Search

We present the results of a multi-wavelength study of a sample of high-redshift Radio Loud (RL) Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasars. This way we extend to higher redshift previous studies on the radio properties, and broadband optical colors of these objects. We have se- lected a sample of 22 RL BAL quasars with 3.6 z 4.8 cross-correlating the FIRST radio survey with the SDSS. Flux densities between 1.25 and 9.5 GHz have been collected with the JVLA and Effelsberg-100m telescopes for 15 BAL and 14 non-BAL quasars used as compar- ison sample. We determine the synchrotron peak frequency, constraining their age. A large number of GigaHertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) and High Frequency Peakers (HFP) sources has been found in both samples (80% for BAL and 71% for non-BAL QSOs), not suggesting a younger age for BAL quasars. The spectral index distribution provides information about the orientation of these sources, and we find statistically similar distributions for the BAL and non-BAL quasars in contrast to work done on lower redshift samples. Our sample may be too small to convincingly find the same effect, or might represent a real evolutionary effect based on the large fraction of young sources. We also study the properties of broadband colors in both optical (SDSS) and near- and mid-infrared (UKIDSS and WISE) bands, finding that also at high redshift BAL quasars tend to be optically redder than non-BAL quasars. However, these differences are no more evident at longer wavelength, when comparing colors of the two samples by mean of the WISE survey., Comment: Accepted for publication on MNRAS, 2017 February 6. 14 pages, 10 figures

Microvariability (intra-night variability) is a low amplitude flux change at short time scales (i.e. hours). It has been detected in unobscured type 1 AGNs and blazars. However in type 2 AGNs, the detection is hampered by the low contrast between the presumably variable nucleus and the host galaxy. In this paper, we present a search for microvariability in a sample of four type 2 quasars as an astrostatistical problem. We are exploring the use of a newly introduced enhanced F-test, proposed by de Diego 2014. The presented results show that out of our four observed targets, we were able to apply this statistical method to three of them. Evidence of microvariations is clear in the case of quasar J0802+2552 in all used filters (g',r' and i') during both observing nights, the microvariations are present in one of the nights of observations of J1258+5239 in one filter (i'), while for the J1316+4452, there is evidence for microvariability within our detection levels during one night and two filters (r' and i'). We demonstrate the feasibility of the enhanced F-test to detect microvariability in obscured type 2 quasars. At the end of this paper, we discuss possible causes of microvariability. One of the options is the misclassification of the targets. A likely scenario for explanation of the phenomenon involves optically thin gaps in a clumpy obscuring medium, in accordance with the present view of the circumnuclear region. There is a possible interesting connection between the merging state of the targets and detection of microvariability., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted to MNRAS

Broad absorption line quasars are among the objects presenting the fastest outflows. The launching mechanism itself is not completely understood. Models in which they could be launched from the accretion disk, and then curved and accelerated by the effect of the radiation pressure, have been presented. We conducted an extensive observational campaign, from radio to optical band, to collect information about their nature and test the models present in the literature, the main dichotomy being between a young scenario and an orientation one. We found a variety of possible orientations, morphologies, and radio ages, not converging to a particular explanation for the BAL phenomenon. From our latest observations in the m- and mm-band, we obtained an indication of a lower dust abundance with respect to normal quasars, thus suggesting a possible feedback process on the host galaxy. Also, in the low-frequency regime we confirmed the presence of CSS components, sometime in conjunction with a GPS one already detected at higher frequencies. Following this, about 70% of our sample turns out to be in a GPS or CSS+GPS phase. We conclude that fast outflows, responsible for the BAL features, can be more easily present among objects going through a restarting or just-started radio phase, where radiation pressure can substantially contribute to their acceleration., Comment: accepted for publication on AN

Broad absorption line quasars (BAL QSOs) are objects showing absorption from relativistic outflows, with velocities up to 0.2c. These manifest, in about 15% of quasars, as absorption troughs on the blue side of UV emission lines, such as C iv and Mg ii. In this work, we complement the information collected in the cm band for our previously presented sample of radio loud BAL QSOs with new observations at m and mm bands. Our aim is to verify the presence of old, extended radio components in the MHz range, and probe the emission of dust (linked to star formation) in the mm domain. We observed 5 sources from our sample, already presenting hints of low-frequency emission, with the GMRT at 235 and 610 MHz. Other 17 sources (more than half the sample) were observed with bolometer cameras at IRAM-30m and APEX. All sources observed with the GMRT present extended emission at a scale of tens of kpc. In some cases these measurements allow us to identify a second component in the SED, at frequencies below 1.4 GHz, beyond the one already studied in the GHz domain. In the mm-band, only one source shows emission clearly ascribable to dust. Upper limits were obtained for the remaining targets. These findings confirm that BAL QSOs can also be present in old radio sources, or even in restarting ones, where favourable conditions for the outflow launching/acceleration are present. A suggestion that these outflows could be precursors of the jet comes from the fact that ~70% of our sample can be considered in a GigaHertz Peaked Spectrum (GPS) or Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS)+GPS phase. This would confirm the idea proposed by other authors that these outflows could be recollimated to form the jet. Comparing with previous works in the literature, dust emission seems to be weaker than the what expected in 'normal' QSOs, suggesting that a feedback mechanism could inhibit star formation in radio-loud BAL QSOs., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is called to revolutionise essentially all areas of Astrophysics. With a collecting area of about a square kilometre, the SKA will be a transformational instrument, and its scientific potential will go beyond the interests of astronomers. Its technological challenges and huge cost requires a multinational effort, and Europe has recognised this by putting the SKA on the roadmap of the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). The Spanish SKA White Book is the result of the coordinated effort of 120 astronomers from 40 different research centers. The book shows the enormous scientific interest of the Spanish astronomical community in the SKA and warrants an optimum scientific exploitation of the SKA by Spanish researchers, if Spain enters the SKA project., Comment: Editors: Miguel A. Perez-Torres (Editor-in-chief), L. Verdes-Montenegro, J. C. Guirado, A. Alberdi, J. Martin-Pintado, R. Bachiller, D. Herranz, J. M. Girart, J. Gorgas, C. Hernandez-Monteagudo, S. Migliari and J. M. Rodriguez Espinosa; 289 pages, published in June 2015 by Sociedad Espa\~nola de Astronom\'ia

Fast brightness variations are a unique tool to probe the innermost regions of active galactic nuclei (AGN). These variations are called microvariability or intra-night variability, and this phenomenon has been monitored in samples of blazars and unobscured AGNs. Detecting optical microvariations in targets hidden by the obscuring torus is a challenging task because the region responsible for the variations is hidden from our sight. However, there have been reports of fast variations in obscured Seyfert galaxies in X-rays, which rises the question whether microvariations can also be detected in obscured AGNs in the optical regime. Because the expected variations are very small and can easily be lost within the noise, the analysis requires a statistical approach. We report the use of a one-way analysis of variance, ANOVA, with which we searched for microvariability. ANOVA was successfully employed in previous studies of unobscured AGNs. As a result, we found microvariable events during three observing blocks: in two we observed the same object (Mrk 477), and in another, J0759+5050. The results on Mrk 477 confirm previous findings. However, since Mrk 477 is quite a peculiar target with hidden broad-line regions, we cannot rule out the possibility that we have serendipitously chosen a target prone to variations., Comment: Research note, 5 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics

The cores of clusters at 0 $\lesssim$ z $\lesssim$ 1 are dominated by quiescent early-type galaxies, whereas the field is dominated by star-forming late-type ones. Galaxy properties, notably the star formation (SF) ability, are altered as they fall into overdense regions. The critical issues to understand this evolution are how the truncation of SF is connected to the morphological transformation and the responsible physical mechanism. The GaLAxy Cluster Evolution Survey (GLACE) is conducting a study on the variation of galaxy properties (SF, AGN, morphology) as a function of environment in a representative sample of clusters. A deep survey of emission line galaxies (ELG) is being performed, mapping a set of optical lines ([OII], [OIII], H$\beta$ and H$\alpha$/[NII]) in several clusters at z $\sim$ 0.40, 0.63 and 0.86. Using the Tunable Filters (TF) of OSIRIS/GTC, GLACE applies the technique of TF tomography: for each line, a set of images at different wavelengths are taken through the TF, to cover a rest frame velocity range of several thousands km/s. The first GLACE results target the H$\alpha$/[NII] lines in the cluster ZwCl 0024.0+1652 at z = 0.395 covering $\sim$ 2 $\times$ r$_{vir}$. We discuss the techniques devised to process the TF tomography observations to generate the catalogue of H$\alpha$ emitters of 174 unique cluster sources down to a SFR below 1 M$_{\odot}$/yr. The AGN population is discriminated using different diagnostics and found to be $\sim$ 37% of the ELG population. The median SFR is 1.4 M$_{\odot}$/yr. We have studied the spatial distribution of ELG, confirming the existence of two components in the redshift space. Finally, we have exploited the outstanding spectral resolution of the TF to estimate the cluster mass from ELG dynamics, finding M$_{200}$ = 4.1 $\times$ 10$^{14}$ M$_{\odot} h^{-1}$, in agreement with previous weak-lensing estimates., Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Astro-ph abstract abridged

We obtain a sample of 87 radio-loud QSOs in the redshift range 3.6 1 mJy with star-like objects having r <20.2 in SDSS Data Release 7. Of these 87 QSOs, 80 are spectroscopically classified in previous work (mainly SDSS), and form the training set for a search for additional such sources. We apply our selection to 2,916 FIRST-DR7 pairs and find 15 likely candidates. Seven of these are confirmed as high-redshift quasars, bringing the total to 87. The candidates were selected using a neural-network, which yields 97% completeness (fraction of actual high-z QSOs selected as such) and an efficiency (fraction of candidates which are high-z QSOs) in the range of 47 to 60%. We use this sample to estimate the binned optical luminosity function of radio-loud QSOs at $z\sim 4$, and also the LF of the total QSO population and its comoving density. Our results suggest that the radio-loud fraction (RLF) at high z is similar to that at low-z and that other authors may be underestimating the fraction at high-z. Finally, we determine the slope of the optical luminosity function and obtain results consistent with previous studies of radio-loud QSOs and of the whole population of QSOs. The evolution of the luminosity function with redshift was for many years interpreted as a flattening of the bright end slope, but has recently been re-interpreted as strong evolution of the break luminosity for high-z QSOs, and our results, for the radio-loud population, are consistent with this., Comment: 20 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on 3 March 2015

OTELO is an emission-line object survey carried out with the red tunable filter of the instrument OSIRIS at the GTC, whose aim is to become the deepest emission-line object survey to date. With 100% of the data of the first pointing finally obtained in June 2014, we present here some aspects of the processing of the data and the very first results of the OTELO survey. We also explain the next steps to be followed in the near future., Comment: Oral contribution presented in the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society held on September 8-12, in Teruel, Spain (7 pages, 2 figures, 1 table). To appear in Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VIII, Proceedings of the XI Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society. Eds. A. J. Cenarro, F. Figueras, C. Hern\'andez-Monteagudo, J. Trujillo, L. Valdivielso

Broad absorption lines (BALs) are present in the spectra of ~20% of quasars (QSOs); this indicates fast outflows (up to 0.2c) that intercept the observer's line of sight. These QSOs can be distinguished again into radio-loud (RL) BAL QSOs and radio-quiet (RQ) BAL QSOs. The first are very rare, even four times less common than RQ BAL QSOs. The reason for this is still unclear and leaves open questions about the nature of the BAL-producing outflows and their connection with the radio jet. We explored the spectroscopic characteristics of RL and RQ BAL QSOs with the aim to find a possible explanation for the rarity of RL BAL QSOs. We identified two samples of genuine BAL QSOs from SDSS optical spectra, one RL and one RQ, in a suitable redshift interval (2.5$

Tunable filters are a powerful way of implementing narrow-band imaging mode over wide wavelength ranges, without the need of purchasing a large number of narrow-band filters covering all strong emission or absorption lines at any redshift. However, one of its main features is a wavelength variation across the field of view, sometimes termed the phase effect. In this work, an anomalous phase effect is reported and characterized for the OSIRIS instrument at the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias. The transmitted wavelength across the field of view of the instrument depends, not only on the distance to the optical centre, but on wavelength. This effect is calibrated for the red tunable filter of OSIRIS by measuring both normal-incidence light at laboratory and spectral lamps at the telescope at non-normal incidence. This effect can be explained by taking into account the inner coatings of the etalon. In a high spectral resolution etalon, the gap between plates is much larger than the thickness of the inner reflective coatings. In the case of a tunable filter, like that in OSIRIS, the coatings thickness could be of the order of the cavity, which changes drastically the effective gap of the etalon. We show that by including thick and dispersive coatings into the interference equations, the observed anomalous phase effect can be perfectly reproduced. In fact, we find that, for the OSIRIS red TF, a two-coatings model fits the data with a rms of 0.5\AA\ at all wavelengths and incidence angles. This is a general physical model that can be applied to other tunable-filter instruments., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (June 30th, 2014); 15 pages; 16 figures

The Javalambre-Physics of the Accelerated Universe Astrophysical Survey (J-PAS) is a narrow band, very wide field Cosmological Survey to be carried out from the Javalambre Observatory in Spain with a purpose-built, dedicated 2.5m telescope and a 4.7 sq.deg. camera with 1.2Gpix. Starting in late 2015, J-PAS will observe 8500sq.deg. of Northern Sky and measure $0.003(1+z)$ photo-z for $9\times10^7$ LRG and ELG galaxies plus several million QSOs, sampling an effective volume of $\sim 14$ Gpc$^3$ up to $z=1.3$ and becoming the first radial BAO experiment to reach Stage IV. J-PAS will detect $7\times 10^5$ galaxy clusters and groups, setting constrains on Dark Energy which rival those obtained from its BAO measurements. Thanks to the superb characteristics of the site (seeing ~0.7 arcsec), J-PAS is expected to obtain a deep, sub-arcsec image of the Northern sky, which combined with its unique photo-z precision will produce one of the most powerful cosmological lensing surveys before the arrival of Euclid. J-PAS unprecedented spectral time domain information will enable a self-contained SN survey that, without the need for external spectroscopic follow-up, will detect, classify and measure $\sigma_z\sim 0.5\%$ redshifts for $\sim 4000$ SNeIa and $\sim 900$ core-collapse SNe. The key to the J-PAS potential is its innovative approach: a contiguous system of 54 filters with $145\AA$ width, placed $100\AA$ apart over a multi-degree FoV is a powerful "redshift machine", with the survey speed of a 4000 multiplexing low resolution spectrograph, but many times cheaper and much faster to build. The J-PAS camera is equivalent to a 4.7 sq.deg. "IFU" and it will produce a time-resolved, 3D image of the Northern Sky with a very wide range of Astrophysical applications in Galaxy Evolution, the nearby Universe and the study of resolved stellar populations., Comment: 215 pages, 70 figures. J-PAS "Red Book", containing a description of the technical aspects of the Survey and its main scientific goals

We performed a thorough analysis of the star formation activity in the young massive galaxy cluster RXJ1257+4738 at z=0.866, with emphasis on the relationship between the local environment of the cluster galaxies and their star formation activity. We present an optical and IR study that benefited from the large amount of data available for this cluster, including new OSIRIS/GTC and Herschel imaging observations. Using a optical-to-NIR multi-wavelength catalogue, we measured photometric redshifts through a chi2 SED-fitting procedure. We implemented a reliable and carefully chosen cluster membership selection criterion including Monte Carlo simulations and derived a sample of 292 reliable cluster member galaxies for which we measured the following properties: optical colours, stellar masses, ages, ultraviolet luminosities and local densities. Using the MIPS 24um and Herschel data, we measured total IR luminosities and SFR. Of the sample of 292 cluster galaxies, 38 show FIR emission with an SFR between 0.5 and 45 Msun/yr. The spatial distribution of the FIR emitters within the cluster density map and the filament-like overdensities observed suggest that RXJ1257 is not virialised, but is in the process of assembly. The average star formation as a function of the cluster environment parametrised by the local density of galaxies does not show any clear trend. However, the fraction of SF galaxies unveils that the cluster intermediate-density regions is preferred for the SF activity to enhance, since we observe a significant increase of the FIR-emitter fraction in this environment. Focusing on the optically red SF galaxies, we can support the interpretation of this population as dusty red galaxies, since we observe an appreciable difference in their extinction compared with the blue population., Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

We present the results of a comparison between the environments of 1) a complete sample of 46 southern 2Jy radio galaxies at intermediate redshifts (0.05 < z < 0.7), 2) a complete sample of 20 radio-quiet type-2 quasars (0.3 < z < 0.41), and 3) a control sample of 107 quiescent early-type galaxies at 0.2 < z < 0.7 in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS). The environments have been quantified using angular clustering amplitudes (Bgq) derived from deep optical imaging data. Based on these comparisons, we discuss the role of the environment in the triggering of powerful radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars. When we compare the Bgq distributions of the type-2 quasars and quiescent early-type galaxies, we find no significant difference between them. This is consistent with the radio-quiet quasar phase being a short-lived but ubiquitous stage in the formation of all massive early-type galaxies. On the other hand, PRGs are in denser environments than the quiescent population, and this difference between distributions of Bgq is significant at the 3 sigma level. This result supports a physical origin of radio loudness, with high density gas environments favouring the transformation of AGN power into radio luminosity, or alternatively, affecting the properties of the supermassive black holes themselves. Finally, focussing on the radio-loud sources only, we find that the clustering of weak-line radio galaxies (WLRGs) is higher than the strong-line radio galaxies (SLRGs), constituting a 3 sigma result. 82% of the 2Jy WLRGs are in clusters, according to our definition (Bgq > 400) versus only 31% of the SLRGs., Comment: 17 pages + Appendix, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Lyman-alpha emitter (LAE) surveys have successfully used the excess in a narrow-band filter compared to a nearby broad-band image to find candidates. However, the odd spectral energy distribution (SED) of LAEs combined with the instrumental profile have important effects on the properties of the candidate samples extracted from these surveys. We investigate the effect of the bandpass width and the transmission profile of the narrow-band filters used for extracting LAE candidates at redshifts z ~ 6.5 through Monte Carlo simulations, and we present pilot observations to test the performance of tunable filters to find LAEs and other emission-line candidates. We compare the samples obtained using a narrow ideal-rectangular-filter, the Subaru NB921 narrow-band filter, and sweeping across a wavelength range using the ultra-narrow-band tunable filters of the instrument OSIRIS, installed at the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias. We use this instrument for extracting LAE candidates from a small set of real observations. Broad-band data from the Subaru, HST and Spitzer databases were used for fiting SEDs to calculate photometric redshifts and to identify interlopers. Narrow-band surveys are very efficient to find LAEs in large sky areas, but the samples obtained are not evenly distributed in redshift along the filter bandpass, and the number of LAEs with equivalent widths < 60 angstroms can be underestimated. These biased results do not appear in samples obtained using ultra-narrow-band tunable filters. However, the field size of tunable filters is restricted because of the variation of the effective wavelength across the image. Thus narrow-band and ultra-narrow-band surveys are complementary strategies to investigate high-redshift LAEs., Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures, 7 tables. To be published in The Astronomical Journal

Broad absorption line quasars (BAL QSOs) belong to a class of objects not well-understood as yet. Their UV spectra show BALs in the blue wings of the UV resonance lines, owing to ionized gas with outflow velocities up to 0.2 c. They can have radio emission that is difficult to characterize and that needs to be studied at various wavelengths and resolutions. We aim to study the pc-scale properties of their synchrotron emission and, in particular, to determine their core properties. We performed observations in the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) technique, using both the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 5 GHz, and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 5 and 8.4 GHz to map the pc-scale structure of the brightest radio-loud objects of our sample, allowing a proper morphological interpretation. A variety of morphologies have been found: 9 BAL QSOs on a total of 11 observed sources have a resolved structure. Core-jet, double, and symmetric objects are present, suggesting different orientations. In some cases the sources can be young GPS or CSS. The projected linear size of the sources, also considering observations from our previous work for the same objects, can vary from tens of pc to hundreds of kpc. In some cases, a diffuse emission can be supposed from the missing flux-density with respect to previous lower resolution observations. Finally, the magnetic field strength does not significantly differ from the values found in the literature for radio sources with similar sizes. These results are not easily interpreted with the youth scenario for BAL QSOs, in which they are generally compact objects still expelling a dust cocoon. The variety of orientations, morphologies, and extensions found are presumably related to different possible angles for the BAL producing outflows, with respect to the jet axis. Moreover, the phenomenon could be present in various phases of the QSO evolution., Comment: Published by A&A

Luminosity functions are one of the most important observational clues when studying galaxy evolution over cosmic time. In this paper we present the X-ray luminosity functions of X-ray detected AGN in the SXDS and GWS fields. The limiting fluxes of our samples are 9.0x10^(-15) and 4.8x10^(-16) erg/cm^2/sec^(-1) in the 0.5 - 7.0 keV band in the two fields, respectively. We carried out analysis in three X-ray bands and in two redshift intervals up to z < 1.4. Moreover, we derive the luminosity functions for different optical morphologies and X-ray types. We confirm strong luminosity evolution in all three bands, finding the most luminous objects at higher redshift. However, no signs of density evolution are found in any tested X-ray band. We obtain similar results for compact and early-type objects. Finally, we observe the `Steffen effect', where X-ray type-1 sources are more numerous at higher luminosities in comparison with type-2 sources., Comment: published in AN, 12 pages, 8 figures

We present the Seyfert and star formation Activity in the Far-InfraRed (SAFIR) project, a small (15.1h) Herschel guaranteed time proposal performing PACS and SPIRE imaging of a small sample of nearby Seyfert galaxies. This project is aimed at studying the physical nature of the nuclear IR emission by means of multi-component spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting and the star formation properties of AGN hosts, as traced by cold dust. We summarize the results achieved so far and outline the on-going work., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. To appear in "Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics VII", Proceedings of the X Scientific Meeting held in Valencia, Spain on 2012, July 9-13

The OTELO project is the extragalactic survey currently under way using the tunable filters of the OSIRIS instrument at the GTC. OTELO is already providing the deepest emission line object survey of the universe up to a redshift 7. In this contribution, the status of the survey and the first results obtained are presented., Comment: Oral contribution presented in the X Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society held on 2012, July 9-13, in Valencia, Spain (6 pages, 3 figures)

OSIRIS is the optical Day One instrument, and so far the only Spanish instrument, currently operating at the GTC. Building and testing an instrument for a 8-10m-class telescope with non-previous commissioning in turn, has represented a truly unique experience. In this contribution, the current status, the last commissioning results and some future prospects are given., Comment: Oral contribution presented in the X Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society held on 2012, July 9-13, in Valencia, Spain (6 pages, 3 figures)

Accounting for ~20% of the total QSO population, Broad Absorption Line QSOs are still an unsolved problem in the AGN context. They present wide troughs in the UV spectrum, due to material with velocities up to 0.2 c toward the observer. The two models proposed in literature try to explain them as a particular phase of the evolution of QSOs or as normal QSOs, but seen from a particular line of sight. We built a statistically complete sample of Radio-Loud BAL QSOs, and carried out an observing campaign to piece together the whole spectrum in the cm wavelength domain, and highlight all the possible differences with respect to a comparison sample of Radio-Loud non-BAL QSOs. VLBI observations at high angular resolution have been performed, to study the pc-scale morphology of these objects. Finally, we tried to detect a possible dust component with observations at mm-wavelengths. Results do not seem to indicate a young age for all BAL QSOs. Instead a variety of orientations and morphologies have been found, constraining the outflows foreseen by the orientation model to have different possible angles with respect to the jet axis.

We present new far-infrared (70-500micron) Herschel PACS and SPIRE imaging observations as well as new mid-IR Gemini/T-ReCS imaging (8.7 and 18.3micron) and spectroscopy of the inner Lindblad resonance (ILR) region (R<2.5kpc) of the spiral galaxy NGC1365. We complemented these observations with archival Spitzer imaging and spectral mapping observations. The ILR region of NGC1365 contains a Seyfert 1.5 nucleus and a ring of star formation with an approximate diameter of 2kpc. The strong star formation activity in the ring is resolved by the Herschel/PACS imaging data, as well as by the Spitzer 24micron continuum emission, [NeII]12.81micron line emission, and 6.2 and 11.3micron PAH emission. The AGN is the brightest source in the central regions up to lambda~24micron, but it becomes increasingly fainter in the far-infrared when compared to the emission originating in the infrared clusters (or groups of them) located in the ring. We modeled the AGN unresolved infrared emission with the CLUMPY torus models and estimated that the AGN contributes only to a small fraction (~5%) of the infrared emission produced in the inner ~5kpc. We fitted the non-AGN 24-500micron spectral energy distribution of the ILR region and found that the dust temperatures and mass are similar to those of other nuclear and circumnuclear starburst regions. Finally we showed that within the ILR region of NGC1365 most of the on-going star formation activity is taking place in dusty regions as probed by the 24micron emission., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

The origin of broad-absorption-line quasars (BAL QSOs) is still an open issue. Accounting for ~20% of the QSO population, these objects present broad absorption lines in their optical spectra generated from outflows with velocities up to 0.2c. In this work we present the results of a multi-frequency study of a well-defined radio-loud BAL QSO sample, and a comparison sample of radio-loud non-BAL QSOs, both selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We aim to test which of the currently-popular models for the BAL phenomenon - `orientation' or 'evolutionary' - best accounts for the radio properties of BAL quasars. Observations from 1.4 to 43 GHz have been obtained with the VLA and Effelsberg telescopes, and data from 74 to 408 MHz have been compiled from the literature. The fractions of candidate GHz-peaked sources are similar in the two samples (36\pm12% vs 23\pm8%), suggesting that BAL QSOs are not generally younger than non-BAL QSOs. BAL and non-BAL QSOs show a large range of spectral indices, consistent with a broad range of orientations. There is weak evidence (91% confidence) that the spectral indices of the BAL QSOs are steeper than those of non-BAL QSOs, mildly favouring edge-on orientations. At a higher level of significance (\geq97%), the spectra of BAL QSOs are not flatter than those of non-BAL QSOs, which suggests that a polar orientation is not preferred., Comment: Accepted by A&A

Mrk938 is a luminous infrared galaxy in the local Universe believed to be the remnant of a galaxy merger. It shows a Seyfert 2 nucleus and intense star formation according to optical spectroscopic observations. We have studied this galaxy using new Herschel far-IR imaging data in addition to archival X-ray, UV, optical, near-IR and mid-IR data. Mid- and far-IR data are crucial to characterise the starburst contribution, allowing us to shed new light on its nature and to study the coexistence of AGN and starburst activity in the local Universe. The decomposition of the mid-IR Spitzer spectrum shows that the AGN bolometric contribution to the mid-IR and total infrared luminosity is small (Lbol(AGN)/LIR~0.02), which agrees with previous estimations. We have characterised the physical nature of its strong infrared emission and constrained it to a relatively compact emitting region of <2kpc. It is in this obscured region where most of the current star formation activity is taking place as expected for LIRGs. We have used Herschel imaging data for the first time to constrain the cold dust emission with unprecedented accuracy. We have fitted the integrated far-IR spectral energy distribution and derived the properties of the dust, obtaining a dust mass of 3x10^7Msun. The far-IR is dominated by emission at 35K, consistent with dust heated by the on-going star formation activity., Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The connection between AGN and their host galaxies has been widely studied over recent years, showing it to be of great importance for providing answers to some fundamental questions related with AGN fueling mechanisms, their formation and evolution. Using X-ray and one of the deepest broad-band optical data sets, we studied morphology and colours in relationship with X-ray properties for sources at redshifts z < 2.0, using a sample of 262 AGN in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey (SXDS). Morphological classification was obtained using the galSVM code, one of the new methods useful especially when dealing with high-redshift sources and low-resolution data. Colour-magnitude diagrams were studied in relationship with redshift, morphology, X-ray obscuration, and X-ray-to-optical flux ratio. Finally, the significance of different regions was analysed on colour-magnitude diagrams, relating the observed properties of AGN populations with some models of their formation and evolution., Comment: 24 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy&Astrophysics