2017ApJ...836..183S -
Astrophys. J., 836, 183-183 (2017/February-3)
Was 49b: an overmassive AGN in a merging dwarf galaxy?
SECREST N.J., SCHMITT H.R., BLECHA L., ROTHBERG B. and FISCHER J.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present a combined morphological and X-ray analysis of Was 49, an isolated, dual-AGN system notable for the presence of a dominant AGN, Was 49b, in the disk of the primary galaxy, Was 49a, at a projected radial distance of 8 kpc from the nucleus. Using X-ray data from Chandra, the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, and Swift, we find that this AGN has a bolometric luminosity of Lbol ∼ 1045 erg s–1, with a black hole mass of MBH = 1.3–0.9+2.9×108 M☉. Despite the large mass, our analysis of optical data from the Discovery Channel Telescope shows that the supermassive black hole (SMBH) is hosted by a stellar counterpart with a mass of only 5.6–2.6+4.9×109 M☉, which makes the SMBH potentially larger than expected from SMBH-galaxy scaling relations, and the stellar counterpart exhibits a morphology that is consistent with dwarf elliptical galaxies. Our analysis of the system in the r and K bands indicates that Was 49 is a minor merger, with the mass ratio of Was 49b to Was 49a between ∼1:7 and ∼1:15. This is in contrast with findings that the most luminous merger-triggered AGNs are found in major mergers and that minor mergers predominantly enhance AGN activity in the primary galaxy.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2017. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: active - galaxies: bulges - galaxies: dwarf - galaxies: interactions - galaxies: nuclei - galaxies: Seyfert - galaxies: Seyfert
Simbad objects:
6
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