[en] NGC 891 is a nearby edge-on galaxy that is similar to the Milky Way and has a hot X-ray-emitting halo that could arise from accretion, a galactic fountain, or a combination of the two. The metallicity of the gas can help distinguish between these models, and here we report on results that use 138 ks of archival Chandra data and 92 ks of new XMM-Newton data to measure the temperature and metallicity of the hot halo of the galaxy. We find good fits for a thermal model with kT ∼ 0.2 keV and Z ∼ 0.1 Z _☉, and rule out solar metallicity to more than 99% confidence. This result suggests accretion from the intergalactic medium as the origin for the hot halo. However, it is also possible to fit a two-temperature thermal model with solar metallicity where kT ₁ ∼ 0.1 keV and kT ₂ ∼ 0.25 keV. A consideration of the cooling rate and scale height prefers the single-temperature model. We also find that the cooling rate in the hot gas cannot explain the massive H I halo in the steady state. In addition, a galactic fountain model cannot eject enough mass to account for the H I halo, and we speculate that the neutral halo may be gas from a prior outflow that has since cooled.

[en] We present three-dimensional hydrodynamic models of radio galaxies interacting with initially relaxed hot atmospheres and explore the significant off-axis radio lobe structures that result under certain conditions. With a focus on the 'winged' and 'X-shaped' radio galaxy population, we confirm the importance of observed trends such as the connection of wing formation with jets co-aligned with the major axis of the surrounding atmosphere. These wings are formed substantially by the deflection of lobe plasma flowing back from the hot spots (backflow) and develop in two stages: supersonic expansion of an overpressured cocoon at early times followed by buoyant expansion at later times. We explore a limited parameter space of jet and atmosphere properties and find that the most prominent wings are produced when a decaying jet is injected into a small, dense, highly elliptical atmosphere. On the basis of this search, we argue that the deflection of backflow by gradients in the hot atmosphere is a strong candidate for forming observed wings but must work in tandem with some other mechanism for forming the initial wing channels. Our models indicate that lobe interaction with the hot atmosphere may play a dominant role in shaping the morphology of radio galaxies.

[en] The hot gaseous halos of galaxies likely contain a large amount of mass and are an integral part of galaxy formation and evolution. The Milky Way has a $2\times <!--\; ??\; -->{10}^6$ K halo that is detected in emission and by absorption in the O vii resonance line against bright background active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and for which the best current model is an extended spherical distribution. Using XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer data, we measure the Doppler shifts of the O vii absorption-line centroids toward an ensemble of AGNs. These Doppler shifts constrain the dynamics of the hot halo, ruling out a stationary halo at about $3\mathrm{\sigma <!--\; ??\; -->}$ and a co-rotating halo at $2\mathrm{\sigma <!--\; ??\; -->}$, and leading to a best-fit rotational velocity of $v_{\mathrm{\varphi <!--\; ??\; -->}}=183\pm <!--\; ??\; -->41$ km s⁻¹ for an extended halo model. These results suggest that the hot gas rotates and that it contains an amount of angular momentum comparable to that in the stellar disk. We examined the possibility of a model with a kinematically distinct disk and spherical halo. To be consistent with the emission-line X-ray data, the disk must contribute less than 10% of the column density, implying that the Doppler shifts probe motion in the extended hot halo.

[en] We report the discovery of a new candidate ultraluminous X-ray source in the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 891. The source, which has an absorbed flux of F_x ∼ 1 × 10^–12 erg s cm^–2 (corresponding to an L_x ∼> 10⁴⁰ erg s^–1 at 9 Mpc), must have begun its outburst in the past five years as it is not detected in prior X-ray observations between 1986 and 2006. We try empirical fits to the XMM-Newton spectrum, finding that the spectrum is fit very well as emission from a hot disk, a cool irradiated disk, or blurred reflection from the innermost region of the disk. The simplest physically motivated model with an excellent fit is a hot disk around a stellar-mass black hole (a super-Eddington outburst), but equally good fits are found for each model. We suggest several follow-up experiments that could falsify these models.

[en] Detections of $z\approx <!--\; ???\; -->$ 0 oxygen absorption and emission lines indicate the Milky Way hosts a hot ($\sim <!--\; ???\; -->{10}^6$ K), low-density plasma extending $\gtrsim <!--\; ???\; -->50\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}$ into the Mily Way’s halo. Current X-ray telescopes cannot resolve the line profiles, but the variation of their strengths on the sky constrains the radial gas distribution. Interpreting the O vii Kα absorption line strengths has several complications, including optical depth and line of sight velocity effects. Here, we present model absorption line profiles accounting for both of these effects to show the lines can exhibit asymmetric structures and be broader than the intrinsic Doppler width. The line profiles encode the hot gas rotation curve, the net inflow or outflow of hot gas, and the hot gas angular momentum profile. We show how line of sight velocity effects impact the conversion between equivalent width and the column density, and provide modified curves of growth accounting for these effects. As an example, we analyze the LMC sight line pulsar dispersion measure and O vii equivalent width to show the average gas metallicity is $\gtrsim <!--\; ???\; -->0.6Z_{\odot <!--\; ???\; -->}$ and b$\gtrsim <!--\; ???\; -->100$ km s⁻¹. Determining these properties offers valuable insights into the dynamical state of the Milky Way’s hot gas, and improves the line strength interpretation. We discuss future strategies to observe these effects with an instrument that has a spectral resolution of about 3000, a goal that is technically possible today.

[en] We present new and archival Chandra X-ray Observatory observations of X-shaped radio galaxies (XRGs) within z ∼ 0.1 alongside a comparison sample of normal double-lobed FR I and II radio galaxies. By fitting elliptical distributions to the observed diffuse hot X-ray emitting atmospheres (either the interstellar or intragroup medium), we find that the ellipticity and the position angle of the hot gas follow that of the stellar light distribution for radio galaxy hosts in general. Moreover, compared to the control sample, we find a strong tendency for X-shaped morphology to be associated with wings directed along the minor axis of the hot gas distribution. Taken at face value, this result favors the hydrodynamic backflow models for the formation of XRGs which naturally explain the geometry; the merger-induced rapid reorientation models make no obvious prediction about orientation.

[en] NGC 326 is one of the most prominent 'X'- or 'Z'-shaped radio galaxies (XRGs/ZRGs) and has been the subject of several studies attempting to explain its morphology through either fluid motions or reorientation of the jet axis. We examine a 100 ks Chandra X-Ray Observatory exposure and find several features associated with the radio galaxy: a high-temperature front that may indicate a shock, high-temperature knots around the rim of the radio emission, and a cavity associated with the eastern wing of the radio galaxy. A reasonable interpretation of these features in light of the radio data allows us to reconstruct the history of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) outbursts. The active outburst was likely once a powerful radio source which has since decayed, and circumstantial evidence favors reorientation as the means to produce the wings. Because of the obvious interaction between the radio galaxy and the intracluster medium and the wide separation between the active lobes and wings, we conclude that XRGs are excellent sources in which to study AGN feedback in galaxy groups by measuring the heating rates associated with both active and passive heating mechanisms.

[en] Although rapid reorientation of a black hole spin axis (lasting less than a few megayears) has been suggested as a mechanism for the formation of wings in X-shaped radio galaxies (XRGs), to date no convincing case of reorientation has been found in any XRG. Alternative wing formation models such as the hydrodynamic backflow models are supported by observed trends indicating that XRGs form preferentially with jets aligned along the major axis of the surrounding medium and wings along the minor axis. In this Letter, we present a deep Chandra observation of 4C +00.58, an odd XRG with its jet oriented along the minor axis. By using the X-ray data in tandem with available radio and optical data, we estimate relevant timescales with which to evaluate wing formation models. The hydrodynamic models have difficulty explaining the long wings, whereas the presence of X-ray cavities (suggesting jet activity along a prior axis) and a potential stellar shell (indicating a recent merger) favor a merger-induced reorientation model.

[en] Galactic winds are associated with intense star formation and active galactic nuclei. Depending on their formation mechanism and velocity, they may remove a significant fraction of gas from their host galaxies, thus suppressing star formation, enriching the intergalactic medium, and shaping the circumgalactic gas. However, the long-term evolution of these winds remains mostly unknown. We report the detection of a wind from NGC 3079 to at least 60 kpc from the galaxy. We detect the wind in far-ultraviolet (FUV) line emission to 60 kpc (as inferred from the broad FUV filter in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer) and X-rays to at least 30 kpc. The morphology, luminosities, temperatures, and densities indicate that the emission comes from shocked material, and the O/Fe ratio implies that the X-ray-emitting gas is enriched by Type II supernovae. If so, the speed inferred from simple shock models is about 500 km s⁻¹, which is sufficient to escape the galaxy. However, the inferred kinetic energy in the wind from visible components is substantially smaller than canonical hot superwind models.

[en] About half of nearby galaxies have a central surface brightness ≥1 mag below that of the sky. The overall properties of these low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs) remain understudied, and in particular we know very little about their massive black hole population. This gap must be closed to determine the frequency of massive black holes at z = 0 as well as to understand their role in regulating galaxy evolution. Here we investigate the incidence and intensity of nuclear, accretion-powered X-ray emission in a sample of 32 nearby LSBGs with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. A nuclear X-ray source is detected in four galaxies (12.5%). Based on an X-ray binary contamination assessment technique developed for normal galaxies, we conclude that the detected X-ray nuclei indicate low-level accretion from massive black holes. The active fraction is consistent with that expected from the stellar mass distribution of the LSBGs, but not their total baryonic mass, when using a scaling relation from an unbiased X-ray survey of normal galaxies. This suggests that their black holes co-evolved with their stellar population. In addition, the apparent agreement nearly doubles the number of galaxies available within ∼100 Mpc for which a measurement of nuclear activity can efficiently constrain the frequency of black holes as a function of stellar mass. We conclude by discussing the feasibility of measuring this occupation fraction to a few percent precision below ≲10¹⁰ M _⊙ with high-resolution, wide-field X-ray missions currently under consideration.