The Central PARSEC of Galaxies using High Spatial Resolution Techniques

Start year
2003

Grants related:

    General
    Description

    PARSEC is a multi-wavelength investigation of the central PARSEC of the nearest galaxies. We work on black-hole accretion and its most energetic manifestations: jets and hot spots, and on its  circumnuclear environment conditions for star formation. We resort to the highest available angular resolution observations from gamma-rays to the centimetre, and pursue a physical interpretation in the context of computational astrophysics. We also work on  development of Adaptive Optics instrumentation for large telescopes. PARSEC projects are:

    PARSEC - Black-Hole activity: The galaxies under study span a wide range of nuclear activity, from quiesent to low luminosity active nuclei to the Seyfert and Qso phase. PARSEC investigates the origin and morphology of dust and gas in the central parsec of active and normal galaxies, those being the pre-conditions for the onset of Black-Hole activity. The spectral energy distribution of the central few parsecs is investigated as a function of nuclear activity and accretion disc efficency. The nature and shape of the ionizing continuum are traced with high ionization coronal lines. 

    PARSEC - Jets and Hot-Spots: PARSEC further studies the most energetic manisfestations of Black-Hole activity: jets and hot-spots, in the PAIS project.

    PARSEC -Star-formation: Nuclear star formation spatially resolved at cluster level is uncovered in many of these near galaxies. PARSEC investigates the properties of nuclear dust filaments, lanes and molecular clouds as pre-sites for star formation.

    PARSEC - Theory: A physical insight of many of the PARSEC results is done via close collaboration with the Computational Astrophysics group, CAST, of the Munchen University Sternwarte, using numerical and magnetic-hydrodynamic simulations developped by this group.

    PARSEC - Instrumentation: PARSEC is also involved in the definition, development and construction of Adaptive Optics instrumentation for 8 -10 m telescopes. PARSEC instrumentation team is building the first Adpative Optics Integral Field Spectrograph and Imaging Camera, FRIDA, for GTC 10 m teelcope. 

    PARSEC - Outreach: PARSEC is involved in the science and outreach "Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations (VASCO)" project. VASCO searches for vanishing stars, unusual astrophysical transients and extra-terrestrial intelligence. As such, it is a platform for interacting with the general public. VASCO has strong visibility in the media outets via its associated citizen science project. 

    Principal investigator

    Related publications

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      Black-hole-driven outflows in galaxies hosting active galactic nuclei (AGN) may interact with their interstellar medium (ISM) affecting star formation (SF). Such feedback processes, reminiscent of those seen in massive galaxies, have been reported recently in some dwarf galaxies. However, such studies have usually been on kiloparsec and larger

      Nandi, Payel et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
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    • Identification of Superclusters and Their Properties in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Using the WHL Cluster Catalog

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      11
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    • A giant radio galaxy with three cycles of episodic jet activity from LoTSS DR2

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      10
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    • The Accretion Mode in Sub-Eddington Supermassive Black Holes: Getting into the Central Parsecs of Andromeda

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      Alig, C. et al.

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      8
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    • The spectral index-flux density relation for extragalactic radio sources selected at metre and decametre wavelengths

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      7
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    • Compact jets dominate the continuum emission in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei

      Low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (LLAGN) are special among their kind due to the profound structural changes that the central engine experiences at low accretion rates (≲ 10−3 in Eddington units). The disappearance of the accretion disc - the blue bump - leaves behind a faint optical nuclear continuum whose nature has been largely debated

      Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A. et al.

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      2
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    • Toward measuring supermassive black hole masses with interferometric observations of the dust continuum

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    • Launching the VASCO Citizen Science Project

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      Jimenez-Gallardo, A. et al.

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      12
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    • A novel black hole mass scaling relation based on coronal gas, and its dependence with the accretion disc

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      2
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    • A geometric distance to the supermassive black Hole of NGC 3783

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      Gravity Collaboration et al.

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      10
      2021
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    • The nuclear stellar disc of the Milky Way: A dynamically cool and metal-rich component possibly formed from the central molecular zone

      Context. The nuclear stellar disc (NSD) is, together with the nuclear star cluster (NSC) and the central massive black hole, one of the main components in the central parts of our Milky Way. However, until recently, only a few studies of the stellar content of the NSD have been obtained owing to extreme extinction and stellar crowding. Aims: We

      Schultheis, M. et al.

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      6
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    • Dust in the central parsecs of unobscured AGN: more challenges to the torus

      A parsec-scale dusty torus is thought to be the cause of active galactic nuclei (AGN) dichotomy in the 1/2 types, narrow/broad emission lines. In a previous work, on the basis of parsec-scale resolution infrared/optical dust maps, it was found that dust filaments, few parsecs wide and several hundred parsecs long, were ubiquitous features crossing

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      9
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    • A KMOS survey of the nuclear disk of the Milky Way. I. Survey design and metallicities

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      Fritz, T. K. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
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    • Raining in MKW 3 s: A Chandra-MUSE Analysis of X-Ray Cold Filaments around 3CR 318.1

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      Advertised on:

      5
      2021
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    • The central parsec of NGC 3783: a rotating broad emission line region, asymmetric hot dust structure, and compact coronal line region

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    • Extended X-Ray Emission around FR II Radio Galaxies: Hot Spots, Lobes, and Galaxy Clusters

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      2
      2021
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    • Coronal-line forest active galactic nuclei - I. Physical properties of the emission-line regions

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      Cerqueira-Campos, F. C. et al.

      Advertised on:

      1
      2021
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      14
    • The spatially resolved broad line region of IRAS 09149-6206

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      Gravity Collaboration et al.

      Advertised on:

      11
      2020
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      47
    • Completing the 3CR Chandra Snapshot Survey: Extragalactic Radio Sources at High Redshift

      We present the analysis of nine radio sources belonging to the Third Cambridge Revised catalog (3CR) observed with Chandra during Cycle 20 in the redshift range between 1.5 and 2.5. This study completes the 3CR Chandra Snapshot Survey thus guaranteeing the X-ray coverage of all 3CR sources identified to date. This sample lists two compact steep

      Jimenez-Gallardo, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
      2020
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      15

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