Variability of Active Galactic Nuclei from the Optical to X-ray Regions

Some progress in understanding AGN variability is reviewed. Reprocessing of X-ray radiation to produce significant amounts of longer-wavelength continua seems to be ruled out. In some objects where there has been correlated X-ray and optical variability, the amplitude of the optical variability has exceeded the amplitude of X-ray variability. We suggest that accelerated particles striking material could be linking X-ray and optical variability (as in activity in the solar chromosphere). Beaming effects could be significant in all types of AGN. The diversity in optical/X-ray relationships at different times in the same object, and between different objects, might be explained by changes in geometry and directions of motion relative to our line of sight. Linear shot-noise models of the variability are ruled out; instead there must be large-scale organization of variability. Variability occurs on light-crossing timescales rather than viscous timescales and this probably rules out the standard Shakura-Sunyaev accretion disk. Radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs have similar continuum shapes and similar variability properties. This suggests similar continuum origins and variability mechanisms. Despite their extreme X-ray variability, narrow-line Seyfert 1s (NLS1s) do not show extreme optical variability.Comment: Invited talk given at Euro Asian Astronomical Society meeting in Moscow, June 2002. 20 pages, 4 figures. References update

Hole polaron formation and migration in olivine phosphate materials

By combining first principles calculations and experimental XPS measurements, we investigate the electronic structure of potential Li-ion battery cathode materials LiMPO4 (M=Mn,Fe,Co,Ni) to uncover the underlying mechanisms that determine small hole polaron formation and migration. We show that small hole polaron formation depends on features in the electronic structure near the valence-band maximum and that, calculationally, these features depend on the methodology chosen for dealing with the correlated nature of the transition-metal d-derived states in these systems. Comparison with experiment reveals that a hybrid functional approach is superior to GGA+U in correctly reproducing the XPS spectra. Using this approach we find that LiNiPO4 cannot support small hole polarons, but that the other three compounds can. The migration barrier is determined mainly by the strong or weak bonding nature of the states at the top of the valence band, resulting in a substantially higher barrier for LiMnPO4 than for LiCoPO4 or LiFePO4

Reverberation Mapping Results from MDM Observatory

We present results from a multi-month reverberation mapping campaign undertaken primarily at MDM Observatory with supporting observations from around the world. We measure broad line region (BLR) radii and black hole masses for six objects. A velocity-resolved analysis of the H_beta response shows the presence of diverse kinematic signatures in the BLR.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium No. 267: Co-Evolution of Central Black Holes and Galaxies, Rio de Janeiro, 200

The Case for Optically-Thick High Velocity Broad Line Region Gas in Active Galactic Nuclei

A combined analysis of the profiles of the main broad quasar emission lines in both Hubble Space Telescope and optical spectra shows that while the profiles of the strong UV lines are quite similar, there is frequently a strong increase in the Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratio in the high-velocity gas. We show that the suggestion that the high velocity gas is optically-thin presents many problems. We show that the relative strengths of the high velocity wings arise naturally in an optically-thick BLR component. An optically-thick model successfully explains the equivalent widths of the lines, the Ly-alpha/H-alpha ratios and flatter Balmer decrements in the line wings, the strengths of CIII] and the lambda 1400 blend, and the strong variability of high-velocity, high-ionization lines (especially HeII and HeI).Comment: 34 pages in AASTeX, including 10 pages of figures. Submitted to Astrophysical Journa

Reverberation measurement of the inner radius of the dust torus in NGC 4151 during 2008-2013

We investigate the correlation between infrared (JHKL) and optical (B) fluxes of the variable nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 using partially published data for the last 6 years (2008-2013.). Here we are using the same data as in Oknyansky et al. (2014), but include also optical (B) data from Guo et al. We find that the lag of flux in all the infrared bands is the same, 40 +- 6 days, to within the measurement accuracy. Variability in the J and K bands is not quite simultaneous, perhaps due to the differing contributions of the accretion disk in these bands. The lag found for the K band compared with the B band is not significantly different from earlier values obtained for the period 2000-2007. However, finding approximately the same lags in all IR bands for 2008-2013 differs from previous results at earlier epochs when the lag increased with increasing wavelength. Examples of almost the same lag in different IR bands are known for some other active nuclei. In the case of NGC 4151 it appears that the relative lags between the IR bands may be different in different years. The available data, unfortunately, do not allow us to investigate a possible change in the lags during the test interval. We discuss our results in the framework of the standard model where the variable infrared radiation is mainly due to thermal re-emission from the part of the dusty torus closest to the central source. There is also a contribution of some IR emission from the accretion disk, and this contribution increases with decreasing wavelength. Some cosmological applications of obtained results are discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, 14-th Odessa International Astronomical Gamow Conference-School Astronomy and beyond: Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravitation, Cosmomicrophysics, Radio-astronomy and Astrobiolog

Collective dynamics of liquid aluminum probed by Inelastic X-ray Scattering

An inelastic X-ray scattering experiment has been performed in liquid aluminum with the purpose of studying the collective excitations at wavevectors below the first sharp diffraction peak. The high instrumental resolution (up to 1.5 meV) allows an accurate investigation of the dynamical processes in this liquid metal on the basis of a generalized hydrodynamics framework. The outcoming results confirm the presence of a viscosity relaxation scenario ruled by a two timescale mechanism, as recently found in liquid lithium.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

The role of complementary learning systems in learning and consolidation in a quasi-regular domain

We examine the role of off-line memory consolidation processes in the learning and retention of a new quasi-regular linguistic system similar to the English past tense. Quasi-regular systems are characterized by a dominance of systematic, regular forms (e.g., walk-walked, jump-jumped) alongside a smaller number of high frequency irregulars (e.g., sit-sat, go-went), and are found across many cognitive domains, from spelling-sound mappings to inflectional morphology to semantic cognition. Participants were trained on the novel morphological system using an artificial language paradigm, and then tested after different delays. Based on a complementary systems account of memory, we predicted that irregular forms would show stronger off-line changes due to consolidation processes. Across two experiments, participants were tested either immediately after learning, 12 h later with or without sleep, or 24 h later. Testing involved generalization of the morphological patterns to previously unseen words (both experiments) as well as recall of the trained words (Experiment 2). In generalization, participants showed 'default' regularization across a range of novel forms, as well as irregularization for previously unseen items that were similar to unique high-frequency irregular trained forms. Both patterns of performance remained stable across the delays. Generalizations involving competing tendencies to regularize and irregularize were balanced between the two immediately after learning. Crucially, at both 12-h delays the tendency to irregularize in these cases was strengthened, with further strengthening after 24 h. Consolidated knowledge of both regular and irregular trained items contributed significantly to generalization performance, with evidence of strengthening of irregular forms and weakening of regular forms. We interpret these findings in the context of a complementary systems model, and discuss how maintenance, strengthening, and forgetting of the new memories across sleep and wake can play a role in acquiring quasi-regular systems

What are the interactions in quantum glasses?

The form of the low-temperature interactions between defects in neutral glasses is reconsidered. We analyse the case where the defects can be modelled either as simple 2-level tunneling systems, or tunneling rotational impurities. The coupling to strain fields is determined up to 2nd order in the displacement field. It is shown that the linear coupling generates not only the usual $1/r^3$ Ising-like interaction between the rotational tunneling defect modes, which cause them to freeze around a temperature $T_G$, but also a random field term. At lower temperatures the inversion symmetric tunneling modes are still active - however the coupling of these to the frozen rotational modes, now via the 2nd-order coupling to phonons, generates another random field term acting on the inversion symmetric modes (as well as shorter-range $1/r^5$ interactions between them). Detailed expressions for all these couplings are given.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures. Minor modifications, published versio

Growing up with interfering neighbours : the influence of time of learning and vocabulary knowledge on written word learning in children

Evidence suggests that new vocabulary undergoes a period of strengthening and integration offline, particularly during sleep. Practical questions remain, however, including whether learning closer to bedtime can optimize consolidation, and whether such an effect varies with vocabulary ability. To examine this, children aged 8-12-years-old (n 59) were trained on written novel forms (e.g. BANARA) in either the morning (long delay) or the evening (short delay). Immediately after training and the next day, lexical competition (a marker of integration) was assessed via speeded semantic decisions to neighbouring existing words (e.g. BANANA); explicit memory was measured via recognition and recall tasks. There were no main effects indicating performance changes across sleep for any task, counter to studies of spoken word learning. However, a significant interaction was found, such that children with poorer vocabulary showed stronger lexical competition on the day after learning if there was a short delay between learning and sleep. Furthermore, while poorer vocabulary was associated with slower novel word recognition speed before and after sleep for the long delay group, this association was only present before sleep for the short delay group. Thus, weak vocabulary knowledge compromises novel word acquisition, and when there is a longer period of post-learning wake, this disadvantage remains after a consolidation opportunity. However, when sleep occurs soon after learning, consolidation processes can compensate for weaker encoding and permit lexical integration. These data provide preliminary suggestion that children with poorer vocabulary may benefit from learning new words closer to bedtime