630 research outputs found
X-ray spectral modelling of the AGN obscuring region in the CDFS: Bayesian model selection and catalogue
AGN are known to have complex X-ray spectra that depend on both the
properties of the accreting SMBH (e.g. mass, accretion rate) and the
distribution of obscuring material in its vicinity ("torus"). Often however,
simple and even unphysical models are adopted to represent the X-ray spectra of
AGN. In the case of blank field surveys in particular, this should have an
impact on e.g. the determination of the AGN luminosity function, the inferred
accretion history of the Universe and also on our understanding of the relation
between AGN and their host galaxies. We develop a Bayesian framework for model
comparison and parameter estimation of X-ray spectra. We take into account
uncertainties associated with X-ray data and photometric redshifts. We also
demonstrate how Bayesian model comparison can be used to select among ten
different physically motivated X-ray spectral models the one that provides a
better representation of the observations. Despite the use of low-count
spectra, our methodology is able to draw strong inferences on the geometry of
the torus. For a sample of 350 AGN in the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field South field,
our analysis identifies four components needed to represent the diversity of
the observed X-ray spectra: (abridged). Simpler models are ruled out with
decisive evidence in favour of a geometrically extended structure with
significant Compton scattering. Regarding the geometry of the obscurer, there
is strong evidence against both a completely closed or entirely open toroidal
geometry, in favour of an intermediate case. The additional Compton reflection
required by data over that predicted by toroidal geometry models, may be a sign
of a density gradient in the torus or reflection off the accretion disk.
Finally, we release a catalogue with estimated parameters such as the accretion
luminosity in the 2-10 keV band and the column density, , of the
obscurer.Comment: 28 pages, 18 figures, catalogue available from
https://www.mpe.mpg.de/~jbuchner/agn_torus/analysis/cdfs4Ms_cat/, software
available from https://github.com/JohannesBuchner/BX
Unveiling a Population of X-ray Non-Detected AGN
We define a sample of 27 radio-excess AGN in the Chandra Deep Field North by
selecting galaxies that do not obey the radio/infrared correlation for
radio-quiet AGN and star-forming galaxies. Approximately 60% of these
radio-excess AGN are X-ray undetected in the 2 Ms Chandra catalog, even at
exposures of > 1 Ms; 25% lack even 2-sigma X-ray detections. The absorbing
columns to the faint X-ray-detected objects are 10^22 cm^-2 < N_H < 10^24
cm^-2, i.e., they are obscured but unlikely to be Compton thick. Using a local
sample of radio-selected AGN, we show that a low ratio of X-ray to radio
emission, as seen in the X-ray weakly- and non-detected samples, is correlated
with the viewing angle of the central engine, and therefore with obscuration.
Our technique can explore the proportion of obscured AGN in the distant
Universe; the results reported here for radio-excess objects are consistent
with but at the low end of the overall theoretical predictions for
Compton-thick objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 15 pages, 10
figures, 4 table
Nuclear quadrupole resonances in compact vapor cells: the crossover from the NMR to the NQR interaction regimes
We present the first experimental study that maps the transformation of
nuclear quadrupole resonances from the pure nuclear quadrupole regime to the
quadrupole-perturbed Zeeman regime. The transformation presents an interesting
quantum-mechanical problem, since the quantization axis changes from being
aligned along the axis of the electric-field gradient tensor to being aligned
along the magnetic field. We achieve large nuclear quadrupole shifts for I =
3/2 131-Xe by using a 1 mm^3 cubic cell with walls of different materials. When
the magnetic and quadrupolar interactions are of comparable size, perturbation
theory is not suitable for calculating the transition energies. Rather than use
perturbation theory, we compare our data to theoretical calculations using a
Liouvillian approach and find excellent agreement.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Why Optically--Faint AGN Are Faint: The Spitzer Perspective
Optically--faint X-ray sources (those with f_X/f_R > 10) constitute about 20%
of X-ray sources in deep surveys, and are potentially highly obscured and/or at
high redshift. Their faint optical fluxes are generally beyond the reach of
spectroscopy. For a sample of 20 optically--faint sources in CDFS, we compile
0.4--24 um photometry, relying heavily on Spitzer. We estimate photometric
redshifts for 17 of these 20 sources. We find that these AGN are
optically--faint both because they lie at significantly higher redshifts
(median z ~ 1.6) than most X-ray--selected AGN, and because their spectra are
much redder than standard AGN. They have 2--8 keV X-ray luminosities in the
Seyfert range, unlike the QSO--luminosities of optically--faint AGN found in
shallow, wide--field surveys. Their contribution to the X-ray Seyfert
luminosity function is comparable to that of z>1 optically--bright AGN.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
A microscopic quantum dynamics approach to the dilute condensed Bose gas
We derive quantum evolution equations for the dynamics of dilute condensed
Bose gases. The approach contains, at different orders of approximation, for
cases close to equilibrium, the Gross Pitaevskii equation and the first order
Hartree Fock Bogoliubov theory. The proposed approach is also suited for the
description of the dynamics of condensed gases which are far away from
equilibrium. As an example the scattering of two Bose condensates is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Spitzer Power-law AGN Candidates in the Chandra Deep Field-North
We define a sample of 62 galaxies in the Chandra Deep Field-North whose
Spitzer IRAC SEDs exhibit the characteristic power-law emission expected of
luminous AGN. We study the multiwavelength properties of this sample, and
compare the AGN selected in this way to those selected via other Spitzer
color-color criteria. Only 55% of the power-law galaxies are detected in the
X-ray catalog at exposures of >0.5 Ms, although a search for faint emission
results in the detection of 85% of the power-law galaxies at the > 2.5 sigma
detection level. Most of the remaining galaxies are likely to host AGN that are
heavily obscured in the X-ray. Because the power-law selection requires the AGN
to be energetically dominant in the near- and mid-infrared, the power-law
galaxies comprise a significant fraction of the Spitzer-detected AGN population
at high luminosities and redshifts. The high 24 micron detection fraction also
points to a luminous population. The power-law galaxies comprise a subset of
color-selected AGN candidates. A comparison with various mid-infrared color
selection criteria demonstrates that while the color-selected samples contain a
larger fraction of the X-ray luminous AGN, there is evidence that these
selection techniques also suffer from a higher degree of contamination by
star-forming galaxies in the deepest exposures. Considering only those
power-law galaxies detected in the X-ray catalog, we derive an obscured
fraction of 68% (2:1). Including all of the power-law galaxies suggests an
obscured fraction of < 81% (4:1).Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 27 pages, 20
figures, 5 tables, version with high-resolution figures and online-only
tables available at: http://frodo.as.arizona.edu/~jdonley/powerlaw
Bose-Einstein condensate collapse: a comparison between theory and experiment
We solve the Gross-Pitaevskii equation numerically for the collapse induced
by a switch from positive to negative scattering lengths. We compare our
results with experiments performed at JILA with Bose-Einstein condensates of
Rb-85, in which the scattering length was controlled using a Feshbach
resonance. Building on previous theoretical work we identify quantitative
differences between the predictions of mean-field theory and the results of the
experiments. Besides the previously reported difference between the predicted
and observed critical atom number for collapse, we also find that the predicted
collapse times systematically exceed those observed experimentally. Quantum
field effects, such as fragmentation, that might account for these
discrepancies are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Microscopic Dynamics in a Strongly Interacting Bose-Einstein Condensate
An initially stable 85Rb Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) was subjected to a
carefully controlled magnetic field pulse in the vicinity of a Feshbach
resonance. This pulse probed the strongly interacting regime for the
condensate, with calculated values for the diluteness parameter (na^3) ranging
from 0.01 to 0.5. The field pulse was observed to cause loss of atoms from the
condensate on remarkably short time scales (>=10 microsec). The dependence of
this loss on magnetic field pulse shape and amplitude was measured. For
triangular pulses shorter than 1 ms, decreasing the pulse length actually
increased the loss, until extremely short time scales (a few tens of
microseconds) were reached. Such time scales and dependencies are very
different from those expected in traditional condensate inelastic loss
processes, suggesting the presence of new microscopic BEC physics.Comment: 4 pages in latex2E, 4 eps figures; revised Fig.1, revised
scatt.lengths, added discussion, new refs., resubmitted to PR
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