Markarian 231 Explained

Markarian 231
Constellation Name:Ursa Major
Epoch:J2000
Type:Sc/quasar
Dist Ly:581 Mly, 178 Mpc
Z:0.04147
Appmag V:13.84[1]
H Radial V:12173 km/s[2]
Names:UGC 8058, Mrk 231, Mkn 231, Markarian 231, MCG+10-19-004, ZW VII 490, PGC 44117

Markarian 231 (UGC 8058) is a Type-1 Seyfert galaxy that was discovered in 1969 as part of a search of galaxies with strong ultraviolet radiation. It contains the nearest known quasar.[3] Markarian 231 is located about 581 million light years away from Earth, in the constellation of Ursa Major.

Characteristics

Markarian 231 is undergoing an energetic starburst. A nuclear ring at the center has an active rate of star formation of greater than 100 solar masses per year. It is one of the most ultraluminous infrared galaxies, with power derived from an accreting black hole in the center forming the closest known quasar. X-ray data shows the energy released from the black hole produces ultra-fast outflows with a velocity of -20,000 km s-1.[4]

The galaxy contains a curved radio jet interacting with the interstellar medium. Its position angle switches to -172○ when reaching a projected distance of 25 pc.[5] The Very Long Baseline Array found a triple radio source in Markarian 231.[6]

A 2015 study suggested the central black hole of 150 million solar masses has a black hole companion of 4 million solar masses, and that they orbit each other every 1.2 years.[7] That model has been shown to be unfeasible.[8]

Submillimetre astronomy has found evidence of molecular oxygen (O2), the first time molecular oxygen has been detected outside of the Milky Way galaxy.[9] The Herschel Space Observatory showed water vapor in the galaxy's emission.[10]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Véron-Cetty, M.-P.. Véron, P.. A catalogue of quasars and active nuclei. 13th. Astronomy and Astrophysics. 518. A10. 2010. 10.1051/0004-6361/201014188. 2010A&A...518A..10V. free.
  2. Markarian 231. 2021-11-30.
  3. Veilleux . S. . Meléndez . M. . Tripp . T. M. . Hamann . F. . Rupke . D. S. N. . 2016-06-27 . THE COMPLETE ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRUM OF THE ARCHETYPAL "WIND-DOMINATED" QUASAR MRK 231: ABSORPTION AND EMISSION FROM A HIGH-SPEED DUSTY NUCLEAR OUTFLOW . The Astrophysical Journal . 825 . 1 . 42 . 10.3847/0004-637x/825/1/42 . free . 1605.00665 . 2016ApJ...825...42V . 0004-637X.
  4. Feruglio . C. . Fiore . F. . Carniani . S. . Piconcelli . E. . Zappacosta . L. . Bongiorno . A. . Cicone . C. . Maiolino . R. . Marconi . A. . Menci . N. . Puccetti . S. . Veilleux . S. . 2015-11-01 . The multi-phase winds of Markarian 231: from the hot, nuclear, ultra-fast wind to the galaxy-scale, molecular outflow . Astronomy & Astrophysics . en . 583 . A99 . 10.1051/0004-6361/201526020 . 1503.01481 . 2015A&A...583A..99F . 0004-6361.
  5. Wang . Ailing . An . Tao . Jaiswal . Sumit . Mohan . Prashanth . Wang . Yuchan . Baan . Willem A. . Zhang . Yingkang . Yang . Xiaolong . 2021-07-01 . The obstructed jet in Mrk 231 . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 504 . 3 . 3823–3830 . 10.1093/mnras/stab587 . free . 2102.12644 . 2021MNRAS.504.3823W . 0035-8711.
  6. Silpa . S . Kharb . P . O’Dea . C P . Baum . S A . Sebastian . B . Mukherjee . D . Harrison . C M . 2021-07-23 . AGN jets and winds in polarized light: the case of Mrk 231 . Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . 507 . 2 . 2550–2561 . 10.1093/mnras/stab2110 . free . 0035-8711. 2107.09466 .
  7. Web site: HubbleSite - NewsCenter - Hubble Finds That the Nearest Quasar Is Powered by a Double Black Hole (08/27/2015) - The Full Story. hubblesite.org. 2015-08-27.
  8. 10.3847/0004-637X/829/1/4. The Binary Black Hole Model for Mrk 231 Bites the Dust. The Astrophysical Journal. 829. 4. 2016. Leighly. Karen M.. Terndrup. Donald M.. Gallagher. Sarah C.. Lucy. Adrian B.. 1. 1604.03456. 2016ApJ...829....4L. 118365669. free.
  9. Wang . Junzhi . Li . Di . Goldsmith . Paul F. . Zhang . Zhi-Yu . Gao . Yu . Shi . Yong . Li . Shanghuo . Fang . Min . Li . Juan . Zhang . Jiangshui . Molecular Oxygen in the Nearest QSO Mrk 231 . The Astrophysical Journal . 30 January 2020 . 889 . 2 . 129 . 10.3847/1538-4357/ab612d. 2001.11675 . 2020ApJ...889..129W . 211003952 . free .
  10. González-Alfonso . E. . Fischer . J. . Isaak . K. . Rykala . A. . Savini . G. . Spaans . M. . Werf . P. van der . Meijerink . R. . Israel . F. P. . Loenen . A. F. . Vlahakis . C. . Smith . H. A. . Charmandaris . V. . Aalto . S. . Henkel . C. . 2010-07-01 . Herschel observations of water vapour in Markarian 231 . Astronomy & Astrophysics . en . 518 . L43 . 10.1051/0004-6361/201014664 . 1005.3642 . 2010A&A...518L..43G . 0004-6361.

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