Sub-arcsecond radio and optical observations of the likely counterpart to the gamma-ray source 2FGL J2056.7+4939

We have searched and reviewed all multi- wavelength data available for the region towards the gamma-ray source 2FGL J2056.7+4939 in order to con- strain its possible counterpart at lower energies. As a result, only a point-like optical/infrared source with flat-spectrum radio emission is found to be consistent with all X-ray and gamma-ray error circles. Its struc- ture is marginally resolved at radio wavelengths at the sub-arcsecond level. An extragalactic scenario appears to be the most likely interpretation for this object.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

N=4 supersymmetric Eguchi-Hanson sigma model in d=1

We show that it is possible to construct a supersymmetric mechanics with four supercharges possessing not conformally flat target space. A general idea of constructing such models is presented. A particular case with Eguchi--Hanson target space is investigated in details: we present the standard and quotient approaches to get the Eguchi--Hanson model, demonstrate their equivalence, give a full set of nonlinear constraints, study their properties and give an explicit expression for the target space metric.Comment: LaTeX, 9 page

Magnetic fields in supernova remnants and pulsar-wind nebulae

We review the observations of supernova remnants (SNRs) and pulsar-wind nebulae (PWNe) that give information on the strength and orientation of magnetic fields. Radio polarimetry gives the degree of order of magnetic fields, and the orientation of the ordered component. Many young shell supernova remnants show evidence for synchrotron X-ray emission. The spatial analysis of this emission suggests that magnetic fields are amplified by one to two orders of magnitude in strong shocks. Detection of several remnants in TeV gamma rays implies a lower limit on the magnetic-field strength (or a measurement, if the emission process is inverse-Compton upscattering of cosmic microwave background photons). Upper limits to GeV emission similarly provide lower limits on magnetic-field strengths. In the historical shell remnants, lower limits on B range from 25 to 1000 microGauss. Two remnants show variability of synchrotron X-ray emission with a timescale of years. If this timescale is the electron-acceleration or radiative loss timescale, magnetic fields of order 1 mG are also implied. In pulsar-wind nebulae, equipartition arguments and dynamical modeling can be used to infer magnetic-field strengths anywhere from about 5 microGauss to 1 mG. Polarized fractions are considerably higher than in SNRs, ranging to 50 or 60% in some cases; magnetic-field geometries often suggest a toroidal structure around the pulsar, but this is not universal. Viewing-angle effects undoubtedly play a role. MHD models of radio emission in shell SNRs show that different orientations of upstream magnetic field, and different assumptions about electron acceleration, predict different radio morphology. In the remnant of SN 1006, such comparisons imply a magnetic-field orientation connecting the bright limbs, with a non-negligible gradient of its strength across the remnant.Comment: 20 pages, 24 figures; to be published in SpSciRev. Minor wording change in Abstrac

Magnetic Fields, Relativistic Particles, and Shock Waves in Cluster Outskirts

It is only now, with low-frequency radio telescopes, long exposures with high-resolution X-ray satellites and gamma-ray telescopes, that we are beginning to learn about the physics in the periphery of galaxy clusters. In the coming years, Sunyaev-Zeldovich telescopes are going to deliver further great insights into the plasma physics of these special regions in the Universe. The last years have already shown tremendous progress with detections of shocks, estimates of magnetic field strengths and constraints on the particle acceleration efficiency. X-ray observations have revealed shock fronts in cluster outskirts which have allowed inferences about the microphysical structure of shocks fronts in such extreme environments. The best indications for magnetic fields and relativistic particles in cluster outskirts come from observations of so-called radio relics, which are megaparsec-sized regions of radio emission from the edges of galaxy clusters. As these are difficult to detect due to their low surface brightness, only few of these objects are known. But they have provided unprecedented evidence for the acceleration of relativistic particles at shock fronts and the existence of muG strength fields as far out as the virial radius of clusters. In this review we summarise the observational and theoretical state of our knowledge of magnetic fields, relativistic particles and shocks in cluster outskirts.Comment: 34 pages, to be published in Space Science Review

Optical Identification of Candidates for Active Galactic Nuclei Detected by the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC Telescope Onboard the SRG Observatory during an All-Sky X-ray Survey

Abstract: We present the results of our identification of eight objects from the preliminary catalogue of X-ray sources detected in the 4–12 keV energy band by the Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC telescope onboard the SRG observatory during the first all-sky survey. Three of them (SRGA J005751.0+210846, SRGA J014157.0-032915, SRGA J232446.8+440756) have been discovered by the ART-XC telescope, while five have already been known previously as X-ray sources, but their nature has remained unestablished. The last five sources have also been detected in soft X-rays by the eROSITA telescope of the SRG observatory. Our optical observations have been carried out at the 1.6-m AZT-33IK telescope of the Sayan Observatory and the 1.5-m Russian–Turkish telescope (RTT-150). All of the investigated objects have turned out to be active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at redshifts from 0.019 to 0.283. Six of them are Seyfert 2 galaxies (including one Seyfert 1.9 galaxy), one (SRGA J005751.0+210846) is a ‘‘hidden’’ AGN (in an edge-on galaxy), and one (SRGA J224125.9+760343) is a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy. The latter object is characterized by a high X-ray luminosity (~(2-13) × 1044 erg s-1 in the 4–12 keV band) and, according to our black hole mass estimate (~2 × 107Mꙩ), an accretion rate close to the Eddington limit. All three AGNs discovered by the ART-XC telescope (which are not detected by the eROSITA telescope) are characterized by a high absorption column density (Formula presented.). The results obtained confirm the expectations that the ART-XC telescope is an efficient instrument in searching for heavily obscured and other interesting AGNs in the nearby (Formula presented.) Universe. The SRG sky survey will last for another 3 years or more, which must allow many such objects to be discovered

Spectroscopic Redshift Determination for a Sample of Distant Quasars Detected by the SRG Observatory Based on RTT-150 Observations. II

Abstract: Results of the spectroscopic observations at the 1.5-m Russian–Turkish telescope for another group of 12 X-ray sources discovered by the eROSITA telescope onboard the SRG space observatory and identified by the SRGz machine learning system as candidates for distant X-ray quasars are presented. Ten objects have been confirmed as quasars at redshifts z=2.6{-}3.2 and two sources have turned out to be active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at z=0.42 and 1.02