# Radio Continuum Evidence for Outflow and Absorption in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Markarian 231

## 1 Introduction

Classified optically as a Seyfert 1 galaxy, Markarian 231 is also the most luminous infrared galaxy in the local ($`z<0.1`$) universe (Surace et al. (1998)). Ultraluminous infrared galaxies like Mrk 231 have total infrared luminosities well above $`10^{11}L_{}`$, as measured by IRAS. Such galaxies are thought to be stages along a sequence in the evolution of merging spiral galaxies; the mergers generate enormous bursts of star formation and the merged galaxies eventually turn into quasars (e.g., Sanders et al. (1988)). Both the enormous infrared luminosity of $`3\times 10^{12}L_{}`$ (Soifer et al. (1989); Bonatto & Pastoriza (1997)) and the Seyfert/quasar properties of Mrk 231 argue that it is well along in the merger sequence. Using a velocity relative to the 3 K background of 12,447 km s<sup>-1</sup> (de Vaucouleurs et al. (1991)) and $`H_0=75`$ km s<sup>-1</sup> Mpc<sup>-1</sup>, the distance to Mrk 231 is 166 Mpc, and 800 pc subtend 1″.

On a galactic scale, Mrk 231 shows tidal tails indicative of a recent interaction (e.g., Hutchings & Neff (1987); Lipari, Colina, & Macchetto (1994); Surace et al. (1998)). Optical emission lines from an apparent star-forming region are seen 10″–15″ ($`10`$ kpc) south of the nucleus (Hamilton & Keel (1987); Hutchings & Neff (1987)). An extended radio continuum source roughly 60″ (48 kpc) in diameter is also present, predominantly to the south of the nucleus (de Bruyn & Wilson (1976); Hutchings & Neff (1987); Condon & Broderick (1988)). Armus et al. (1994) reported a second nucleus about 3.5″ south of the main nucleus, but Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging shows only a series of star-forming knots at this location (Surace et al. (1998)). There is a general consensus that many of the observed properties of the galaxy result from a merger occurring $`10^8`$$`10^9`$ years ago (e.g., Hutchings & Neff (1987); Armus et al. (1994); Surace et al. (1998)). Baum et al. (1993) imaged a continuum source at 1.4 GHz that extends for 150″ (120 kpc) perpendicular to the galaxy disk, and interpreted that source as a superwind driven by the intense star formation triggered by the merger.

The inner region of Mrk 231 contains a CO disk aligned almost east-west, with an inner diameter of about 1″ (800 pc), a lower density region extending to 3″, and a total gas mass exceeding $`10^9M_{}`$ (Bryant & Scoville (1996); Downes & Solomon (1998)). A compact 10-$`\mu `$m source has a maximum diameter of 0.6″ (Miles et al. (1996)) and is apparently associated with the active galactic nucleus (AGN). That nucleus shows broad Balmer emission lines, characteristic of a Seyfert 1 nucleus, rather weak forbidden lines (e.g., Boksenberg et al. (1977)), and variable, low-ionization, and broad absorption lines at redshifts up to 7800 km s<sup>-1</sup> relative to the systemic velocity (Boroson et al. (1991); Forster, Rich, & McCarthy (1995)). The nucleus shows strong Fe II emission, although its X-ray and low-energy $`\gamma `$-ray emission are anomalously weak for an AGN (Rigopoulou, Lawrence, & Rowan-Robinson (1996); Dermer et al. (1997); Lawrence et al. (1997)). ASCA observations imply a ratio $`L_x/L_{\mathrm{FIR}}=7\times 10^4`$, more consistent with a starburst galaxy than with an AGN, although there clearly is a hard power-law component associated with the active nucleus (Nakagawa et al. (1997)). The ASCA data show an X-ray absorbing column of $`N_H=6\times 10^{22}`$ cm<sup>-2</sup>, which may be associated with the gas in the broad-line region. OH maser emission with an isotropic luminosity of $`700L_{}`$ also is associated with the galaxy (Baan (1985)) but no H<sub>2</sub>O megamaser emission has been detected from the nucleus, with an upper limit of $`18L_{}`$ (Braatz, Wilson, & Henkel (1996)). The OH emission is spread over a scale of a few hundred parsecs, rather than being confined to a very compact region as in most other active galaxies (Lonsdale et al. (1998)).

Numerous Very Large Array (VLA) images of Mrk 231 are available at $``$1″ or better resolution (e.g., Ulvestad, Wilson, & Sramek (1981); Neff & Ulvestad (1988); Condon et al. (1991); Patnaik et al. (1992); Kukula et al. (1995); Papadopoulous et al. (1995)). These images are dominated by an unresolved VLA core with a typical flux density of 100–300 mJy between 1 and 22 GHz; based on the available published data, this core appears to vary at gigahertz frequencies by tens of percent on time scales of years. There also is very weak extended emission on the sub-arcsecond scale (Taylor et al. (1998)). The Hi absorption against the VLA core (Dickey (1982)) occurs against a radio halo or disk of emission 440 mas (350 pc) in extent, with an elongation PA in the east-west direction (Carilli, Wrobel, & Ulvestad 1998, hereafter CWU), similar to the elongation PA of the 800-mas CO emission (Bryant & Scoville (1996)). The radio continuum from this 350-pc disk is strongest at low frequencies and is apparently responsible for much of the extra $`100`$ mJy of flux density missed between measurements on VLBI scales and those on VLA scales (e.g., Lonsdale, Smith, & Lonsdale (1993); Taylor et al. (1994); Taylor et al. (1998)). The properties of the 350-pc disk imply a massive star formation rate of $`60M_{}`$ yr<sup>-1</sup> (CWU ). On a smaller scale of 50 mas (40 pc), the core resolves into a north-south triple at 1.7 GHz, as imaged with the European VLBI Network in the mid-1980s (Neff & Ulvestad (1988)). Optical and ultraviolet spectropolarimetry give an electric-vector position angle (PA) of $`95`$°, suggesting scattering of radiation by dust clouds flowing outward along this north-south VLBI axis (Goodrich & Miller (1994); Smith et al. (1995)).

This paper presents and interprets new continuum observations, with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the VLA, designed to probe structures in Mrk 231 on scales ranging from parsecs to kiloparsecs. Preliminary results were reported by Ulvestad, Wrobel, & Carilli (1998). This radio continuum study of Mrk 231 provides evidence for outflow, for synchrotron self-absorption, and for free-free absorption. These new radio results are related, wherever possible, to published results from the aforementioned studies of radio spectral lines and in shorter wavelength bands.

## 2 Observations and Calibration

### 2.1 VLBA

The continuum emission from Mrk 231 was observed with the 10-element VLBA (Napier et al. (1994)) at frequencies ranging from 1.4 to 22.2 GHz, during the three separate observing sessions summarized in Table 1. During 1995 November, 11-minute scans on Mrk 231 typically were preceded by 2-minute scans on the delay-rate check source J1219+4829, with a total time of about 39 minutes to cycle through 1.4, 2.3, and 5.0 GHz. Occasional scans on DA 193 (J0555+3948), 3C 345 (J1642+3949), and J1740+5212 were obtained for ancillary calibration (fringe-finding, manual pulse calibration, and amplitude calibration checks). On 1996 December 8, scans of 12 minutes duration on Mrk 231 were interleaved with 2–4-minute scans on J1219+4829, and the total cycle time for 5.0, 8.4, and 15 GHz was 44 minutes. A single 25-m VLA antenna was included along with the VLBA to provide improved short-spacing coverage. Ancillary calibrators were 4C 39.25 (J0927+3902), J1310+3220, and 3C 345. On 1996 December 27, both Hi line and 22-GHz continuum data were acquired using the VLBA and the phased VLA. The line observations were reported by CWU and will not be described further here. At 22 GHz, 8-minute scans of Mrk 231 were interleaved with 3-minute scans of J1219+4829. Short scans of 4C 39.25, J1310+3220, and 3C 345 were included for ancillary calibration. All VLBA observing and correlation of Mrk 231 adopted the J2000 position for source J1256+5652 from Patnaik et al. (1992). At the VLA, additional scans of 3C 286 (J1331+3030) were obtained on 1996 December 27 to set the flux density scale, and scans of Mrk 231 at 5, 8.4, and 15 GHz were also acquired to provide a contemporaneous spectrum of the galaxy.

Initial calibration of the VLBA data was carried out using the standard gain values of the VLBA antennas together with system temperatures measured every 1–2 minutes during the observing sessions. Autocorrelations were used to correct for imperfect adjustment of the sampler levels for these 2-bit (4-level) data. For the 1995 data, an additional amplitude adjustment was made using the VLBA image of DA 193, whose total flux density was constrained to be equal to the value measured at the VLA. Baseline gain corrections were less than 5% at 5 GHz, 5–10% at 2.3 GHz, and 5–20% at 1.4 GHz. The substantial corrections at 1.4 GHz were expected because the observing frequency differed by nearly 300 MHz (roughly 20% of the observing frequency) from the frequency where standard gains are measured. Since the VLBA gains are quite stable, and accurate system temperatures were regularly measured, the estimated uncertainty in the VLBA flux density scale is less than $`10`$% . The NRAO Astronomical Image Processing System (AIPS) (van Moorsel, Kemball, & Greisen (1996)) was used for all VLBA data calibration.

### 2.2 VLA

The continuum emission from Mrk 231 was observed in dual circular polarizations with the VLA (Thompson et al. (1980)) during the five separate observing sessions summarized in Table 2. In 1988 and 1989, scaled-array observations were made at 1.5, 4.8, and 15.0 GHz, using the B, C, and D configurations, respectively. These observations yielded intrinsic resolution near 4″, useful for studying the emission on kiloparsec scales. Scans of $`30`$ minutes were interleaved with scans of J1219+4829, the local phase calibrator, and the amplitude scale was set to that of Baars et al. (1977) using short observations of 3C 286. These scaled-array observations were not full syntheses, as only 1.5–3 hr were spent on Mrk 231 in each case. During 1995 November, a short observation in the B configuration was made to determine the total flux and spectrum of Mrk 231 contemporaneously with the 1995 VLBA observations. Five frequencies between 1.4 and 22 GHz were used at the VLA, with 11 minutes spent on Mrk 231 at each frequency. Resolutions ranged from $`4`$″ at 1.5 GHz to $`0.3`$″ at 22 GHz. J1219+4829 was observed for several minutes at each frequency as a phase calibrator. Also, short scans of 3C 286 were obtained to set the VLA flux density scale and short scans of DA 193 were acquired to check the VLBA flux density scale. During 1996 December, observations of Mrk 231 at 5, 8.4, and 15 GHz were only single 2-minute snapshots, while the 1.4- and 22-GHz observations made together with the VLBA were much longer. Phase and amplitude calibration using J1219+4829 and 3C 286, respectively, was similar to that carried out for earlier VLA epochs, with the added complication that additional editing was required for calibrator scans acquired in phased-array mode. VLA flux densities typically have errors of $`5`$% but residual phase noise in 1996 led to larger errors at the higher frequencies (7.5% at 8.4 GHz, 10% at 15 GHz, and 15% at 22 GHz). At 1.4 GHz, a polarization calibration was performed using J1219+4829 to deduce the antenna polarizations and using 3C 286 to fix the absolute polarization PA, and the 1.4-GHz data were corrected for these effects. AIPS was used for all VLA data calibration.

## 3 VLBA Imaging

Following the initial calibration, all VLBA data were imaged in AIPS. After initial images were made, an iterative self-calibration procedure was used to correct the complex gains of the individual antennas for atmospheric and instrumental effects. This process halted when the image quality and the r.m.s. noise stabilized.

A major aim of this study was to derive the spectra of different components in Mrk 231 to search for absorption. To accomplish this goal, full-resolution images were made at each VLBA frequency from 1.4 to 15 GHz. Then, the data at each frequency were re-imaged using only the range of projected baseline lengths sampled at each of the lower frequencies. In this process, the weighting of the data was tapered in the aperture plane to give approximately the same resolution as that available at each lower frequency, with a restoring beam fixed to have the same parameters as the full resolution beam at the lower frequency. For example, the 8.4-GHz data were re-imaged at three different resolutions, equivalent to the full resolution at 1.4, 2.3, and 5.0 GHz. The subsections below present a subset of images that are the most important for the scientific analysis. The interpretation of the results is deferred to later sections.

### 3.1 North-South Triple

The new VLBA image at 1.4 GHz, presented in Figure 1, shows the same (nearly) north-south triple structure known from previous 1.7-GHz observations with the European VLBI Network (Neff & Ulvestad (1988)). The triple consists of an unresolved core, together with two resolved lobes. The approximate size of the triple is 50 mas (40 pc). The emission 20 mas to the east of the core is not apparent at other frequencies, and is likely to be an artifact. The other images in Figure 1 are the 2.3, 5.0, and 8.4-GHz images of the same triple at a resolution matching that of the 1.4-GHz image. Note that as the frequency increases, progressively less diffuse emission is seen; only the outer portion of the VLBA lobes is detected at 8.4 GHz.

The total flux densities in the north (N), central (C), and south (S) components were measured by integrating over the entire area of each component. In addition, the position of the peak intensity in each component, relative to component C, was determined by fitting a parabola to a few pixels in each image surrounding the peak. Results of these measurements are given in Table 3. Also included in Table 3 are the results for component C from the tapered data at 15 GHz; components N and S are too weak to be detected at that frequency. The estimated errors in the flux densities are 10% for component C and for the low-frequency data on component S, but rise to as much as 50% for components N and S at 8.4 GHz due to the increasing uncertainty in the lobe strengths at frequencies where they are largely resolved out. Spectra of components N, C, and S are shown in Figure 2. Although the data at all frequencies were not taken simultaneously, the well-resolved components, N and S, are unlikely to have varied over the 13 months between sessions. Component C appears to have been roughly constant from 1.4 to 5 GHz, based on (1) the VLA core results (see Section 4.2); and (2) the small differences of only 5–10 mJy between 1995 and 1996 in the VLBA strengths at 1.4 and 5 GHz (Table 3; CWU ). The data between 5 and 22 GHz were taken within 20 days, so Figure 2 should be a good snapshot of the spectrum of the VLBA components at a single epoch, 1996 December.

VLBA images, at full resolution, of the north-south triple at 2.3 and 5.0 GHz are shown in Figures 3a and 3b. (The full-resolution image at 8.4 GHz, discussed below, shows no emission from components N or S.) Both of these images show the structure at the ends of the VLBA lobes more clearly, with substantial resolution perpendicular to the direction to the central source. Neither the total component flux densities nor the peak positions differ significantly from those values derived from the images at matched resolution.

### 3.2 Central Component of Triple

The first installment of the Caltech-Jodrell VLBI survey presented a 5.0-GHz image of Mrk 231, under the alias 1254+571 (Taylor et al. (1994)). That survey included intercontinental baselines, and indicated that Mrk 231 was slightly resolved on a scale near 1 mas, in a nearly east-west direction, markedly different from the PA of the larger, north-south triple described above.

New VLBA images, at full resolution, of component C at 8.4 and 15.4 GHz are shown in Figures 3c and 3d. The 8.4-GHz image shows clear resolution in a PA between 60° and 65°, somewhat north of the PA of 92° quoted by Taylor et al. (1994) for the resolved core at 5 GHz, although their image does show an extension slightly north of east, in PA $`80`$°. The 15-GHz image shows that the central source appears to break up into three separate components at sub-parsec resolution. Single- and multi-component Gaussian fits were made to component C at all frequencies between 1.4 and 15 GHz. At 1.4 and 2.3 GHz, the source is not resolved, and the total flux densities are indistinguishable from the values given in Table 3. However, at 5, 8.4, and 15.4 GHz, component C is significantly resolved with a size of 0.8–1.0 mas (0.6–0.8 pc) in a PA near 63°. At the 8.4-GHz resolution, component C in both the 8.4 and 15-GHz images is much better fitted by a two-component model. Finally, at the full 15-GHz resolution, there may be a third component to the southwest. All the fits to component C at the three different resolutions are summarized in Table 4. It is possible that the southwestern component is an imaging artifact, but since its location and that of the northeastern component are not symmetric with respect to the central component, the southwestern component is most likely real. In the multiple component fits, only the strongest source appears significantly resolved. Since the resolution is predominantly along the direction of the structure, this indicates the possible presence of more components that would be separated from the strongest source at yet higher spatial resolution.

Although Mrk 231 also was observed with the VLBA and the phased VLA at 22.2 GHz, the steepening high-frequency spectrum of the core at higher frequencies meant that fringes were detected only on the relatively short baselines in the southwestern United States. Imaging of these limited data yields a total flux density of 30 mJy for the core, and that datum is included in the spectral plot given in Figure 2. Phase-referencing observations are required to image component C at 22 GHz with the resolution and sensitivity needed to identify subcomponents.

## 4 VLA Imaging

### 4.1 Scaled Arrays

During 1988 and 1989, Mrk 231 was observed at 1.5, 4.9, and 15 GHz using scaled arrays of the VLA, as described in Section 2.2. Images were restored with a common (circular) Gaussian beam of size 4″ (full width at half maximum), to enable spectral comparisons. Figure 4 shows these images at 1.5 GHz and 4.9 GHz. The 15-GHz emission is completely unresolved, so that image is not shown. Flux densities in the unresolved VLA core were derived by fitting a Gaussian constrained to the beam size to the central pixels of each image. In addition, the total flux density in each VLA image was determined by integrating over the region in which significant emission is detected; the extended flux density, then, is taken to be the difference between the total flux density and that in the unresolved VLA core. At 15 GHz, there is no detection of extended emission in a single beam area, so this difference is taken to be an upper limit to the total extended flux density. Peak intensities in the extended emission were measured at 1.5 and 4.9 GHz, while an upper limit of 3 times the r.m.s. noise per beam area was assumed at 15 GHz. Results of all these flux density measurements appear in Table 5.

The spectral index of the extended emission is steep, both in total flux density and in a point-by-point comparison. The two-point spectral index, $`\alpha `$ of the total emission is $`1.05\pm 0.23`$ between 1.5 and 4.9 GHz ($`S_\nu \nu ^{+\alpha }`$, where $`S\nu `$ is the flux density at frequency $`\nu `$). A spectral-index image between these frequencies indicates that all regions with significant emission at both frequencies have spectral indices ranging between $`0.4`$ and $`1.0`$, with the total spectrum being somewhat steeper because of the areas detected at 1.5 GHz that are below the detection threshold at 4.9 GHz. The total spectral index of the extended emission between 4.9 and 15 GHz is $`\alpha <0.8\pm 0.4`$.

### 4.2 Flux Density Monitoring

VLA observations of Mrk 231 were made in 1995 November and 1996 December, at frequencies ranging from 1.4 GHz to 22 GHz, as described previously. The data were calibrated, imaged, and self-calibrated in the usual way, in order to measure the flux density of the unresolved VLA core. This flux density was taken to be the peak in the final self-calibrated images. Results are presented in Table 6, with errors quoted as discussed in Section 2.2. The measurements show that the flux density of the core appears to have been relatively constant at frequencies up to 5 GHz, but decreased significantly at 15 and 22 GHz from 1995 to 1996. Therefore, the spectrum of the central component of the VLBA triple source (see Figure 2) should be valid as of the 1996 December epoch. Weak extended emission in the vicinity of the core, within the central arcsecond, is present in the highest resolution VLA data, as discussed by Taylor et al. (1998). This emission has no significant impact on the flux-density measurements for the unresolved core.

### 4.3 Deep VLA Polarimetry

A long observation of Mrk 231 was made at 1.4 GHz with the phased VLA in 1996 December, as part of a VLBA observation of the Hi (CWU). The phased-array data essentially undergo a real-time calibration of the VLA phases, and then can be calibrated further in AIPS, as described previously. Mrk 231 was imaged in Stokes I, Q, and U; the Q and U images were further combined in the usual way to obtain images of the linearly polarized intensity, P, and electric-field PA, $`\chi `$. Figure 5 shows a composite image, with lines representing P and $`\chi `$ superposed on contours of Stokes I emission. The Stokes I emission in Figure 5 strongly resembles that evident in Fig. 4. However, a major new discovery from Figure 5 is that some regions of the diffuse Stokes I emission to the south of the VLA core are significantly linearly polarized, reaching a peak polarized intensity of 185 $`\mu `$Jy beam<sup>-1</sup> about 26″ (21 kpc) south of the VLA core. At this polarization peak, the percentage polarization is about 57% and $`\chi `$ (electric vector position angle) is about 15°. No rotation measure corrections have been made. The VLA core is $`<`$ 0.1% linearly polarized.

## 5 Interpretation, from Large to Small Scales

### 5.1 Summary of Radio/Optical Structures

Figure 6 summarizes the overall structure of Mrk 231 on a variety of scales. The two left-hand panels (Figures 6a and 6b) are an optical B-band image of the galaxy from Hamilton & Keel (1987), and, at the same scale, the 1.5-GHz VLA image from data taken in 1989. These panels show that the radio emission to the south of the nucleus actually extends well beyond the dominant emission from the optical galaxy. The core of the VLA image contains a north-south radio source imaged with the VLBA (Figure 6c) on very much smaller scales, with a total extent of $`40`$ pc. Finally, the nucleus of the galaxy shows additional structures on the 1-pc scale at the highest resolution available with the VLBA at 15 GHz, as shown in Figure 6d.

### 5.2 Kiloparsec Scale

Mrk 231 is an ultraluminous infrared galaxy with a total luminosity in excess of $`10^{12}L_{}`$ (Soifer et al. (1989)). For over 20 years, it has been known to contain radio emission about an arcminute in extent (de Bruyn & Wilson (1976)), somewhat larger than the optical galaxy. The bulk of this emission comes from a diffuse region within about 30″ to the south of the galaxy nucleus. Off-nuclear optical imaging and spectroscopy (Hamilton & Keel (1987); Hutchings & Neff (1987)) revealed H$`\alpha `$ emission in an apparent region of star formation centered roughly 10″–15″ to the south of the nucleus. From the new VLA imaging at 1.4 GHz, the total flux density in the diffuse emission is 42 mJy. This emission is primarily concentrated in a higher brightness feature extending due south of the nucleus for about 20″ (16 kpc), then appearing to curve toward the west, as described previously by Baum et al. (1993). Several different possibilities for the origin of the diffuse emission are considered below.

#### 5.2.1 Thermal Radio Emission from Hii Regions?

Most of the diffuse emission south of the nucleus has a steep spectrum, with a spectral index near $`1.0`$, as shown by the scaled-array observations from 1.5 to 15 GHz. On spectral grounds alone, it seems unlikely that thermal processes can make a substantial contribution. In addition, it is possible to use the H$`\alpha `$ surface brightness measured by Hamilton & Keel (1987) to compute the expected amount of thermal emission from Hii regions. We estimate the total H$`\beta `$ flux (assuming Case B recombination) in a 4″ VLA beam 12″ south of the nucleus to be $`2\times 10^{16}`$ erg cm<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>. The predicted thermal radio brightness at 4.9 GHz (e.g., Ulvestad et al. 1981; Condon (1992)) then would be only about 1 $`\mu `$Jy beam<sup>-1</sup>. In contrast, the peak in the diffuse source at 4.9 GHz is $`400`$ $`\mu `$Jy beam<sup>-1</sup>. Furthermore, the overall spectrum sets an upper limit of $`100`$ $`\mu `$Jy beam<sup>-1</sup> for the flat-spectrum contribution at any point, entirely consistent with the prediction from the optical spectroscopy. The lack of discernible thermal radio emission implies that the intrinsic H$`\beta `$ flux can be no more than $`100`$ times higher than that observed, implying an upper limit of $`A_V5`$ for the extinction in the star-forming region.

The flattest radio spectrum, with $`\alpha 0.4`$ between 1.5 and 4.9 GHz, occurs near the peak of the diffuse emission in the 4.9-GHz image. This is near the peak in the fractional polarization, and well beyond the region of significant optical continuum and line emission (Hamilton & Keel (1987); Hutchings & Neff (1987)). The apparent lack of optical emission from young stars implies little or no thermal contribution to the extended radio emission in this area, so the flattening of the spectrum must have another cause.

#### 5.2.2 Nonthermal Radio Emission from Supernova Remnants?

Assuming a total thermal radio flux density of 1–10 $`\mu `$Jy in the emission in the southern diffuse lobe, plus a distance of 166 Mpc, the formulae given by Condon (1992) imply an ionizing flux of $`10^{52}`$ photons s<sup>-1</sup> and a star formation rate of $`0.03M_{}`$ yr<sup>-1</sup> in stars above $`5M_{}`$. This predicts a nonthermal radio luminosity, from supernova remnants, of $`3\times 10^{19}`$ W Hz<sup>-1</sup> at 4.9 GHz. The corresponding radio flux density at the distance of Mrk 231 would be $`10`$ $`\mu `$Jy. This prediction falls three orders of magnitude short of the total flux density in the southern VLA lobe, and 1.5 orders of magnitude short of the peak flux density per beam at the location of the putative Hii region. Alternatively, using the standard radio/infrared relation for starbursts (e.g., Condon (1992)), the diffuse 1.4-GHz flux density of 42 mJy would predict infrared emission of 5–10 Jy, extended over $``$30″, at 60 and 100 $`\mu `$m. This is inconsistent with the small size ($`<`$1″–2″) found for the near-, mid-, and far-infrared emission (Miles et al. (1996); Matthews et al. (1987); Roche & Chandler (1993)). Furthermore, although the diffuse radio emission and the optical galaxy have somewhat similar shapes, Figure 6 shows that much of the radio emission is actually located beyond the region of significant B-band emission in the galaxy, which would not be expected if the radio emission were associated with a large population of supernova remnants. Finally, the high fractional polarization implies a magnetic field that is ordered on a scale much larger than that expected from a collection of supernova remnants. Therefore, we rule out the possibility that the diffuse radio emission south of the nucleus is generated by star formation and supernovae.

#### 5.2.3 Nonthermal Radio Emission Powered by Radio Jet

The remaining, favored, possibility is that the diffuse emission is excited by a jet from the galaxy nucleus. This inference is supported by an apparent ridge of slightly higher surface brightness emission connecting back to the nucleus. Also, the extremely high polarization at the outer edge of the diffuse lobe implies a well-ordered magnetic field, rather than the chaotic field expected from a collection of supernova remnants. In addition, the polarization vectors indicate that the magnetic field appears to wrap around the outer edge of the lobe, as would be natural for emission fed by a nuclear jet.

The total emission of 42 mJy in this southern lobe at 1.4 GHz corresponds to $`1.4\times 10^{23}`$ W Hz<sup>-1</sup>, and the total luminosity between 10 MHz and 100 GHz (assuming equal proton and electron energies, and a spectral index $`\alpha =1.05`$) is $`1.8\times 10^{40}`$ erg s<sup>-1</sup>. If this luminosity arises from relativistic particles that uniformly fill a lobe 10 kpc in diameter, then the physical conditions in the lobe can be estimated (cf. Pacholczyk (1970)). The minimum-energy magnetic field is $`10`$ $`\mu `$gauss, the total energy in the lobe is $`1.5\times 10^{56}`$ erg, and the synchrotron lifetime is $`3\times 10^8`$ yr. The lobe peaks only $`15`$ kpc from the nucleus, and therefore could be supplied by a jet with an advance speed of only $`50`$ km s<sup>-1</sup>. This required velocity is much smaller than the speeds of up to 7800 km s<sup>-1</sup> seen on parsec scales in the broad-absorption-line clouds (e.g., Forster et al. 1995). The north-south VLBA triple implies the presence of an energy-supplying jet on smaller scales, although its speed of advance is not presently known.

It is interesting to note that the kiloparsec-scale radio emission emerges from the galaxy core in roughly the same direction as the strong optical emission seen just south of the core, in a PA between $`165^{}`$ and $`170^{}`$ (see Figure 6). The secondary optical peak was shown by Surace et al. (1998) to consist of a series of star-forming knots. Therefore, if it is correct to assume that the kiloparsec-scale emission is energized by a radio jet, that jet would appear to be related to the star formation; perhaps the jet has compressed thermal material along its path enough to trigger a burst of star formation. The large-scale jet then appears to curve back to the west only beyond the main extent of the optical galaxy, but in the same general sense as the tidal tails imaged by Hamilton & Keel (1987) and Surace et al. (1998).

### 5.3 Sub-Kiloparsec Scales

CWU discovered a continuum “halo” at 1.4 GHz, with a size of $`440`$ mas (350 pc) and containing about 130 mJy. Comparison of Tables 3 and 6 indicates that the amount of flux density missing between VLBA and VLA scales ranges from $`135\pm 14`$ mJy at 1.4 GHz to $`50\pm 13`$ mJy at 15 GHz. If this emission is dominated by the 350-pc disk, then the spectral index of that disk appears to be $`0.41\pm 0.12`$ between 1.4 and 15 GHz. Taylor et al. (1998) have recently imaged weak extended emission on a 1″ (800 pc) scale, using the VLBA at 0.3 and 0.6 GHz as well as archival VLA observations at frequencies of 5 GHz and higher. They suggest that this emission comes from a weak “outer disk” that may have a spectral turnover near 8 GHz. It may be that the emission on 0.5″–1.0″ scales contains both an optically thin, steep-spectrum component, and some regions that are free-free absorbed at the lower frequencies.

The sub-kiloparsec “milli-halo” seen in NGC 1275 (3C 84) by Silver, Taylor, & Vermeulen (1998) has a similar intrinsic strength and size to the radio disk in Mrk 231. The milli-halo in NGC 1275 is reported to have a steeper spectrum, with $`\alpha 0.9`$. Different spectral shapes for NGC 1275 and Mrk 231 may imply different emission processes, different electron energy distributions, or just varying amounts of free-free absorption. The suggested model for NGC 1275 is that the milli-halo is caused by particles leaking out of the radio jet into the surrounding medium (Silver et al. (1998)). However, for Mrk 231, the elongation of the 350-pc emission perpendicular to the 40-pc VLBA triple and parallel to the slightly larger scale CO disk indicates, instead, a possible relationship to the disk of material thought to surround active galactic nuclei (e.g., Antonucci (1993)). CWU associate this elongated emission with a disk containing atomic, molecular, and dust components on a scale of a few hundred parsecs. The short electron lifetimes ($`<10^5`$ yr) in this disk imply local particle acceleration, requiring star formation or other shock processes in the inner kiloparsec. In fact, the radio continuum emission from this disk or torus is likely to be powered by massive star formation, since it is consistent with the canonical radio-infrared relation. This is in agreement with the conclusion of Downes & Solomon (1998), who suggest that the bulk of the far-infrared emission in Mrk 231 is powered by a starburst. The slight flattening of the radio spectrum relative to the canonical starburst spectral index of $`0.8`$ could be accounted for by localized free-free absorption within the disk.

### 5.4 10–100 Parsec Scales

The north-south triple source in Mrk 231 has a total extent of roughly 50 mas, or 40 pc. At 1.4 and 2.3 GHz, there is considerable emission detected from the central core out to the outer edges of the triple. However, at 5.0 GHz, most of the detected extended emission is in the outermost parts of the lobes. The high resolution images at 2.3 and 5.0 GHz (Figure 3) show that the ends of the lobes are significantly resolved perpendicular to the direction to the core, with transverse extents of 15–20 mas ($``$12–16 pc). This may indicate the presence of shocks at “working surfaces” where jets are attempting to burrow out of the nuclear regions. The outer edges of the VLBA triple source are at a distance similar to the inner scale of the diffuse radio emitter and the Hi-absorption cloud imaged by CWU, so it seems plausible that these lobes are generated by a jet running into the inner surface of an Hi shell or disk. It is also interesting to note that the major axis of the triple source is similar to the axis of the diffuse radio source and the elongation of the optical galaxy on scales 2–3 orders of magnitude larger (see Figure 6). This suggests a long-term memory of the symmetry axis of this Seyfert galaxy, possibly associated with an accretion disk in its center.

#### 5.4.1 Northern Component of Triple

At the resolution of the 1.4-GHz VLBA image, the northern component of the 40-pc triple has a steep spectrum between 1.4 and 8.4 GHz, with a spectral index of $`0.99\pm 0.29`$. Within the errors, the spectrum is straight across the entire flux range, consistent with optically thin synchrotron emission from an ensemble of electrons with a steep power-law distribution in energy. However, the peak of the northern component shifts systematically toward the southwest with increasing frequency (see Table 3), implying the presence of spectral gradients within the lobe. At 1.4 GHz, this peak is located 23.3 mas (17 pc) from the core, in PA 6.5°. At the same low resolution, the 8.4-GHz peak is located only 19.1 mas (14 pc) from the core in PA $`4.3`$°.

Since most of the shift in the peak of the northern lobe occurs between 1.4 and 2.3 GHz, a spectral index image was made between those two frequencies, using the 2.3-GHz image tapered to the 1.4-GHz resolution. That image, displayed in Figure 7, shows the presence of a region with an inverted spectrum, roughly 18 mas (14 pc) north of the galaxy nucleus, although the point-spread function at 1.4-GHz is too large to cleanly resolve the region. (The sharp edges in the spectral-index map are caused by blanking the individual input maps at 8 times their respective noise levels.) A similar image of the spectral index between 2.3 and 5 GHz, at the 2.3-GHz resolution, shows a small region with a nearly flat spectrum between those two frequencies near the same location. This implies that the northern lobe may contain a small component, with a diameter no larger than $`4`$ mas (3 pc), whose spectrum turns over near a frequency of 2–3 GHz.

The most logical cause for the apparent spectral turnover in the northern lobe is free-free absorption in an ionized region with a temperature near $`10^4`$ K. For a turnover frequency of 2 GHz, the emission measure would be $`1.3\times 10^7`$ cm<sup>-6</sup> pc. Both the large variation in spectral index and the shift of the peak as a function of frequency occur over 3–4 mas, implying that the absorbing medium has a size of $`3`$ pc or less on the plane of the sky. If this dimension is also used as an estimate of the line-of-sight distance through the absorber, then the average density along a 3-pc line of sight would be $`2\times 10^3`$ cm<sup>-3</sup>. Such a density is, for instance, fairly typical for ionized clouds in Seyfert narrow-line regions (e.g., Osterbrock (1993)).

#### 5.4.2 Southern Component of Triple

The spectral-index image also indicates a spectral gradient in the southern VLBA component between 1.4 and 2.3 GHz, including a portion at the outer edge of the lobe with an inverted spectrum. The spectral index image between 2.3 and 5.0 GHz shows no such inverted component. The presence of an inverted component between 1.4 and 2.3 GHz is further confirmed by the overall lobe spectrum, which has $`\alpha =0.41\pm 0.29`$ between 1.4 and 2.3 GHz and $`\alpha =1.54\pm 0.20`$ between 2.3 and 8.4 GHz (cf. Table 3 and Figure 2). If the steep spectrum above 2.3 GHz continued to 1.4 GHz, the flux density at that frequency would be 65 mJy instead of the measured value of 37 mJy, implying that a substantial fraction of the total flux of the lobe is absorbed at the lowest frequency. Hypothesizing a turnover frequency due to free-free absorption midway between our two lowest observing frequencies, near 1.8 GHz, the emission measure would be $`1\times 10^7`$ cm<sup>-6</sup>pc. The region of strongest absorption appears to be at the outer edge of the lobe, between 22 and 28 mas ($`20`$ pc) from the central component. This implies an absorbing cloud with a size near 5 pc, and the derived particle density is then $`1.5\times 10^3`$ cm<sup>-3</sup>. Both the density and the size of this ionized cloud are consistent with those required for free-free absorption in the northern component.

The overall high-frequency spectrum could be artificially steepened by resolution effects, which would tend to decrease the flux density at the higher frequencies. However, the spectral index between 2.3 and 5 GHz is still near $`1.5`$ in images made at the full 2.3-GHz resolution, and the mix of short and long spacings on the VLBA implies that little 5-GHz emission should be missing on this scale. Therefore, the overall spectrum of the southern VLBA lobe is indeed quite steep intrinsically.

#### 5.4.3 Overall Structure of North-South VLBA Triple

The 40-pc VLBA triple appears to be significantly affected by free-free absorption due to ionized gas. On a somewhat larger scale, a neutral absorbing component has been detected in our Hi absorption study (CWU ). Therefore, a possible inference is that the ionized gas is merely the inner part of the putative disk seen in Hi, ionized by the central continuum source in Mrk 231. That disk may be a larger version of the disks traced by H<sub>2</sub>O maser emission in active galaxies such as NGC 4258 (Miyoshi et al. (1995); Herrnstein, Greenhill, & Moran (1996); Herrnstein et al. (1997)). However, the viewing angle for the inner disk in Mrk 231 (e.g., CWU ) would be such that no H<sub>2</sub>O maser emission is present. The much larger size of the apparent disk in Mrk 231 could be related to its much more luminous central continuum source.

The north-south VLBA source in Mrk 231 bears a striking resemblance to that seen in 3C 84 (Vermeulen, Readhead, & Backer (1994); Walker, Romney, & Benson (1994); Dhawan, Kellermann, & Romney (1998)). NGC 1275, the host galaxy of 3C 84, is slightly more than twice as close to us as Mrk 231, and the size of its north-south radio source is 10 pc, about a quarter the size of the triple in Mrk 231. In addition, the northern component of 3C 84 (the “counterjet”) also exhibits free-free absorption near 15 GHz, attributed to ionized gas with a path length of several parsecs and a density above $`10^4`$ cm<sup>-3</sup> (Vermeulen et al. 1994). Models of the absorption in 3C 84 indicate that the absorbing gas is not spherically distributed, but can be in a warped disk that could be kept ionized by a central continuum source (Levinson, Laor, & Vermeulen (1995)). However, in 3C 84, the disk appears to block only the northern VLBA component, whereas in Mrk 231 the apparent free-free absorption toward parts of both the southern and northern components indicate that the disk may block both components. This blockage occurs despite the fact that the VLBA lobes in Mrk 231 are several times farther from the radio core than is the absorbed region of the jet in 3C 84. Levinson et al. (1995) estimated a total bolometric luminosity of $`2\times 10^{11}L_{}`$ (scaling their value to $`H_0=75`$) for 3C 84, while the total luminosity of Mrk 231 is $`15`$ times greater. This fact, combined with the inference that the ionized density in Mrk 231 is $`10`$ times smaller than that derived from the higher-frequency spectral turnover in 3C 84 (Vermeulen et al. 1994), indicates that the volume of the ionized region could be hundreds of times larger in Mrk 231 than in 3C 84. This may account for the fact that free-free absorption is detected over a much larger scale in Mrk 231 than in 3C 84.

An alternative explanation for the free-free absorption is connected with the possibility that much of the infrared emission in Mrk 231 may be generated by star formation rather than by an active galactic nucleus (Downes & Solomon (1998)). In this case, a local source of ionizing radiation could account for the free-free-absorbing clouds. Ionization of spherical clouds 5 pc in diameter, with densities of $`10^3`$ cm<sup>-3</sup>, requires only $`10^{50}`$ ionizing photons per second. This ionization rate could be accounted for by just a few early O stars (Osterbrock (1989)), easily consistent with the high infrared luminosity.

### 5.5 Parsec Scales

The central source of the 40-pc VLBA triple undoubtedly contains the actual nucleus of Mrk 231. This central source was shown in Section 3.2 (see Table 4 and Figure 3) to consist of two dominant components separated by 1.1 mas (0.9 pc) in PA $`65`$°, with a possible weak third component located 0.85 mas (0.7 pc) to the southwest. At 8.4 GHz, the two stronger components have brightness temperatures of $`9\times 10^9`$ K and $`>1\times 10^9`$ K. The bulk of the flux density in the strongest component is unresolved, so it may have a peak brightness temperature considerably exceeding $`10^{10}`$ K.

The spectrum of component C peaks between 5.0 and 8.4 GHz (see Figure 2); the spectral index between 8.4 and 15 GHz is $`1.32\pm 0.23`$, indicative of optically thin synchrotron radiation. Table 4 indicates that the two dominant components of this source both have steep spectra between 8.4 and 15 GHz. The high-frequency (“intrinsic,” or un-absorbed) spectrum of the stronger component may be steeper than that of the weaker component, but this is somewhat uncertain due to the blending of the two components at 8.4 GHz.

Two possibilities for the spectral turnover are either synchrotron self-absorption or free-free absorption similar to that deduced for the northern and southern lobes. The stronger component has an 8.4-GHz brightness temperature of $`10^{10}`$ K, indicating that synchrotron self-absorption is a possible cause for the spectral turnover. If the turnover occurs near 6 GHz at a flux density near 150 mJy, the 8.4-GHz size of $`0.56\times 0.40`$ mas implies a magnetic field strength near 0.5 gauss. For comparison, the minimum-energy magnetic field calculated for a straight spectrum with a spectral index of $`1.3`$ between $`10^7`$ and $`10^{11}`$ Hz, and with equal proton and electron energy densities, is similar, $`0.2`$ gauss. The equipartition magnetic field is thus near the value required for synchrotron-self-absorption to occur in the stronger component, making it likely that this could account for the overall turnover of the spectrum. Alternatively, free-free absorption causing a turnover near 6 GHz, and over a 1-pc path length, would require an ionized density of $`1.1\times 10^4`$ cm<sup>-3</sup>.

Attributing the turnover above 5 GHz to synchrotron self-absorption in the stronger central component does not eliminate the possibility that free-free absorption also occurs at a somewhat lower frequency. For example, the northeastern component of the central source has a spectral index of $`0.7`$ between 8.4 and 15 GHz, as indicated by the two-component fit to the central source. An extrapolation of this spectrum to lower frequencies would predict a flux density of $``$45 mJy at 2.3 GHz and $``$65 mJy at 1.4 GHz. The latter prediction exceeds the total observed value of 53 mJy for all of component C. This contradiction can be removed by postulating the presence of either free-free or synchrotron absorption of the weaker component in the vicinity of 2 GHz. Such absorption is consistent with the results for the outer VLBA lobes, again indicating the presence of a large quantity of ionized gas in the inner regions of Mrk 231. However, strong variability of the northeastern component between 1996 and 1998 (Ulvestad et al., 1998b, and in preparation) implies that it may well be the location of the actual nucleus; its brightness temperature may be considerably greater than the lower limit of $`10^9`$ K found in this work, consistent with the possible presence of synchrotron self-absorption.

The major axis of the central VLBA source is near 65°, very different from the position angle of about 0°–5° for the larger-scale VLBA triple. If we assume (based on our recent observations of variability) that the northeastern component of the central source is the galaxy core, and the inner radio jet extends to the southwest in position angle 115°, the obvious hypothesis would be that this jet must twist within the inner few parsecs of the galaxy to feed the more distant VLBA lobes. However, there is no evidence in any VLBA images for a direct connection between the 1-pc-scale source and the larger scale VLBI lobes. Apparent large changes in VLBA position angles within the inner few parsecs are also present in NGC 4151 (Ulvestad et al. 1998a ), so this morphological trait is not unique to Mrk 231. Indeed, a similar circumstance was discovered recently in the nearest active galaxy, Centaurus A, where the sub-parsec axis defined by the VLBI radio jet (Jones et al. (1996); Tingay et al. (1998)) is misaligned by some 70° from the axis of the infrared disk imaged with HST on a 40-pc scale (Schreier et al. (1998)). An alternative hypothesis to jet curvature would be that the northeastern component of the central source is part of an accretion disk or torus as claimed for component S1 in NGC 1068 (Gallimore, Baum, & O’Dea (1997)). However, this seems untenable for Mrk 231; the brightness temperature in Mrk 231 is more than 1000 times higher than that in NGC 1068, so an interpretation as thermal bremsstrahlung or reflected synchrotron emission, while reasonable for NGC 1068, becomes implausible for Mrk 231.

If the central source in Mrk 231 is the inner portion of a jet, its symmetry axis would presumably represent the inner axis of the accretion disk around the black hole that powers the active galactic nucleus. In contrast, the VLBA triple, plus the Hi and CO disks, clearly indicate a very different axis on scales greater than a few parsecs. The smaller scale is typical for the optical broad-line region, while the larger scale matches that for the optical narrow-line region in Seyferts. Therefore, a possible interpretation is that the broad-line and narrow-line regions have symmetry axes that are related only over the long term. The simplest unified schemes for Seyfert galaxies (Antonucci (1993)) suggest that Seyfert 1 galaxies like Mrk 231 are those in which the line of sight to the broad-line region misses the nuclear disk or torus, while Seyfert 2 galaxies are those in which our viewing angle prevents a direct view of the broad-line region. These models typically rely on a common symmetry axis for the broad-line and narrow-line regions, whereas the data presented here indicate that those axes may be very different, at least at the current epoch. This is in accord with recent calculations (Pringle 1996, 1997; Maloney, Begelman, & Pringle (1996)), showing that the accretion disks in active galactic nuclei may be severely warped by the local radiation source, and also with observations of sub-parsec-scale warped disks traced out by VLBI imaging of water megamasers in NGC 4258 (Herrnstein et al. 1996). One could imagine that the larger scale VLBA and VLA sources represent the “average” axis of the disk, while the small-scale VLBA source shows the instantaneous direction of an inner disk that might be determined by the gas most recently added to that disk. The amount of jet curvature, or disk precession or warping, required would be reduced considerably if we happen to be viewing the radio jet nearly end-on, so that a small change in angle could appear much larger in projection.

## 6 Summary

The VLBA and VLA have been used to image the continuum emission from Mrk 231 on scales ranging from parsecs to kiloparsecs. An asymmetric, diffuse radio source is traced for more than 25 kpc. It exhibits linear polarization as high as 57%, has a ridge of modest brightness aligned with a starburst region several kiloparsecs south of the galaxy nucleus and (roughly) with the 40-pc VLBA triple source, and appears to be powered by energy deposition from the jet. This diffuse radio source extends beyond the bulk of the optical emission from Mrk 231. Inside the diffuse radio emission, a 350-pc disk of radio continuum and Hi (CWU), appears to be caused by synchrotron emission that may be free-free absorbed in some regions. This is consistent with the inference that the disk is powered by a massive starburst.

The 40-pc VLBA triple source exhibits free-free absorption in both its northern and southern components at frequencies of 2–3 GHz, implying the presence of ionized gas clouds several parsecs in diameter with densities of 1–2$`\times 10^3`$ cm<sup>-3</sup>. These clouds may reside in the ionized inner region of the same disk responsible for the Hi absorption (CWU ). Their ionization may be powered either by the active galactic nucleus or by a few O stars. The central component of the 40-pc source has an elongation PA $`65`$° from that of the 40-pc VLBA triple. This core contains at least two components, with brightness temperatures of $`10^{10}`$ K and $`>10^9`$ K, each of which is absorbed at low frequencies. The data are consistent with the presence of synchrotron self-absorption between 5 and 10 GHz in the stronger component, implying a magnetic field of $`0.5`$ gauss. The weaker component, about 1 pc to the northeast, is absorbed below 2–3 GHz, due either to free-free absorption or synchrotron self-absorption.

All data support the presence of two symmetry axes in Mrk 231: (1) an inner axis in PA $`65`$° that determines the initial direction of the radio jet, and is likely to be associated with the current axis of a central black hole or its accretion disk; and (2) an outer axis that is near PA 0°, perpendicular to a disk or torus that is ionized in its inner 10–20 pc radius, neutral out to $`200`$ pc from the center, and then molecular out to $`400`$ pc radius. The outer axis presumably represents the average long-term axis of the central engine. These two axes are substantially misaligned unless the parsec-scale radio source is viewed nearly end-on, so that small curvature would be enhanced greatly by projection.

###### Acknowledgements.

We are grateful to Bill Keel for supplying the optical image of Mrk 231, and to Greg Taylor for useful discussions. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.