1,263 research outputs found
Galactic X-ray binary jets
With their relatively fast variability time-scales, Galactic X-ray binaries
provide an excellent laboratory to explore the physics of accretion and related
phenomena, most notably outflows, over different regimes. After comparing the
phenomenology of jets in black hole X-ray binary systems to that of neutron
stars, here I discuss the role of the jet at very low Eddington ratios, and
present preliminary results obtained by fitting the broadband spectral energy
distribution of a quiescent black hole binary with a `maximally jet-dominated'
model.Comment: Refereed version, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
Radio Circular Polarization Produced in Helical Magnetic Fields in Eight Active Galactic Nuclei
Homan & Lister (2006) have recently published circular-polarization (CP)
detections for 34 objects in the MOJAVE sample - a set of bright, compact AGN
being monitored by the Very Long Baseline Array at 15 GHz. We report the
detection of 15-GHz parsec-scale CP in two more AGN (3C345 and 2231+114), and
confirm the MOJAVE detection of CP in 1633+382. It is generally believed that
the most likely mechanism for the generation of this CP is Faraday conversion
of linear polarization to CP. A helical jet magnetic-field (B-field) geometry
can facilitate this process - linearly polarized emission from the far side of
the jet is converted to CP as it passes through the magnetised plasma at the
front side of the jet on its way toward the observer. In this case, the sign of
the generated CP is essentially determined by the pitch angle and helicity of
the helical B field. We have determined the pitch-angle regimes and helicities
of the helical jet B fields in 8 AGN for which parsec-scale CP has been
detected, and used them to predict the expected CP signs for these AGN if the
CP is generated via conversion in these helical fields. We have obtained the
intriguing result that our predictions agree with the observed signs in all
eight cases, provided that the longitudinal B-field components in the jets
correspond to South magnetic poles. This clearly non-random pattern
demonstrates that the observed CP in AGN is directly associated with the
presence of helical jet B fields. These results suggest that helical B fields
are ubiquitous in AGN jets.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS
A comprehensive X-ray and multiwavelength study of the Colliding Galaxy Pair NGC2207/IC2163
We present a comprehensive study of the total X-ray emission from the
colliding galaxy pair NGC2207/IC2163, based on Chandra, Spitzer, and GALEX
data. We detect 28 ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs), 7 of which were not
detected previously due to X-ray variability. Twelve sources show significant
long-term variability, with no correlated spectral changes. Seven sources are
transient candidates. One ULX coincides with an extremely blue star cluster
(B-V = -0.7). We confirm that the global relation between the number and
luminosity of ULXs and the integrated star formation rate (SFR) of the host
galaxy also holds on local scales. We investigate the effects of dust
extinction and/or age on the X-ray binary (XRB) population on sub-galactic
scales. The distributions of Nx and Lx are peaked at L(IR)/L(NUV)~1, which may
be associated with an age of ~10 Myr for the underlying stellar population. We
find that ~1/3 of the XRBs are located in close proximity to young star
complexes. The luminosity function of the X-ray binaries is consistent with
that typical for high-mass X-ray binaries, and appears unaffected by
variability. We disentangle and compare the X-ray diffuse spectrum with that of
the bright XRBs. The hot interstellar medium dominates the diffuse X-ray
emission at E<1 keV, has a temperature kT=0.28 (+0.05/-0.04) keV and intrinsic
0.5-2 keV luminosity of 7.9e+40 erg/s, a factor of ~2.3 higher than the average
thermal luminosity produced per unit SFR in local star-forming galaxies. The
total X-ray output of NGC2207/IC2163 is 1.5e+41 erg/s, and the corresponding
total integrated SFR is 23.7 Msol/yr.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, 11 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
RXTE observations of the first transient Z source XTE J1701-462: shedding new light on mass accretion in luminous neutron star LMXBs
(Abridged) We report on ten weeks of RXTE observations of the X-ray transient
XTE J1701-462. Comparisons with other sources suggest it had all the
characteristics of the neutron star Z sources (the brightest persistent neutron
star LMXBs). These include Z tracks in X-ray color diagrams and typical
variability components detected in the power spectra. XTE J1701-462 is the
first transient Z source and provides unique insights into mass accretion rate
(Mdot) and luminosity dependencies in neutron star LMXBs. As its overall
luminosity decreased, we observed a switch between two types of Z-source
behavior, with most of the branches of the Z-track changing their shape and/or
orientation. We interpret this switch as an extreme case of the longterm
changes seen in the persistent Z sources and suggest that these result from
changes in Mdot. We also suggest that the Cyg-like Z sources (Cyg X-2, GX 5-1,
and GX 340+0) might be more luminous (> 50%) than the Sco-like Z sources (Sco
X-1, GX 17+2, and GX 349+2). Adopting a possible explanation for the behavior
of kHz QPOs, which involves a prompt as well as a filtered response to changes
in Mdot, we propose that changes in Mdot can explain both movement along the Z
track and changes in the shape of the Z track. We discuss some consequences of
this and consider the possibility that the branches of the Z will evolve into
the branches observed in the X-ray color diagrams of the less luminous atoll
sources, but not in a way that was previously suggested.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 11 page
Morphological analysis on the coherence of kHz QPOs
We take the recently published data of twin kHz quasi-period oscillations
(QPOs) in neutron star (NS) lowmass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) as the samples, and
investigate the morphology of the samples, which focuses on the quality factor,
peak frequency of kHz QPOs, and try to infer their physical mechanism. We
notice that: (1) The quality factors of upper kHz QPOs are low (2 ~ 20 in
general) and increase with the kHz QPO peak frequencies for both Z and Atoll
sources. (2) The distribution of quality factor versus frequency for the lower
kHz QPOs are quite different between Z and Atoll sources. For most Z source
samples, the quality factors of lower kHz QPOs are low (usually lower than 15)
and rise steadily with the peak frequencies except for Sco X-1, which drop
abruptly at the frequency of about 750 Hz. While for most Atoll sources, the
quality factors of lower kHz QPOs are very high (from 2 to 200) and usually
have a rising part, a maximum and an abrupt drop. (3) There are three Atoll
sources (4U 1728-34, 4U 1636-53 and 4U 1608-52) of displaying very high quality
factors for lower kHz QPOs. These three sources have been detected with the
spin frequencies and sidebands, in which the source with higher spin frequency
presents higher quality factor of lower kHz QPOs and lower difference between
sideband frequency and lower kHz QPO frequency.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, publishe
Investigating the nature of absorption lines in the Chandra X-ray spectra of the neutron star binary 4U 1820−30
We use four Chandra gratings spectra of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary 4U 1820–30 to better understand the nature of certain X-ray absorption lines in X-ray binaries, including the Ne II, Ne III, Ne IX, O VII, and O VIII lines. The equivalent widths of the lines are generally consistent between the observations, as expected if these lines originate in the hot interstellar medium. No evidence was found that the lines were blueshifted, again supporting the interstellar medium origin, although this may be due to poor statistics. There is apparent variability in the O VIII Lyα line equivalent width providing some evidence that at least some of the O VIII absorption arises within the system. However, the significance is marginal (2.4 σ), and the lack of variation in the other lines casts some doubt on the reality of the variability. From calculating the equivalent hydrogen column densities for a range of Doppler parameters, we find they are consistent with the interstellar origin of the lines. In addition, we fit the spectra with photoionization models for locally absorbing material, and find that they can reproduce the spectrum well, but only when there is an extremely low filling factor. We conclude that both the ISM and local absorption remain possible for the origin of the lines, but that more sensitive observations are needed to search for low-level variability
X-ray spectral and timing properties of the 2001 superburst of 4U 1636-536
Preliminary results are reported on the spectral and timing properties of the
spectacular 2001 superburst of 4U 1636-536 as seen by the RXTE/PCA. The
(broad-band) power-spectral and hardness properties during the superburst are
compared to those just before and after the superburst. Not all of the
superburst emission can be fitted by pure black-body radiation. We also
gathered BeppoSAX/WFC and RXTE/ASM data, as well as other RXTE/PCA data,
obtained days to months before and after the superburst to investigate the
normal X-ray burst behavior around the time of the superburst. The first normal
X-ray burst after the 2001 superburst was detected 23 days later. During
inspection of all the RXTE/ASM data we found a third superburst. This
superburst took place on June 26, 1999, which is ~2.9 yrs after the 1996
superburst and ~1.75 yrs before the 2001 superburst. The above findings are the
strongest constraints observed so far on the duration of the cessation of
normal X-ray bursts after a superburst and the superburst recurrence times.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures,to appear in the proceedings of "X-Ray Timing
2003: Rossi and Beyond", eds. P. Kaaret, F.K. Lamb, & J.H. Swank (Melville,
NY: AIP
The Parsec-scale Structure, Kinematics, and Polarization of Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
Several narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) have now been detected in
gamma rays, providing firm evidence that at least some of this class of active
galactic nuclei (AGN) produce relativistic jets. The presence of jets in NLS1s
is surprising, as these sources are typified by comparatively small black hole
masses and near- or super-Eddington accretion rates. This challenges the
current understanding of the conditions necessary for jet production. Comparing
the properties of the jets in NLS1s with those in more familiar jetted systems
is thus essential to improve jet production models. We present early results
from our campaign to monitor the kinematics and polarization of the
parsec-scale jets in a sample of 15 NLS1s through multifrequency observations
with the Very Long Baseline Array. These observations are complemented by
fast-cadence 15 GHz monitoring with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory 40m
telescope and optical spectroscopic monitoring with with the 2m class telescope
at the Guillermo Haro Astrophysics Observatory in Cananea, Mexico.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure. To appear in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium
No. 313: "Extragalactic jets from every angle," Galapagos, Ecuador, 15-19
September 2014, F. Massaro, C. C. Cheung, E. Lopez, and A. Siemiginowska
(Eds.), Cambridge University Pres
Initial measurements of black hole spin in GX 339-4 from Suzaku spectroscopy
We report on a deep Suzaku observation of the stellar-mass black hole GX 339-4 in outburst. A clear, strong, relativistically shaped iron emission line from the inner accretion disk is observed. The broadband disk reflection spectrum revealed is one of the most sensitive yet obtained from an accreting black hole. We fit the Suzaku spectra with a physically motivated disk reflection model, blurred by a new relativistic line function in which the black hole spin parameter is a variable. This procedure yielded a black hole spin parameter of a p. Joint modeling of these Suzaku spectra and prior XMM-Newton spectra obtained in two different 0.89 +/- 0.04 outburst phases yields a spin parameter of a = 0.93 +/- 0.01. The degree of consistency between these results suggests that disk reflection models allow for spin measurements that are not strongly biased by scattering effects. We suggest that the best value of the black hole spin parameter is a = 0.93 +/- 0.01 (statistical) +/- 0.04 (systematic). Although preliminary, these results represent the first direct measurement of nonzero spin in a stellar-mass black hole using relativistic line modeling
Properties of the propagating shock wave in the accretion flow around GX 339-4 in the 2010 outburst
Context. The black hole candidate GX 339-4 exhibited an X-ray outburst in
January 2010, which is still continuing. We here discuss the timing and the
spectral properties of the outburst using RXTE data. Aims. Our goal is to study
the timing and spectral properties of GX 339-4 using its recent outburst data
and extract information about the nature of the accretion flow. Methods. We use
RXTE archival data of the recent GX 339-4 outburst and analyze them with the
NASA HEAsoft package, version 6.8. We then compare the observed quasi-periodic
oscillation (QPO) frequencies with those from existing shock oscillation model
and obtain the nature of evolution of the shock locations during the outburst.
Results. We found that the QPO frequencies are monotonically increasing from
0.102 Hz to 5.69 Hz within a period of ~ 26 days. We explain this evolution
with the propagating oscillatory shock (POS) solution and find the variation of
the initial and final shock locations and strengths. The model fits also give
the velocity of the propagating shock wave, which is responsible for the
generation of QPOs and their evolutions, at ~ 10 m/s. We observe from the
spectra that up to 2010 April 10, the object was in a hard state. After that,
it went to the hard-intermediate state. On April 18, it had a state transition
and went to the soft-intermediate state. On May 15, another state transition
was observed and the source moved to the soft state. Conclusions. As in the
previously fitted outburst sources, this source also showed the tendency of a
rapidly increasing QPO frequency () in a viscous time scale, which
can be modeled quite accurately. In this case, the shock seems to have
disappeared at about ~ 172 Schwarzschild radii, unlike in the 2005 outburst of
GRO J1655-40, where the shock disappeared behind the horizon.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, two tales (accepted for publication in A & A
Journal
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