Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A pair of UV nuclei or a compact star-forming region near the active nucleus in Mrk 766?

  • Science Results
  • Published:
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We report the discovery of a bright, compact ultraviolet source at a projected separation of 1.1 kpc from the known active galactic nucleus (AGN) in Mrk 766 based on AstroSat/UVIT observations. We perform radial profile analysis and derive the UV flux almost free from the nearby contaminating sources. The new source is about 2.5 and 5.6 times fainter than the AGN in the far and near UV bands. The two sources appear as a pair of nuclei in Mrk 766. We investigate the nature of the new source based on the UV flux ratio, X-ray and optical emission. The new source is highly unlikely to be another accreting supermassive black hole in Mrk 766 as it lacks X-ray emission. We find that the UV/optical flux of the new source measured at four different bands closely follow the shape of the template spectrum of starburst galaxies. This strongly suggests that the new source is a compact star-forming region.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. https://astrobrowse.issdc.gov.in/astro_archive/archive/Home.jsp.

  2. https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/W3Browse/w3browse.pl.

References

  • Ballo L., Braito V., Della Ceca R. et al. 2004, ApJ, 600, 634

  • Cardelli J. A., Clayton G. C., Mathis J. S. 1989, ApJ, 345, 245

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Czerny B., Li J., Loska Z., Szczerba R. 2004, MNRAS, 348, L54

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzalez Delgado R. M., Perez E. 1996, MNRAS, 278, 737

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Junkkarinen V., Shields G. A., Beaver E. A. et al. 2001, ApJ, 549, L155

  • Kinney A. L., Calzetti D., Bohlin R. C. et al. 1996, ApJ, 467, 38

  • Komossa S. 2012, Adv. Astron. 2012, https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/364973

  • Komossa S., Burwitz V., Hasinger G. et al. 2002, Astrophys. J., 582, L15

  • Komossa S., Zensus J. A. 2014, Proc. Int. Astron. Union, 10, 13–25

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lang D., Hogg D. W., Mierle K., Blanton M., Roweis S. 2010, AJ, 139, 1782

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Lusso E., Comastri A., Vignali C. et al. 2010, A&A, 512, A34

  • Matsui H., Saitoh T. R., Makino J. et al. 2012, ApJ, 746, 26

  • Merritt D., Milosavljevic M. 2005, Living Rev. Relat. https://doi.org/10.12942/lrr-2005-8

  • Postma J. E., Leahy D. 2017, PASP, 129, 115002

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider P. 2006, Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology, An Introduction (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54083-7

  • Sobolewska M. A., Gierliński M., Siemiginowska A. 2009, MNRAS, 394, 1640

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Tandon S. N., Subramaniam A., Girish V. et al. 2017, Astron. J., 154, 128

  • Tandon S. N., Postma J., Joseph P. et al. 2020, AJ, 159, 158

  • Vanden Berk D. E., Richards G. T., Bauer A. et al. 2001, AJ, 122, 549

Download references

Acknowledgements

This publication uses the UVIT data from the AstroSat mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), archived at the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC). This publication uses UVIT data processed by the payload operations centre at IIA. The UVIT is built in collaboration between IIA, IUCAA, TIFR, ISRO and CSA. This research has made use of UVIT pipeline (CCDLAB) developed at University of Calgary for UVIT development and science support. The scientific results reported in this article are based in part on observations made by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, data obtained from the Chandra Data Archive. This research is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. This research has made use of the python and julia packages. This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), SPPU Campus, Pune, 411 007, India

    P. P. Deka & G. C. Dewangan

  2. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, Knowledge City, Sector 81, Manauli P.O., SAS Nagar, Mohali, 140 306, India

    K. P. Singh

  3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

    J. Postma

Authors
  1. P. P. Deka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. G. C. Dewangan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. K. P. Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Postma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. C. Dewangan.

Additional information

This article is part of the Special Issue on “AstroSat: Five Years in Orbit”.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Deka, P.P., Dewangan, G.C., Singh, K.P. et al. A pair of UV nuclei or a compact star-forming region near the active nucleus in Mrk 766?. J Astrophys Astron 42, 46 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-021-09695-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12036-021-09695-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation