1,417 research outputs found
Helical motion and the origin of QPO in blazar-type sources
Recent observations and analysis of blazar sources provide strong evidence
for (i) the presence of significant periodicities in their lightcurves and (ii)
the occurrence of helical trajectories in their radio jets. In scenarios, where
the periodicity is caused by differential Doppler boosting effects along a
helical jet path, both of these facts may be naturally tied together. Here we
discuss four possible driving mechanisms for the occurrence of helical
trajectories: orbital motion in a binary system, Newtonian-driven jet
precession, internal jet rotation and motion along a global helical magnetic
field. We point out that for non-ballistic helical motion the observed period
may appear strongly shortened due to classical travel time effects. Finally,
the possible relevance of the above mentioned driving mechanisms is discussed
for Mkn~501, OJ 287 and AO 0235+16.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure; presented at the 5th Microquasar Workshop,
Beijing, June 2004. Accepted for publication in the Chinese Journal of
Astronomy and Astrophysic
Discovery of the Most-Distant Double-Peaked Emitter at z=1.369
We report the discovery of the most-distant double-peaked emitter, CXOECDFS
J033115.0-275518, at z=1.369. A Keck/DEIMOS spectrum shows a clearly
double-peaked broad Mg II emission line, with FWHM 11000 km/s for
the line complex. The line profile can be well fit by an elliptical
relativistic Keplerian disk model. This is one of a handful of double-peaked
emitters known to be a luminous quasar, with excellent multiwavelength coverage
and a high-quality X-ray spectrum. CXOECDFS J033115.0-275518 is a radio-loud
quasar with two radio lobes (FR II morphology) and a radio loudness of f_{5
GHz}/f_{4400 \AA}~429. The X-ray spectrum can be modeled by a power law with
photon index 1.72 and no intrinsic absorption; the rest-frame 0.5-8.0 keV
luminosity is erg/s. The spectral energy distribution (SED)
of CXOECDFS J033115.0-275518 has a shape typical for radio-loud quasars and
double-peaked emitters at lower redshift. The local viscous energy released
from the line-emitting region of the accretion disk is probably insufficient to
power the observed line flux, and external illumination of the disk appears to
be required. The presence of a big blue bump in the SED along with the
unexceptional X-ray spectrum suggest that the illumination cannot arise from a
radiatively inefficient accretion flow.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, ApJ in pres
The Radio - X-ray relation as a star formation indicator: Results from the VLA--E-CDFS Survey
In order to trace the instantaneous star formation rate at high redshift, and
hence help understanding the relation between the different emission mechanisms
related to star formation, we combine the recent 4 Ms Chandra X-ray data and
the deep VLA radio data in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South region. We
find 268 sources detected both in the X-ray and radio band. The availability of
redshifts for of the sources in our sample allows us to derive
reliable luminosity estimates and the intrinsic properties from X-ray analysis
for the majority of the objects. With the aim of selecting sources powered by
star formation in both bands, we adopt classification criteria based on X-ray
and radio data, exploiting the X-ray spectral features and time variability,
taking advantage of observations scattered across more than ten years. We
identify 43 objects consistent with being powered by star formation. We also
add another 111 and 70 star forming candidates detected only in the radio or
X-ray band, respectively. We find a clear linear correlation between radio and
X-ray luminosity in star forming galaxies over three orders of magnitude and up
to . We also measure a significant scatter of the order of 0.4 dex,
higher than that observed at low redshift, implying an intrinsic scatter
component. The correlation is consistent with that measured locally, and no
evolution with redshift is observed. Using a locally calibrated relation
between the SFR and the radio luminosity, we investigate the L_X(2-10keV)-SFR
relation at high redshift. The comparison of the star formation rate measured
in our sample with some theoretical models for the Milky Way and M31, two
typical spiral galaxies, indicates that, with current data, we can trace
typical spirals only at z<0.2, and strong starburst galaxies with
star-formation rates as high as , up to .Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, 5 table
X-ray properties of radio-selected star forming galaxies in the Chandra-COSMOS survey
X-ray surveys contain sizable numbers of star forming galaxies, beyond the
AGN which usually make the majority of detections. Many methods to separate the
two populations are used in the literature, based on X-ray and multiwavelength
properties. We aim at a detailed test of the classification schemes and to
study the X-ray properties of the resulting samples. We build on a sample of
galaxies selected at 1.4 GHz in the VLA-COSMOS survey, classified by Smolcic et
al. (2008) according to their optical colours and observed with Chandra. A
similarly selected control sample of AGN is also used for comparison. We review
some X-ray based classification criteria and check how they affect the sample
composition. The efficiency of the classification scheme devised by Smolcic et
al. (2008) is such that ~30% of composite/misclassified objects are expected
because of the higher X-ray brightness of AGN with respect to galaxies. The
latter fraction is actually 50% in the X-ray detected sources, while it is
expected to be much lower among X-ray undetected sources. Indeed, the analysis
of the stacked spectrum of undetected sources shows, consistently, strongly
different properties between the AGN and galaxy samples. X-ray based selection
criteria are then used to refine both samples. The radio/X-ray luminosity
correlation for star forming galaxies is found to hold with the same
X-ray/radio ratio valid for nearby galaxies. Some evolution of the ratio may be
possible for sources at high redshift or high luminosity, tough it is likely
explained by a bias arising from the radio selection. Finally, we discuss the
X-ray number counts of star forming galaxies from the VLA- and C-COSMOS surveys
according to different selection criteria, and compare them to the similar
determination from the Chandra Deep Fields. The classification scheme proposed
here may find application in future works and surveys.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, 3 table
Sub-milliarcsecond Imaging of Quasars and Active Galactic Nuclei. IV. Fine Scale Structure
We have used VLBA fringe visibility data obtained at 15 GHz to examine the
compact structure in 250 extragalactic radio sources. For 171 sources in our
sample, more than half of the total flux density seen by the VLBA remains
unresolved on the longest baselines. There are 163 sources in our list with a
median correlated flux density at 15 GHz in excess of 0.5 Jy on the longest
baselines. For about 60% of the sources, we have at least one observation in
which the core component appears unresolved (generally smaller than 0.05 mas)
in one direction, usually transverse to the direction into which the jet
extends. BL Lacs are on average more compact than quasars, while active
galaxies are on average less compact. Also, in an active galaxy the
sub-milliarcsecond core component tends to be less dominant. IDV sources
typically have a more compact, more core-dominated structure on
sub-milliarcsecond scales than non-IDV sources, and sources with a greater
amplitude of intra-day variations tend to have a greater unresolved VLBA flux
density. The objects known to be GeV gamma-ray loud appear to have a more
compact VLBA structure than the other sources in our sample. This suggests that
the mechanisms for the production of gamma-ray emission and for the generation
of compact radio synchrotron emitting features are related. The brightness
temperature estimates and lower limits for the cores in our sample typically
range between 10^11 and 10^13 K, but they extend up to 5x10^13 K, apparently in
excess of the equipartition brightness temperature, or the inverse Compton
limit for stationary synchrotron sources. The largest component speeds are
observed in radio sources with high observed brightness temperatures, as would
be expected from relativistic beaming (abridged).Comment: 31 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astronomical Journal; minor changes to the text are mad
The nucleotide and partial amino acid sequences of rat fetuin
Fetuins are among the major plasma proteins, yet their biological role has remained elusive. Here we report the molecular cloning of rat fetuin and the sequence analysis of a full-length clone, RF619 of 1456 bp with an open reading frame of 1056 bp encoding 352 amino acid residues. The coding part of RF619 was identical with the cDNA sequence of the natural inhibitor of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase from rat (pp63) except for four substitutions and a single base insertion causing divergence of the predicted protein sequences. Partial amino acid sequences of rat plasma fetuin were in agreement with the predictions based on the RF619 cDNA. Purified rat fetuin inhibited the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase in vitro. Therefore, we conclude that RF619 and pp63 cDNA encode the same protein, i.e. authentic rat fetuin which is a functional tyrosine kinase inhibitor
Fermi Discovery of Gamma-Ray Emission from NGC 1275
We report the discovery of high-energy (E>100 MeV) gamma-ray emission from
NGC 1275, a giant elliptical galaxy lying at the center of the Perseus cluster
of galaxies, based on observations made with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) of
the Fermi Gamma ray Space Telescope. The positional center of the gamma-ray
source is only ~3' away from the NGC 1275 nucleus, well within the 95% LAT
error circle of ~5'.The spatial distribution of gamma-ray photons is consistent
with a point source. The average flux and power-law photon index measured with
the LAT from 2008 August 4 to 2008 December 5 are F_gamma = (2.10+-0.23)x
10^{-7} ph (>100 MeV) cm^{-2} s^{-1} and Gamma = 2.17+-0.05, respectively. The
measurements are statistically consistent with constant flux during the
four-month LAT observing period.Previous EGRET observations gave an upper limit
of F_gamma 100 MeV) cm^{-2} s^{-1} to the gamma-ray flux
from NGC 1275. This indicates that the source is variable on timescales of
years to decades, and therefore restricts the fraction of emission that can be
produced in extended regions of the galaxy cluster. Contemporaneous and
historical radio observations are also reported. The broadband spectrum of NGC
1275 is modeled with a simple one-zone synchrotron/synchrotron self-Compton
model and a model with a decelerating jet flow.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
A Brief History of AGN
Astronomers knew early in the twentieth century that some galaxies have
emission-line nuclei. However, even the systematic study by Seyfert (1943) was
not enough to launch active galactic nuclei (AGN) as a major topic of
astronomy. The advances in radio astronomy in the 1950s revealed a new universe
of energetic phenomena, and inevitably led to the discovery of quasars. These
discoveries demanded the attention of observers and theorists, and AGN have
been a subject of intense effort ever since. Only a year after the recognition
of the redshifts of 3C 273 and 3C 48 in 1963, the idea of energy production by
accretion onto a black hole was advanced. However, acceptance of this idea came
slowly, encouraged by the discovery of black hole X-ray sources in our Galaxy
and, more recently, supermassive black holes in the center of the Milky Way and
other galaxies. Many questions remain as to the formation and fueling of the
hole, the geometry of the central regions, the detailed emission mechanisms,
the production of jets, and other aspects. The study of AGN will remain a
vigorous part of astronomy for the foreseeable future.Comment: 37 pages, no figures. Uses aaspp4.sty. To be published in
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1999 Jun
A search for periodicity in the light curves of selected blazars
We present an analysis of multifrequency light curves of the sources 2223-052
(3C 446), 2230+114 (CTA 102), and 2251+158 (3C 454.3), which had shown evidence
of quasi-periodic activity. The analysis made use of data from the University
of Michican Radio Astronomy Observatory (USA) at 4.8, 8, and 14.5 GHz, as well
as the Metsahovi Radio Astronomy Observatory (Finland) at 22 and 37 GHz.
Application of two different methods (the discrete autocorrelation function and
the method of Jurkevich) both revealed evidence for periodicity in the flux
variations of these sources at essentially all frequencies. The periods derived
for at least two of the sources -- 2223-052 and 2251+158-- are in good
agreement with the time interval between the appearance of successive VLBI
components. The derived periods for 2251+158 (P = 12.4 yr and 2223-052 (P = 5.8
yr) coincide with the periods found earlier by other authors based on optical
light curves.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Report
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