3,043 research outputs found
Observational Similarities and Potential Connections Between Luminous Ultrasoft NLS1s and BALQSOs
Luminous ultrasoft NLS1s and low-ionization BALQSOs share many properties,
and they both represent important extremes of the active galaxy phenomenon. We
briefly discuss their observational similarities as well as potential physical
connections between them, concentrating on the X-ray point of view. We present
several ways by which potential connections might be further tested.Comment: Invited talk presented at the Joint MPE,AIP,ESO workshop on NLS1s,
Bad Honnef, Dec. 1999, to appear in New Astronomy Reviews; also available at
http://wave.xray.mpe.mpg.de/conferences/nls1-worksho
Exploratory ASCA Observations of Broad Absorption Line Quasi-Stellar Objects
We present the analysis and interpretation of a sample of eight ASCA
observations of Broad Absorption Line Quasi-Stellar Objects (BALQSOs). This is
the first moderate-sized sample of sensitive BALQSO observations above 2 keV,
and the BALQSOs in our sample are among the optically brightest known
(B=14.5-18.5). Despite the ability of 2-10 keV X-rays to penetrate large column
densities, we find BALQSOs to be extremely weak sources above 2 keV, and we are
only able to add two new 2-10 keV detections (0226-104 and IRAS 07598+6508) to
those previously reported. By comparison with non-BALQSOs of similar optical
continuum magnitudes, we derive the column densities needed to suppress the
expected X-ray fluxes of our BALQSOs. In several cases we derive column
densities > 5x10^{23} cm^{-2} for a neutral absorber with solar abundances.
These are the largest X-ray column densities yet inferred for BALQSOs, and they
exceed ROSAT lower limits by about an order of magnitude. Optical brightness
does not appear to be a good predictor of 2-10 keV brightness for BALQSOs, but
our data do suggest that the BALQSOs with high optical continuum polarizations
may be the X-ray brighter members of the class. For example, the highly
polarized object PHL 5200 appears to be unusually X-ray bright for a BALQSO
given its optical magnitude. We discuss the implications of our results for
future observations with AXAF and XMM. If the objects in our sample are
representative of the BALQSO population, precision X-ray spectroscopy of most
BALQSOs will unfortunately prove difficult in the near future.Comment: 19 pages, ApJ in press, also available from
http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/niel/papers/papers.htm
Evidence for Relativistic Outflows in Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
We report the observation of features near 1 keV in the ASCA spectra from
three ``Narrow Line Seyfert 1'' (NLS1) galaxies. We interpret these as oxygen
absorption in a highly relativistic outflow. If interpreted as absorption
edges, the implied velocities are 0.2--0.3c, near the limit predicted by
``line-locking'' radiative acceleration. If instead interpreted as broad
absorption lines, the implied velocities are ~0.57c, interestingly near the
velocity of particles in the last stable orbit around a Kerr black hole,
although a physical interpretation of this is not obvious. The features are
reminiscent of the UV absorption lines seen in broad absorption line quasars
(BALQSOs), but with larger velocities, and we note the remarkable similarities
in the optical emission line and broad band properties of NLS1s and
low-ionization BALQSOs.Comment: 9 pages using (AASTeX) aaspp4.sty and 2 Postscript figures. Accepted
for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letter
New Insights Into The Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Phenomenon
I briefly review the X/UV absorber models and show that the observations of
NLS1s are generally consistent with the models. The covering factor of
absorbers in NLS1s is likely to be high and there is some evidence of
super-solar metallicities. I argue that NLS1s may be active galaxies in the
early stage of their evolution and as such, may be low luminosity, low redshift
analogues of the high redshift quasars. NLS1s may reside in rejuvenated
gas-rich galaxies. I also propose that the high Fe II emission in NLS1s may be
a direct consequence of their large accretion rate and so a collisional
ionization origin of FeII is favored.Comment: Invited talk presented at the Joint MPE,AIP,ESO workshop on NLS1s,
Bad Honnef, Dec. 1999, to appear in New Astronomy Reviews; also available at
http://wave.xray.mpe.mpg.de/conferences/nls1-worksho
Space-Time Distribution of G-Band and Ca II H-Line Intensity Oscillations in Hinode/SOT-FG Observations
We study the space-time distributions of intensity fluctuations in 2 - 3 hour
sequences of multi-spectral, high-resolution, high-cadence broad-band
filtergram images (BFI) made by the SOT-FG system aboard the Hinode spacecraft.
In the frequency range 5.5 < f < 8.0 mHz both G-band and Ca II H-line
oscillations are suppressed in the presence of magnetic fields, but the
suppression disappears for f > 10 mHz. By looking at G-band frequencies above
10 mHz we find that the oscillatory power, both at these frequencies and at
lower frequencies too, lies in a mesh pattern with cell scale 2 - 3 Mm, clearly
larger than normal granulation, and with correlation times on the order of
hours. The mesh pattern lies in the dark lanes between stable cells found in
time-integrated G-band intensity images. It also underlies part of the bright
pattern in time-integrated H-line emission. This discovery may reflect
dynamical constraints on the sizes of rising granular convection cells together
with the turbulence created in strong intercellular downflows.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figure
Systematic Review on the Management of Chronic Constipation in North America
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72642/1/j.1572-0241.2005.50613_2.x.pd
X-ray variability in a complete sample of Soft X-ray selected AGN
We present ROSAT All-Sky Survey and ROSAT pointed observations (PSPC and HRI)
of a complete sample of 113 bright soft X-ray AGN selected from the ROSAT
Bright Source Catalog. We compare these observations in order to search for
extreme cases of flux and spectral X-ray variability - X-ray transient AGN.
Three definite transients and one transient candidate are found.
The other sources show amplitude variations typically by factors of 2-3 on
timescales of years. We found that the variability strength on timescales of
days is a function of the steepness of the X-ray spectrum: steeper X-ray
objects show stronger variability than flat X-ray spectrum sources. We also
present new HRI measurements of our extreme X-ray transients IC 3599 and
WPVS007. We discuss possible models to explain the X-ray transience and the
variabilities observed in the non-transient sources.Comment: 17 pages (including 7 Figures), accepted for in A&A (main journal),
also available at http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/~dgrupe/research/refereed.htm
The Spectral Energy Distribution and Emission-Line properties of the NLS1 Galaxy Arakelian 564
We present the intrinsic spectral energy distribution (SED) of the NLS1
Arakelian 564, constructed with contemporaneous data obtained during a
multi-wavelength, multi-satellite observing campaign in 2000 and 2001. We
compare it with that of the NLS1 Ton S180 and with those obtained for BLS1s to
infer how the relative accretion rates vary among the Sy1 population. Although
the peak of the SED is not well constrained, most of the energy is emitted in
the 10-100 eV regime, constituting roughly half of the emitted energy in the
optical/X-ray ranges. This is consistent with a primary spectral component
peaking in the extreme UV/soft X-ray band, and disk-corona models, hence high
accretion rates. Indeed, we estimate that \dot{m}~1. We examine the emission
lines in its spectrum, and we constrain the physical properties of the
line-emitting gas through photoionization modeling. The line-emitting gas is
characterized by log n~11 and log U~0, and is stratified around log U~0. Our
estimate of the radius of the H\beta-emitting region ~10 \pm 2 lt-days is
consistent with the radius-luminosity relationships found for Sy1 galaxies. We
also find evidence for super-solar metallicity in this NLS1. We show that the
emission lines are not good diagnostics for the underlying SEDs and that the
absorption line studies offer a far more powerful tool to determine the
ionizing continuum of AGNs, especially if comparing the lower- and
higher-ionization lines.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal, LaTeX emulateapj.st
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