5,811 research outputs found
X-ray emission from hydrodynamical simulations in non-LTE wind models
Hot stars are sources of X-ray emission originating in their winds. Although
hydrodynamical simulations that are able to predict this X-ray emission are
available, the inclusion of X-rays in stationary wind models is usually based
on simplifying approximations. To improve this, we use results from
time-dependent hydrodynamical simulations of the line-driven wind instability
(seeded by the base perturbation) to derive the analytical approximation of
X-ray emission in the stellar wind. We use this approximation in our non-LTE
wind models and find that an improved inclusion of X-rays leads to a better
agreement between model ionization fractions and those derived from servations.
Furthermore, the slope of the L_x-L relation is in better agreement with
observations, however the X-ray luminosity is underestimated by a factor of
three. We propose a possible solution for this discrepancy.Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Axions and saxions from the primordial supersymmetric plasma and extra radiation signatures
We calculate the rate for thermal production of axions and saxions via
scattering of quarks, gluons, squarks, and gluinos in the primordial
supersymmetric plasma. Systematic field theoretical methods such as hard
thermal loop resummation are applied to obtain a finite result in a
gauge-invariant way that is consistent to leading order in the strong gauge
coupling. We calculate the thermally produced yield and the decoupling
temperature for both axions and saxions. For the generic case in which saxion
decays into axions are possible, the emitted axions can constitute extra
radiation already prior to big bang nucleosynthesis and well thereafter. We
update associated limits imposed by recent studies of the primordial helium-4
abundance and by precision cosmology of the cosmic microwave background and
large scale structure. We show that the trend towards extra radiation seen in
those studies can be explained by late decays of thermal saxions into axions
and that upcoming Planck results will probe supersymmetric axion models with
unprecedented sensitivity.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; v2: references added, minor clarifying
additions, matches published versio
The Quasar-frame Velocity Distribution of Narrow CIV Absorbers
We report on a survey for narrow (FWHM < 600 km/s) CIV absorption lines in a
sample of bright quasars at redshifts in the Sloan Digital
Sky Survey. Our main goal is to understand the relationship of narrow CIV
absorbers to quasar outflows and, more generally, to quasar environments. We
determine velocity zero-points using the broad MgII emission line, and then
measure the absorbers' quasar-frame velocity distribution. We examine the
distribution of lines arising in quasar outflows by subtracting model fits to
the contributions from cosmologically intervening absorbers and absorption due
to the quasar host galaxy or cluster environment. We find a substantial number
( per cent) of absorbers with REW \AA in the velocity range
+750 km/s \la v \la +12000 km/s are intrinsic to the AGN outflow. This
`outflow fraction' peaks near km/s with a value of . At velocities below km/s the incidence
of outflowing systems drops, possibly due to geometric effects or to the
over-ionization of gas that is nearer the accretion disk. Furthermore, we find
that outflow-absorbers are on average broader and stronger than
cosmologically-intervening systems. Finally, we find that per cent of
the quasars in our sample exhibit narrow, outflowing CIV absorption with REW \AA, slightly larger than that for broad absorption line systems.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
The PseudoDojo: Training and grading a 85 element optimized norm-conserving pseudopotential table
First-principles calculations in crystalline structures are often performed
with a planewave basis set. To make the number of basis functions tractable two
approximations are usually introduced: core electrons are frozen and the
diverging Coulomb potential near the nucleus is replaced by a smoother
expression. The norm-conserving pseudopotential was the first successful method
to apply these approximations in a fully ab initio way. Later on, more
efficient and more exact approaches were developed based on the ultrasoft and
the projector augmented wave formalisms. These formalisms are however more
complex and developing new features in these frameworks is usually more
difficult than in the norm-conserving framework. Most of the existing tables of
norm- conserving pseudopotentials, generated long ago, do not include the
latest developments, are not systematically tested or are not designed
primarily for high accuracy. In this paper, we present our PseudoDojo framework
for developing and testing full tables of pseudopotentials, and demonstrate it
with a new table generated with the ONCVPSP approach. The PseudoDojo is an open
source project, building on the AbiPy package, for developing and
systematically testing pseudopotentials. At present it contains 7 different
batteries of tests executed with ABINIT, which are performed as a function of
the energy cutoff. The results of these tests are then used to provide hints
for the energy cutoff for actual production calculations. Our final set
contains 141 pseudopotentials split into a standard and a stringent accuracy
table. In total around 70.000 calculations were performed to test the
pseudopotentials. The process of developing the final table led to new insights
into the effects of both the core-valence partitioning and the non-linear core
corrections on the stability, convergence, and transferability of
norm-conserving pseudopotentials. ...Comment: abstract truncated, 17 pages, 25 figures, 8 table
Quasar outflow energetics from broad absorption line variability
Quasar outflows have long been recognized as potential contributors to the
co-evolution between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies.
The role of outflows in AGN feedback processes can be better understood by
placing observational constraints on wind locations and kinetic energies. We
utilize broad absorption line (BAL) variability to investigate the properties
of a sample of 71 BAL quasars with PV broad absorption. The
presence of PV BALs indicates that other BALs like CIV
are saturated, such that variability in those lines favours clouds crossing the
line of sight. We use these constraints with measurements of BAL variability to
estimate outflow locations and energetics. Our data set consists of
multiple-epoch spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and MDM Observatory.
We detect significant (4) BAL variations from 10 quasars in our sample
over rest frame time-scales between < 0.2-3.8 yr. Our derived distances for the
10 variable outflows are nominally < 1-10 pc from the SMBH using the
transverse-motion scenario, and < 100-1000 pc from the central source using
ionization-change considerations. These distances, in combination with the
estimated high outflow column densities (i.e. > 10
cm), yield outflow kinetic luminosities between ~ 0.001-1 times the
bolometric luminosity of the quasar, indicating that many absorber energies
within our sample are viable for AGN feedback.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figures, 4 tables, 1 supplementary figure, accepted to
MNRA
Phase-dependent X-ray observations of the beta Lyrae system: No eclipse in the soft band
We report on observations of the eclipsing and interacting binary beta Lyrae
from the Suzaku X-ray telescope. This system involves an early B star embedded
in an optically and geometrically thick disk that is siphoning atmospheric
gases from a less massive late B II companion. Motivated by an unpublished
X-ray spectrum from the Einstein X-ray telescope suggesting unusually hard
emission, we obtained time with Suzaku for pointings at three different phases
within a single orbit. From the XIS detectors, the softer X-ray emission
appears typical of an early-type star. What is surprising is the remarkably
unchanging character of this emission, both in luminosity and in spectral
shape, despite the highly asymmetric geometry of the system. We see no eclipse
effect below 10 keV. The constancy of the soft emission is plausibly related to
the wind of the embedded B star and Thomson scattering of X-rays in the system,
although it might be due to extended shock structures arising near the
accretion disk as a result of the unusually high mass-transfer rate. There is
some evidence from the PIN instrument for hard emission in the 10-60 keV range.
Follow-up observations with the RXTE satellite will confirm this preliminary
detection.Comment: to appear in A&A Letter
Macroclumping as solution of the discrepancy between H{\alpha} and P v mass loss diagnostics for O-type stars
Recent studies of O-type stars demonstrated that discrepant mass-loss rates
are obtained when different diagnostic methods are employed - fitting the
unsaturated UV resonance lines (e.g. P v) gives drastically lower values than
obtained from the H{\alpha} emission. Wind clumping may be the main cause for
this discrepancy. In a previous paper, we have presented 3-D Monte-Carlo
calculations for the formation of scattering lines in a clumped stellar wind.
In the present paper we select five O-type supergiants (from O4 to O7) and test
whether the reported discrepancies can be resolved this way. In the first step,
the analyses start with simulating the observed spectra with Potsdam Wolf-Rayet
(PoWR) non-LTE model atmospheres. The mass-loss rates are adjusted to fit best
to the observed H{\alpha} emission lines. For the unsaturated UV resonance
lines (i.e. P v) we then apply our 3-D Monte-Carlo code, which can account for
wind clumps of any optical depths, a non-void inter-clump medium, and a
velocity dispersion inside the clumps. The ionization stratifications and
underlying photospheric spectra are adopted from the PoWR models. From fitting
the observed resonance line profiles, the properties of the wind clumps are
constrained. Our results show that with the mass-loss rates that fit H{\alpha}
(and other Balmer and He II lines), the UV resonance lines (especially the
unsaturated doublet of P v) can also be reproduced without problem when
macroclumping is taken into account. There is no need to artificially reduce
the mass-loss rates, nor to assume a sub-solar phosphorus abundance or an
extremely high clumping factor, contrary to what was claimed by other authors.
These consistent mass-loss rates are lower by a factor of 1.3 to 2.6, compared
to the mass-loss rate recipe from Vink et al. Macroclumping resolves the
previously reported discrepancy between H{\alpha} and P v mass-loss
diagnostics.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication in
Astrononomy & Astrophysic
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