The mm-wave compact component of an AGN

Ehud Behar, Stuart Vogel, Ranieri D. Baldi, Krista L. Smith, Richard F. Mushotzky

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

mm-wave emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) may hold the key to understanding the physical origin of their radio cores. The correlation between radio/mm and X-ray luminosity may suggest a similar physical origin of the two sources. Since synchrotron self-absorption decreases with frequency, mm-waves probe smaller length-scales than cm-waves. We report on 100 GHz (3 mm) observations with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy of 26AGNs selected from the hardX-ray Swift/Burst Alert Telescope survey. 20/26 targets were detected at 100 GHz down to the 1 mJy (3σ) sensitivity, which corresponds to optically thick synchrotron source sizes of 10-4-10-3 pc. Most sources show a 100 GHz flux excess with respect to the spectral slope extrapolated from low frequencies. This mm spectral component likely originates from smaller scales than the few-GHz emission. The measured mm sources lie roughly around the Lmm (100 GHz) ~10-4LX (2-10 keV) relation, similar to a few previously published X-ray selected sources, and hinting perhaps at a common coronal origin.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)399-406
Number of pages8
JournalMONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume478
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 21 Jul 2018

Keywords

  • Galaxies: Active
  • Galaxies: Jets
  • Galaxies: Nuclei
  • Radio continuum: Galaxies
  • X-rays: Galaxies

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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