Dissecting the γ-Ray Emissions of the Nearby Galaxies NGC 1068 and NGC 253

Autor: Shunhao Ji, Zhongxiang Wang, Yi Xing, Dahai Yan, Jintao Zheng
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Astrophysical Journal, Vol 961, Iss 2, p 147 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1538-4357
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad12b6
Popis: Intrigued by recent high-energy study results for nearby galaxies with γ -ray emission and in particular NGC 1068 that has been detected as a neutrino-emitting source by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, we conduct a detailed analysis of the γ -ray data of the galaxies NGC 1068 and NGC 253, obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi γ -ray Space Telescope. By checking their possible spectral features and then constructing light curves in the corresponding energy ranges, we identify spectral-change activity from NGC 1068 in the ≥2 GeV energy range and long-term, statistically significant changes for NGC 253 in the ≥5 GeV energy range. In the former, the emission appears harder in two half-year periods than in the otherwise “quiescent” state. In the latter, an ∼two-fold decrease in the detection significance after MJD = 57023 is clearly revealed by the test-statistic maps we obtain. Considering the previous studies carried out and the various models proposed for the γ -ray emissions of the two sources, we discuss the implications of our findings. We suspect that a jet (or outflow) in NGC 1068 might contribute to the γ -ray emission. The nature of the long-term statistically significant changes for NGC 253 is not clear, but since the part of the GeV emission may be connected to the very-high-energy (VHE) emission from the center of the galaxy, it could be further probed with VHE observations.
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