5,476 research outputs found
The existence of warm and optically thick dissipative coronae above accretion disks
In the past years, several observations of AGN and X-ray binaries have
suggested the existence of a warm T around 0.5-1 keV and optically thick, \tau
~ 10-20, corona covering the inner parts of the accretion disk. These
properties are directly derived from spectral fitting in UV to soft-X-rays
using Comptonization models. However, whether such a medium can be both in
radiative and hydrostatic equilibrium with an accretion disk is still
uncertain. We investigate the properties of such warm, optically thick coronae
and put constraints on their existence. We solve the radiative transfer
equation for grey atmosphere analytically in a pure scattering medium,
including local dissipation as an additional heating term in the warm corona.
The temperature profile of the warm corona is calculated assuming it is cooled
by Compton scattering, with the underlying dissipative disk providing photons
to the corona. Our analytic calculations show that a dissipative thick,
(\tau_{cor} ~ 10-12) corona on the top of a standard accretion disk can reach
temperatures of the order of 0.5-1 keV in its upper layers provided that the
disk is passive. But, in absence of strong magnetic fields, the requirement of
a Compton cooled corona in hydrostatic equilibrium in the vertical direction
sets an upper limit on the Thomson optical depth \tau_{cor} < 5 . We show this
value cannot be exceeded independently of the accretion disk parameters.
However, magnetic pressure can extend this result to larger optical depths.
Namely, a dissipative corona might have an optical depth up to ~ 20 when the
magnetic pressure is 100 times higher that the gas pressure. The observation of
warm coronae with Thomson depth larger than ~ 5 puts tights constraints on the
physics of the accretion disk/corona systems and requires either strong
magnetic fields or vertical outflows to stabilize the system.Comment: 9 pages 6 figure, submitted to A&A, comments are welcom
A multi-flow model for microquasars
We present a new picture for the central regions of Black Hole X-ray
Binaries. In our view, these central regions have a multi-flow configuration
which consists in (1) an outer standard accretion disc down to a transition
radius r_J, (2) an inner magnetized accretion disc below r_J driving (3) a non
relativistic self-collimated electron-proton jet surrounding, when adequate
conditions for pair creation are met, (4) a ultra relativistic
electron-positron beam. This accretion-ejection paradigm provides a simple
explanation to the canonical spectral states, from radio to X/gamma-rays, by
varying the transition radius r_J and disc accretion rate independently. Large
values of r_J and low accretion rate correspond to Quiescent and Hard states.
These states are characterized by the presence of a steady electron-proton MHD
jet emitted by the disc below r_J. The hard X-ray component is expect to form
at the jet basis. When r_J becomes smaller than the marginally stable orbit
r_i, the whole disc resembles a standard accretion disc with no jet,
characteristic of the Soft state. Intermediate states correspond to situations
where r_J ~ r_i. At large accretion rate, an unsteady pair cascade process is
triggered within the jet axis, giving birth to flares and ejection of
relativistic pair blobs. This would correspond to the luminous intermediate
state, with its associated superluminal motions.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings of ``High Energies in the
Highlands'', Fort-William, 27 June-1 July 200
Possible chromospheric activity cycles in AD Leo
AD Leo (GJ 388) is an active dM3 flare star extensively observed both in the
quiescent and flaring states. Since this active star is near the
fully-convective boundary, to study in detail its long-term chromospheric
activity could be an appreciable contribution for the dynamo theory. Here, we
analyze with the Lomb-Scargle periodogram the Ca II K line-core fluxes derived
from CASLEO spectra obtained between 2001 and 2013 and the V magnitude from the
ASAS database between 2004 and 2010. From both totally independent time-series,
we obtain a possible activity cycle of period years and a
less-significant shorter one of years. A tentative interpretation is
that a dynamo operating near the surface could be generating the longer cycle,
while a second dynamo operating in the deep convection zone could be
responsible for the shorter one. Based on the long duration of our observing
program at CASLEO and the fact that we observe simultaneously different
spectral features, we also analyze the relation between simultaneous
measurements of the Na I index (), H and Ca II K fluxes
at different activity levels of AD Leo, including flares.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures.Accepted for publication in ApJ
BeppoSAX observations of the quasar Markarian 205
We present the first BeppoSAX observation (0.1 to 220 keV) of the quasar Mrk
205. We have searched for the unusual Fe line profile claimed in the XMM-Newton
spectrum which has been widely discussed in recent literature. We find no
evidence for a broad, ionized Fe line component in our data. We detect for the
first time a Compton hump in this object. Besides, when this component is
included in the fit, the line strength diminishes, in agreement with a recent
re-analysis of the XMM-Newton data, but with better constraints on the
reflection component thanks to the PDS instrument (15-220 keV). We interpret
this fact as another indication for illumination of a distant and cold material
rather than reprocessing in the highly ionized inner parts of an accretion
disk. We cannot constrain the presence of a high energy cutoff but we confirm
the existence of a variable soft excess (one year timescale).Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Gaussian Mixture Reduction for Bayesian Target Tracking in Clutter
The Bayesian solution for tracking a target in clutter results naturally in a target state Gaussian mixture probability density function (pdf) which is a sum of weighted Gaussian pdf\u27s, or mixture components. As new tracking measurements are received, the number of mixture components increases without bound, and eventually a reduced-component approximation of the original Gaussian mixture pdf is necessary to evaluate the target state pdf efficiently while maintaining good tracking performance. Many approximation methods exist, but these methods are either ad hoc or use rather crude approximation techniques. Recent studies have shown that a measure-function-based mixture reduction algorithm (MRA) may be used to generate a high-quality reduced-component approximation to the original target state Gaussian mixture pdf. To date, the Integral Square Error (ISE) cost-function-based MRA has been shown to provide better tracking performance than any previously published Bayesian tracking in heavy clutter algorithm. Research conducted for this thesis has led to the development of a new measure function, the Correlation Measure (CM), which gauges the similarity between a full- and reduced-component Gaussian mixture pdf. This new measure function is implemented in an MRA and tested in a simulated scenario of a single target in heavy clutter. Results indicate that the CM MRA provides slightly better performance than the ISE cost-function-based MRA, but only by a small margin
Absorption lines from magnetically-driven winds in X-ray binaries
High resolution X-ray spectra of black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs) show
blueshifted absorption lines from disk winds which seem to be equatorial. Winds
occur in the Softer (disk-dominated) states of the outburst and are less
prominent or absent in the Harder (power-law dominated) states. We use
self-similar magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) accretion-ejection models to explain
the disk winds in BHBs. In our models, the density at the base of the outflow
from the accretion disk is not a free parameter, but is determined by solving
the full set of dynamical MHD equations. Thus the physical properties of the
outflow are controlled by the global structure of the disk. We studied
different MHD solutions characterized by different values of (a) the disk
aspect ratio () and (b) the ejection efficiency (). We use two
kinds of MHD solutions depending on the absence (cold solution) or presence
(warm solution) of heating at the disk surface. Such heating could be from e.g.
dissipation of energy due to MHD turbulence in the disk or from illumination.
We use each of these MHD solutions to predict the physical parameters of an
outflow; put limits on the ionization parameter (), column density and
timescales, motivated by observational results; and thus select regions within
the outflow which are consistent with the observed winds. The cold MHD
solutions cannot account for winds due to their low ejection efficiency. But
warm solutions can explain the observed physical quantities in the wind because
they can have sufficiently high values of (, implying larger
mass loading at the base of the outflow). Further from our thermodynamic
equilibrium curve analysis for the outflowing gas, we found that in the Hard
state a range of is thermodynamically unstable, and had to be excluded.
This constrain made it impossible to have any wind at all, in the Hard state.Comment: 16 Pages, 10 figures in the main body and 4 figures in the appendix.
Accepted for publication in A&
Practicing Culturally Competent Therapeutic Jurisprudence: A Collaboration Between Social Work and Law
The Essay will be presented in two parts. Part I lays the theoretical and empirical foundation for the need for an emphasis on lawyersâ cultural competence. Part II then details the substantive content of a culturally competent approach to lawyering. In Part I.A, we define Therapeutic Justice (âTJâ) and discuss some of its current applications. In Part I.B, we identify the commonalities between TJ and the generalist social work model. In Part I.C, we discuss the current thinking and debates on racial and ethnic disparities and discrimination in the criminal justice system from a macro social work perspective. Part I.D describes a TJ approach to lawyering that addresses how TJ might be used to uncover key aspects of racial and ethnic disparities in the legal process. Part I.E presents a discussion of the empirical research that supports the important emphasis on ârelationshipâ in the lawyer-client relationship while arguing that specific attention to racial and ethnic competency is notably missing. In Part II.A, we provide a discussion of the role of race in the lawyer-client relationship using racial identity development theory. Finally, in Part II.B, we present a cultural competency education model that integrates existing approaches in social work and law, and advocates a process that includes recommendations for: institutional change; infusion of diversity content throughout law school curriculum; an exploration of issues of power and oppression; an exploration and challenging of oneâs own racial beliefs and biases; and a skill-building component
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