1,305 research outputs found
Evidence for Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galactic Nuclei from Emission-Line Reverberation
Emission-line variability data for Seyfert 1 galaxies provide strong evidence
for the existence of supermassive black holes in the nuclei of these galaxies,
and that the line-emitting gas is moving in the gravitational potential of that
black hole. The time-delayed response of the emission lines to continuum
variations is used to infer the size of the line-emitting region, which is then
combined with measurements of the Doppler widths of the variable line
components to estimate a virial mass. In the case of the best-studied galaxy,
NGC 5548, various emission lines spanning an order of magnitude in distance
from the central source show the expected velocity proportional to inverse
square root of the distance correlation between distance and line width, and
are thus consistent with a single value for the mass. Two other Seyfert
galaxies, NGC 7469 and 3C 390.3, show a similar relationship. We compute the
ratio of luminosity to mass for these three objects and the narrow-line Seyfert
1 galaxy NGC 4051 and find that that the gravitational force on the
line-emitting gas is much stronger than radiation pressure. These results
strongly support the paradigm of gravitationally bound broad emission-line
region clouds.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Metabolite Mapping with Extended Brain Coverage Using a Fast Multisection MRSI Pulse Sequence and a Multichannel Coil
Multisection magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging is a widely used pulse sequence that has distinct advantages over other spectroscopic imaging sequences, such as dynamic shimming, large region-of-interest coverage within slices, and rapid data acquisition. It has limitations, however, in the number of slices that can be acquired in realistic scan times and information loss from spacing between slices. In this paper, we synergize the multi-section spectroscopic imaging pulse sequence with multichannel coil technology to overcome these limitations. These combined techniques now permit elimination of the gaps between slices and acquisition of a larger number of slices to realize the whole brain metabolite mapping without incurring the penalties of longer repetition times (and therefore longer acquisition times) or lower signal-to-noise ratios
Short-Timescale monitoring of the X-ray, UV and broad double-peak emission line of the nucleus of NGC 1097
Recent studies have suggested that the short-timescale ( days)
variability of the broad (10,000 km s) double-peaked H
profile of the LINER nucleus of NGC1097 could be driven by a variable X-ray
emission from a central radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF). To test
this scenario, we have monitored the NGC1097 nucleus in X-ray and UV continuum
with Swift and the H flux and profile in the optical spectrum using
SOAR and Gemini-South from 2012 August to 2013 February. During the monitoring
campaign, the H flux remained at a very low level --- 3 times lower
than the maximum flux observed in previous campaigns and showing only limited
() variability. The X-ray variations were small, only
throughout the campaign, while the UV did not show significant variations. We
concluded that the timescale of the H profile variation is close to the
sampling interval of the optical observations, which results in only marginal
correlation between the X-ray and H fluxes. We have caught the AGN in
NGC1097 in a very low activity state, in which the ionizing source was very
weak and capable of ionizing just the innermost part of the gas in the disk.
Nonetheless, the data presented here still support the picture in which the gas
that emits the broad double-peaked Balmer lines is illuminated/ionized by a
source of high-energy photons which is located interior to the inner radius of
the line-emitting part of the disk.Comment: The paper contains 14 pages, 7 figures and is accepted for
publication at the Astrophysical Journa
Spontaneous Eyeblinks Are Correlated with Responses during the Stroop Task
The timing and frequency of spontaneous eyeblinking is thought to be influenced by ongoing internal cognitive or neurophysiological processes, but how precisely these processes influence the dynamics of eyeblinking is still unclear. This study aimed to better understand the functional role of eyeblinking during cognitive processes by investigating the temporal pattern of eyeblinks during the performance of attentional tasks. The timing of spontaneous eyeblinks was recorded from 28 healthy subjects during the performance of both visual and auditory versions of the Stroop task, and the temporal distributions of eyeblinks were estimated in relation to the timing of stimulus presentation and vocal response during the tasks. We found that the spontaneous eyeblink rate increased during Stroop task performance compared with the resting rate. Importantly, the subjects (17/28 during the visual Stroop, 20/28 during the auditory Stroop) were more likely to blink before a vocal response in both tasks (150–250 msec) and the remaining subjects were more likely to blink soon after the vocal response (200–300 msec), regardless of the stimulus type (congruent or incongruent) or task difficulty. These findings show that spontaneous eyeblinks are closely associated with responses during the performance of the Stroop task on a short time scale and suggest that spontaneous eyeblinks likely signal a shift in the internal cognitive or attentional state of the subjects
On the size of the Fe II emitting region in the AGN Akn 120
We present a reverberation analysis of the strong, variable optical Fe II
emission bands in the spectrum of Akn 120, a low-redshift AGN which is one of
the best candidates for such a study. On time scales of several years the Fe II
line strengths follow the variations in the continuum strength. However, we are
unable to measure a clear reverberation lag time for these Fe II lines on any
time scale. This is due to the very broad and flat-topped nature of the Fe II
cross correlation functions, as compared to the H-beta response which is much
more sharply localized in time. Although there is some suggestion in the light
curve of a 300-day response time, our statistical analysis does not pick up
such a feature. We conclude that the optical Fe II emission does not come from
a photoionization-powered region similar in size to the H-beta emitting region,
but we cannot say for sure where it does come from. Our results are generally
consistent either with emission from a photoionized region several times larger
than the H-beta zone, or with emission from gas heated by some other means,
perhaps responding only indirectly to the continuum variations.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Ap
Variability of Fe II Emission Features in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548
We study the low-contrast Fe II emission blends in the ultraviolet
(1250--2200A) and optical (4000--6000A) spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC
5548 and show that these features vary in flux and that these variations are
correlated with those of the optical continuum. The amplitude of variability of
the optical Fe II emission is 50% - 75% that of Hbeta and the ultraviolet Fe II
emission varies with an even larger amplitude than Hbeta. However, accurate
measurement of the flux in these blends proves to be very difficult even using
excellent Fe II templates to fit the spectra. We are able to constrain only
weakly the optical Fe II emission-line response timescale to a value less than
several weeks; this upper limit exceeds all the reliably measured emission-line
lags in this source so it is not particularly meaningful. Nevertheless, the
fact that the optical Fe II and continuum flux variations are correlated
indicates that line fluorescence in a photoionized plasma, rather than
collisional excitation, is responsible for the Fe II emission. The iron
emission templates are available upon request.Comment: 34 pages including 12 figures and 2 tables. Accepted for publication
by ApJ (tentatively in vol. 626 June 10, 2005
An Alternative Approach To Measuring Reverberation Lags in Active Galactic Nuclei
Motivated by recent progress in the statistical modeling of quasar
variability, we develop a new approach to measuring emission-line reverberation
lags to estimate the size of broad-line regions (BLRs) in active galactic
nuclei. Assuming that all emission-line light curves are scaled, smoothed, and
displaced versions of the continuum, this alternative approach fits the light
curves directly using a damped random walk model and aligns them to recover the
time lag and its statistical confidence limits. We introduce the mathematical
formalism of this approach and demonstrate its ability to cope with some of the
problems for traditional methods, such as irregular sampling, correlated
errors, and seasonal gaps. We redetermine the lags for 87 emission lines in 31
quasars and reassess the BLR size--luminosity relationship using 60 H-beta
lags. We confirm the general results from the traditional cross-correlation
methods, with a few exceptions. Our method, however, also supports a broad
range of extensions. In particular, it can simultaneously fit multiple lines
and continuum light curves which improves the lag estimate for the lines and
provides estimates of the error correlations between them. Determining these
correlations is of particular importance for interpreting emission-line
velocity--delay maps. We can also include parameters for luminosity-dependent
lags or line responses. We use this to detect the scaling of the BLR size with
continuum luminosity in NGC 5548.Comment: match to the version accepted to ApJ. New code release available at
http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~yingzu/spear.htm
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A Brain-based Endophenotype For Major Depressive Disorder
We have identified a brain-based endophenotype for major depressive disorder (MDD) that includes thinning of the cortex of the lateral aspect of the right hemisphere and the medial aspect of the left, as well as bilateral hypoplasia of frontal and parietal white matter. The endophenotype status of these abnormalities is supported by their presence in a multi-generational cohort of persons who themselves do not have MDD but who are at increased familial risk for developing the illness. Those who have the endophenotype but who are not ill nevertheless still suffer from inattention and poor visual memory for social stimuli in direct proportion to the magnitude of cortical thinning and white matter hypoplasia within the endophenotype. Identification of this endophenotype and its cognitive correlates provides targets for devising new preventive and therapeutic interventions for MDD
Hormonal contraceptive use increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in active, young women [abstract]
Abstract only availableMany studies have shown that the estrogen in oral hormonal contraceptives (HC) increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D concentrations in women. As a hormone that regulates gene transcription estrogen is known to increase Vitamin-D binding protein concentrations, and therefore 25(OH)D concentrations in the blood. Furthermore, Vitamin D is a major regulator of bone metabolism and its status within the blood influences circulating levels of bone turnover markers. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of HC use on serum 25OHD concentrations and biochemical markers of bone turnover in active young females. Thirty-nine young (age 18-33 years), active (≥5 h of aerobic exercise per week) women participated (HC users, n=16; Non-users, n=23). Of the HC users, 9 were taking monophasic HC; 7 were taking triphasic HC. Fasting serum samples were taken during the early follicular phase (d2-5 of the menstrual cycle) and were analyzed for 25OHD and biochemical bone markers [bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), N-telopeptide of collagen cross-links (NTx), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and osteocalcin (OC)] using radioimmuno assay and ELISA, respectively. Serum 25OHD was significantly greater (p=.007) and BAP significantly lower (p=.002) in HC users compared with nonusers. No differences were found between groups for NTx, PTH or osteocalcin. Serum concentrations of BAP and Vitamin D were negatively correlated (r= -.453; p=.004). We conclude that HC use is associated with increased serum 25OHD concentrations and lower circulating BAP in young active females
The Near-Infrared Broad Emission Line Region of Active Galactic Nuclei -- I. The Observations
We present high quality (high signal-to-noise ratio and moderate spectral
resolution) near-infrared (near-IR) spectroscopic observations of 23 well-known
broad-emission line active galactic nuclei (AGN). Additionally, we obtained
simultaneous (within two months) optical spectroscopy of similar quality. The
near-IR broad emission line spectrum of AGN is dominated by permitted
transitions of hydrogen, helium, oxygen, and calcium, and by the rich spectrum
of singly-ionized iron. In this paper we present the spectra, line
identifications and measurements, and address briefly some of the important
issues regarding the physics of AGN broad emission line regions. In particular,
we investigate the excitation mechanism of neutral oxygen and confront for the
first time theoretical predictions of the near-IR iron emission spectrum with
observations.Comment: 45 pages, 17 figures, accepted by ApJ
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