1,968 research outputs found
Deep near-infrared imaging of the HE0450-2958 system
The QSO HE0450-2958 and the companion galaxy with which it is interacting,
both ultra luminous in the infrared, have been the subject of much attention in
recent years, as the quasar host galaxy remained undetected. This led to
various interpretations on QSO and galaxy formation and co-evolution, such as
black hole ejection, jet induced star formation, dust obscured galaxy, or
normal host below the detection limit. We carried out deep observations in the
near-IR in order to solve the puzzle concerning the existence of any host. The
object was observed with the ESO VLT and HAWK-I in the near-IR J-band for 8
hours. The images have been processed with the MCS deconvolution method
(Magain, Courbin & Sohy, 1998), permitting accurate subtraction of the QSO
light from the observations. The compact emission region situated close to the
QSO, called the blob, which previously showed only gas emission lines in the
optical spectra, is now detected in our near-IR images. Its high brightness
implies that stars likely contribute to the near-IR emission. The blob might
thus be interpreted as an off-centre, bright and very compact host galaxy,
involved in a violent collision with its companion.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Formation of Supermassive Black Holes
Evidence shows that massive black holes reside in most local galaxies.
Studies have also established a number of relations between the MBH mass and
properties of the host galaxy such as bulge mass and velocity dispersion. These
results suggest that central MBHs, while much less massive than the host (~
0.1%), are linked to the evolution of galactic structure. In hierarchical
cosmologies, a single big galaxy today can be traced back to the stage when it
was split up in hundreds of smaller components. Did MBH seeds form with the
same efficiency in small proto-galaxies, or did their formation had to await
the buildup of substantial galaxies with deeper potential wells? I briefly
review here some of the physical processes that are conducive to the evolution
of the massive black hole population. I will discuss black hole formation
processes for `seed' black holes that are likely to place at early cosmic
epochs, and possible observational tests of these scenarios.Comment: To appear in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review. The final
publication is available at http://www.springerlink.co
The Formation of the First Massive Black Holes
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are common in local galactic nuclei, and
SMBHs as massive as several billion solar masses already exist at redshift z=6.
These earliest SMBHs may grow by the combination of radiation-pressure-limited
accretion and mergers of stellar-mass seed BHs, left behind by the first
generation of metal-free stars, or may be formed by more rapid direct collapse
of gas in rare special environments where dense gas can accumulate without
first fragmenting into stars. This chapter offers a review of these two
competing scenarios, as well as some more exotic alternative ideas. It also
briefly discusses how the different models may be distinguished in the future
by observations with JWST, (e)LISA and other instruments.Comment: 47 pages with 306 references; this review is a chapter in "The First
Galaxies - Theoretical Predictions and Observational Clues", Springer
Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Eds. T. Wiklind, V. Bromm & B.
Mobasher, in pres
The Formation and Evolution of the First Massive Black Holes
The first massive astrophysical black holes likely formed at high redshifts
(z>10) at the centers of low mass (~10^6 Msun) dark matter concentrations.
These black holes grow by mergers and gas accretion, evolve into the population
of bright quasars observed at lower redshifts, and eventually leave the
supermassive black hole remnants that are ubiquitous at the centers of galaxies
in the nearby universe. The astrophysical processes responsible for the
formation of the earliest seed black holes are poorly understood. The purpose
of this review is threefold: (1) to describe theoretical expectations for the
formation and growth of the earliest black holes within the general paradigm of
hierarchical cold dark matter cosmologies, (2) to summarize several relevant
recent observations that have implications for the formation of the earliest
black holes, and (3) to look into the future and assess the power of
forthcoming observations to probe the physics of the first active galactic
nuclei.Comment: 39 pages, review for "Supermassive Black Holes in the Distant
Universe", Ed. A. J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publisher
Theory of disk accretion onto supermassive black holes
Accretion onto supermassive black holes produces both the dramatic phenomena
associated with active galactic nuclei and the underwhelming displays seen in
the Galactic Center and most other nearby galaxies. I review selected aspects
of the current theoretical understanding of black hole accretion, emphasizing
the role of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and gravitational instabilities in
driving the actual accretion and the importance of the efficacy of cooling in
determining the structure and observational appearance of the accretion flow.
Ongoing investigations into the dynamics of the plunging region, the origin of
variability in the accretion process, and the evolution of warped, twisted, or
eccentric disks are summarized.Comment: Mostly introductory review, to appear in "Supermassive black holes in
the distant Universe", ed. A.J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publishers, in pres
A review of elliptical and disc galaxy structure, and modern scaling laws
A century ago, in 1911 and 1913, Plummer and then Reynolds introduced their
models to describe the radial distribution of stars in `nebulae'. This article
reviews the progress since then, providing both an historical perspective and a
contemporary review of the stellar structure of bulges, discs and elliptical
galaxies. The quantification of galaxy nuclei, such as central mass deficits
and excess nuclear light, plus the structure of dark matter halos and cD galaxy
envelopes, are discussed. Issues pertaining to spiral galaxies including dust,
bulge-to-disc ratios, bulgeless galaxies, bars and the identification of
pseudobulges are also reviewed. An array of modern scaling relations involving
sizes, luminosities, surface brightnesses and stellar concentrations are
presented, many of which are shown to be curved. These 'redshift zero'
relations not only quantify the behavior and nature of galaxies in the Universe
today, but are the modern benchmark for evolutionary studies of galaxies,
whether based on observations, N-body-simulations or semi-analytical modelling.
For example, it is shown that some of the recently discovered compact
elliptical galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 may be the bulges of modern disc galaxies.Comment: Condensed version (due to Contract) of an invited review article to
appear in "Planets, Stars and Stellar
Systems"(www.springer.com/astronomy/book/978-90-481-8818-5). 500+ references
incl. many somewhat forgotten, pioneer papers. Original submission to
Springer: 07-June-201
Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory
This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We
begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better
understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how
accretion disks might reveal some of the unique signatures of strong gravity:
the event horizon, the innermost stable circular orbit, and the ergosphere. We
then review, from a first-principles perspective, the physical processes at
play in accretion disks. This leads us to the four primary accretion disk
models that we review: Polish doughnuts (thick disks), Shakura-Sunyaev (thin)
disks, slim disks, and advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs). After
presenting the models we discuss issues of stability, oscillations, and jets.
Following our review of the analytic work, we take a parallel approach in
reviewing numerical studies of black hole accretion disks. We finish with a few
select applications that highlight particular astrophysical applications:
measurements of black hole mass and spin, black hole vs. neutron star accretion
disks, black hole accretion disk spectral states, and quasi-periodic
oscillations (QPOs).Comment: 91 pages, 23 figures, final published version available at
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2013-
Structure of the St. Louis encephalitis virus postfusion envelope trimer
St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus responsible for several human encephalitis outbreaks over the last 80 years. Mature flavivirus virions are coated with dimeric envelope (E) proteins that mediate attachment and fusion with host cells. E is a class II fusion protein, the hallmark of which is a distinct dimer-to-trimer rearrangement that occurs upon endosomal acidification and insertion of hydrophobic fusion peptides into the endosomal membrane. Herein, we report the crystal structure of SLEV E in the posfusion trimer conformation. The structure revealed specific features that differentiate SLEV E from trimers of related flavi- and alphaviruses. SLEV E fusion loops have distinct intermediate spacing such that they are positioned further apart than previously observed in flaviviruses but closer together than Semliki Forest virus, an alphavirus. Domains II and III (DII and DIII) of SLEV E also adopt different angles relative to DI, which suggests that the DI-DII joint may accommodate spheroidal motions. However, trimer interfaces are well conserved among flaviviruses, so it is likely the differences observed represent structural features specific to SLEV function. Analysis of surface potentials revealed a basic platform underneath flavivirus fusion loops that may interact with the anionic lipid head groups found in membranes. Taken together, these results highlight variations in E structure and assembly that may direct virus-specific interactions with host determinants to influence pathogenesis
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