170 research outputs found
Attosecond pulse shaping around a Cooper minimum
High harmonic generation (HHG) is used to measure the spectral phase of the
recombination dipole matrix element (RDM) in argon over a broad frequency range
that includes the 3p Cooper minimum (CM). The measured RDM phase agrees well
with predictions based on the scattering phases and amplitudes of the
interfering s- and d-channel contributions to the complementary photoionization
process. The reconstructed attosecond bursts that underlie the HHG process show
that the derivative of the RDM spectral phase, the group delay, does not have a
straight-forward interpretation as an emission time, in contrast to the usual
attochirp group delay. Instead, the rapid RDM phase variation caused by the CM
reshapes the attosecond bursts.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Attosecond Synchronization of High-Order Harmonics from Midinfrared Drivers
The group delay dispersion, also known as the attochirp, of high-order harmonics generated in gases has been identified as the main intrinsic limitation to the duration of Fourier-synthesized attosecond pulses. Theory implies that the attochirp, which is inversely proportional to the laser wavelength, can be decreased at longer wavelength. Here we report the first measurement of the wavelength dependence of the attochirp using an all-optical, in situ method [N. Dudovich et al., Nature Phys. 2, 781 (2006)]. We show that a 2 ÎŒm driving wavelength reduces the attochirp with respect to 0.8 ÎŒm at comparable intensities
Evolution of binary black holes in self gravitating discs: dissecting the torques
We study the interplay between gas accretion and gravity torques in changing a binary elements and its total angular momentum (L) budget. Especially, we analyse the physical origin of the gravity torques (T_g) and their location within the disc. We analyse 3D SPH simulations of the evolution of initially quasi-circular massive black hole binaries (BHBs) residing in the central hollow of massive self-gravitating circumbinary discs. We use different thermodynamics within the cavity and for the numerical size of the black holes to show that (i) the BHB eccentricity growth found previously is a general result, independent of the accretion and the adopted thermodynamics; (ii) the semi-major axis decay depends both on the T_g and on the interplay with the disc-binary L-transfer due to accretion; (iii) the spectral structure of the T_g is predominately caused by disc edge overdensities and spiral arms developing in the body of the disc and, in general, does not reflect directly the period of the binary; (iv) the net T_g changes sign across the BHB corotation radius. We quantify the relative importance of the two, which appear to depend on the thermodynamical properties of the instreaming gas, and which is crucial in assessing the disc-binary L-transfer; (v) the net torque manifests as a purely kinematic (non-resonant) effect as it stems from the cavity, where the material flows in and out in highly eccentric orbits. Both accretion onto the black holes and the interaction with gas streams inside the cavity must be taken into account to assess the fate of the BHB. Moreover, the total torque exerted by the disc affects L(BHB) by changing all the elements (mass, mass ratio, eccentricity, semimajor axis) of the BHB. Common prescriptions equating tidal torque to semi-major axis shrinking might therefore be poor approximations for real astrophysical systems
Search of sub-parsec massive binary black holes through line diagnosis II
Massive black hole binaries at sub-parsec separations may display in their
spectra anomalously small flux ratios between the MgII and CIV broad emission
lines, i.e. F_MgII/F_CIV <~ 0.1, due to the erosion of the broad line region
around the active, secondary black hole, by the tidal field of the primary. In
Paper I by Montuori et al. (2011), we focussed on broad lines emitted by gas
bound to the lighter accreting member of a binary when the binary is at the
center of a hollow density region (the gap) inside a circum-binary disc. The
main aim of this new study is at exploring the potential contribution to the
broad line emission by the circum-binary disc and by gaseous streams flowing
toward the black hole through the gap. We carry out a post-process analysis of
data extracted from a SPH simulation of a circum-binary disc around a black
hole binary. Our main result is that the MgII to CIV flux ratio can be reduced
to ~ 0.1 within an interval of sub-pc binary separations of the order of a ~
(0.01-0.2)(f_Edd/0.1)^(1/2) pc corresponding to orbital periods of ~ (20-200)
(f_Edd/0.1)^(3/4) years for a secondary BH mass in the range M_2 ~ 10^7-10^9
M_sun and a binary mass ratio of 0.3. At even closer separations this ratio
returns to increase to values that are indistinguishable from the case of a
single AGN (typically F_MgII/F_CIV ~ 0.3-0.4) because of the contribution to
the MgII line from gas in the circum-binary disc.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure, accepted for publication in MNRA
Limiting eccentricity of sub-parsec massive black hole binaries surrounded by self-gravitating gas discs
We study the dynamics of supermassive black hole binaries embedded in
circumbinary gaseous discs, with the SPH code Gadget-2. The sub-parsec binary
(of total mass M and mass ratio q=1/3) has excavated a gap and transfers its
angular momentum to the self--gravitating disc (M_disc=0.2 M). We explore the
changes of the binary eccentricity e, by simulating a sequence of binary models
that differ in the initial eccentricity e_0, only. In initially low-eccentric
binaries, the eccentricity increases with time, while in high-eccentric
binaries e declines, indicating the existence of a limiting eccentricity e_crit
that is found to fall in the interval [0.6,0.8]. We also present an analytical
interpretation for this saturation limit. An important consequence of the
existence of e_crit is the detectability of a significant residual eccentricity
e_LISA} by the proposed gravitational wave detector LISA. It is found that at
the moment of entering the LISA frequency domain e_LISA ~ 10^{-3}-10^{-2}; a
signature of its earlier coupling with the massive circumbinary disc. We also
observe large periodic inflows across the gap, occurring on the binary and disc
dynamical time scales rather than on the viscous time. These periodic changes
in the accretion rate (with amplitudes up to ~100%, depending on the binary
eccentricity) can be considered a fingerprint of eccentric sub-parsec binaries
migrating inside a circumbinary disc.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Multimessenger astronomy with pulsar timing and X-ray observations of massive black hole binaries
We demonstrate that very massive (>10^8\msun), cosmologically nearby (z<1)
black hole binaries (MBHBs), which are primary targets for ongoing and upcoming
pulsar timing arrays (PTAs), are particularly appealing multimessenger
carriers. According to current models for massive black hole formation and
evolution, the planned Square Kilometer Array (SKA) will collect gravitational
wave signals from thousands of such massive systems, being able to individually
resolve and locate in the sky several of them (maybe up to a hundred). By
employing a standard model for the evolution of MBHBs in circumbinary discs,
with the aid of dedicated numerical simulations, we characterize the gas-binary
interplay, identifying possible electromagnetic signatures of the PTA sources.
We concentrate our investigation on two particularly promising scenarios in the
high energy domain, namely, the detection of X-ray periodic variability and of
double broad K\alpha iron lines. Up to several hundreds of periodic X-ray
sources with a flux >10^-13 erg s^-1 cm^-2 will be in the reach of upcoming
X-ray observatories. Double relativistic K\alpha lines may be observable in a
handful of low redshift (z<0.3) sources by proposed deep X-ray probes, such as
Athena. (Abridged)Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRAS, minor revision of the
reference lis
General relativistic radiation hydrodynamics of accretion flows. I: Bondi-Hoyle accretion
We present a new code for performing general-relativistic
radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of accretion flows onto black holes. The
radiation field is treated in the optically-thick approximation, with the
opacity contributed by Thomson scattering and thermal bremsstrahlung. Our
analysis is concentrated on a detailed numerical investigation of hot
two-dimensional, Bondi-Hoyle accretion flows with various Mach numbers. We find
significant differences with respect to purely hydrodynamical evolutions. In
particular, once the system relaxes to a radiation-pressure dominated regime,
the accretion rates become about two orders of magnitude smaller than in the
purely hydrodynamical case, remaining however super-Eddington as are the
luminosities. Furthermore, when increasing the Mach number of the inflowing
gas, the accretion rates become smaller because of the smaller cross section of
the black hole, but the luminosities increase as a result a stronger emission
in the shocked regions. Overall, our approach provides the first
self-consistent calculation of the Bondi-Hoyle luminosity, most of which is
emitted within r~100 M from the black hole, with typical values L/L_Edd ~ 1-7,
and corresponding energy efficiencies eta_BH ~ 0.09-0.5. The possibility of
computing luminosities self-consistently has also allowed us to compare with
the bremsstrahlung luminosity often used in modelling the electromagnetic
counterparts to supermassive black-hole binaries, to find that in the
optically-thick regime these more crude estimates are about 20 times larger
than our radiation-hydrodynamics results.Comment: With updated bibliographyc informatio
Pulsar timing arrays and the challenge of massive black hole binary astrophysics
Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are designed to detect gravitational waves (GWs)
at nHz frequencies. The expected dominant signal is given by the superposition
of all waves emitted by the cosmological population of supermassive black hole
(SMBH) binaries. Such superposition creates an incoherent stochastic
background, on top of which particularly bright or nearby sources might be
individually resolved. In this contribution I describe the properties of the
expected GW signal, highlighting its dependence on the overall binary
population, the relation between SMBHs and their hosts, and their coupling with
the stellar and gaseous environment. I describe the status of current PTA
efforts, and prospect of future detection and SMBH binary astrophysics.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of the 2014 Sant
Cugat Forum on Astrophysics. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, ed.
C.Sopuerta (Berlin: Springer-Verlag
Massive binary black holes in galactic nuclei and their path to coalescence
Massive binary black holes form at the centre of galaxies that experience a
merger episode. They are expected to coalesce into a larger black hole,
following the emission of gravitational waves. Coalescing massive binary black
holes are among the loudest sources of gravitational waves in the Universe, and
the detection of these events is at the frontier of contemporary astrophysics.
Understanding the black hole binary formation path and dynamics in galaxy
mergers is therefore mandatory. A key question poses: during a merger, will the
black holes descend over time on closer orbits, form a Keplerian binary and
coalesce shortly after? Here we review progress on the fate of black holes in
both major and minor mergers of galaxies, either gas-free or gas-rich, in
smooth and clumpy circum-nuclear discs after a galactic merger, and in
circum-binary discs present on the smallest scales inside the relic nucleus.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. To appear in hard
cover in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI "The Physics of Accretion onto
Black Holes" (Springer Publisher
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