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Chandra X-ray Image of 4C37.43
(Credit: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Hawaii/A.Stockton et al.)


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4C37.43:
Chandra Finds Evidence for Quasar Ignition



Credit: Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss; X-ray inset: NASA/CXC/U.Hawaii/A.Stockton et al.

An artist's illustration depicts a quasar in the center of a galaxy that has turned on and is expelling gas at high speeds in a galactic superwind. Clouds of hot, X-ray producing gas detected by Chandra around the quasars 4C37.43 (shown in the inset) and 3C249.1, provide strong evidence for such superwinds.

The X-ray features seen at five, six, ten and eleven o'clock in the 4C37.43 image are located tens of thousands of light years from the central supermassive black hole that powers the quasar. They are likely due to shock waves in the superwind.

Mergers of galaxies are a possible cause for the ignition, or turn-on, of quasars. Computer simulations show that a galactic merger drives gas toward the central region where it triggers a burst of star formation and provides fuel for the growth of a central black hole.

The inflow of gas into the black hole releases tremendous energy, and a quasar is born. The power output of the quasar dwarfs that of the surrounding galaxy and pushes gas out of the galaxy in a galactic superwind.

Over a period of about 100 million years, the superwind will drive most of the gas away from the central regions of the galaxy, quenching both star formation and further supermassive black hole growth. The quasar phase will end and the galaxy will settle down to a relatively quiet life.

Fast Facts for 4C37.43:
Credit  Illustration: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss; X-ray inset: NASA/CXC/U.Hawaii/A.Stockton et al.
Scale  Chandra inset image is 21 arcsec per side
Category  Quasars & Active Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 15h 14m 43.10s | Dec +36° 50´ 50.50"
Constellation  Boötes
Observation Date  October 05, 2003
Observation Time  12 hours
Obs. ID  3988
Color Code  Intensity
Instrument  ACIS
References A. Stockton et al. 2006, Astrophys. J. 638, 635
Distance Estimate  About 4 billion light years (redshift z = 0.371)
Release Date  March 23, 2006