (z + 1)2 + 1
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Relativistic Doppler (Red) Shift
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Black Holes:  Review

  • Escape velocity from the surface at radius R is


  • At small enough R  we have VEscape= c  (speed of light)
    • That R is by definition the Schwarzschild radius



  • Far from the black hole gravity is the same as for any ordinary mass M
    • Stars will just orbit around it like any other mass
  • Gas orbiting it collides, tries to slow down, (just like reentering satellite)
    • As gas falls inward it ends up speeding up and heating up
    • Gas will be moving at close to speed of light by the time it reaches RS
    • Light emitted by hot gas just outside RS can still escape
    • Provides a way to release about 10% of E=mc2 of energy
      • Fusion releases only about 1%


  • Signature of black hole:  Very high energy release, very high velocity


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Accretion Disks

  • Black hole is “active” only if gas is present to spiral into it
    • Isolated stars just orbit black hole same as they would any other mass
    • Gas collides, tries to slow due to friction, and so spirals in (and heats up)
  • Conservation of angular momentum causes gas to form a disk as it spirals in
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Different Views of the Accretion Disk
    • The torus of gas and dust can block part of our view
  • Seyfert 2 galaxies: Edge on view
    Only gas well above and below disk is visible
    See only “slow” gas Þ narrow emission lines


  • Seyfert 1 galaxies: Slightly tilted view
    Hot high velocity gas close to black hole is visible
    High velocities   Þ broad emission lines


  • BL Lac objects: Pole on view
    Looking right down the jet at central region
    Extremely bright – vary on time scales of hours


  • Quasars: Very active AGN at large distances
    Can barely make out the galaxy surrounding them
    Were apparently more common in distant past
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Different Views of the Accretion Disk
    • The torus of gas and dust can block part of our view
  • Seyfert 2 galaxies: Edge on view
    Only gas well above and below disk is visible
    See only “slow” gas Þ narrow emission lines


  • Seyfert 1 galaxies: Slightly tilted view
    Hot high velocity gas close to black hole is visible
    High velocities   Þ broad emission lines


  • BL Lac objects: Pole on view
    Looking right down the jet at central region
    Extremely bright – vary on time scales of hours


  • Quasars: Very active AGN at large distances
    Can barely make out the galaxy surrounding them
    Were apparently more common in distant past
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Different Views of the Accretion Disk
    • The torus of gas and dust can block part of our view
  • Seyfert 2 galaxies: Edge on view
    Only gas well above and below disk is visible
    See only “slow” gas Þ narrow emission lines


  • Seyfert 1 galaxies: Slightly tilted view
    Hot high velocity gas close to black hole is visible
    High velocities   Þ broad emission lines


  • BL Lac objects: Pole on view
    Looking right down the jet at central region
    Extremely bright – vary on time scales of hours


  • Quasars: Very active AGN at large distances
    Can barely make out the galaxy surrounding them
    Were more common in distant past
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Quasar Images 1
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Nice, early Quasar Quote:
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Quasar Images II
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Quasar Images III: “Starburst-Quasar”
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What makes an AGN active?
    • Need a supply of gas to feed to the black hole
    • (Black holes from 1 million to >1 billion solar masses!
    • Scales as a few percent of galaxy bulge mass.)
  • Collisions disturb regular orbits of stars and gas clouds
    • Could feed more gas to the central region


  • Galactic orbits were less organized as galaxies were forming, also recall the “hierarchical” galaxy formation
    • Expect more gas to flow to central region when galaxies are young => Quasars (“quasar epoch” around z=2 to z=3)


  • Most galaxies may have massive black holes in them
  • They are just less active now because gas supply is less
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Gravitational Lensing
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For more information, movies:
  • A nice website: http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/www_astro/agn/agn_beginners.html
  • Other links on the website will take you to movies showing quasar structure, and discussing unified models.
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Chapter 14: Galaxies with Active Nuclei
  • Discovery of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)
    • Seyfert Galaxies and Radio Sources
  • The Unified Model
    • Black Holes in Galaxies, disks, orientation, +
  • Quasars
    • Distances and Relativistic Redshifts
    • Quasars as extreme AGN
    • Evolution of Quasars/Galaxies
    • Gravitational Lensing