549 research outputs found
Radio detection of solar wind discontinuities
Geomagnetic field sudden increases or storm sudden commencements are compared with measurements of electron content of the solar wind. The latter data are obtained by a radio propagation experiment, which measures the electron content along a radio path between transmitters on the ground and several spacecraft in solar orbit. Measurements were examined during time periods that included 40 of the geomagnetic disturbances (gmd) reported between January 1, 1966, and June 30, 1969. These studies indicate that some widely reported solar wind discontinuities have been detected by the radio propagation experiment. Eleven of the 40 gmd were classified as storm sudden commencements (ssc), which usually result when a shock in the solar wind strikes the magnetosphere. The relative timings of these 11 events are consistent with conclusions drawn from comparisons of experiment geometry to prevailing shock models. Compared to the nature of these 11 events, the characteristics of the solar-wind disturbances corresponding to the remaining 29 gmd were generally found to have been less favorable for detection by the radio propagation experiment, but sharp changes in the content were clearly evident at the time of several minor gmd
A Flare in the Jet of Pictor A
A Chandra X-ray imaging observation of the jet in Pictor A showed a feature
that appears to be a flare that faded between 2000 and 2002. The feature was
not detected in a follow-up observation in 2009. The jet itself is over 150 kpc
long and a kpc wide, so finding year-long variability is surprising. Assuming a
synchrotron origin of the observed high-energy photons and a minimum energy
condition for the outflow, the synchrotron loss time of the X-ray emitting
electrons is of order 1200 yr, which is much longer than the observed
variability timescale. This leads to the possibility that the variable X-ray
emission arises from a very small sub-volume of the jet, characterized by
magnetic field that is substantially larger than the average over the jet.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Ap. J. Letter
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Absorption of short-pulse electromagnetic energy by a resistively loaded straight wire
Absorption of short-pulse electromagnetic energy by a resistively loaded straight wire is examined. Energy collected by the wire, load energy, peak load currents, and peak load voltages are found for a wide range of parameters, with particular emphasis on nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) phenomena. A series of time-sequenced plots is used to illustrate pulse propagation on wires when loads and wire ends are encountered. (auth
Absorption of short-pulse electromagnetic energy by a resistively loaded straight wire
Absorption of short-pulse electromagnetic energy by a resistively loaded straight wire is examined. Energy collected by the wire, load energy, peak load currents, and peak load voltages are found for a wide range of parameters, with particular emphasis on nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) phenomena. A series of time-sequenced plots is used to illustrate pulse propagation on wires when loads and wire ends are encountered. (auth
The SOUX AGN sample: optical/UV/X-ray SEDs and the nature of the disc
We use the SOUX sample of ∼700 active galactic nucleus (AGN) to form average optical-ultraviolet (UV)-X-rays spectral energy distributions (SEDs) on a two-dimensional (2D) grid of MBH and L2500. We compare these with the predictions of a new AGN SED model, QSOSED, which includes prescriptions for both hot and warm Comptonization regions as well as an outer standard disc. This predicts the overall SED fairly well for 7.5 < log(MBH/M⊙) < 9.0 over a wide range in L/LEdd, but at higher masses the outer disc spectra in the model are far too cool to match the data. We create optical-UV composites from the entire Sloan Digital Sky Survey sample and use these to show that the mismatch is due to there being no significant change in spectral shape of the optical-UV continuum across several decades of MBH at constant luminosity. We show for the first time that this cannot be matched by standard disc models with high black hole spin. These apparently fit, but are not self-consistent as they do not include the General Relativistic effects for the emission to reach the observer. At high spin, increased gravitational redshift compensates for almost all of the higher temperature emission from the smaller inner disc radii. The data do not match the predictions made by any current accretion flow model. Either the disc is completely covered by a warm Comptonization layer whose properties change systematically with L/LEdd, or the accretion flow structure is fundamentally different to that of the standard disc models
VLA Observations of a New Population of Blazars
We present the first deep VLA radio images of flat-spectrum radio quasars
(FSRQ) with multiwavelength emission properties similar to those of BL Lacs
with synchrotron X-rays. Our observations of twenty-five of these sources show
that their radio morphologies are similar to those of other radio quasars.
However, their range of extended powers is more similar to that of BL Lacertae
objects (BL Lacs) and extends down to the low values typical of FR I radio
galaxies. Five out of our nine lobe-dominated sources have extended radio
powers in the range typical of both FR I and FR II radio galaxies, but their
extended radio structure is clearly FR II-like. Therefore, we have not yet
found a large population of radio quasars hosted by FR Is. Two thirds of our
sources have a core-dominated radio morpholgy and thus X-rays likely dominated
by the jet. We find that their ratios of radio core to total X-ray luminosity
are low and in the regime indicative of synchrotron X-rays. This result shows
that also blazars with strong emission lines can produce jets of high-energy
synchrotron emission and undermines at least in part the ``blazar sequence''
scenario which advocates that particle Compton cooling by an external radiation
field governs the frequency of the synchrotron emission peak.Comment: 26 pages, 33 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
On the redshift of the blazar PKS0447-439
PKS0447-439 is one of the BL Lacertae objects that have been detected at very
high energy. There has been a recent report of a lower limit of z>1.246 for the
redshift of this blazar, challenging the current paradigm in which very
high-energy gamma-rays cannot freely propagate in the z>1 universe. In this
research note, we present a new MagE/Magellan spectrum of PKS0447-439 with
exquisite signal-to-noise (S/N>150 at 6500A). Our analysis confirms the
presence of the previously-reported absorption line at 6280A, which we
identify, however, with a known telluric absorption, invalidating the claim
that this blazar lies at z>1. Since no other extragalactic spectral features
are detected, we cannot establish a redshift based on our spectrum.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Research note. A&A accepte
The long-term broad-line responsivity in MKN 110
We examine the long-term history of the optical spectrum of the extremely variable Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) MKN 110. By combining various archival data with new data, we cover an unprecedented long period of ∼30 yr (1987–2019). We find that the He II λ4686 emission line changes by a factor of forty and varies more strongly than the optical continuum. Following Ferland et al., we take He II λ4686 as a proxy for the FUV continuum and compare the flux of several other line species against it. This comparison reveals a clear pattern, whereby lines respond close to linearly at low FUV fluxes, and saturate at high FUV fluxes. The saturation level of the response appears to depend on the excitation energy of the line species. In addition to this global pattern, we note changes among observational epochs, indicating a structural evolution in the broad line region (BLR). The line profiles in our spectra show an offset between the narrow and broad components of the He II λ4686 and H β lines. This offset shows a significant negative correlation with the FUV flux and a positive correlation with the line velocity width. Our analysis reveals a complex BLR response to a changing continuum. The clear presence of a non-responsive component of the broad lines indicates the existence of multiple contributions to the line emission. We find there are several kinematic models of the BLR and inner regions of the AGN that match our data
Black hole masses and starbursts in X-shaped radio sources
It has been suggested that the X-shaped morphology observed in some radio
sources can reflect either a recent merger of two supermassive black holes
(SMBHs) or the presence of a second active black hole in the galactic nucleus.
These scenarios are tested by studying the relationship between the black hole
mass, radio and optical luminosity, starburst history, and dynamic age of radio
lobes in a sample of 29 X-shaped radio galaxies drawn from a list of 100
X-shaped radio source candidates identified from the FIRST survey. The same
relationships are also studied in a control sample consisting of 36 radio-loud
active nuclei with similar redshifts and optical and radio luminosities. The
X-shaped objects are found to have statistically higher black hole masses and
older starburst activity compared to the objects from the control sample.
Implications of these findings are discussed for the black hole merger scenario
and for the potential presence of active secondary black holes in post-merger
galaxies.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
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