1,452 research outputs found
Probing the BLR in AGNs using time variability of associated absorption line
It is know that most of the clouds producing associated absorption in the
spectra of AGNs and quasars do not completely cover the background source
(continuum + broad emission line region, BLR). We note that the covering factor
derived for the absorption is the fraction of photons occulted by the absorbing
clouds, and is not necessarily the same as the fractional area covered. We show
that the variability in absorption lines can be produced by the changes in the
covering factor caused by the variation in the continuum and the finite light
travel time across the BLR. We discuss how such a variability can be
distinguished from the variability caused by other effects and how one can use
the variability in the covering factor to probe the BLR.Comment: 12 pages, latex(aaspp4.sty), 2 figures, (To appear in ApJ
Entanglement entropy in collective models
We discuss the behavior of the entanglement entropy of the ground state in
various collective systems. Results for general quadratic two-mode boson models
are given, yielding the relation between quantum phase transitions of the
system (signaled by a divergence of the entanglement entropy) and the
excitation energies. Such systems naturally arise when expanding collective
spin Hamiltonians at leading order via the Holstein-Primakoff mapping. In a
second step, we analyze several such models (the Dicke model, the two-level BCS
model, the Lieb-Mattis model and the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model) and
investigate the properties of the entanglement entropy in the whole parameter
range. We show that when the system contains gapless excitations the
entanglement entropy of the ground state diverges with increasing system size.
We derive and classify the scaling behaviors that can be met.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
BeppoSAX observations of low power radio galaxies: possible detection of obscured nuclei
We present the first results of BeppoSAX observations of a small sample of
low brightness FRI radio galaxies. The flux of all the targets is consistent
with a thermal spectrum, as due to the presence of hot intracluster gas or
galactic corona. Moreover in three sources a non thermal absorbed spectrum can
be present in the MECS spectrum at energies larger than 7 keV, while for a
fourth object a high energy flux has been detected in the PDS instrument at
energies larger than 15 keV. This component could be related to the inner AGN
surrounded by an obscuring torus.Comment: 4 pages, LateX, 3 figures (included). Uses espcrc2.sty (included). To
appear in: "The Active X-ray Sky: Results from BeppoSAX and Rossi-XTE", Rome,
Italy, 21-24 October, 1997, Eds.: L. Scarsi, H. Bradt, P. Giommi and F. Fior
Adhesive Contact to a Coated Elastic Substrate
We show how the quasi-analytic method developed to solve linear elastic
contacts to coated substrates (Perriot A. and Barthel E. {\em J. Mat. Res.},
{\bf 2004}, {\em 19}, 600) may be extended to adhesive contacts. Substrate
inhomogeneity lifts accidental degeneracies and highlights the general
structure of the adhesive contact theory. We explicit the variation of the
contact variables due to substrate inhomogeneity. The relation to other
approaches based on Finite Element analysis is discussed
Interplay between phase defects and spin polarization in the specific heat of the spin density wave compound (TMTTF)_2Br in a magnetic field
Equilibrium heat relaxation experiments provide evidence that the ground
state of the commensurate spin density wave (SDW) compound (TMTTF)Br after
the application of a sufficient magnetic field is different from the
conventional ground state. The experiments are interpreted on the basis of the
local model of strong pinning as the deconfinement of soliton-antisoliton pairs
triggered by the Zeeman coupling to spin degrees of freedom, resulting in a
magnetic field induced density wave glass for the spin carrying phase
configuration.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
A Uniform Analysis of the Ly-alpha forest at z = 0 - 5: II. Measuring the mean intensity of the extragalactic ionizing background using the proximity effect
A homogeneous sample of 99 moderate resolution QSO spectra at z > 1.7 were
presented in Paper I, including 39 previously unpublished spectra from the
Multiple Mirror Telescope. The statistics of the Lyman alpha forest were
discussed. In this analysis, we demonstrate that a proximity effect is present
in the data, ie. there exists a significant (5.5) deficit of lines at
. Within 1.5 Mpc of the QSO emission redshift,
the significance does depend on QSO luminosity, in accordance with the theory
that this effect is caused by enhanced ionization of hydrogen in the vicinity
of the QSO from UV photons from the QSO itself. The photoionization model of
Bajtlik, Duncan, and Ostriker (1988) permits an estimate of the mean intensity
of the extragalactic background radiation at the Lyman limit. We compare the
results of this standard analysis with those obtained using a maximum
likelihood technique. The best fit value for is
7.0 x 10 ergs/s/cm/Hz/sr, over the redshift range
1.7 < z < 3.8, using QSO redshifts based on narrow emission lines. The best fit
value for the HI ionization rate is 1.9 x 10 s,
in good agreement with models of the background which incorporate QSOs only.
This large absorption line sample and these techniques for measuring the
background and understanding the systematics involved allow us to place what we
believe are are the firmest limits on the background at these redshifts.Comment: revised figures 13 and 14, and other minor corrections, 42 Latex
pages, 23 encapsulated Postscript figures, uses emulateapj.sty, To appear in
the Sept. 2000 ApJ
Adhesive contact of elastomers: effective adhesion energy and creep function
For the adhesive contact of elastomers, we propose expressions to quantify
the impact of viscoelastic response on effective adhesion energy as a function
of contact edge velocity. The expressions we propose are simple analytical
functionals of the creep response and should be suitable for experimental data
analysis in terms of measured rheologies. We also emphasize the role of the
coupling between local stress field at the contact edge and the macroscopic
remote loading (far field). We show that the contrast between growing and
receding contact originates from the impact of viscoelastic response on
coupling, while the separation process at the contact edge is similarly
affected by viscoelasticity in both cases.Comment: 17 pages, 7 Figures, 45 references, regular pape
PKS 1018-42: A Powerful Kinetically Dominated Quasar
We have identified PKS 1018-42 as a radio galaxy with extraordinarily
powerful jets, over twice as powerful as any 3CR source of equal or lesser
redshift except for one (3C196). It is perhaps the most intrinsically powerful
extragalactic radio source in the, still poorly explored, Southern Hemisphere.
PKS 1018-42 belongs to the class of FR II objects that are kinetically
dominated, the jet kinetic luminosity, (calculated at 151 MHz), is 3.4 times larger than the
total thermal luminosity (IR to X-ray) of the accretion flow, . It is the fourth most kinetically dominated
quasar that we could verify from existing radio data. From a review of the
literature, we find that kinetically dominated sources such as PKS 1018-42 are
rare, and list the 5 most kinetically dominated sources found from our review.
Our results for PKS 1018-42 are based on new observations from the Australia
Telescope Compact Array.Comment: To appear in ApJ Letter
Scattered Nuclear Continuum and Broad H-alpha in Cygnus A
We have discovered scattered broad Balmer emission lines in the spectrum of
Cygnus A, using the Keck II telescope. Broad H-alpha appears in polarized flux
from components on either side of the nucleus, and to a lesser extent in the
nucleus. The full-width at half-maximum of broad H-alpha is 26,000 km/s,
comparable to the widest emission lines seen in broad-line radio galaxies.
Scattered AGN light provides a significant contribution to the total flux at
3800 Angstroms (rest) of the western component, where the polarization rises to
16%. The spatially integrated flux of Cygnus A at 5500 Angstroms can be
decomposed into an elliptical galaxy fraction (Fg=0.70), a highly polarized
blue component (FC1=0.15), a less polarized red component (FC=0.09), and a
contribution from the nebular continuum (0.06). Imaging polarimetry shows a
double fan of polarization vectors with circular symmetry which corresponds to
the ionization cone seen in HST images. Our results are consistent with
scattering of light from a hidden quasar of modest luminosity by an extended,
dusty narrow-line region.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Latex, to appear in ApJ Letter
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