A new period of activity in the core of NGC 660

Argo, Megan K. orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-3594-0214, van Bemmel, Ilse M., Connolly, Sam D. and Beswick, Robert J. (2015) A new period of activity in the core of NGC 660. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 452 (1). pp. 1081-1088. ISSN 0035-8711

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv1348

Abstract

The core of the nearby galaxy NGC 660 has recently undergone a spectacular radio outburst; using a combination of archival radio and Chandra X-ray data, together with new observations, the nature of this event is investigated. Radio observations made using e-MERLIN in mid-2013 show a new compact and extremely bright continuum source at the centre of the galaxy. High angular resolution observations carried out with the European VLBI Network show an obvious jet-like feature to the north east and evidence of a weak extension to the west, possibly a counter-jet. We also examine high angular resolution Hi spectra of these new sources, and the radio spectral energy distribution using the new wide-band capabilities of e-MERLIN. We compare the properties of the new object with possible explanations, concluding that we are seeing a period of new AGN activity in the core of this polar ring galaxy.


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