163 research outputs found
A supermassive binary black hole with triple disks
Hierarchical structure formation inevitably leads to the formation of
supermassive binary black holes (BBHs) with a sub-parsec separation in galactic
nuclei. However, to date there has been no unambiguous detection of such
systems. In an effort to search for potential observational signatures of
supermassive BBHs, we performed high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics
(SPH) simulations of two black holes in a binary of moderate eccentricity
surrounded by a circumbinary disk. Building on our previous work, which has
shown that gas can periodically transfer from the circumbinary disk to the
black holes when the binary is on an eccentric orbit, the current set of
simulations focuses on the formation of the individual accretion disks, their
evolution and mutual interaction, and the predicted radiative signature. The
variation in mass transfer with orbital phase from the circumbinary disk
induces periodic variations in the light curve of the two accretion disks at
ultraviolet wavelengths, but not in the optical or near-infrared. Searches for
this signal offer a promising method to detect supermassive BBHs.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 16 pages, 11
figures. High Resolution Version is Available at
http://www2.yukawa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/~kimitake/bbhs.htm
Long-term evolution of accretion discs in Be/X-ray binaries
We numerically study the long-term evolution of the accretion disc around the
neutron star in a coplanar Be/X-ray binary with a short period and a moderate
eccentricity. From three dimensional Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
simulations, we find that the disc evolves through three distinct phases, each
characterized by different mass accretion patterns. In the first "developing
phase", the disc is formed and develops towards a nearly Keplerian disc. It has
a relatively large, double-peaked mass-accretion rate with the higher peak by
the direct accretion at periastron, which is followed by the lower peak by the
accretion induced by a one-armed spiral wave. In the second "transition phase",
the disc is approximately Keplerian and grows with time. The mass-accretion
rate increases as the disc grows. In the second phase, there is a transition in
the mass accretion rate from a double peaked to a single peaked pattern. In the
final quasi-steady state, the mass-accretion rate is on average balanced with
the mass-transfer rate from the Be disc and exhibits a regular orbital
modulation. In the quasi-steady state, the mass-accretion rate has a single
peak by the wave-induced accretion as in a later stage of the transition phase.
The orbital modulation of X-ray maxima could provide not only a circumstantial
evidence for the persistent disc but also an observational diagnosis of the
disc evolutionary state.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Bacterial isolates from patients with preterm labor with and without preterm rupture of the fetal membranes.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to describe the bacterial flora of women in preterm labor with or without premature rupture of membranes. METHODS: Retrospective studies of 239 patients with preterm labor were performed. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-three of 239 patients with preterm labor (51.5%) had bacterial vaginosis. Seventy of the 239 patients with preterm labor (29.3%) developed premature rupture of the membranes (preterm PROM). Of the 70 patients with preterm PROM, 51 (72.9%) had bacterial vaginosis. Therefore, 51 of the 123 patients with bacterial vaginosis (41.5%) developed preterm PROM. An increased number of organisms detected from the vaginal discharge in patients with preterm labor was associated with preterm PROM by Cochran-Armitage test. An increased number of organisms detected from the vaginal discharge in patients with preterm labor complicated with bacterial vaginosis was significantly associated with preterm PROM by Cochran-Armitage test. CONCLUSIONS: In preterm labor, the number of different species detected in the vagina provide sensitive and specific prediction of preterm PROM in patients with preterm labor
Properties of Accretion Flows Around Coalescing Supermassive Black Holes
What are the properties of accretion flows in the vicinity of coalescing
supermassive black holes (SBHs)? The answer to this question has direct
implications for the feasibility of coincident detections of electromagnetic
(EM) and gravitational wave (GW) signals from coalescences. Such detections are
considered to be the next observational grand challenge that will enable
testing general relativity in the strong, nonlinear regime and improve our
understanding of evolution and growth of these massive compact objects. In this
paper we review the properties of the environment of coalescing binaries in the
context of the circumbinary disk and hot, radiatively inefficient accretion
flow models and use them to mark the extent of the parameter space spanned by
this problem. We report the results from an ongoing, general relativistic,
hydrodynamical study of the inspiral and merger of black holes, motivated by
the latter scenario. We find that correlated EM+GW oscillations can arise
during the inspiral phase followed by the gradual rise and subsequent drop-off
in the light curve at the time of coalescence. While there are indications that
the latter EM signature is a more robust one, a detection of either signal
coincidentally with GWs would be a convincing evidence for an impending SBH
binary coalescence. The observability of an EM counterpart in the hot accretion
flow scenario depends on the details of a model. In the case of the most
massive binaries observable by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, upper
limits on luminosity imply that they may be identified by EM searches out to
z~0.1-1. However, given the radiatively inefficient nature of the gas flow, we
speculate that a majority of massive binaries may appear as low luminosity AGN
in the local universe.Comment: Revised version accepted to Class. Quantum Grav. for proceedings of
8th LISA Symposium. 15 pages, 3 figures, includes changes suggested in
referee report
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
Proposed method for searches of gravitational waves from PKS 2155-304 and other blazar flares
We propose to search for gravitational waves from PKS 2155-304 as well as
other blazars. PKS 2155-304 emitted a long duration energetic flare in July
2006, with total isotropic equivalent energy released in TeV gamma rays of
approximately ergs. Any possible gravitational wave signals
associated with this outburst should be seen by gravitational wave detectors at
the same time as the electromagnetic signal. During this flare, the two LIGO
interferometers at Hanford and the GEO detector were in operation and
collecting data. For this search we will use the data from multiple
gravitational wave detectors. The method we use for this purpose is a coherent
network analysis algorithm and is called {\tt RIDGE}. To estimate the
sensitivity of the search, we perform numerical simulations. The sensitivity to
estimated gravitational wave energy at the source is about
ergs for a detection probability of 20%. For this search, an end-to-end
analysis pipeline has been developed, which takes into account the motion of
the source across the sky.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures. Contribution to 12th Gravitational Wave Data
Analysis Workshop. Submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity. Changes in
response to referee comment
The pre-outburst flare of the A 0535+26 August/September 2005 outburst
We study the spectral and temporal behavior of the High Mass X-ray Binary A
0535+26 during a `pre-outburst flare' which took place ~5 d before the peak of
a normal (type I) outburst in August/September 2005. We compare the studied
behavior with that observed during the outburst. We analyse RXTE observations
that monitored A 0535+26 during the outburst. We complete spectral and timing
analyses of the data. We study the evolution of the pulse period, present
energy-dependent pulse profiles both at the initial pre-outburst flare and
close to outburst maximum, and measure how the cyclotron resonance-scattering
feature (hereafter CRSF) evolves. We present three main results: a constant
period P=103.3960(5)s is measured until periastron passage, followed by a
spin-up with a decreasing period derivative of Pdot=(-1.69+/-0.04)x10^(-8)s/s
at MJD 53618, and P remains constant again at the end of the main outburst. The
spin-up provides evidence for the existence of an accretion disk during the
normal outburst. We measure a CRSF energy of Ecyc~50kev during the pre-outburst
flare, and Ecyc~46kev during the main outburst. The pulse shape, which varies
significantly during both pre-outburst flare and main outburst, evolves
strongly with photon energy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letters. To be
published in parallel to Postnov et al. 200
Modeling high-energy light curves of the PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 binary based on 3-D SPH simulations
Temporal changes of X-ray to very-high-energy gamma-ray emissions from the
pulsar-Be star binary PSR B1259-63/LS 2883 are studied based on 3-D SPH
simulations of pulsar wind interaction with Be-disk and wind. We focus on the
periastron passage of the binary and calculate the variation of the synchrotron
and inverse-Compton emissions using the simulated shock geometry and pressure
distribution of the pulsar wind. The characteristic double-peaked X-ray light
curve from observations is reproduced by our simulation under a dense Be disk
condition (base density ~10^{-9} g cm^{-3}). We interpret the pre- and
post-periastron peaks as being due to a significant increase in the conversion
efficiency from pulsar spin down power to the shock-accelerated particle energy
at orbital phases when the pulsar crosses the disk before periastron passage,
and when the pulsar wind creates a cavity in the disk gas after periastron
passage, respectively. On the contrary, in the model TeV light curve, which
also shows a double peak feature, the first peak appears around the periastron
phase. The possible effects of cooling processes on the TeV light curve are
briefly discussed.Comment: 32 pages, 6 figues. Accepted for publication in Ap
Observable Signatures of EMRI Black Hole Binaries Embedded in Thin Accretion Disks
We examine the electromagnetic (EM) and gravitational wave (GW) signatures of
stellar-mass compact objects (COs) spiraling into a supermassive black hole
(extreme mass-ratio inspirals or EMRIs), embedded in a thin, radiation-pressure
dominated, accretion disk. At large separations, the tidal effect of the
secondary CO clears a gap. We show that the gap refills during the late
GW-driven phase of the inspiral, leading to a sudden EM brightening of the
source. The accretion disk leaves an imprint on the GW through its angular
momentum exchange with the binary, the mass increase of the binary members due
to accretion, and its gravity. We compute the disk-modified GWs both in an
analytical Newtonian approximation and in a numerical effective-one-body
approach. We find that disk-induced migration provides the dominant
perturbation to the inspiral, with weaker effects from the mass accretion onto
the CO and hydrodynamic drag. Depending on whether a gap is present, the
perturbation of the GW phase is between 10 and 1000 radians per year,
detectable with the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) at high
significance. The Fourier transform of the disk-modified GW in the stationary
phase approximation is sensitive to disk parameters with a frequency trend
different from post-Newtonian vacuum corrections. Our results suggest that
observations of EMRIs may place new sensitive constraints on the physics of
accretion disks.Comment: 42 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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