The Complex North Transition Region of Centaurus A: A Galactic Wind

Abstract

We present deep GALEX images of NGC 5128, the parent galaxy of Centaurus A. We detect a striking "weather ribbon" of Far-UV and H$\alpha$ emission, which extends more than 35 kpc northeast of the galaxy. The ribbon is associated with a knotty ridge of radio/X-ray emission, and is an extension of the previously known string of optical emission-line filaments. Many phenomena in the region are too short-lived to have survived transit out from the inner galaxy; something must be driving them locally. We also detect Far-UV emission from the galaxy's central dust lane. Combining this with previous radio and Far-IR measurements, we infer an active starburst in the central galaxy, which is currently forming stars at $\sim 2M_{sun}$yr${}^{-1}$, and has been doing so for 50-100Myr. If the wind from this starburst is enhanced by energy and mass driven out from the AGN, the powerful augmented wind can be the driver needed for the northern weather system. We argue that both the diverse weather system, and the enhanced radio emission in the same region, result from the wind's encounter with cool gas left by one of the recent merger/encounter events in the history of NGC 5128.

21 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. A version with higher quality figures may be found at http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~fowen/papers/CenA/

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Variability and Proper Motion of X-ray Knots in the Jet of Centaurus A
• A Recent Major Merger Tale for the Closest Giant Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus A
• Non-thermal radiation from collisions of compact objects with intermediate scale jets in active galaxies
• The jet/wind outflow in Centaurus A: a local laboratory for AGN feedback
• Scientific Objectives of the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) Mission
• The Complex North Transition Region of Centaurus A: Radio Structure
• Particle acceleration in radio galaxies with flickering jets: GeV electrons to ultrahigh energy cosmic rays
• Remnants of recent mergers in nearby early-type galaxies and their classification
• UVIT view of Centaurus A; a detailed study on positive AGN feedback