Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus

We analyzed the archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data of the nuclear region of M87 and evaluated the molecular gas content from the CO(2–1) absorption line. We found an enigmatic variability in the absorption line depth between two epochs separated by only two months. We reexami...

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Main Authors: Norita Kawanaka, Hiroshi Nagai, Yutaka Fujita
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf726
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author Norita Kawanaka
Hiroshi Nagai
Yutaka Fujita
author_facet Norita Kawanaka
Hiroshi Nagai
Yutaka Fujita
author_sort Norita Kawanaka
collection DOAJ
description We analyzed the archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data of the nuclear region of M87 and evaluated the molecular gas content from the CO(2–1) absorption line. We found an enigmatic variability in the absorption line depth between two epochs separated by only two months. We reexamined the data set used in the analysis and found that the bandpass calibration source within the same data set also revealed a similar absorption line structure. Furthermore, we observed a rise in the system noise temperature spectrum. We concluded that the absorption line structure identified in a previous study, and attributed to CO(2–1), does not originate from M87 but instead results from telluric contamination, and that we still have only the upper limit on the molecular gas around the nucleus of M87.
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spelling doaj-art-0cc3a5f7c5c448e0a4228f4ccfbda2e62025-08-26T06:17:46ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0199016610.3847/1538-4357/adf726Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 NucleusNorita Kawanaka0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8181-7511Hiroshi Nagai1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0292-3645Yutaka Fujita2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0058-9719National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan; Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University , 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0397, JapanNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan; The Graduate University for Advanced Studies , SOKENDAI, Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JapanDepartment of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University , 1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0397, JapanWe analyzed the archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data of the nuclear region of M87 and evaluated the molecular gas content from the CO(2–1) absorption line. We found an enigmatic variability in the absorption line depth between two epochs separated by only two months. We reexamined the data set used in the analysis and found that the bandpass calibration source within the same data set also revealed a similar absorption line structure. Furthermore, we observed a rise in the system noise temperature spectrum. We concluded that the absorption line structure identified in a previous study, and attributed to CO(2–1), does not originate from M87 but instead results from telluric contamination, and that we still have only the upper limit on the molecular gas around the nucleus of M87.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf726Elliptical galaxiesActive galactic nucleiBrightest cluster galaxiesInterstellar medium
spellingShingle Norita Kawanaka
Hiroshi Nagai
Yutaka Fujita
Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus
The Astrophysical Journal
Elliptical galaxies
Active galactic nuclei
Brightest cluster galaxies
Interstellar medium
title Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus
title_full Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus
title_fullStr Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus
title_full_unstemmed Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus
title_short Reexamination of the CO Absorption Line in the M87 Nucleus
title_sort reexamination of the co absorption line in the m87 nucleus
topic Elliptical galaxies
Active galactic nuclei
Brightest cluster galaxies
Interstellar medium
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adf726
work_keys_str_mv AT noritakawanaka reexaminationofthecoabsorptionlineinthem87nucleus
AT hiroshinagai reexaminationofthecoabsorptionlineinthem87nucleus
AT yutakafujita reexaminationofthecoabsorptionlineinthem87nucleus