21,477 research outputs found
Self-shadowing Effects of Slim Accretion Disks in Active Galactic Nuclei: Diverse Appearance of the Broad-line Region
Supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) undergo a wide
range of accretion rates, which lead to diversity of appearance. We consider
the effects of anisotropic radiation from accretion disks on the broad-line
region (BLR), from the Shakura-Sunyaev regime to slim disks with
super-Eddington accretion rates. The geometrically thick funnel of the inner
region of slim disks produces strong self-shadowing effects that lead to very
strong anisotropy of the radiation field. We demonstrate that the degree of
anisotropy of the radiation fields grows with increasing accretion rate. As a
result of this anisotropy, BLR clouds receive different spectral energy
distributions depending on their location relative to the disk, resulting in
diverse observational appearance of the BLR. We show that the self-shadowing of
the inner parts of the disk naturally produces two dynamically distinct regions
of the BLR, depending on accretion rate. These two regions manifest themselves
as kinematically distinct components of the broad H line profile with
different line widths and fluxes, which jointly account for the Lorentzian
profile generally observed in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. In the time
domain, these two components are expected reverberate with different time lags
with respect to the varying ionizing continuum, depending on the accretion rate
and the viewing angle of the observer. The diverse appearance of the BLR due to
the anisotropic ionizing energy source can be tested by reverberation mapping
of H and other broad emission lines (e.g., \feii), providing a new tool
to diagnose the structure and dynamics of the BLR. Other observational
consequences of our model are also explored.Comment: emulatapj style, 15 pages, 6 figures, in pres
Modular Equations and Distortion Functions
Modular equations occur in number theory, but it is less known that such
equations also occur in the study of deformation properties of quasiconformal
mappings. The authors study two important plane quasiconformal distortion
functions, obtaining monotonicity and convexity properties, and finding sharp
bounds for them. Applications are provided that relate to the quasiconformal
Schwarz Lemma and to Schottky's Theorem. These results also yield new bounds
for singular values of complete elliptic integrals.Comment: 23 page
The fractional quantum Hall effect in infinite layer systems
Stacked two dimensional electron systems in transverse magnetic fields
exhibit three dimensional fractional quantum Hall phases. We analyze the
simplest such phases and find novel bulk properties, e.g., irrational braiding.
These phases host ``one and a half'' dimensional surface phases in which motion
in one direction is chiral. We offer a general analysis of conduction in the
latter by combining sum rule and renormalization group arguments, and find that
when interlayer tunneling is marginal or irrelevant they are chiral semi-metals
that conduct only at T > 0 or with disorder.Comment: RevTeX 3.0, 4p., 2 figs with epsf; reference to the detailed
companion paper cond-mat/0006506 adde
Dynamics of composite Haldane spin chains in IPA-CuCl3
Magnetic excitations in the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet IPA-CuCl3
are studied by cold neutron inelastic scattering. Strongly dispersive gap
excitations are observed. Contrary to previously proposed models, the system is
best described as an asymmetric quantum spin ladder. The observed spectrum is
interpreted in terms of ``composite'' Haldane spin chains. The key difference
from actual S=1 chains is a sharp cutoff of the single-magnon spectrum at a
certain critical wave vector.Comment: 4 pages 4 figure
Small atom diffusion and breakdown of the Stokes–Einstein relation in the supercooled liquid state of the Zr46.7Ti8.3Cu7.5Ni10Be27.5 alloy
Be diffusivity data in the bulk metallic glass forming alloy Zr46.7Ti8.3Cu7.5Ni10Be27.5 are reported for temperatures between 530 and 710 K, extending 85 K into the supercooled liquid state of the alloy. At the glass transition temperature Tg, a change in temperature dependence of the data is observed, and above Tg the diffusivity increases more quickly with temperature than below. The data in the supercooled liquid can be described by a modified Arrhenius expression based on a diffusion mechanism suggested earlier. The comparison with viscosity data in the supercooled liquid state of Zr46.7Ti8.3Cu7.5Ni10Be27.5 reveals a breakdown of the Stokes–Einstein relation, indicating a cooperative diffusion mechanism in the supercooled liquid state of Zr46.7Ti8.3Cu7.5Ni10Be27.5
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