121 research outputs found
Average UV Quasar Spectra in the Context of Eigenvector 1: A Baldwin Effect Governed by Eddington Ratio?
We present composite UV spectra for low redshift Type 1 AGN binned to exploit
the information content of the Eigenvector 1 (E1) parameter space. Composite
spectra allow a decomposition of the CIV1549 line profile - one of the
strongest high-ionization lines. The simplest CIV decomposition into narrow
(NLR), broad (BLR) and very broad (VBLR) components suggests that different
components have an analog in Hb with two major exceptions. VBLR emission is
seen only in population B (FWHM(Hb)>4000 km/s) sources. A blue
shifted/asymmetric BLR component is seen only in pop. A (FWHM(Hb)<4000 km/s)
HIL such as CIV. The blueshifted component is thought to arise in a wind or
outflow. Our analysis suggests that such a wind can only be produced in pop. A
(almost all radio-quiet) sources where the accretion rate is relatively high.
Comparison between broad UV lines in radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ)
sources shows few significant differences. Clear evidence is found for a narrow
CIV component in most radio-loud sources. We find also some indirect
indications that the black hole (BH) spin, rather than BH mass or accretion
rate is a key trigger in determining whether an object will be RL or RQ. We
find a ten-fold decrease in EW CIV with Eddington ratio (decreasing from ~1 to
\~0.01) while NV shows no change. These trends suggest a luminosity-independent
"Baldwin effect" where the physical driver may be the Eddington ratio.Comment: 39 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Ap
Optical and Radio Variability of BL Lacertae
We observed the prototype blazar, BL Lacertae, extensively in optical and
radio bands during an active phase in the period 2010--2013 when the source
showed several prominent outbursts. We searched for possible correlations and
time lags between the optical and radio band flux variations using
multifrequency data to learn about the mechanisms producing variability. During
an active phase of BL Lacertae, we searched for possible correlations and time
lags between multifrequency light curves of several optical and radio bands. We
tried to estimate any possible variability timescales and inter-band lags in
these bands. We performed optical observations in B, V, R and I bands from
seven telescopes in Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece and India and obtained radio data
at 36.8, 22.2, 14.5, 8 and 4.8 GHz frequencies from three telescopes in
Ukraine, Finland and USA. Significant cross-correlations between optical and
radio bands are found in our observations with a delay of cm-fluxes with
respect to optical ones of ~250 days. The optical and radio light curves do not
show any significant timescales of variability. BL Lacertae showed many optical
'mini-flares' on short time-scales. Variations on longer term timescales are
mildly chromatic with superposition of many strong optical outbursts. In radio
bands, the amplitude of variability is frequency dependent. Flux variations at
higher radio frequencies lead the lower frequencies by days or weeks.
The optical variations are consistent with being dominated by a geometric
scenario where a region of emitting plasma moves along a helical path in a
relativistic jet. The frequency dependence of the variability amplitude
supports an origin of the observed variations intrinsic to the source.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Rotational velocities of the giants in symbiotic stars: III. Evidence of fast rotation in S-type symbiotics
We have measured the projected rotational velocities (vsini) in a number of
symbiotic stars and M giants using high resolution spectroscopic observations.
On the basis of our measurements and data from the literature, we compare the
rotation of mass-donors in symbiotics with vsini of field giants and find that:
(1) the K giants in S-type symbiotics rotate at vsini>4.5 km/s, which is 2-4
times faster than the field K giants;
(2) the M giants in S-type symbiotics rotate on average 1.5 times faster than
the field M giants. Statistical tests show that these differences are highly
significant: p-value < 0.001 in the spectral type bins K2III-K5III,
M0III-M6III, and M2III-M5III;
(3) our new observations of D'-type symbiotics also confirm that they are
fast rotators.
As a result of the rapid rotation, the cool giants in symbiotics should have
3-30 times larger mass loss rates. Our results suggest also that bipolar
ejections in symbiotics seem to happen in objects where the mass donors rotate
faster than the orbital period.
All spectra used in our series of papers can be obtained upon request from
the authors.Comment: MNRAS (accepted), 7 pages, 5 figure
Double-Peaked Low-Ionization Emission Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei
We present a new sample of 116 double-peaked Balmer line Active Galactic
Nuclei (AGN) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Double-peaked emission
lines are believed to originate in the accretion disks of AGN, a few hundred
gravitational radii (Rg) from the supermassive black hole. We investigate the
properties of the candidate disk emitters with respect to the full sample of
AGN over the same redshifts, focusing on optical, radio and X-ray flux, broad
line shapes and narrow line equivalent widths and line flux-ratios. We find
that the disk-emitters have medium luminosities (~10^44erg/s) and FWHM on
average six times broader than the AGN in the parent sample. The double-peaked
AGN are 1.6 times more likely to be radio-sources and are predominantly (76%)
radio quiet, with about 12% of the objects classified as LINERs. Statistical
comparison of the observed double-peaked line profiles with those produced by
axisymmetric and non-axisymmetric accretion disk models allows us to impose
constraints on accretion disk parameters. The observed Halpha line profiles are
consistent with accretion disks with inclinations smaller than 50 deg, surface
emissivity slopes of 1.0-2.5, outer radii larger than ~2000 Rg, inner radii
between 200-800Rg, and local turbulent broadening of 780-1800 km/s. The
comparison suggests that 60% of accretion disks require some form of asymmetry
(e.g., elliptical disks, warps, spiral shocks or hot spots).Comment: 60 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in AJ. For high
quality figures and full tables, please see
http://astro.princeton.edu/~iskra/disks.htm
Multifrequency Photo-polarimetric WEBT Observation Campaign on the Blazar S5 0716+714: Source Microvariability and Search for Characteristic Timescales
Here we report on the results of the WEBT photo-polarimetric campaign
targeting the blazar S5~0716+71, organized in March 2014 to monitor the source
simultaneously in BVRI and near IR filters. The campaign resulted in an
unprecedented dataset spanning \,h of nearly continuous, multi-band
observations, including two sets of densely sampled polarimetric data mainly in
R filter. During the campaign, the source displayed pronounced variability with
peak-to-peak variations of about and "bluer-when-brighter" spectral
evolution, consisting of a day-timescale modulation with superimposed hourlong
microflares characterized by \,mag flux changes. We performed an
in-depth search for quasi-periodicities in the source light curve; hints for
the presence of oscillations on timescales of \,h and \,h do
not represent highly significant departures from a pure red-noise power
spectrum. We observed that, at a certain configuration of the optical
polarization angle relative to the positional angle of the innermost radio jet
in the source, changes in the polarization degree led the total flux
variability by about 2\,h; meanwhile, when the relative configuration of the
polarization and jet angles altered, no such lag could be noted. The
microflaring events, when analyzed as separate pulse emission components, were
found to be characterized by a very high polarization degree () and
polarization angles which differed substantially from the polarization angle of
the underlying background component, or from the radio jet positional angle. We
discuss the results in the general context of blazar emission and energy
dissipation models.Comment: 16 pages, 17 Figures; ApJ accepte
Radio-to-UV monitoring of AO 0235+164 by the WEBT and Swift during the 2006--2007 outburst
The blazar AO 0235+164 was claimed to show a quasi-periodic behaviour in the
radio and optical bands. Moreover, an extra emission component contributing to
the UV and soft X-ray flux was detected, whose nature is not yet clear. A
predicted optical outburst was observed in late 2006/early 2007. We here
present the radio-to-optical WEBT light curves during the outburst, together
with UV data acquired by Swift in the same period. We found the optical
outburst to be as strong as the big outbursts of the past: starting from late
September 2006, a brightness increase of 5 mag led to the outburst peak in
February 19-21, 2007. We also observed an outburst at mm and then at cm
wavelengths, with an increasing time delay going toward lower frequencies
during the rising phase. Cross-correlation analysis indicates that the 1 mm and
37 GHz flux variations lagged behind the R-band ones by about 3 weeks and 2
months, respectively. These short time delays suggest that the corresponding
jet emitting regions are only slightly separated and/or misaligned. In
contrast, during the outburst decreasing phase the flux faded contemporaneously
at all cm wavelengths. This abrupt change in the emission behaviour may suggest
the presence of some shutdown mechanism of intrinsic or geometric nature. The
behaviour of the UV flux closely follows the optical and near-IR one. By
separating the synchrotron and extra component contributions to the UV flux, we
found that they correlate, which suggests that the two emissions have a common
origin.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, in press for Astronomy and Astrophysic
Dissecting the long-term emission behaviour of the BL Lac object Mrk 421
We report on long-term multiwavelengthmonitoring of blazar Mrk 421 by the GLAST-AGILE
Support Program of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (GASP-WEBT) collaboration and
Steward Observatory, and by the Swift and Fermi satellites. We study the source behaviour in
the period 2007â2015, characterized by several extreme flares. The ratio between the optical,
X-ray and Îł -ray fluxes is very variable. The Îł -ray flux variations show a fair correlation with
the optical ones starting from 2012.We analyse spectropolarimetric data and find wavelengthdependence
of the polarization degree (P), which is compatible with the presence of the
host galaxy, and no wavelength dependence of the electric vector polarization angle (EVPA).
Optical polarimetry shows a lack of simple correlation between P and flux and wide rotations of
the EVPA.We build broad-band spectral energy distributions with simultaneous near-infrared
and optical data from the GASP-WEBT and ultraviolet and X-ray data from the Swift satellite.
They show strong variability in both flux and X-ray spectral shape and suggest a shift of
the synchrotron peak up to a factor of âŒ50 in frequency. The interpretation of the flux and
spectral variability is compatible with jet models including at least two emitting regions that
can change their orientation with respect to the line of sight.http://10.0.4.69/mnras/stx2185Accepted manuscrip
A new activity phase of the blazar 3C 454.3. Multifrequency observations by the WEBT and XMM-Newton in 2007-2008
We present and analyse the WEBT multifrequency observations of 3C 454.3 in
the 2007-2008 observing season, including XMM-Newton observations and near-IR
spectroscopic monitoring, and compare the recent emission behaviour with the
past one. In the optical band we observed a multi-peak outburst in July-August
2007, and other faster events in November 2007 - February 2008. During these
outburst phases, several episodes of intranight variability were detected. A mm
outburst was observed starting from mid 2007, whose rising phase was
contemporaneous to the optical brightening. A slower flux increase also
affected the higher radio frequencies, the flux enhancement disappearing below
8 GHz. The analysis of the optical-radio correlation and time delays, as well
as the behaviour of the mm light curve, confirm our previous predictions,
suggesting that changes in the jet orientation likely occurred in the last few
years. The historical multiwavelength behaviour indicates that a significant
variation in the viewing angle may have happened around year 2000. Colour
analysis reveals a complex spectral behaviour, which is due to the interplay of
different emission components. All the near-IR spectra show a prominent Halpha
emission line, whose flux appears nearly constant. The analysis of the
XMM-Newton data indicates a correlation between the UV excess and the
soft-X-ray excess, which may represent the head and the tail of the big blue
bump, respectively. The X-ray flux correlates with the optical flux, suggesting
that in the inverse-Compton process either the seed photons are synchrotron
photons at IR-optical frequencies or the relativistic electrons are those that
produce the optical synchrotron emission. The X-ray radiation would thus be
produced in the jet region from where the IR-optical emission comes.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures (7 included in the text, 5 in GIF format),
accepted for publication in A&
Multiwavelength Intraday Variability of the BL Lac S5 0716+714
We report results from a 1 week multi-wavelength campaign to monitor the BL
Lac object S5 0716+714 (on December 9-16, 2009). In the radio bands the source
shows rapid (~ (0.5-1.5) day) intra-day variability with peak amplitudes of up
to ~ 10 %. The variability at 2.8 cm leads by about 1 day the variability at 6
cm and 11 cm. This time lag and more rapid variations suggests an intrinsic
contribution to the source's intraday variability at 2.8 cm, while at 6 cm and
11 cm interstellar scintillation (ISS) seems to predominate. Large and
quasi-sinusoidal variations of ~ 0.8 mag were detected in the V, R and I-bands.
The X-ray data (0.2-10 keV) do not reveal significant variability on a 4 day
time scale, favoring reprocessed inverse-Compton over synchrotron radiation in
this band. The characteristic variability time scales in radio and optical
bands are similar. A quasi-periodic variation (QPO) of 0.9 - 1.1 days in the
optical data may be present, but if so it is marginal and limited to 2.2
cycles. Cross-correlations between radio and optical are discussed. The lack of
a strong radio-optical correlation indicates different physical causes of
variability (ISS at long radio wavelengths, source intrinsic origin in the
optical), and is consistent with a high jet opacity and a compact synchrotron
component peaking at ~= 100 GHz in an ongoing very prominent flux density
outburst. For the campaign period, we construct a quasi-simultaneous spectral
energy distribution (SED), including gamma-ray data from the FERMI satellite.
We obtain lower limits for the relativistic Doppler-boosting of delta >= 12-26,
which for a BL\,Lac type object, is remarkably high.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figures, table 2; Accepted for Publication in MNRA
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