2,364 research outputs found
Simultaneous X-ray and Ultraviolet spectroscopy of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548. III. X-ray time variability
The Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 was observed for a week by Chandra using both
the HETGS and LETGS spectrometers. In this paper we study the time variability
of the continuum radiation. During our observation, the source showed a gradual
increase in flux over four days, followed by a rapid decrease and flattening of
the light curve afterwards. Superimposed upon these relatively slow variations
several short duration bursts or quasi-periodic oscillations occured with a
typical duration of several hours and separation between 0.6-0.9 days. The
bursts show a delay of the hard X-rays with respect to the soft X-rays of a few
hours. We interprete these bursts as due to a rotating, fluctuating hot spot at
approximately 10 gravitational radii; the time delay of the hard X-rays from
the bursts agree with the canonical picture of Inverse Compton scattering of
the soft accretion disk photons on a hot medium that is relatively close to the
central black hole.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Moving beyond the ‘language problem': developing an understanding of the intersections of health, language and immigration status in interpreter-mediated health encounters
Health systems internationally are dealing with greater diversity in patient populations. However the focus on ‘the language problem’ has meant little attention is paid to diversity within and between migrant populations; and how interpreted consultations are influenced by intersecting migratory, ethnicity and sociodemographic variables. Our analysis of the experiences of patients, health care providers and interpreters in Scotland evidences the need to move beyond language, addressing multiple hidden inequalities in health care access and provision that operate in both clinic and, especially, home-based settings. We call for a practice-evidenced research agenda promoting cultural communication across health care and home settings, acknowledging immigration status as a social determinant of health.
Sur le plan international, des systèmes de santé font face à une diversité croissante dans ses populations de patients. Cependant, l’accent sur ‘le problème de langue’ se traduit dans une manque d’attention à la diversité a l’intérieur même et entre des populations des migrants; et la façon par laquelle des variables migratoire, ethnique et sociodémographique influencent elles-mêmes des consultations interprétées. Notre analyse des expériences des patients, des professionnels fournissant de soins de santé et des interprètes offre des preuves du besoin de dépasser le problème de langue. Et en faisant cela, nous adressons des multiples inégalités, souvent cachées dans des contextes de soins de santé, dans les milieux clinique et domicile. Nous proposons un programme de recherche basé sur la pratique, qui favorise la communication culturelle dans des milieux clinique et domicile, et qui reconnait le statut d’immigration comme un déterminant social de la santé
Simultaneous X-ray and UV spectroscopy of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548.II. Physical conditions in the X-ray absorber
We present the results from a 500 ks Chandra observation of the Seyfert 1
galaxy NGC 5548. We detect broadened emission lines of O VII and C VI in the
spectra, similar to those observed in the optical and UV bands. The source was
continuously variable, with a 30 % increase in luminosity in the second half of
the observation. No variability in the warm absorber was detected between the
spectra from the first 170 ks and the second part of the observation. The
velocity structure of the X-ray absorber is consistent with the velocity
structure measured simultaneously in the ultraviolet spectra. We find that the
highest velocity outflow component, at -1040 km/s, becomes increasingly
important for higher ionization parameters. This velocity component spans at
least three orders of magnitude in ionization parameter, producing both highly
ionized X-ray absorption lines (Mg XII, Si XIV) as well as UV absorption lines.
A similar conclusion is very probable for the other four velocity components.
Based upon our observations, we argue that the warm absorber probably does not
manifest itself in the form of photoionized clumps in pressure equilibrium with
a surrounding wind. Instead, a model with a continuous distribution of column
density versus ionization parameter gives an excellent fit to our data. From
the shape of this distribution and the assumption that the mass loss through
the wind should be smaller than the accretion rate onto the black hole, we
derive upper limits to the solid angle as small as 10^{-4} sr. From this we
argue that the outflow occurs in density-stratified streamers. The density
stratification across the stream then produces the wide range of ionization
parameter observed in this source. Abridged.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures accepted for publication in A&
Spatially-Resolved Spectra of the "Teacup" AGN: Tracing the History of a Dying Quasar
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Galaxy Zoo project has revealed a number
of spectacular galaxies possessing Extended Emission-Line Regions (EELRs), the
most famous being Hanny's Voorwerp galaxy. We present another EELR object
discovered in the SDSS endeavor: the Teacup Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN),
nicknamed for its EELR, which has a handle like structure protruding 15 kpc
into the northeast quadrant of the galaxy. We analyze physical conditions of
this galaxy with long-slit ground based spectroscopy from Lowell, Lick, and
KPNO observatories. With the Lowell 1.8m Perkin's telescope we took multiple
observations at different offset positions, allowing us to recover spatially
resolved spectra across the galaxy. Line diagnostics indicate the ionized gas
is photoionized primarily by the AGN. Additionally we are able to derive the
hydrogen density from the [S II] 6716/6731 ratio. We generated two-component
photoionization models for each spatially resolved Lowell spectrum. These
models allow us to calculate the AGN bolometric luminosity seen by the gas at
different radii from the nuclear center of the Teacup. Our results show a drop
in bolometric luminosity by more than two orders of magnitude from the EELR to
the nucleus, suggesting that the AGN has decreased in luminosity by this amount
in a continuous fashion over 46,000 years, supporting the case for a dying AGN
in this galaxy independent of any IR based evidence. We demonstrate that
spatially resolved photoionization modeling could be applied to EELRs to
investigate long time scale variability.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
New Indicators for AGN Power: The Correlation Between [O IV] lambda 25.89 micron and Hard X-ray Luminosity for Nearby Seyfert Galaxies
We have studied the relationship between the [O IV] lambda 25.89 micron
emission line luminosities, obtained from Spitzer spectra, the X-ray continua
in the 2-10 keV band, primarily from ASCA, and the 14-195 keV band obtained
with the SWIFT/Burst Alert Telescope (BAT), for a sample of nearby (z < 0.08)
Seyfert galaxies. For comparison, we have examined the relationship between the
[O III] 5007, the 2-10 keV and the 14-195 keV luminosities for the same set of
objects. We find that both the [O IV] and [O III] luminosities are
well-correlated with the BAT luminosities. On the other hand, the [O III]
luminosities are better-correlated with 2-10 keV luminosities than are those of
[O IV]. When comparing [O IV] and [O III] luminosities for the different types
of galaxies, we find that the Seyfert 2's have significantly lower [O III] to
[O IV] ratios than the Seyfert 1's. We suggest that this is due to more
reddening of the narrow line region (NLR) of the Seyfert 2's. Assuming Galactic
dust to gas ratios, the average amount of extra reddening corresponds to a
hydrogen column density of ~ few times 10^21 cm^-2, which is a small fraction
of the X-ray absorbing columns in the Seyfert 2's. The combined effects of
reddening and the X-ray absorption are the probable reason why the [O III]
versus 2-10 keV correlation is better than the [O IV] versus 2-10 keV, since
the [O IV] emission line is much less affected by extinction. Overall, we find
the [O IV] to be an accurate and truly isotropic indicator of the power of the
AGN. This suggests that it can be useful in deconvolving the contribution of
the AGN and starburst to the spectrum of Compton-thick and/or X-ray weak
sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 31 pages, 6
figures, 4 table
The X-ray Emission from the Nucleus of the Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC 3226
We present the first high resolution X-ray image of the dwarf elliptical
galaxy NGC 3226. The data were obtained during an observation of the nearby
Seyfert Galaxy NGC 3227 using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. We detect a point
X-ray source spatially consistent with the optical nucleus of NGC 3226 and a
recently-detected, compact, flat-spectrum, radio source. The X-ray spectrum can
be measured up to ~10 keV and is consistent with a power law with a photon
index 1.7 <~ Gamma <~ 2.2, or thermal bremmstrahlung emission with 4 <~ kT <~
10 keV. In both cases the luminosity in the 2--10 keV band ~10^{40} h_{75}^{-1}
erg/s. We find marginal evidence that the nucleus varies within the
observation. These characteristics support evidence from other wavebands that
NGC 3226 harbors a low-luminosity, active nucleus. We also comment on two
previously-unknown, fainter X-ray sources <~ 15 arcsec from the nucleus of NGC
3226. Their proximity to the nucleus (with projected distances <~ 1.3/h_{75}
kpc) suggests both are within NGC 3226, and thus have luminosities (~few x
10^{38} -- few x 10^{39} erg/s) consistent with black-hole binary systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Figures in colo
Experiencing gender in UK political science:The results of a practitioner survey
Does gender matter in the way in which we ‘perform’ academia? Drawing on the results of a practitioner survey, we argue that gender does matter, culturally and structurally, and can be institutionalised so that women are disadvantaged. This is not to deny women’s agency or the advances that they have made. Rather, we highlight the inequality of the playing field in which the academic endeavour is conducted. Uniquely, we ask UK political scientists about their perceptions of the impact of gender in their working lives and explore their views on recommendations for change
The Host Galaxies of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1s: Evidence for Bar-Driven Fueling
We present a study of the host-galaxy morphologies of narrow- and broad-line
Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s and BLS1s) based on broad-band optical images from
the Hubble Space Telescope archives. We find that large-scale stellar bars,
starting at ~1 kpc from the nucleus, are much more common in NLS1s than BLS1s.
Furthermore, the fraction of NLS1 spirals that have bars increases with
decreasing full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the broad component of H-beta.
These results suggest a link between the large-scale bars, which can support
high fueling rates to the inner kpc, and the high mass-accretion rates
associated with the supermassive black holes in NLS1s.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures (1a, 1b, 2, and 3), Accepted for publication in
the Astronomical Journa
Cosmopolitan Risk Community and China's Climate Governance
Ulrich Beck asserts that global risks, such as climate change, generate a form of ‘compulsory cosmopolitanism’, which ‘glues’ various actors into collective action. Through an analysis of emerging ‘cosmopolitan risk communities’ in Chinese climate governance, this paper points out a ‘blind spot’ in the theorisation of cosmopolitan belonging and an associated inadequacy in explaining shifting power-relations. The paper addresses this problem by engaging with the intersectionality of the cosmopolitan space. It is argued that cosmopolitan belonging is a form of performative identity. Its key characteristic lies in a ‘liberating prerogative’, which enables individuals to participate in the solution of common problems creatively. It is this liberating prerogative that coerces the state out of political monopoly and marks the cosmopolitan moment
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