The Einstein solid state spectrometer and monitor proportional counter survey of low mass x‐ray binaries

The HEAO‐2 Einstein solid state spectrometer (SSS; 0.5–4.5 keV) and monitor proportional counter (MPC; 1.2–20.0 keV) carried out an extensive survey of 50 low mass x‐ray binaries (LMXB). Simultaneous SSS plus MPC spectra, selected on the basis of their intensity, were fit with a set of simple and complex spectral models. For all the sources, including Eddington‐limited bulge sources, bursters, dippers, the soft spectrum black hole candidates, and a few transients in decline, the spectra could be fit acceptably with combinations of thermal bremsstrahlung and blackbody spectra or a Comptonized spectrum and a blackbody. The results rule out optically thick disk models for the bright (Z) sources and for the bursters power law models are unacceptable. The SSS can confirm only the strongest of previously reported low energy emission lines due to OVIII or Fe L transitions. The data does not support a unique physical interpretation. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87678/2/193_1.pd

Constraints on the radio loud/radio quiet dichotomy from the fundamental plane

The fundamental plane for black hole activity constitutes a tight correlation between jet power, X-ray luminosity, and black hole mass. Under the assumption that a Blandford-Znajek-type mechanism, which relies on black hole spin, contributes non-negligibly to jet production, the sufficiently small scatter in the fundamental plane shows that black hole spin differences of $\mid$$\Delta$a$\mid \sim$1 are not typical among the active galactic nuclei population. If $-$ as it seems $-$ radio loud and radio quiet objects are both faithful to the fundamental plane, models of black hole accretion in which the radio loud/radio quiet dichotomy is based on a spin dichotomy of a$\sim$1/a$\sim$0, respectively, are difficult to reconcile with the observations. We show how recent theoretical work based on differences in accretion flow orientation between retrograde and prograde, accommodates a small scatter in the fundamental plane for objects that do have non-negligible differences in black hole spin values. We also show that the dichotomy in spin between the most radio loud and the most radio quiet involves $\mid$$\Delta$a$\mid \approx$0. And, finally, we show how the picture that produces compatibility with the fundamental plane, also allows one to interpret other otherwise puzzling observations of jets across the mass scale including 1) the recently observed inverse relation between radio and X-rays at higher Eddington ratios in both black hole X-ray binaries as well as active galactic nuclei and 2) the apparent contradiction between jet power and black hole spin observed in X-ray hard and transitory burst states in X-ray binaries.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted in MNRA

Position-dependent effects on stability in tricyclo-DNA modified oligonucleotide duplexes

A series of oligodeoxyribonucleotides and oligoribonucleotides containing single and multiple tricyclo(tc)-nucleosides in various arrangements were prepared and the thermal and thermodynamic transition profiles of duplexes with complementary DNA and RNA evaluated. Tc-residues aligned in a non-continuous fashion in an RNA strand significantly decrease affinity to complementary RNA and DNA, mostly as a consequence of a loss of pairing enthalpy ΔH. Arranging the tc-residues in a continuous fashion rescues Tm and leads to higher DNA and RNA affinity. Substitution of oligodeoxyribonucleotides in the same way causes much less differences in Tm when paired to complementary DNA and leads to substantial increases in Tm when paired to complementary RNA. CD-spectroscopic investigations in combination with molecular dynamics simulations of duplexes with single modifications show that tc-residues in the RNA backbone distinctly influence the conformation of the neighboring nucleotides forcing them into higher energy conformations, while tc-residues in the DNA backbone seem to have negligible influence on the nearest neighbor conformations. These results rationalize the observed affinity differences and are of relevance for the design of tc-DNA containing oligonucleotides for applications in antisense or RNAi therap

The Sub-Eddington Boundary for the Quasar Mass–Luminosity Plane: A Theoretical Perspective

By exploring more than sixty thousand quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5, Steinhardt & Elvis discovered a sub-Eddington boundary and a redshift-dependent drop-off at higher black hole mass, possible clues to the growth history of massive black holes. Our contribution to this special issue of Universe amounts to an application of a model for black hole accretion and jet formation to these observations. For illustrativepurposes,we include~100,000 data points from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 where the sub-Eddington boundary is also visible andpropose a theoretical picture that explains these features. By appealing to thin disk theory and both the lower accretion efficiency and the time evolution of jetted quasars compared to non-jetted quasars in our “gap paradigm”, we explain two features of the sub-Eddington boundary. First, we show that a drop-off on the quasar mass-luminosity plane for larger black hole mass occurs at allredshifts. But the fraction of jetted quasars is directly related to the merger function in thisparadigm, which means the jetted quasar fraction drops with decrease in redshift, which allows us to explain a second feature of the sub-Eddington boundary, namely a redshift dependence of the slope of the quasar mass-luminosity boundary at high black hole mass stemming from a change in radiative efficiency with time. We are able to reproduce the mass dependence of, as well as the oscillating behavior in, the slope of the sub-Eddington boundary as a function of time. The basic physical idea involves retrograde accretion occurring only for a subset of the more massive black holes,which implies that most spinning black holes in our model are prograde accretors.In short, this paper amounts to a qualitative overview of how a sub-Eddington boundary naturally emerges in the gap paradigm

Hot White Dwarfs in the Extreme ‐ Ultraviolet Explorer Survey. IV. DA White Dwarfs with Bright Companions

We present an analysis of optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray spectral properties of a sample of 13 hot hydrogen-rich (DA) white dwarfs, each paired with a luminous unresolved companion. Using low-dispersion International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra, ROSAT photometry, and Extreme-Ultraviolet Explorer photometry and spectroscopy, we estimate the effective temperature, mass, and distance of the white dwarfs. Additionally, we examine the question of their atmospheric composition. We establish orbital properties for most binaries by means of high-dispersion optical spectroscopy obtained with the Hamilton echelle spectrograph at Lick Observatory; the same data help uncover evidence of activity in some of the secondary stars that is also notable in ROSAT X-ray measurements. In particular, we find high-amplitude (\u3e20 km s-1) velocity variations in only two stars (HD 33959C and HR 8210), low-amplitude variations in four additional objects (HD 18131, HR 1608, θ Hya, and BD +27°1888), and no variations (\u3c2 km s-1) in the remainder. We have observed Ca H and K in emission in four (BD +08°102, HD 18131, HR 1608, and EUVE J0702+129) of the six objects that were also detected in the 0.52-2.01 keV ROSAT PSPC band, while the source of the hard X-ray emission in HD 33959C remains unknown; other investigators have noted some evidence of activity in the remaining 0.52-2.01 keV detection, HD 217411. Properties of the white dwarfs are also investigated; EUV spectroscopy shows the effect of a low heavy element abundance in the atmosphere of the white dwarf in HD 33959C and of a high heavy element abundance in HD 223816; measurements of all other objects are apparently consistent with emission from pure-hydrogen atmospheres. However, current data do not constrain well the white dwarf parameters, and, to remedy the situation, we propose to obtain spectroscopy of the complete H Lyman line series

Constraints of the Radio-loud/Radio-quiet Dichotomy from the Fundamental Plane

The Fundamental Plane for black hole activity constitutes a tight correlation between jet power, X-ray luminosity, and black hole mass. Under the assumption that a Blandford–Znajek-type mechanism, which relies on black hole spin, contributes non-negligibly to jet production, the sufficiently small scatter in the Fundamental Plane shows that black hole spin differences of |Δa| ∼ 1 are not typical among the active galactic nuclei population. If – as it seems – radio-loud and radio-quiet objects are both faithful to the Fundamental Plane, models of black hole accretion in which the radio-loud/radio-quiet dichotomy is based on a spin dichotomy of a∼1/a∼0, respectively, are difficult to reconcile with the observations. We show how recent theoretical work based on differences in accretion flow orientation between retrograde and prograde, accommodates a small scatter in the Fundamental Plane for objects that do have non-negligible differences in black hole spin values. We also show that the dichotomy in spin between the most radio loud and the most radio quiet involves |Δa| ≈ 0. And, finally, we show how the picture that produces compatibility with the Fundamental Plane, also allows one to interpret other otherwise puzzling observations of jets across the mass scale including (1) the recently observed inverse relation between radio and X-rays at higher Eddington ratios in both black hole X-ray binaries as well as active galactic nuclei and (2) the apparent contradiction between jet power and black hole spin observed in X-ray hard and transitory burst states in X-ray binaries

The Velocity Distribution of Solar Photospheric Magnetic Bright Points

We use high spatial resolution observations and numerical simulations to study the velocity distribution of solar photospheric magnetic bright points. The observations were obtained with the Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere instrument at the Dunn Solar Telescope, while the numerical simulations were undertaken with the MURaM code for average magnetic fields of 200 G and 400 G. We implemented an automated bright point detection and tracking algorithm on the dataset, and studied the subsequent velocity characteristics of over 6000 structures, finding an average velocity of approximately 1 km/s, with maximum values of 7 km/s. Furthermore, merging magnetic bright points were found to have considerably higher velocities, and significantly longer lifetimes, than isolated structures. By implementing a new and novel technique, we were able to estimate the background magnetic flux of our observational data, which is consistent with a field strength of 400 G.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJL, 12 pages, 2 figure