A research team led by Dr. Yoshiki Toba of Academia Sinica, Associate Professor Shinya Wheat of Kogakuin University, and Professor Toru Nagao of Ehime University succeeded in detecting carbon monoxide gas from the galaxy observed by the ALMA telescope. ..Unlike the conventional theory, it became clear that this carbon monoxide gas was hardly affected by the intense ionized gas flow from the galactic center with supermassive black holes.
The supermassive black hole, which is said to be in the center of almost all galaxies, has a mass hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of times that of the Sun.It is said that galaxies and black holes interact with each other and grow while increasing their mass, which is called coevolution.
What is noteworthy about co-evolution is the phenomenon of gas flow, in which the surrounding gas is ionized and blown away by strong radiation from the center of the galaxy.It is said to be related to the promotion of star-forming activity by compressing the molecular gas that is the material of stars, and the suppression of star-forming activity by the diffusion of molecular gas.
The research team used the ALMA telescope (Note) to observe a galaxy covered with dust (WISE1029 + 0501).Ionized gas originating from a supermassive black hole that flows out at an ultra-high speed (1500 m / s) has been confirmed in this galaxy.As a result of investigating carbon monoxide to know the properties of molecular gas and low-temperature dust to search for star-forming activity, we succeeded in detecting the radio waves emitted by each.The analysis did not confirm the vigorous movement of the molecular gas or the promotion or suppression of star-forming activity, suggesting that the ionized gas flow had almost no effect on the surroundings.This can be explained by considering that the outflow direction of ionized gas is almost perpendicular to the galactic disk where molecular gas is said to exist.
It can be said that the mystery of co-evolution has been further deepened by the discovery that is different from the conventional reports that recognize the great influence of gas flow.It is expected that the elucidation will proceed by the exploration and observation of similar galaxies.
(Note) A high-sensitivity radio interferometer constructed in the Atacama Desert in Chile, South America.
Paper information:[The Astrophysical Journal] No sign of strong molecular gas outflow in an infrared-bright dust-obscured galaxy with strong ionized-gas outflow
