[en] We present new BeppoSAX LECS, MECS, and PDS observations of five lobe-dominated, broad-line active galactic nuclei selected from the 2 Jy sample of southern radio sources. These include three radio quasars and two broad-line radio galaxies. ROSAT PSPC data, available for all the objects, are also used to better constrain the spectral shape in the soft X-ray band. The collected data cover the 0.1 - 10 keV energy range, reaching 40 keV for one source. Detailed spectral fitting shows that all sources have a flat hard X-ray spectrum with energy index α_x ∼ 0.75 in the 2 - 10 keV energy range. This is a new result, which is at variance with the situation at lower energies where these sources exhibit steeper spectra. Spectral breaks ∼ 0.5 at 1 - 2 keV characterize the overall X-ray spectra of our objects. The flat, high-energy slope is very similar to that displayed by flat-spectrum/core-dominated quasars, which suggests that the same emission mechanism (most likely inverse Compton) produces the hard X-ray spectra in both classes. Contrary to the optical evidence for some of our sources, no absorption above the Galactic value is found in our sample. Finally, a (weak) thermal component is also present at low energies in the two broad-line radio galaxies included in our study

[en] The energy released by Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in the form of radiation, winds, or radio plasma jets, is known to impact on the surrounding interstellar medium. The result of these processes, known as AGN (negative) feedback, is suggested to prevent gas, in and around galaxies, from cooling, and to remove, or at least redistribute, gas by driving massive and fast outflows, hence playing a key role in galaxy evolution. Given its importance, a large effort is devoted by the astronomical community to trace the effects of AGN on the surrounding gaseous medium and to quantify their impact for different types of AGN. This review briefly summarizes some of the recent observational results obtained in different wavebands, tracing different phases of the gas. I also summarize the new insights they have brought, and the constraints they provide to numerical simulations of galaxy formation and evolution. The recent addition of deep observations of cold gas and, in particular, of cold molecular gas, has brought some interesting surprises and has expanded our understanding of AGN and AGN feedback.

[en] ESO 381 - 47 is an early-type galaxy with an extended H I disk. Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) and very deep optical images reveal a distinct stellar ring far outside the optical body with a diameter of ∼30 kpc, which has undergone recent star formation at 1.8 x 10^-4 M _sun yr^-1 kpc^-2, consistent with other new results which detect low-level star formation below the traditional Kennicutt relation in the outer parts of spiral galaxies. The morphology of this galaxy resembles the recently identified class of ultraviolet objects called extended ultraviolet disks, or XUV-disks. New H I observations of this galaxy taken at the ATCA and in the CnB array at the VLA show that the cold gas lies in an extended (diameter ∼90 kpc) ring around the central S0 galaxy. The H I data cube can be well modeled by a warped ring. The faint ionized gas in the inner parts of the galaxy is kinematically decoupled from the stars and instead appears to exhibit velocities consistent with the rotation of the H I ring at larger radius. The peak of the stellar ring, as seen in the optical and UV, is slightly displaced to the inside relative to the peak of the H I ring. We discuss the manner in which this offset could be caused by the propagation of a radial density wave through an existing stellar disk, perhaps triggered by a galaxy collision at the center of the disk, or possibly due to a spiral density wave set up at early times in a disk too hot to form a stellar bar. Gas accretion and resonance effects due to a bar which has since dissolved are also considered to explain the presence of the star-forming ring seen in the GALEX and deep optical data.

[en] Compact radio galaxies with a GHz-peaked spectrum (GPS) and/or compact-symmetric-object (CSO) morphology (GPS/CSOs) are increasingly detected in the X-ray domain. Their radio and X-ray emissions are affected by significant absorption. However, the locations of the X-ray and radio absorbers are still debated. We investigated the relationship between the column densities of the total ($N_{\mathrm{H}}$) and neutral ($N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}$) hydrogen to statistically constrain the picture. We compiled a sample of GPS/CSOs including both literature data and new radio data that we acquired with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope for sources whose X-ray emission was either established or under investigation. In this sample, we compared the X-ray and radio hydrogen column densities, and found that $N_{\mathrm{H}}$ and $N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}$ display a significant positive correlation with $N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}$ ∝ $N_{\mathrm{H}}$ ^b, where b = 0.47 and b = 0.35, depending on the subsample. The $N_{\mathrm{H}}$–$N_{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{I}}$ correlation suggests that the X-ray and radio absorbers are either co-spatial or different components of a continuous structure. The correlation displays a large intrinsic spread that we suggest to originate from fluctuations, around a mean value, of the ratio between the spin temperature and the covering factor of the radio absorber, $T_{\mathrm{s}}/C_{\mathrm{f}}$.

[en] Extended H I structures around galaxies are of prime importance for probing galaxy formation scenarios. The giant H I ring in the Leo group is one of the largest and most intriguing H I structures in the nearby universe. Whether it consists of primordial gas, as suggested by the apparent absence of any optical counterpart and the absence of an obvious physical connection to nearby galaxies, or of gas expelled from a galaxy in a collision is actively debated. We present deep wide field-of-view optical images of the ring region obtained with MegaCam on the CFHT. They reveal optical counterparts to several H I and UV condensations along the ring, in the g', r', and i' bands, which likely correspond to stellar associations formed within the gaseous ring. Analyzing the spectral energy distribution of one of these star-forming regions, we found it to be typical for a star-forming region in pre-enriched tidal debris. We then use simulations to test the hypothesis that the Leo ring results from a head-on collision between Leo group members NGC 3384 and M96. According to our model which is able to explain, at least qualitatively, the main observational properties of the system, the Leo ring is consistent with being a collisional ring. It is thus likely another example of extended intergalactic gas made-up of pre-enriched collisional debris.

[en] We present new high spatial resolution Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) H I absorption and Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) continuum observations of the active-galactic-nucleus-(AGN-)driven molecular outflow candidate NGC 1266. Although other well-known systems with molecular outflows may be driven by star formation (SF) in a central molecular disk, the molecular mass outflow rate of 13 M _☉ yr^–1 in NGC 1266 reported by Alatalo et al. exceeds SF rate estimates from a variety of tracers. This suggests that an additional energy source, such as an AGN, may play a significant role in powering the outflow. Our high spatial resolution H I absorption data reveal compact absorption against the radio continuum core co-located with the putative AGN, and the presence of a blueshifted spectral component re-affirms that gas is indeed flowing out of the system. Our VLBA observations at 1.65 GHz reveal one continuum source within the densest portion of the molecular gas, with a diameter d < 8 mas (1.2 pc), a radio power P _rad = 1.48 × 10²⁰ W Hz^–1, and a brightness temperature T _b > 1.5 × 10⁷ K that is most consistent with an AGN origin. The radio continuum energetics implied by the compact VLBA source, as well as archival VLA continuum observations at lower spatial resolution, further support the possibility that the AGN in NGC 1266 could be driving the molecular outflow. These findings suggest that even low-level AGNs may be able to launch massive outflows in their host galaxies.

[en] We report on empirical trends between the dynamically determined stellar initial mass function (IMF) and stellar population properties for a complete, volume-limited sample of 260 early-type galaxies from the ATLAS^3D project. We study trends between our dynamically derived IMF normalization α_dyn ≡ (M/L)_stars/(M/L)_Salp and absorption line strengths, and interpret these via single stellar population-equivalent ages, abundance ratios (measured as [α/Fe]), and total metallicity, [Z/H]. We find that old and alpha-enhanced galaxies tend to have on average heavier (Salpeter-like) mass normalization of the IMF, but stellar population does not appear to be a good predictor of the IMF, with a large range of α_dyn at a given population parameter. As a result, we find weak α_dyn-[α/Fe] and α_dyn –Age correlations and no significant α_dyn –[Z/H] correlation. The observed trends appear significantly weaker than those reported in studies that measure the IMF normalization via the low-mass star demographics inferred through stellar spectral analysis