A parsec-scale radio jet launched by the central intermediate-mass black hole in the dwarf galaxy SDSS J090613.77+561015.2. (7th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Jun; Gurvits, Leonid I; Paragi, Zsolt; Frey, Sándor; Conway, John E; Liu, Xiang; Cui, Lang
• Is Part Of: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 495:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: L71
• Page End: L75
• Publication Date: 2020-04-07
• Subjects: galaxies: active -- galaxies: dwarf -- galaxies: individual: SDSS J090613.77+561015.2 -- galaxies: jets -- radio continuum: galaxies; Astronomy -- Research -- Periodicals; Periodicals; 520.5
• DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slaa052
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1745-3933

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The population of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in nearby dwarf galaxies plays an important 'ground truth' role in exploring black hole formation and growth in the early Universe. In the dwarf elliptical galaxy SDSS J090613.77+561015.2 ( z = 0.0465), an accreting IMBH has been revealed by optical and X-ray observations. Aiming to search for possible radio core and jet associated with the IMBH, we carried out very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations with the European VLBI Network at 1.66 GHz. Our imaging results show that there are two 1-mJy components with a separation of about 52 mas (projected distance 47 pc) and the more compact component is located within the 1σ error circle of the optical centroid from available Gaia astrometry. Based on their positions, elongated structures and relatively high brightness temperatures, as well as the absence of star-forming activity in the host galaxy, we argue that the radio morphology originates from the jet activity powered by the central IMBH. The existence of the large-scale jet implies that violent jet activity might occur in the early epochs of black hole growth and thus help to regulate the co-evolution of black holes and galaxies.