National Radio Astronomy Observatory | 2015 Feb 26
Researchers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered regions where certain organic molecules somehow endure the intense radiation near the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy NGC 1068, also known to amateur stargazers as M77.
- [i]The central part of the galaxy M77, also known as NGC 1068, observed by ALMA and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Yellow: cyanoacetylene (HC3N), Red: carbon monosulfide (CS), Blue: carbon monoxide (CO), which are observed with ALMA. While HC3N is abundant in the central part of the galaxy (CND), CO is mainly distributed in the starburst ring. CS is distributed both in the CND and the starburst ring. [b]Credit: Radio: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), S. Takano et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and A. van der Hoeven[/b][/i]
Such complex carbon-based molecules are thought to be easily obliterated by the strong X-rays and ultraviolet (UV) photons that permeate the environment surrounding supermassive black holes. The new ALMA data indicate, however, that pockets of calm exist even in this tumultuous region, most likely due to dense areas of dust and gas that shield molecules from otherwise lethal radiation.
Molecules Reveal Clues to Galactic Environments
Interstellar gas contains a wide variety of molecules, which differ wildly depending on the environment. For example, high-temperature, active star forming regions produce different molecules than would be found in colder interstellar regions. This enables scientists to probe the temperature and density of certain regions by studying their chemical composition.
Astronomers have long been studying the molecular signatures around supermassive black holes: both nearby starburst regions and surrounding rings of dust and gas known as a circumnuclear disks (CND) that spiral-in to feed an active black hole. These regions are important for understanding the evolution of galaxies. However, weak radio emission from the molecules there often makes observations difficult. ...
ALMA Revealed Surprisingly Mild Environment around a Supermassive Black Hole
NAOJ | ALMA | 2015 Feb 26
ALMA Revealed Calm Pockets Protecting Organic Molecules
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) | 2015 Feb 26
Distributions of molecules in the circumnuclear disk and surrounding
starburst ring in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1068 observed with ALMA - Shuro Takano et al
- Publications of the ASJ 66(4) 7514 (Aug 2014) DOI: 10.1093/pasj/psu052
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1406.0782 > 01 Jun 2014
on High-Resolution Imaging Observations with ALMA - Taku Nakajima et al
- Publications of the ASJ 67(1) 815 (Feb 2015) DOI: 10.1093/pasj/psu136
arXiv.org > astro-ph > arXiv:1410.5912 > 22 Oct 2014