Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies
We searched the Chandra and XMM archives for 900 Green Pea galaxies to identify signs of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Green peas are low-mass, emission-line galaxies that resemble high-redshift dwarf galaxies. From 29 observations, we detected X-rays in nine galaxies with signal-to-noise ratio >...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb979 |
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| author | Mainak Singha Julissa Sarmiento Sangeeta Malhotra James E. Rhoads L. Y. Aaron Yung Junxian Wang Zhen-Ya Zheng Ruqiu Lin Keunho Kim Jialai Kang Santosh Harish |
| author_facet | Mainak Singha Julissa Sarmiento Sangeeta Malhotra James E. Rhoads L. Y. Aaron Yung Junxian Wang Zhen-Ya Zheng Ruqiu Lin Keunho Kim Jialai Kang Santosh Harish |
| author_sort | Mainak Singha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We searched the Chandra and XMM archives for 900 Green Pea galaxies to identify signs of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Green peas are low-mass, emission-line galaxies that resemble high-redshift dwarf galaxies. From 29 observations, we detected X-rays in nine galaxies with signal-to-noise ratio > 3. These X-ray sources also show He ii and broad H α emissions, suggesting winds, though the weak correlation between their line widths implies that the He ii emission is not from super-Eddington accretors. The ratio of X-ray luminosity to star formation rate aligns with an anticorrelation with metallicity for most detected sources, pointing to ultraluminous X-ray sources as likely contributors. The X-ray emission exceeds what stellar processes can produce, supporting the existence of low-luminosity AGN. Using the broad H α emission lines, we infer black hole masses ranging from 10 ^4 to 10 ^6 M _⊙ in these sources. Since Green Peas are significant Lyman continuum leakers, these AGN may have played a role in cosmic reionization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-022e2f5000b14360a94e2e7174e5c1e6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-022e2f5000b14360a94e2e7174e5c1e62025-08-20T03:52:41ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01984215510.3847/1538-4357/adb979Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming GalaxiesMainak Singha0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5687-1516Julissa Sarmiento1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5293-3975Sangeeta Malhotra2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9226-5350James E. Rhoads3L. Y. Aaron Yung4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3466-035XJunxian Wang5Zhen-Ya Zheng6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9634-2923Ruqiu Lin7Keunho Kim8Jialai Kang9Santosh Harish10Astrophysics Science Division , NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Department of Physics, The Catholic University of America , Washington, DC 20064, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USAAstrophysics Science Division , NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAAstrophysics Science Division , NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USASpace Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USACAS Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology , Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaKey Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology , Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai 200030, People’s Republic of China; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of ChinaIPAC, California Institute of Technology , 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USAUniversity of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People’s Republic of ChinaLaboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics , School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology, 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USAWe searched the Chandra and XMM archives for 900 Green Pea galaxies to identify signs of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Green peas are low-mass, emission-line galaxies that resemble high-redshift dwarf galaxies. From 29 observations, we detected X-rays in nine galaxies with signal-to-noise ratio > 3. These X-ray sources also show He ii and broad H α emissions, suggesting winds, though the weak correlation between their line widths implies that the He ii emission is not from super-Eddington accretors. The ratio of X-ray luminosity to star formation rate aligns with an anticorrelation with metallicity for most detected sources, pointing to ultraluminous X-ray sources as likely contributors. The X-ray emission exceeds what stellar processes can produce, supporting the existence of low-luminosity AGN. Using the broad H α emission lines, we infer black hole masses ranging from 10 ^4 to 10 ^6 M _⊙ in these sources. Since Green Peas are significant Lyman continuum leakers, these AGN may have played a role in cosmic reionization.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb979AGN host galaxiesDwarf galaxiesReionizationBlack holes |
| spellingShingle | Mainak Singha Julissa Sarmiento Sangeeta Malhotra James E. Rhoads L. Y. Aaron Yung Junxian Wang Zhen-Ya Zheng Ruqiu Lin Keunho Kim Jialai Kang Santosh Harish Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies The Astrophysical Journal AGN host galaxies Dwarf galaxies Reionization Black holes |
| title | Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies |
| title_full | Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies |
| title_fullStr | Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies |
| title_short | Chandra Detects Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nucleus with MBH = 104–106 M⊙ in Nearby (z < 0.5) Dwarf and Star-forming Galaxies |
| title_sort | chandra detects low luminosity active galactic nucleus with mbh 104 106 m⊙ in nearby z 0 5 dwarf and star forming galaxies |
| topic | AGN host galaxies Dwarf galaxies Reionization Black holes |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb979 |
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