Broad Band X-Ray Observations of the Narrow Line X-Ray Galaxy NGC 5506

We present a detailed analysis of broad band X-ray data of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC5506. 2-10 keV band are detected during a 1-day ASCA observation, while no significant change in the 2-10 keV continuum shape is found. The ASCA spectrum consists of an absorbed power-law, a 'soft excess' below 2 keV, and an Fe K$\alpha$ emission line at 6.4 keV. The 'soft excess' can be well described by either thermal emission from very low abundance material at a temperature kT$\simeq$0.8 keV, or scattered/leaking flux from the primary power-law plus a small amount of thermal emission. Analysis of ROSAT HRI data reveals that the soft X-ray emission is extended on kpc scales in this object, and the extended component may account for most of the soft X-ray excess observed by the ASCA. The result suggests that in this type 2 AGN, the 'soft excess' at least partly comes from an extended region, imposing serious problem for the model in which the source is partially covered. Fe K$\alpha$ profile is complex and can not be satisfactorily modeled by a single gaussian. Models of either double gaussians, or a narrow gaussian plus a line from a relativistic accretion disk viewed at an inclination of about 40$\pm10^\circ$ provide good fits to the data. However, the inclination of the disk can be substantially larger if there is a small amount of excessive Fe K edge absorption. The intermediate inclinations for NLXGs are consistent with the ideas that the inner accretion disk is aligned with the outer obscuring torus.Comment: 8 pages, 5 postscript figures. to appear in Astrophy. J., 1999, April 2

Kinetically-balanced Gaussian Basis Set Approach to Relativistic Compton Profiles of Atoms

Atomic Compton profiles (CPs) are a very important property which provide us information about the momentum distribution of atomic electrons. Therefore, for CPs of heavy atoms, relativistic effects are expected to be important, warranting a relativistic treatment of the problem. In this paper, we present an efficient approach aimed at ab initio calculations of atomic CPs within a Dirac-Hartree-Fock (DHF) formalism, employing kinetically-balanced Gaussian basis functions. The approach is used to compute the CPs of noble gases ranging from He to Rn, and the results have been compared to the experimental and other theoretical data, wherever possible. The influence of the quality of the basis set on the calculated CPs has also been systematically investigated.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figure

Cholinergic modulation of single lateral geniculate neurons in the cat

The effects of physostigmine, nicotine and scopolamine were studied on the activity of single lateral geniculate neurons in the acute cat. Most of the lateral geniculate neurons selected were P-cells. These increased their responses to ipsilateral optic tract and midbrain reticular formation stimulation.Nicotine and physostigmine in doses of 25 [mu]g/kg i.v. significantly increased the spontaneous firing rate of single geniculate neurons. Scopolamine in a dose of 0.5 mg/kg i.v. depressed their firing rates to control levels. Physostigmine enhanced their post-stimulus discharge rate to optic nerve stimulation. This enhancement was depressed by scopolamine. The effects of midbrain reticular formation stimulation were further enhanced by physostigmine and reduced by scopolamine in about 86% of lateral geniculate neurons studied. Generally, the effects of trains of pulses to the reticular formation (250 Hz/sec, 50 msec train duration, 0.05-0.1 msec pulses) were more marked than single stimuli.It is concluded that a major cholinergic facilitatory system exists which influences lateral geniculate neurons. It is postulated that this involves the reticular formation. Evidence is presented for a predominant muscarinic cholinergic mechanism.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34147/1/0000432.pd