276 research outputs found
Constraining Radiatively Inefficient Accretion Flows with Polarization
The low-luminosity black hole Sgr A* provides a testbed for models of
Radiatively Inefficient Accretion Flows (RIAFs). Recent sub-millimeter linear
polarization measurements of Sgr A* have provided evidence that the electrons
in the accretion flow are relativistic over a large range of radii. Here, we
show that these high temperatures result in elliptical plasma normal modes.
Thus, polarized millimeter and sub-millimeter radiation emitted within RIAFs
will undergo generalized Faraday rotation, a cyclic conversion between linear
and circular polarization. This effect will not depolarize the radiation even
if the rotation measure is extremely high. Rather, the beam will take on the
linear and circular polarization properties of the plasma normal modes. As a
result, polarization measurements of Sgr A* in this frequency regime will
constrain the temperature, density and magnetic profiles of RIAF models.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJ Letter
Generation of circular polarization of the CMB
According to the standard cosmology, near the last scattering surface, the
photons scattered via Compton scattering are just linearly polarized and then
the primordial circular polarization of the CMB photons is zero. In this work
we show that CMB polarization acquires a small degree of circular polarization
when a background magnetic field is considered or the quantum electrodynamic
sector of standard model is extended by Lorentz-noninvariant operators as well
as noncommutativity. The existence of circular polarization for the CMB
radiation may be verified during future observation programs and it represents
a possible new channel for investigating new physics effects.Comment: 28 pages, v3, Phys. Rev. D 81, 084035 (2010
Discovery of circularly polarised radio emission from SS 433
We report the discovery of circularly polarised radio emission from the
radio-jet X-ray binary SS 433 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The
flux density spectrum of the circular polarization, clearly detected at four
frequencies between 1 - 9 GHz, has a spectral index of (-0.9 +/- 0.1). Multiple
components in the source and a lack of very high spatial resolution do not
allow a unique determination of the origin of the circular polarization, nor of
the spectrum of fractional polarization. However, we argue that the emission is
likely to arise in the inner regions of the binary, possibly via
propagation-induced conversion of linear to circular polarization, and the
fractional circular polarization of these regions may be as high as 10%.
Observations such as these have the potential to investigate the composition,
whether pairs or baryonic, of the ejecta from X-ray binaries.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Synchrotron Spectra and Ages of Compact Steep Spectrum Radio Sources
The high-frequency integrated spectra of Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) sources
show breaks with a moderate spectral steepening well fitted by continuous
injection synchrotron spectra. In lobe-dominated CSS sources the radiative ages
deduced by the synchrotron theory are in the range of up to 0.1 Myears, if
equipartition magnetic fields are assumed. These radiative ages are well
correlated with the source size indicating that the CSS sources are young. In
order to maintain the frustration scenario, in which the sources' lifetimes are
about 10 Myears, their equipartition magnetic field would be systematically
decreased by a factor of more than 20. To complete the sample used in this
work, we conducted observations at 230 GHz with the IRAM 30-m telescope of
those sources which did not have such high-frequency observations up to now.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Astron. &
Astrophys.; typos corrected; gzipped postscript version also available at:
http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/ceres/papers/papers.html
http://gladia.astro.rug.nl:8000/ceres/papers/papers.htm
The lives of FR I radio galaxies
After a brief introduction to the morphological properties of FRI radio
sources, we discuss the possibility that FRI jets are relativistic at their
bases and decelerate quickly to non-relativistic velocities. From two-frequency
data we determine spectral index distributions and consequently the ages of FRI
sources. We show that in the large majority of cases synchrotron theory
provides unambiguous and plausible answers; in a few objects re-acceleration of
electrons may be needed. The derived ages are of the order 10^7-10^8 years, 2-4
times larger than the ages inferred from dynamical arguments and a factor 5-10
larger than the ages of FRII sources. The linear sizes of FRI and FRII sources
make it unlikely that many FRII's evolve into FRI's. A brief discussion is
given of the possibility that radio sources go through different cycles of
activity.Comment: 19 pages, including 13 figures, to appear in `Life Cycles of Radio
Galaxies', ed. J. Biretta et al., New Astronomy Review
Thermal Equilibria of Optically Thin, Magnetically Supported, Two-Temperature, Black Hole Accretion Disks
We obtained thermal equilibrium solutions for optically thin, two-temperature
black hole accretion disks incorporating magnetic fields. The main objective of
this study is to explain the bright/hard state observed during the bright/slow
transition of galactic black hole candidates. We assume that the energy
transfer from ions to electrons occurs via Coulomb collisions. Bremsstrahlung,
synchrotron, and inverse Compton scattering are considered as the radiative
cooling processes. In order to complete the set of basic equations, we specify
the magnetic flux advection rate. We find magnetically supported (low-beta),
thermally stable solutions. In these solutions, the total amount of the heating
via the dissipation of turbulent magnetic fields goes into electrons and
balances the radiative cooling. The low- solutions extend to high mass
accretion rates and the electron temperature is moderately cool. High
luminosities and moderately high energy cutoffs in the X-ray spectrum observed
in the bright/hard state can be explained by the low-beta solutions.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures,accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
Rotation Measure Synthesis of Galactic Polarized Emission with the DRAO 26-m Telescope
Radio polarimetry at decimetre wavelengths is the principal source of
information on the Galactic magnetic field. The diffuse polarized emission is
strongly influenced by Faraday rotation in the magneto-ionic medium and
rotation measure is the prime quantity of interest, implying that all Stokes
parameters must be measured over wide frequency bands with many frequency
channels. The DRAO 26-m Telescope has been equipped with a wideband feed, a
polarization transducer to deliver both hands of circular polarization, and a
receiver, all operating from 1277 to 1762 MHz. Half-power beamwidth is between
40 and 30 arcminutes. A digital FPGA spectrometer, based on commercially
available components, produces all Stokes parameters in 2048 frequency channels
over a 485-MHz bandwidth. Signals are digitized to 8 bits and a Fast Fourier
Transform is applied to each data stream. Stokes parameters are then generated
in each frequency channel. This instrument is in use at DRAO for a Northern sky
polarization survey. Observations consist of scans up and down the Meridian at
a drive rate of 0.9 degree per minute to give complete coverage of the sky
between declinations -30 degree and 90 degree. This paper presents a complete
description of the receiver and data acquisition system. Only a small fraction
of the frequency band of operation is allocated for radio astronomy, and about
20 percent of the data are lost to interference. The first 8 percent of data
from the survey are used for a proof-of-concept study, which has led to the
first application of Rotation Measure Synthesis to the diffuse Galactic
emission obtained with a single-antenna telescope. We find rotation measure
values for the diffuse emission as high as approximately 100 rad per square
metre, much higher than recorded in earlier work.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa
Confirmation and Analysis of Circular Polarization from Sagittarius A*
Recently Bower et al. (1999b) have reported the detection of circular
polarization from the Galactic Center black hole candidate, Sagittarius A*. We
provide an independent confirmation of this detection, and provide some
analysis on the possible mechanisms.Comment: 14 pages, to appear in Astrophysical Journal Letter
Observations of M87 and Hydra A at 90 GHz
This paper presents new observations of the AGNs M87 and Hydra A at 90 GHz
made with the MUSTANG bolometer array on the Green Bank Telescope at 8.5"
resolution. A spectral analysis is performed combining this new data and
archival VLA data on these objects at longer wavelengths. This analysis can
detect variations in spectral index and curvature expected from energy losses
in the radiating particles. M87 shows only weak evidence for steepening of the
spectrum along the jet suggesting either re-acceleration of the relativistic
particles in the jet or insufficient losses to affect the spectrum at 90 GHz.
The jets in Hydra A show strong steepening as they move from the nucleus
suggesting unbalanced losses of the higher energy relativistic particles. The
difference between these two sources may be accounted for by the different
lengths over which the jets are observable, 2 kpc for M87 and 45 kpc for Hydra
A.Comment: 11 pages, submitted to Ap
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