606 research outputs found
Dynamics of Relativistic Flows
Dynamics of relativistic outflows along the rotation axis of a Kerr black
hole is investigated using a simple model that takes into account the
relativistic tidal force of the central source as well as the Lorentz force due
to the large-scale electromagnetic field which is assumed to be present in the
ambient medium. The evolution of the speed of the flow relative to the ambient
medium is studied. In the force-free case, the resulting equation of motion
predicts rapid deceleration of the initial flow and an asymptotic relative
speed with a Lorentz factor of 2^1/2. In the presence of the Lorentz force, the
long-term relative speed of the clump tends to the ambient electrical drift
speed.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, expanded version to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys.
Orbital dynamics of Cygnus X-3
Orbital-phased-resolved infrared spectra of Cygnus X-3 in outburst and
quiescence, including tomographic analysis, are presented. We confirm the
phasing of broad HeII and NV lines in quiescence, such that maximum blue shift
corresponds to the X-ray minimum at phase = 0.00 +/- 0.04. In outburst,
double-peaked HeI structures show a similar phasing with two significant
differences: (a) although varying in relative strength, there is continuous
line emission in blue and red peaks around the orbit, and (b) an absorption
component, ~1/4 of an orbit out of phase with the emission features, is
discerned. Doppler tomograms of the double-peaked profiles are consistent with
a disk-wind geometry, rotating at velocities of 1000 km/s. Regrettably, the
tomography algorithm will produce a similar ring structure from alternative
line sources if contaminated by overlying P Cygni profiles. This is certainly
the case in the strong 2.0587 micron HeI line, leading to an ambiguous solution
for the nature of double-peaked emission. The absorption feature, detected 1/4
of an orbit out of phase with the emission features, is consistent with an
origin in the He star wind and yields for the first time a plausible radial
velocity curve for the system. We directly derive the mass function of the
system, 0.027 M_sun. If we assume a neutron star accretor and adopt a high
orbital inclination, i > 60 degrees, we obtain a mass range for the He star of
5 M_sun < M_WR < 11 M_sun. Alternatively if the compact object is a black hole,
we estimate M_BH < 10 M_sun. We discuss the implications of these masses for
the nature and size of the binary system.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ main journa
Future X-ray timing missions
Thanks to the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), it is now widely recognized
that fast X-ray timing can be used to probe strong gravity fields around
collapsed objects and constrain the equation of state of dense matter in
neutron stars. We first discuss some of the outstanding issues which could be
solved with an X-ray timing mission building on the great successes of RXTE and
providing an order of magnitude better sensitivity. Then we briefly describe
the 'Experiment for X-ray timing and Relativistic Astrophysics' (EXTRA)
recently proposed to the European Space Agency as a follow-up to RXTE and the
related US mission 'Relativistic Astrophysics Explorer' (RAE).Comment: To be published in `Proceedings of the Third Microquasar Workshop:
Granada Workshop on galactic relativistic jet sources', Eds A. J.
Castro-Tirado, J. Greiner and J. M. Paredes, Astrophysics and Space Science,
in press. More about EXTRA can be found at:
http://www.cesr.fr/~barret/extra.htm
The balance of power: accretion and feedback in stellar mass black holes
In this review we discuss the population of stellar-mass black holes in our
galaxy and beyond, which are the extreme endpoints of massive star evolution.
In particular we focus on how we can attempt to balance the available accretion
energy with feedback to the environment via radiation, jets and winds,
considering also possible contributions to the energy balance from black hole
spin and advection. We review quantitatively the methods which are used to
estimate these quantities, regardless of the details of the astrophysics close
to the black hole. Once these methods have been outlined, we work through an
outburst of a black hole X-ray binary system, estimating the flow of mass and
energy through the different accretion rates and states. While we focus on
feedback from stellar mass black holes in X-ray binary systems, we also
consider the applicability of what we have learned to supermassive black holes
in active galactic nuclei. As an important control sample we also review the
coupling between accretion and feedback in neutron stars, and show that it is
very similar to that observed in black holes, which strongly constrains how
much of the astrophysics of feedback can be unique to black holes.Comment: To be published in Haardt et al. Astrophysical Black Holes. Lecture
Notes in Physics. Springer 201
The Generalized Jacobi Equation
The Jacobi equation in pseudo-Riemannian geometry determines the linearized
geodesic flow. The linearization ignores the relative velocity of the
geodesics. The generalized Jacobi equation takes the relative velocity into
account; that is, when the geodesics are neighboring but their relative
velocity is arbitrary the corresponding geodesic deviation equation is the
generalized Jacobi equation. The Hamiltonian structure of this nonlinear
equation is analyzed in this paper. The tidal accelerations for test particles
in the field of a plane gravitational wave and the exterior field of a rotating
mass are investigated. In the latter case, the existence of an attractor of
uniform relative radial motion with speed is pointed
out. The astrophysical implications of this result for the terminal speed of a
relativistic jet is briefly explored.Comment: LaTeX file, 4 PS figures, 28 pages, revised version, accepted for
publication in Classical and Quantum Gravit
Probing Micro-quasars with TeV Neutrinos
The jets associated with Galactic micro-quasars are believed to be ejected by
accreting stellar mass black-holes or neutron stars. We show that if the energy
content of the jets in the transient sources is dominated by electron-proton
plasma, then a several hour outburst of 1--100 TeV neutrinos produced by photo-
meson interactions should precede the radio flares associated with major
ejection events. Several neutrinos may be detected during a single outburst by
a 1km^2 detector, thereby providing a powerful probe of micro-quasars jet
physics.Comment: Accepted to PRL. More detailed discussion of particle acceleratio
X-ray states and radio emission in the black hole candidate XTE J1550-564
We report on radio and X-ray observations of the black hole candidate (BHC)
XTE J1550-564 performed during its 2000 X-ray outburst. Observations have been
conducted with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) and have allowed us
to sample the radio behavior of XTE J1550-564 in the X-ray Low Hard and
Intermediate/Very High states. We observed optically thin radio emission from
XTE J1550-564 five days after a transition to an Intermediate/Very High state,
but we observed no radio emission six days later, while XTE J1550-564 was still
in the Intermediate/Very High state. In the Low Hard state, XTE J1550-564 is
detected with an inverted radio spectrum. The radio emission in the Low Hard
state most likely originates from a compact jet; optical observations suggest
that the synchrotron emission from this jet may extend up to the optical range.
The total power of the compact jet might therefore be a significant fraction of
the total luminosity of the system. We suggest that the optically thin
synchrotron radio emission detected five days after the transition to the
Intermediate/Very High state is due to a discrete ejection of relativistic
plasma during the state transition. Subsequent to the decay of the optically
thin radio emission associated with the state transition, it seems that in the
Intermediate/Very High state the radio emission is quenched by a factor greater
than 50, implying a suppression of the outflow. We discuss the properties of
radio emission in the X-ray states of BHCs.Comment: 15 pages, including 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ,
scheduled for the vol. 553 Jun 1, 2001 issu
A return to strong radio flaring by Circinus X-1 observed with the Karoo Array Telescope test array KAT-7
Circinus X-1 is a bright and highly variable X-ray binary which displays
strong and rapid evolution in all wavebands. Radio flaring, associated with the
production of a relativistic jet, occurs periodically on a ~17-day timescale. A
longer-term envelope modulates the peak radio fluxes in flares, ranging from
peaks in excess of a Jansky in the 1970s to an historic low of milliJanskys
during the years 1994 to 2007. Here we report first observations of this source
with the MeerKAT test array, KAT-7, part of the pathfinder development for the
African dish component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), demonstrating
successful scientific operation for variable and transient sources with the
test array. The KAT-7 observations at 1.9 GHz during the period 13 December
2011 to 16 January 2012 reveal in temporal detail the return to the
Jansky-level events observed in the 1970s. We compare these data to
contemporaneous single-dish measurements at 4.8 and 8.5 GHz with the HartRAO
26-m telescope and X-ray monitoring from MAXI. We discuss whether the overall
modulation and recent dramatic brightening is likely to be due to an increase
in the power of the jet due to changes in accretion rate or changing Doppler
boosting associated with a varying angle to the line of sight.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS 14 May 201
The 2009 outburst of H~1743-322 as observed by RXTE
We analyze the RXTE observations of the 2009 outburst of H~1743-322, as well
as the observations of the previous five outbursts for comparison. The
hardness-intensity diagram (HID) shows a complete counter-clockwise q-track for
the 2009 outburst and, interestingly, the track falls in} between a huge one in
2003, with a complete transition to high/soft state, and that of} the failed
outburst in 2008. It leaves the low/hard state but does not reach the leftmost
edge of the overall HID. While the lowest hardness (6--19 keV/3--6 keV) values}
in the HID is about 0.3--0.4 for the 2009 outburst, similar to the ``failed
state transition" seen in the persistent black hole XRB Cyg X-1, the timing
analysis shows that a transition to the high soft state occurred. During the
low/hard state of the 2009 outburst, the inner radius of the accretion disk is
found to be closer to the central black hole and have an anti-correlation with
the disk temperature. These results may be understood as the reprocessing} of
the hot corona on the disk's} soft X-rays, which can lead to an underestimation
of the inner radius of the accretion disk. In the luminosity diagram of the
corona versus the disk, the tracks of the outbursts} in 2003 and 2009 cross the
line which represents a roughly equal contribution to the entire emission from
the thermal and the non-thermal components;} the track of the 2008 outburst has
the turn-over falling} on this line. This may be indicative of an emission
balance between the corona and the disk, which prevents the state transition
from going further than the low/hard state.Comment: accepted by A&
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