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General
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.
Members
Scientific activity
Related publications
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Low optical polarization at the core of the optically thin jet of M87
We study the optical linear and circular polarization in the optically thin regime of the core and jet of M87. Observations were acquired two days before the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) campaign in early 2017 April. A high degree (∼20 per cent) of linear polarization (P lin) is detected in the bright jet knots resolved at $\sim 10\,\mathrm{ to}\
Fresco, A. Y. et al.Advertised on:
62020 -
Examining supernova events in Type 1 active galactic nuclei
A statistical study of intermediate Palomar Transient Factory supernovae (SNe) in Type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has shown a major deficit of supernovae around Type 1 AGN host galaxies, with respect to Type 2 AGN hosts. The aim of this work is to test whether there is any preference for Type 1 AGNs to host SN of a specific kind. Through the
Villarroel, Beatriz et al.Advertised on:
52020 -
Particle acceleration in low-power hotspots: modelling the broad-band spectral energy distribution
The acceleration and radiative processes active in low-power radio hotspots are investigated by means of new deep near-infrared (NIR) and optical Very Large Telescope (VLT) observations, complemented with archival, high-sensitivity VLT, radio Very Large Array (VLA), and X-ray Chandra data. For the three studied radio galaxies (3C 105, 3C 195, and
Migliori, G. et al.Advertised on:
52020 -
On the origin of magnetic driven winds and the structure of the galactic dynamo in isolated galaxies
We investigate the build-up of the galactic dynamo and subsequently the origin of a magnetic driven outflow. We use a set-up of an isolated disc galaxy with a realistic circum-galactic medium (CGM). We find good agreement of the galactic dynamo with theoretical and observational predictions from the radial and toroidal components of the magnetic
Steinwandel, Ulrich P. et al.Advertised on:
32020 -
Jansky VLA observations of synchrotron emitting optical hotspots of 3C 227 and 3C 445 radio galaxies
We report results on deep Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) A-configuration observations at 22 GHz of the hotspots of the radio galaxies 3C 227 and 3C 445. Synchrotron emission in the optical on scales up to a few kpc was reported for the four hotspots. Our VLA observations point out the presence of unresolved regions with upper limit to their linear
Orienti, M. et al.Advertised on:
32020 -
The resolved size and structure of hot dust in the immediate vicinity of AGN
We use VLTI/GRAVITY near-infrared interferometry measurements of eight bright type 1 AGN to study the size and structure of hot dust that is heated by the central engine. We partially resolve each source, and report Gaussian full width at half-maximum sizes in the range 0.3-0.8 mas. In all but one object, we find no evidence for significant
Gravity Collaboration et al.Advertised on:
32020 -
An image of the dust sublimation region in the nucleus of NGC 1068
We present near-infrared interferometric data on the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068, obtained with the GRAVITY instrument on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope Interferometer. The extensive baseline coverage from 5 to 60 Mλ allowed us to reconstruct a continuum image of the nucleus with an unrivaled 0.2 pc resolution in the K-band
Gravity Collaboration et al.Advertised on:
22020 -
The Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations Project. I. USNO Objects Missing in Modern Sky Surveys and Follow-up Observations of a “Missing Star”
In this paper we report the current status of a new research program. The primary goal of the “Vanishing and Appearing Sources during a Century of Observations” project is to search for vanishing and appearing sources using existing survey data to find examples of exceptional astrophysical transients. The implications of finding such objects extend
Villarroel, B. et al.Advertised on:
12020 -
COMP2CAT: hunting compact double radio sources in the local Universe
We present a catalog of compact double radio galaxies (hereafter COMP2CAT) listing 43 edge-brightened radio sources whose projected linear size does not exceed 60 kpc, the typical size of their host galaxies. This is the fifth in a series of radio source catalogs recently created, namely: FRICAT, FRIICAT, FR0CAT, and WATCAT, each of which focuses
Jimenez-Gallardo, A. et al.Advertised on:
72019 -
Software architecture of the high-level control of FRIDA
FRIDA (inFRared Imager and Dissector for Adaptive optics) is a near-infrared integral-field spectrograph operating at the wavelength range of 0.9 to 2.5 μm for use at the Nasmyth B platform of the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC). FRIDA is a collaborative project led by the Instituto de Astronomía Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IA-UNAM
Guzmán Alvaréz, C. et al.Advertised on:
12019 -
A compact jet at the infrared heart of the prototypical low-luminosity AGN in NGC 1052
The feeble radiative efficiency characteristic of Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei (LLAGNs) is ascribed to a sub-Eddington accretion rate, typically at log (Lbol/Ledd) ≲ -3. At the finest angular resolutions that are attainable nowadays using mid-infrared (mid-IR) interferometry, the prototypical LLAGN in NGC 1052 remains unresolved down to <
Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A. et al.Advertised on:
62019 -
From kpcs to the central parsec of NGC 1097: feeding star formation and a black hole at the same time
A panchromatic view of the star-forming ring and feeding process in the central kpc of the galaxy NGC 1097 is presented. The assembled IR to UV images at ˜10 pc resolution allow us to characterize the population of circa 250 clusters in the ring and disentangle the network of filaments of dust and gas that enshroud and feed them. The ring is a
Prieto, M. A. et al.Advertised on:
52019 -
Probing the high-redshift universe with SPICA: Toward the epoch of reionisation and beyond
With the recent discovery of a dozen dusty star-forming galaxies and around 30 quasars at z > 5 that are hyper-luminous in the infrared (μ L IR > 1013 L⊙, where μ is a lensing magnification factor), the possibility has opened up for SPICA, the proposed ESA M5 mid-/far-infrared mission, to extend its spectroscopic studies toward the epoch of
Egami, E. et al.Advertised on:
122018 -
Powerful mechanical-driven outflows in the central parsecs of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus ESO 428-G14
Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei (LLAGNs) are characterized for low-radiative efficiency, much less than one percent of their Eddington limit. Nevertheless, their main energy release may be mechanical, opposite to powerful AGN classes like Seyfert and Quasars. This work reports on the jet-driven mechanical energy and the corresponding mass
May, D. et al.Advertised on:
112018 -
A Detection of Sgr A* in the Far Infrared
We report the first detection of the Galactic Center massive black hole, Sgr A*, at 100 μm and 160 μm. Our measurements were obtained with PACS on board the Herschel satellite. While the warm dust in the Galactic Center is too bright to allow for a direct detection of Sgr A*, we measure a significant and simultaneous variation of its flux of {{Δ }}
von Fellenberg, S. D. et al.Advertised on:
82018 -
The photocentre-AGN displacement: is M87 actually harbouring a displaced supermassive black hole?
M87 has been identified as a displaced supermassive black hole (SMBH) candidate. We investigated this possibility by a temporal analysis of 12 adaptive-optics assisted VLT and HST images spanning 20 yr. We found that the centre of the isophotal fitting to the nuclear region of M87 - assumed to mark the centre of mass of the galaxy - changes
López-Navas, E. et al.Advertised on:
112018 -
A lower limit to the accretion disc radius in the low-luminosity AGNNGC 1052 derived from high-angular resolution data
We investigate the central sub-arcsec region of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleusNGC 1052, using a high-angular resolution data set that covers 10 orders of magnitude in frequency. This allows us to infer the continuum emission within the innermost ˜17 pc around the black hole to be of non-thermal, synchrotron origin and to set a limit to
Reb, L. et al.Advertised on:
72018 -
Embedded AGN and star formation in the central 80 pc of IC 3639
Aims: Our goal is to probe the inner structure and the nature of the mid-IR emission in the active galaxy IC 3639, which hosts a Seyfert 2 nucleus and shows signatures of strong star-forming activity. Methods: We used interferometric observations in the N-band with VLTI/MIDI to resolve the mid-IR emission of this nucleus. The origin of the nuclear
Fernández-Ontiveros, J. A. et al.Advertised on:
32018 -
Discovery of massive star formation quenching by non-thermal effects in the centre of NGC 1097
Observations show that massive star formation quenches first at the centres of galaxies. To understand quenching mechanisms, we investigate the thermal and non-thermal energy balance in the central kpc of NGC 1097—a prototypical galaxy undergoing quenching—and present a systematic study of the nuclear star formation efficiency and its dependencies
Tabatabaei, F. S. et al.Advertised on:
12018 -
Probing the Baryon Cycle of Galaxies with SPICA Mid- and Far-Infrared Observations
The SPICA mid- and far-infrared telescope will address fundamental issues in our understanding of star formation and ISM physics in galaxies. A particular hallmark of SPICA is the outstanding sensitivity enabled by the cold telescope, optimised detectors, and wide instantaneous bandwidth throughout the mid- and far-infrared. The spectroscopic
van der Tak, F. F. S. et al.Advertised on:
12018