Studying Accretion Disc Winds with X-ray Spectroscopy

In this thesis I present the results of my PhD research into the physics of accretion (infall) and ejection (outflow) of matter in compact objects. Accretion disc winds are formed of hot and ionised material launched by magnetic forces, radiation pressure or thermally from the discs of accretors. They have been discovered in most types of accreting systems including supermassive black holes, classical X-ray binaries and Ultraluminous X-ray sources. Outflows form a ubiquitous and important part of the accretion flow, carrying away a considerable fraction of the originally infalling mass. With velocities as high as 30 per cent of the speed of light, their kinetic energy budget can also be significant and have a strong impact on the accretor surroundings. Ultra-fast outflows from supermassive black holes could contribute to or even drive active galactic nucleus feedback in galaxies. Accretion disc winds can be observed through Doppler-shifted spectral lines in the X-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the wind physical properties can thus be studied with X-ray spectroscopy. In this work, I present the detection of disc winds and I study their physics in a number of accreting systems. I particularly make use of the high-spectral resolution Reflection Grating Spectrometer onboard the XMM-Newton observatory. For efficient data analysis I develop and use systematic automated routines for search of wind signatures in X-ray spectra. The first two chapters of this thesis introduce the theory of accretion and describe different accreting systems, as well as the X-ray observatories and data analysis methods used in this study. The third chapter contains a systematic search for disc winds in a sample of Ultraluminous X-ray sources, powered by super-Eddington accretion onto stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars. In the fourth chapter I achieve the first discovery of an ultra-fast wind in a neutron star Ultraluminous X-ray source. In the following two chapters I present the detection of ultra-fast outflows from two accreting supermassive black holes PG 1448+273 and 1H 0707-495. The outflow energetics show that these winds are more than capable to drive feedback in the accretor host galaxies. Furthermore, both show evidence for a multi-phase wind structure, PG 1448+273 also exhibiting variability in time. In the seventh chapter, I present the discovery of a disc wind in the unique X-ray binary Hercules X-1 known for a precessing, warped accretion disc. I leverage the warped disc precession to sample the vertical distribution of the disc wind, constraining its launching angle as well as the total mass outflow rate, two crucial quantities which are difficult to measure in other accreting systems. The final chapter contains the conclusions of the thesis as well as potential future research avenues in this field and the promising upcoming X-ray observatories

Measurements of the Outflow Along the Eastern Border of Planinsko Polje, Slovenia

Planinsko Polje is the westernmost active polje of Dinaric karst. It is a typical overflow-structural polje, with springs on the southern side feeding the superficial flow of Unica River. The river meanders over the polje towards the terminal outflow area on its northern side, where it sinks back into the aquifer through several ponors. Along the reach in proximity to the eastern border of the polje, the Unica River loses water through several outflow zones into distinct ponors and into a set of small openings and fracture zones. To estimate the outflow rate along these zones, the Unica discharge was measured upstream and downstream to the outflow zone. Seven velocity profiles were recorded with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and the corresponding discharges were calculated. The measurements were taken within four hours during the flow recession following a partial flooding of the Planinsko Polje. Therefore, six outflow zones were evaluated with an outflow rate ranging between 1 m3/s and 5.6 m3/s. The total loss of water along the eastern border summed up to 18 m3/s under the given hydrological conditions. These results give new insight into the functioning of karst poljes and provide an important input for eventual future hydrological modelling of the area.Key words: polje, outflow, ponors, discharge, Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, Planinsko Polje, Unica

Yarrowia lipolytica as a chassis for isoprenoid production

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What Affects the Quality of Economic Analysis for Life-Saving Investments?

Economic analysis of life-saving investments in both the public and private sectors has the potential to dramatically improve longevity and the quality of life, but only if the analyses on which decisions are based are done well. In this paper we analyze a dataset that provides information on the content and quality of journal articles that measure the cost-effectiveness of life-saving investments. Our study is the first to provide a detailed multivariate analysis of factors affecting objective measures of quality. We also explore whether a series of recommendations by an expert panel convened by the U.S. Public Health Service affect the way analyses of specific life-saving investments are done. Our results suggest that four factors are positively correlated with an index we construct to measure analytical quality: 1. having at least one author affiliated with a university; 2. publication in a journal that has experience in publishing these analyses; 3. if the life-saving investment is located in the U.S., and 4. if the analysis considers a measure of social costs or benefits. Somewhat surprisingly, a study's funding source and whether it is affiliated with industry are not significantly correlated with the quality index. Finally, neither time nor the panel guidelines had an impact on the index.

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration

Fragility, Conflict, and Migration addresses challenges to livelihood, food, and climate security faced by some of the most vulnerable populations worldwide. The Initiative focuses on building climate resilience, promoting gender equity, and fostering social inclusion. It forms part of CGIAR’s new Research Portfolio, delivering science and innovation to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis

An 8.56 keV Absorption Line in the Hyperluminous X-Ray Source in NGC 4045: Ultrafast Outflow or Cyclotron Line?

© 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. This work is licenced under the terms of the Creative Commons license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/We report on the discovery of an absorption line at E=8.56−0.11+0.05 keV detected with a significance of >3.3σ in the NuSTAR and XMM-Newton spectra of a newly discovered hyperluminous X-ray source (L X > 1041 erg s−1) in the galaxy NGC 4045 at a distance of 32 Mpc. The source was first discovered serendipitously in a Swift/XRT observation of the galaxy, and Swift monitoring reveals a highly variable source changing by over an order of magnitude from maximum to minimum. The origin of the absorption line appears likely to be from highly ionized iron with a blueshift of 0.19c, indicating an ultrafast outflow. However, the large equivalent width of the line ( EW=−0.22−0.09+0.08 keV) paired with the lack of other absorption lines detected is difficult to reconcile with models. An alternative explanation is that the line is due to a cyclotron resonance scattering feature produced by the interaction of X-ray photons with the powerful magnetic field of a neutron star.Peer reviewe

Discovery of O VII line emitting gas in elliptical galaxies

In the cores of ellipticals, clusters, and groups of galaxies, the gas has a cooling time shorter than 1 Gyr. It is possible to probe cooling flows through the detection of Fe XVII and O VII emission lines, but so far O VII has not been detected in any individual object. The Reflection Grating Spectrometers (RGS) aboard XMM-Newton are currently the only instruments able to detect O VII in extended objects such as elliptical galaxies and galaxy clusters. We searched for evidence of O VII through all the archival RGS observations of galaxy clusters, groups of galaxies, and elliptical galaxies focusing on those with core temperatures below 1 keV. We have discovered O VII resonance (21.6A) and forbidden (22.1A) lines for the first time in the spectra of individual objects. O VII was detected at a level higher than three sigma in six elliptical galaxies: M 84, M 86, M 89, NGC 1316, NGC 4636, and NGC 5846. M 84, M 86 and M 89 are members of the Virgo Cluster, the others are central dominant galaxies of groups, and most them show evidence of O VI in UV spectra. We detect no significant trend between the Fe XVII and O VII resonance-to-forbidden line ratios, possibly because of the limited statistics. The observed line ratios = (0.52+/-0.02, 0.9+/-0.2) indicate that the spectra of all these ellipticals are affected by resonance scattering, suggesting low turbulence. Deeper exposures will help to understand whether the Fe XVII and O VII lines are both produced by the same cooling gas or by multiphase gas. Our O VII luminosities correspond to 0.2-2 Msun/yr, which agree with the predictions for ellipticals. Such weak cooling rates would not be detected in clusters because their spectra are dominated by the emission of hotter gas, and owing to their greater distance, the expected O VII line flux would be undetectable.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Radial metal abundance profiles in the intra-cluster medium of cool-core galaxy clusters, groups, and ellipticals

The hot intra-cluster medium (ICM) permeating galaxy clusters and groups is not pristine, as it is continuously enriched by metals synthesised in Type Ia (SNIa) and core-collapse (SNcc) supernovae since the major epoch of star formation (z ~ 2-3). The cluster/group enrichment history and the mechanisms responsible for releasing and mixing the metals can be probed via the radial distribution of SNIa and SNcc products within the ICM. In this paper, we use deep XMM-Newton/EPIC observations from a sample of 44 nearby cool-core galaxy clusters, groups, and ellipticals (CHEERS) to constrain the average radial O, Mg, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Fe, and Ni abundance profiles. The radial distributions of all these elements, averaged over a large sample for the first time, represent the best constrained profiles available currently. We find an overall decrease of the Fe abundance with radius out to ~$0.9 r_{500}$ and ~$0.6 r_{500}$ for clusters and groups, respectively, in good agreement with predictions from the most recent hydrodynamical simulations. The average radial profiles of all the other elements (X) are also centrally peaked and, when rescaled to their average central X/Fe ratios, follow well the Fe profile out to at least ~0.5$r_{500}$. Using two sets of SNIa and SNcc yield models reproducing well the X/Fe abundance pattern in the core, we find that, as predicted by recent simulations, the relative contribution of SNIa (SNcc) to the total ICM enrichment is consistent with being uniform at all radii, both for clusters and groups. In addition to implying that the central metal peak is balanced between SNIa and SNcc, our results suggest that the enriching SNIa and SNcc products must share the same origin, and that the delay between the bulk of the SNIa and SNcc explosions must be shorter than the timescale necessary to diffuse out the metals

AGN STORM 2. VIII. Investigating the Narrow Absorption Lines in Mrk 817 Using HST-COS Observations*

We observed the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 817 during an intensive multiwavelength reverberation mapping campaign for 16 months. Here, we examine the behavior of narrow UV absorption lines seen in the Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectra, both during the campaign and in other epochs extending over 14 yr. We conclude that, while the narrow absorption outflow system (at −3750 km s−1 with FWHM = 177 km s−1) responds to the variations of the UV continuum as modified by the X-ray obscurer, its total column density (log NH = 19.5 - + 0.13 0.61 cm−2 ) did not change across all epochs. The adjusted ionization parameter (scaled with respect to the variations in the hydrogen-ionizing continuum flux) is log UH = −1.0 - + 0.3 0.1. The outflow is located at a distance smaller than 38 pc from the central source, which implies a hydrogen density of nH > 3000 cm−3. The absorption outflow system only covers the continuum emission source and not the broad emission line region, which suggests that its transverse size is small (< 1016 cm), with potential cloud geometries ranging from spherical to elongated along the line of sight