Direct Evidence from Spitzer for a low-luminosity AGN at the center of the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 315

Abstract

We present the {\it Spitzer} Space Telescope InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) observations of the elliptical galaxy NGC 315. After removal of the host galaxy's stellar emission, we detected for the first time an infrared-red nucleus in NGC 315. We measured the spectral energy distribution (SED) for this active nucleus with wavelength range covering from radio to X-ray, and obtained the bolometric luminosity of ${\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{bol}}\approx 1.9\times 10^{43}\mathrm{ergs}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$, corresponding to an extremely low Eddington ratio (L/L${}_{\mathrm{Edd}}$) of 4.97 $\times$ 10${}^{-4}$. Our results confirm that the physical nature of the nucleus of NGC 315 is a low-luminosity AGN, consistent with the recent optical and {\it Chandra} X-ray observations.

4 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

References in corpus (2)

• Neutral hydrogen in nearby elliptical and lenticular galaxies: the continuing formation of early-type galaxies
• The inner jet of radio galaxy NGC 315 as observed with Chandra and the VLA

Cited by in corpus (10)

• Revisiting the "Fundamental Plane" of Black Hole Activity at Extremely Low Luminosities
• Jet collimation in NGC 315 and other nearby AGN
• Black Hole Mass Measurements of Radio Galaxies NGC 315 and NGC 4261 Using ALMA CO Observations
• Exploring the disk-jet connection in NGC 315
• Gamma-ray observations of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei
• The Complete Local Volume Groups Sample -- IV. Star formation and gas content in group-dominant galaxies
• Discovery of Limb Brightening in the Parsec-scale Jet of NGC 315 through Global Very Long Baseline Interferometry Observations and Its Implications for Jet Models
• Broadband Modeling of Low Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei Detected in Gamma Rays
• Searching for Nuclear Obscuration in the Infrared Spectra of Nearby FR I Radio Galaxies
• Hard X-ray view of two $\gamma$-ray detected low-luminosity active galactic nuclei: NGC 315 and NGC 4261