Non-LTE Models and Theoretical Spectra of Accretion Disks in Active Galactic Nuclei. III. Integrated Spectra for Hydrogen-Helium Disks

We have constructed a grid of non-LTE disk models for a wide range of black hole mass and mass accretion rate, for several values of viscosity parameter alpha, and for two extreme values of the black hole spin: the maximum-rotation Kerr black hole, and the Schwarzschild (non-rotating) black hole. Our procedure calculates self-consistently the vertical structure of all disk annuli together with the radiation field, without any approximations imposed on the optical thickness of the disk, and without any ad hoc approximations to the behavior of the radiation intensity. The total spectrum of a disk is computed by summing the spectra of the individual annuli, taking into account the general relativistic transfer function. The grid covers nine values of the black hole mass between M = 1/8 and 32 billion solar masses with a two-fold increase of mass for each subsequent value; and eleven values of the mass accretion rate, each a power of 2 times 1 solar mass/year. The highest value of the accretion rate corresponds to 0.3 Eddington. We show the vertical structure of individual annuli within the set of accretion disk models, along with their local emergent flux, and discuss the internal physical self-consistency of the models. We then present the full disk-integrated spectra, and discuss a number of observationally interesting properties of the models, such as optical/ultraviolet colors, the behavior of the hydrogen Lyman limit region, polarization, and number of ionizing photons. Our calculations are far from definitive in terms of the input physics, but generally we find that our models exhibit rather red optical/UV colors. Flux discontinuities in the region of the hydrogen Lyman limit are only present in cool, low luminosity models, while hotter models exhibit blueshifted changes in spectral slope.Comment: 20 pages, 31 figures, ApJ in press, spectral models are available for downloading at http://www.physics.ucsb.edu/~blaes/habk

Non-LTE Models and Theoretical Spectra of Accretion Disks in Active Galactic Nuclei

We present self-consistent models of the vertical structure and emergent spectrum of AGN accretion disks. The central object is assumed to be a supermassive Kerr black hole. We demonstrate that NLTE effects and the effects of a self-consistent vertical structure of a disk play a very important role in determining the emergent radiation, and therefore should be taken into account. In particular, NLTE models exhibit a largely diminished H I Lyman discontinuity when compared to LTE models, and the He II discontinuity appears strongly in emission for NLTE models. Consequently, the number of ionizing photons in the He II Lyman continuum predicted by NLTE disk models is by 1 - 2 orders of magnitude higher than that following from the black-body approximation. This prediction has important implications for ionization models of AGN broad line regions, and for models of the intergalactic radiation field and the ionization of helium in the intergalactic medium.Comment: 11 pages; 2 postscript figures; LaTeX, AASPP4 macro; to appear in the Astrophysical Journal (Letters

The Vertical Structure and Ultraviolet Spectrum of Accretion Disks Heated by Internal Dissipation in Active Galactic Nuclei

We present an improved calculation of the vertical structure and ultraviolet spectrum of a dissipative accretion disk in an AGN. We calculate model spectra in which the viscous stress is proportional to the total pressure, the gas pressure only and the geometric mean of the radiation and gas pressures (cf. Laor & Netzer 1989: LN89). As a result of a more complete treatment of absorptive opacity, we find greater overall spectral curvature than did LN89, as well as larger amplitudes in both the Lyman and HeII photoionization edges. The local black body approximation is not a good description of the near UV spectrum. With relativistic corrections (appropriate to non-rotating black holes) included, we find that the near UV spectrum hardens with increasing m-dot / m_8 (m-dot is the accretion rate in Eddington units, m_8 the black hole mass in units of 10^8 M_Sun). The near UV spectrum is consistent with observations if m-dot/ m_8 \sim 10^{-3}, but disks this cold would have large, and unobserved, absorption features at the Lyman edge. The edge amplitude is reduced when m-dot/m_8 is larger, but then the near-UV slope is too hard to match observations. We conclude that models in which conventional disks orbit non-rotating black holes do not adequately explain UV continuum production in AGN.Comment: AAS LaTe

The Soft X-Ray Properties of a Complete Sample of Optically Selected Quasars II. Final Results

We present the final results of a ROSAT PSPC program to study the soft X-ray emission properties of a complete sample of low $z$ quasars. The main results are: 1. There is no evidence for significant soft excess emission or excess foreground absorption by cold gas in 22 of the 23 quasars. 2. The mean 0.2-2 keV continuum of quasars agrees remarkably well with an extrapolation of the mean 1050-350A continuum recently determined by Zheng et al. (1996), indicating that there is no steep soft component below 0.2 keV. 3. The occurrence of warm absorbers in quasars is rather rare, in sharp contrast to lower luminosity AGN. 4. The strongest correlation found is between the spectral slope, alpha_x, and the Hb FWHM. This remarkably strong correlation may result from a dependence of alpha_x on L/L_Edd, as seen in Galactic black hole candidates. 5. There appears to exist a distinct class of ``X-ray weak'' quasars. These may be quasars where the direct X-ray source is obscured, and only scattered X-rays are observed. 6. Thin accretion disk models cannot reproduce the observed optical to soft X-ray spectral shape. An as yet unknown physical mechanism maintains a strong correlation between the optical and soft X-ray emission. 7. The well known difference in alpha_x between radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars may be due only to their different Hb FWHM. 8. The agreement of the 21 cm and X-ray columns implies that He in the diffuse H II component of the Galactic ISM is ionized to He II or He III (shortened abstract).Comment: 19 pages of text only, uses aas2pp4.sty file, to appear in ApJ vol. 447, 3/1/97, complete postscript version of 34 pages including 5 tables and 8 figures available at http://physics.technion.ac.il/~laor/rosat/paper.p

Characteristic QSO Accretion Disk Temperatures from Spectroscopic Continuum Variability

Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasar spectra taken at multiple epochs, we find that the composite flux density differences in the rest frame wavelength range 1300-6000 AA can be fit by a standard thermal accretion disk model where the accretion rate has changed from one epoch to the next (without considering additional continuum emission components). The fit to the composite residual has two free parameters: a normalizing constant and the average characteristic temperature $\bar{T}^*$. In turn the characteristic temperature is dependent on the ratio of the mass accretion rate to the square of the black hole mass. We therefore conclude that most of the UV/optical variability may be due to processes involving the disk, and thus that a significant fraction of the UV/optical spectrum may come directly from the disk.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figure

Magnetic Stress at the Marginally Stable Orbit: Altered Disk Structure, Radiation, and Black Hole Spin Evolution

Magnetic connections to the plunging region can exert stresses on the inner edge of an accretion disk around a black hole. We recompute the relativistic corrections to the thin-disk dynamics equations when these stresses take the form of a time-steady torque on the inner edge of the disk. The additional dissipation associated with these stresses is concentrated relatively close outside the marginally stable orbit, scaling as r to the -7/2 at large radius. As a result of these additional stresses: spin-up of the central black hole is retarded; the maximum spin-equilibrium accretion efficiency is 36%, and occurs at a/M=0.94; the disk spectrum is extended toward higher frequencies; line profiles (such as Fe K-alpha) are broadened if the line emissivity scales with local flux; limb-brightening, especially at the higher frequencies, is enhanced; and the returning radiation fraction is substantially increased, up to 58%. This last effect creates possible explanations for both synchronized continuum fluctuations in AGN, and polarization rises shortward of the Lyman edge in quasars. We show that no matter what additional stresses occur, when a/M < 0.36, the second law of black hole dynamics sets an absolute upper bound on the accretion efficiency.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Broad-band X-ray measurements of the black hole candidate XTE J1908+094

XTE J1908+094 is an X-ray transient that went into outburst in February 2002. After two months it reached a 2-250 keV peak flux of 1 to 2 X 10-8 erg/s/cm2. Circumstantial evidence points to an accreting galactic black hole as the origin of the the X-radiation: pulsations nor thermonuclear flashes were detected that would identify a neutron star and the spectrum was unusually hard for a neutron star at the outburst onset. We report on BeppoSAX and RXTE All Sky Monitor observations of the broad-band spectrum of XTE J1908+094. The spectrum is consistent with a model consisting of a Comptonization component by a ~40 keV plasma (between 2 and 60 keV this component can be approximated by a power law with a photon index of 1.9 to 2.1), a multicolor accretion disk blackbody component with a temperature just below 1 keV and a broad emission line at about 6 keV. The spectrum is heavily absorbed by cold interstellar matter with an equivalent hydrogen column density of 2.5 X 10+22 cm-2, which makes it difficult to study the black body component in detail. The black body component exhibits strong evolution about 6 weeks into the outburst. Two weeks later this is followed by a swift decay of the power law component. The broadness of the 6 keV feature may be due to relativistic broadening or Compton scattering of a narrow Fe-K line.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Steps toward determination of the size and structure of the broad-line region in active galactic nuclei. VIII. An intensive HST, IUE, and ground-based study of NGC 5548

We present the data and initial results from a combined Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/IUE/ground-based spectroscopic monitoring campaign on the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 that was undertaken in order to address questions that require both higher temporal resolution and higher signal-to-noise ratios than were obtained in our previous multiwavelength monitoring of this galaxy in 1988-1989. IUE spectra were obtained once every 2 days for a period of 74 days beginning on 1993 March 14. During the last 39 days of this campaign, spectroscopic observations were also made with the HST Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) on a daily basis. Ground-based observations, consisting of 165 optical spectra and 77 photometric observations (both CCD imaging and aperture photometry), are reported for the period 1992 October-1993 September, although many of the data are concentrated around the time of the satellite-based program. These data constitute a fifth year of intensive optical monitoring of this galaxy. In this contribution we describe the acquisition and reduction of all of the satellite and ground-based data obtained in this program. We describe in detail various photometric problems with the FOS and explain how we identified and corrected for various anomalies

Where have all the black holes gone?

We have calculated stationary models for accretion disks around super-massive black holes in galactic nuclei. Our models show that below a critical mass flow rate of ~3 10**-3 M_Edd advection will dominate the energy budget while above that rate all the viscously liberated energy is radiated. The radiation efficiency declines steeply below that critical rate. This leads to a clear dichotomy between AGN and normal galaxies which is not so much given by differences in the mass flow rate but by the radiation efficiency. At very low mass accretion rates below 5 10**-5 M_Edd synchrotron emission and Bremsstrahlung dominate the SED, while above 2 10**-4 M Edd the inverse Compton radiation from synchrotron seed photons produce flat to inverted SEDs from the radio to X-rays. Finally we discuss the implications of these findings for AGN duty cycles and the long-term AGN evolution.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&