ALMA Detection of 321 GHz water maser emission in the radio galaxy NGC 1052

Abstract

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) serendipitously detected H${}_2$O $J_{Ka,Kc}=10_{2,9}-9_{3,6}$ emission at 321 GHz in NGC 1052. This is the first submillimeter maser detection in a radio galaxy and the most luminous 321-GHz H${}_2$O maser known to date with the isotropic luminosity of 1090 $L_{\odot }$. The line profile consists of a broad velocity component with FWHM $=208\pm 12$ km s${}^{-1}$ straddling the systemic velocity and a narrow component with FWHM $=44\pm 3$ km s${}^{-1}$ blueshifted by 160 km s${}^{-1}$. The profile is significantly different from the known 22-GHz $6_{1,6}-5_{2,3}$ maser which shows a broad profile redshifted by 193 km s${}^{-1}$. The submillimeter maser is spatially unresolved with a synthesized beam of $0^{\prime \prime }.68\times 0^{\prime \prime }.56$ and coincides with the continuum core position within 12 pc. These results indicate amplification of the continuum emission through high-temperature ($>1000$ K) and dense ($n({\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O})>10^4$ cm${}^{-3}$) molecular gas in front of the core

3 figures, Accepted for publication in Publications of Astronomical Society of Japan

References in corpus (9)

• Toward a New Distance to the Active Galaxy NGC 4258: II. Centripetal Accelerations and Investigation of Spiral Structure
• Asymmetric jet production in the Active Galactic Nucleus of NGC1052
• Positional Coincidence of H2O Maser and a Plasma Obscuring Torus in Radio Galaxy NGC 1052
• A Massive Molecular Torus inside a Gas-Poor Cirnumnuclear Disk in the Radio Galaxy NGC 1052 Discovered with ALMA
• H${}_2$O MegaMaser emission in NGC 4258 indicative of a periodic disc instability
• Spatially Resolved HCN Absorption Features in the Circumnuclear Region of NGC 1052
• Probing Jet-Torus Interaction in the Radio Galaxy NGC 1052 by Sulfur-Bearing Molecules
• A broad HCO+ absorption line associated with the circumnuclear torus of NGC 1052
• Second Epoch ALMA Observations of 321 GHz Water Maser Emission in NGC 4945 and the Circinus Galaxy

Cited by in corpus (1)

• 183 GHz water megamasers in active galactic nuclei: a new accretion disk tracer