151. Discovery of carbon radio recombination lines in absorption towards Cygnus A
- Author
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J. van Enst, D. Engels, J. B. R. Oonk, S. ter Veen, Tim Hassall, Leah K. Morabito, M. A. Garrett, Alexander G. G. M. Tielens, Ashish Asgekar, J. M. Anderson, Rainer Beck, D. D. Mulcahy, Neal Jackson, Frank Breitling, Vishambhar Pandey, Harvey Butcher, Rob Fender, James Miller-Jones, M. Pandey-Pommier, Sarod Yatawatta, Giulia Macario, Michel Tagger, J. Kohler, Anton Zensus, John Conway, H. J. A. Röttgering, Heino Falcke, H. Munk, Marcus Brüggen, A. Horneffer, Richard Fallows, Jochen Eislöffel, E. Juette, Olaf Wucknitz, P. Maat, M. J. Norden, A. Alexov, C. Vogt, Aris Karastergiou, Maaijke Mevius, G. Kuper, S. Duscha, V. I. Kondratiev, Michael W. Wise, Gianni Bernardi, Philip Best, Benjamin Stappers, Dominik J. Schwarz, Wilfred Frieswijk, Y. Tang, A. Shulevski, Anna M. M. Scaife, Chiara Ferrari, Glenn J. White, B. Ciardi, Marco Iacobelli, M. de Vos, Jean-Mathias Grießmeier, A. G. Polatidis, Arthur Corstanje, Matthias Hoeft, J. Sluman, John McKean, C. Tasse, John D. Swinbank, Francisco Salgado, J. W. Broderick, Roberto Pizzo, E. de Geus, Satyendra Thoudam, Ralph A. M. J. Wijers, Christian Vocks, Sera Markoff, C. Toribio, J. D. Mol, M. Kuniyoshi, Annalisa Bonafede, Jason W. T. Hessels, Michiel A. Brentjens, Mark J. Bentum, George Heald, Michael Kramer, J. van Leeuwen, Philippe Zarka, R. van Nieuwpoort, J. P. Hamaker, Charlotte Sobey, Emanuela Orrú, H. Paas, F. Batejat, W. Reich, Oleg Smirnov, F. de Gasperin, I. van Bemmel, Martin Bell, Gottfried Mann, Matthias Steinmetz, I. M. Avruch, R. J. van Weeren, Rene C. Vermeulen, Wouter Klijn, A. J. van der Horst, A. P. Schoenmakers, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), Harvard University-Smithsonian Institution, Leiden Observatory [Leiden], Universiteit Leiden, Department of Physics and Astronomy [Milton Keynes], The Open University [Milton Keynes] (OU), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (SRON), Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIFR), Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA), The University of Sydney, Department of Physics-Electronics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, University of Edinburgh, Universität Hamburg (UHH), Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP), School of Physics and Astronomy [Southampton], University of Southampton, Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), Chalmers University of Technology [Göteborg], Radboud University [Nijmegen], Medstar Research Institute, Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg (TLS), Hamburger Sternwarte/Hamburg Observatory, Joseph Louis LAGRANGE (LAGRANGE), Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers en région Centre (OSUC), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université d'Orléans (UO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National d’Études Spatiales [Paris] (CNES), Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester [Manchester], University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] (UvA), Ruhr-Universität Bochum [Bochum], Oxford Astrophysics, University of Oxford, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek (AI PANNEKOEK), Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon (CRAL), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Universität Bielefeld, Kapteyn Astronomical Institute [Groningen], University of Groningen [Groningen], Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique (LESIA), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire de Paris, Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Argelander-Institut für Astronomie (AlfA), Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Observatoire de Paris - Site de Paris (OP), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Oonk, J.B.R., van Weeren, R.J., salgado, F., Morabito, L.K., Tielens, A.G.G.M., Rottgering, H.J.A., Asgekar, A., White, G.J., Alexov, A., Anderson, J., Avruch, I.M., Batejat, F., Beck, R., Be, M.E., van Bemmel, I., Bentum, M.J., Bernardi, G., Best, P., Bonafede, A., Breitling, F., Brentjens, M., Broderick, J., Brüggen, M., Butcher, H.R., Ciardi, B., Conway, J.E., Corstanje, A., de Gasperin, F., de Geus, E., de Vos, M., Duscha, S., Eislöffel, J., Engels, D., van Enst, J., Falcke, H., Fallows, R.A., Fender, R., Ferrari, C., Frieswijk, W., Garrett, M.A., Griemeier, J., Hamaker, J.P., Hassa, T.E., Heald, G., Hessels, J.W.T., Hoeft, M., Horneffer, A., van der Horst, A., Iacobelli, M., Jackson, N.J., Juette, E., Karastergiou, A., Klijn, W., Kohler, J., Kondratiev, V.I., Kramer, M., Kuniyoshi, M., Kuper, G., van Leeuwen, J., Maat, P., Macario, G., Mann, G., Markoff, S., McKean, J.P., Mevius, M., Miller-Jones, J.C.A., Mol, J.D., Mulcahy, D.D., Munk, H., Norden, M.J., Orru, E., Paas, H., Pandey-Pommier, M., Pandey, V.N., Pizzo, R., Polatidis, A.G., Reich, W., scaife, A.M.M., schoenmakers, A., schwarz, D., shulevski, A., sluman, J., smirnov, O., Sobey, C., Stappers, B.W., steinmetz, M., swinbank, J., Tagger, M., Tang, Y., Tasse, C., ter Veen, S., Thoudam, S., Toribio, C., van Nieuwpoort, R., Vermeulen, R., Vocks, C., Vogt, C., Wijers, R.A.M.J., Wise, M.W., Wucknitz, O., Yatawatta, S., Zarka, P., Zensus, A., Harvard University [Cambridge]-Smithsonian Institution, Universiteit Leiden [Leiden], Radboud university [Nijmegen], Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (... - 2019) (UNS), COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Oxford [Oxford], École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Astronomy, and High Energy Astrophys. & Astropart. Phys (API, FNWI)
- Subjects
[SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO] ,Astronomy ,ISM: structure ,Interstellar cloud ,EWI-24499 ,FOS: Physical sciences ,Astrophysics ,structure-local interstellar matter-radio line ,ISM [radio lines] ,Cygnus A ,Absorption (electromagnetic radiation) ,Optical depth ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,ISM ,Line (formation) ,ISM: general ,Physics ,IsM ,radio lines ,radio lines: ISM ,general [ISM] ,local interstellar matter ,Local standard of rest ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,METIS-302715 ,Astronomy and Astrophysic ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies ,Galaxy ,Cassiopeia A ,Space and Planetary Science ,Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ,ComputingMethodologies_DOCUMENTANDTEXTPROCESSING ,General-IsM ,structure [ISM] ,IR-89519 ,ISM: general ISM: structure local interstellar matter radio lines: ISM - Abstract
We present the first detection of carbon radio recombination line absorption along the line of sight to Cygnus A. The observations were carried out with the LOw Frequency ARray in the 33 to 57 MHz range. These low frequency radio observations provide us with a new line of sight to study the diffuse, neutral gas in our Galaxy. To our knowledge this is the first time that foreground Milky Way recombination line absorption has been observed against a bright extragalactic background source. By stacking 48 carbon $\alpha$ lines in the observed frequency range we detect carbon absorption with a signal-to-noise ratio of about 5. The average carbon absorption has a peak optical depth of 2$\times$10$^{-4}$, a line width of 10 km s$^{-1}$ and a velocity of +4 km s$^{-1}$ with respect to the local standard of rest. The associated gas is found to have an electron temperature $T_{e}\sim$ 110 K and density $n_{e}\sim$ 0.06 cm$^{-3}$. These properties imply that the observed carbon $\alpha$ absorption likely arises in the cold neutral medium of the Orion arm of the Milky Way. Hydrogen and helium lines were not detected to a 3$\sigma$ peak optical depth limit of 1.5$\times$10$^{-4}$ for a 4 km s$^{-1}$ channel width. Radio recombination lines associated with Cygnus A itself were also searched for, but are not detected. We set a 3$\sigma$ upper limit of 1.5$\times$10$^{-4}$ for the peak optical depth of these lines for a 4 km s$^{-1}$ channel width., Comment: In press
- Published
- 2014
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