• Multi-wavelength Campaign on the Super-Eddington NLS1 RX J0134.2-4258 -- I. Peculiar X-ray Spectra and Variability

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We have conducted a new long-term multi-wavelength campaign on one of the most super- Eddington narrow-line Seyfert 1s (NLS1s) known, namely RX J0134.2-4258. In this first paper, we report deep simultaneous X-ray observations performed by XMM-Newton and NuSTAR in 2019-12-19, during which RX J0134.2-4258 was fortuitously at one of its lowest X-ray flux states. However, there is a clear rise above 4 keV which implies that the intrinsic source flux may be higher. The X-ray spectra observed between 1996 and 2019 show drastic variability, probably due to complex, variable absorption along the line of sight. Unusually, the soft X-ray excess appears extremely weak in all these spectra, even when the hard X-ray spectrum has a steep slope of $\Gamma \simeq 2.2$. We explore the spectral-timing properties of the new (low X-ray flux) and archival (high X-ray flux) XMM-Newton data, fitting their time-average, rms and lag spectra simultaneously. The variability spectra indicate the presence of a very weak soft X-ray Comptonisation component, whose shape is similar to the soft excess in normal super-Eddington NLS1s, but with flux relative to the power law which is lower by more than one order of magnitude. Above 4 keV the low-flux data are dominated by a different component, which lags with respect to the lower energy emission. This is consistent with an origin of reflection or partial covering absorption from low ionization material located within 100 Rg. We interpret this as a further indication of the presence of a clumpy disc wind.

  • The Extreme Super-Eddington NLS1 RX J0134.2-4258 -- II. A Weak-Line Seyfert Linking to the Weak-Line Quasar

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: RX J0134.2-4258 is one of the most super-Eddington narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, on which we conducted a monitoring campaign from radio to X-rays. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of its optical/UV spectra and broadband spectral energy distribution (SED). Our study shows that the preferred black hole mass of RX J0134.2-4258 is $M_{\rm BH} \sim 2 \times 10^{7}~M_{\odot}$, giving a mass accretion rate through the outer disc of $\dot{m}_{\rm out} \sim 20$ (assuming zero spin), compared to the observed luminosity ratio $L_{\rm bol}/L_{\rm Edd} \sim 6$. This reduction in radiative efficiency is expected for super-Eddington flows, as power can be lost via advection and/or disc winds. We find that the optical/UV lines of RX J0134.2-4258 resemble those from weak-like quasars (WLQs), as it has notably weak C IV and N V emission lines. It also has drastic X-ray variability, again similar to that recently observed in some other WLQs. However, WLQs have systematically higher masses ($\gtrsim 10^8~M_{\odot}$), and lower Eddington ratios ($\dot{m}_{\rm out} \sim 1$) than RX J0134.2-4258. We compare instead to the most extreme NLS1s, with similarly large $\dot{m}_{\rm out}$ but smaller masses. These show similarly large reductions in radiative efficiency but their UV lines are not similarly wind-dominated. We suggest a new category of weak-line Seyfert (WLS) galaxies to describe sources like RX J0134.2-4258, and interpret its (so far unique) properties in a model, where the lower-disc-temperature in the higher-mass black holes leads to the UV-line-driving mechanism, which enhances the super-Eddington radiation-pressure-driven wind.

  • Life beyond 30: probing the $-20

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We present the ultraviolet luminosity function and an estimate of the cosmic star formation rate density at $88$ galaxy candidates based on their dropout nature in the $F115W$ and/or $F150W$ filters, a high probability for their photometric redshifts, estimated with three different codes, being at $z>8$, good fits based on $\chi^2$ calculations, and predominant solutions compared to $z<8$ alternatives. We find mild evolution in the luminosity function from $z\sim13$ to $z\sim8$, i.e., only a small increase in the average number density of $\sim$0.2~dex, while the faint-end slope and absolute magnitude of the knee remain approximately constant, with values $\alpha=-2.3\pm0.2$ and $M^*=-20.8\pm0.2$~mag. Comparing our results with the predictions of a wide range of state-of-the-art galaxy evolution models, we find two main results: (1) a slower increase with time in the cosmic star formation rate density compared to a steeper rise predicted by models; (2) nearly a factor of 10 higher star formation activity concentrated in scales around 2~kpc in galaxies with stellar masses $\sim10^8$~M$_\odot$ during the first 350~Myr of the Universe ($z\sim12$), with models matching better the observations $\sim$150~Myr later, by $z\sim9$.