20,859 research outputs found
A powerful and highly variable off-nuclear X-ray source in the composite starburst/Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4945
We report on a powerful and variable off-nuclear X-ray source in the nearby
spiral galaxy NGC 4945. Two ROSAT PSPC observations show the source to brighten
in 0.5--2.0 keV flux by a factor of about 9 on a time-scale of 11 months or
less. It is seen by ASCA about one month after the second PSPC pointing, and is
seen to have dimmed by a factor of > 7 in a ROSAT HRI pointing about one year
after the second PSPC pointing. Its maximum observed 0.8--2.5 keV luminosity is
about 8E38 erg/s, making it brighter than any known persistent X-ray binary in
the Milky Way. Its total X-ray luminosity is probably larger than 1.2E39 erg/s.
The observed variability argues against a superbubble interpretation, and the
off-nuclear position argues against a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus.
The source is therefore probably either an ultra-powerful X-ray binary or an
ultra-powerful supernova remnant. Optical monitoring has not identified any
supernovae in NGC 4945 during the time of the X-ray observations, and any
supernova would have had to have been either very highly absorbed or
intrinsically optically faint.Comment: 5 pages, uuencoded compressed tar file, MNRAS in pres
Advection-Dominated Accretion with Infall and Outflows
We present self-similar solutions for advection-dominated accretion flows
with radial viscous force in the presence of outflows from the accretion flow
or infall. The axisymmetric flow is treated in variables integrated over polar
sections and the effects of infall and outflows on the accretion flow are
parametrised for possible configurations compatible with the self-similar
solution. We investigate the resulting accretion flows for three different
viscosity laws and derive upper limits on the viscosity parameter alpha. In
addition, we find a natural connection to non-rotating and spherical accretion
with turbulent viscosity, which is assumed to persist even without differential
rotation. Positive Bernoulli numbers for advection-dominated accretion allow a
fraction of the gas to be expelled in an outflow and the upper limit on the
viscosity predicts that outflows are inevitable for equations of state close to
an ideal gas.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Implications of the X-ray Variability for the Mass of MCG-6-30-15
The bright Seyfert 1 galaxy \mcg shows large variability on a variety of time
scales. We study the \aproxlt 3 day time scale variability using a set of
simultaneous archival observations that were obtained from \rxte and the {\it
Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics} (\asca). The \rxte\
observations span nearly sec and indicate that the X-ray Fourier Power
Spectral Density has an rms variability of 16%, is flat from approximately
10^{-6} - 10^{-5} Hz, and then steepens into a power law
with \alpha\aproxgt 1. A further steepening to occurs
between 10^{-4}-10^{-3} Hz. The shape and rms amplitude are comparable to what
has been observed in \ngc and \cyg, albeit with break frequencies that differ
by a factor of 10^{-2} and 10^{4}, respectively. If the break frequencies are
indicative of the central black hole mass, then this mass may be as low as
. An upper limit of ks for the relative lag
between the 0.5-2 keV \asca band compared to the 8-15 keV \rxte band was also
found. Again by analogy with \ngc and \cyg, this limit is consistent with a
relatively low central black hole mass.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, LaTeX, uses emulateapj.sty and apjfonts.sty,
revised version, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
An outburst scenario for the X-ray spectral variability in 3C 111
We present a combined Suzaku and Swift BAT broad-band E=0.6-200keV spectral
analysis of three 3C 111 observations obtained in 2010. The data are well
described with an absorbed power-law continuum and a weak (R~0.2) cold
reflection component from distant material. We constrain the continuum cutoff
at E_c~150-200keV, which is in accordance with X-ray Comptonization corona
models and supports claims that the jet emission is only dominant at much
higher energies. Fe XXVI Ly\alpha emission and absorption lines are also
present in the first and second observations, respectively. The modelling and
interpretation of the emission line is complex and we explore three
possibilities. If originating from ionized disc reflection, this should be
emitted at r_in> 50r_g or, in the lamp-post configuration, the illuminating
source should be at a height of h> 30r_g over the black hole. Alternatively,
the line could be modeled with a hot collisionally ionized plasma with
temperature kT = 22.0^{+6.1}_{-3.2} keV or a photo-ionized plasma with
log\xi=4.52^{+0.10}_{-0.16} erg s^{-1} cm and column density N_H > 3x10^23
cm^{-2}. However, the first and second scenarios are less favored on
statistical and physical grounds, respectively. The blue-shifted absorption
line in the second observation can be modelled as an ultra-fast outflow (UFO)
with ionization parameter log\xi=4.47^{+0.76}_{-0.04} erg s^{-1} cm, column
density N_H=(5.3^{+1.8}_{-1.3})x 10^{22} cm^{-2} and outflow velocity v_out =
0.104+/-0.006 c. Interestingly, the parameters of the photo-ionized emission
model remarkably match those of the absorbing UFO. We suggest an outburst
scenario in which an accretion disc wind, initially lying out of the line of
sight and observed in emission, then crosses our view to the source and it is
observed in absorption as a mildly-relativistic UFO.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNARS on July 1st 201
On the lack of X-ray iron line reverberation in MCG-6-30-15: Implications for the black hole mass and accretion disk structure
We use the method of Press, Rybicki & Hewitt (1992) to search for time lags
and time leads between different energy bands of the RXTE data for MCG-6-30-15.
We tailor our search in order to probe any reverberation signatures of the
fluorescent iron Kalpha line that is thought to arise from the inner regions of
the black hole accretion disk. In essence, an optimal reconstruction algorithm
is applied to the continuum band (2-4keV) light curve which smoothes out noise
and interpolates across the data gaps. The reconstructed continuum band light
curve can then be folded through trial transfer functions in an attempt to find
lags or leads between the continuum band and the iron line band (5-7keV). We
find reduced fractional variability in the line band. The spectral analysis of
Lee et al. (1999) reveals this to be due to a combination of an apparently
constant iron line flux (at least on timescales of few x 10^4s), and flux
correlated changes in the photon index. We also find no evidence for iron line
reverberation and exclude reverberation delays in the range 0.5-50ksec. This
extends the conclusions of Lee et al. and suggests that the iron line flux
remains constant on timescales as short as 0.5ksec. The large black hole mass
(>10^8Msun) naively suggested by the constancy of the iron line flux is
rejected on other grounds. We suggest that the black hole in MCG-6-30-15 has a
mass of M_BH~10^6-10^7Msun and that changes in the ionization state of the disk
may produce the puzzling spectral variability. Finally, it is found that the
8-15keV band lags the 2-4keV band by 50-100s. This result is used to place
constraints on the size and geometry of the Comptonizing medium responsible for
the hard X-ray power-law in this AGN.Comment: 11 pages, 13 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Ap
Interstellar H-Alpha Line Profiles toward HD 93521 and the Lockman Window
We have used the Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper (WHAM) facility to measure the
interstellar H-Alpha emission toward the high Galactic latitude O star HD 93521
(l = 183.1, b = +62.2). Three emission components were detected having radial
velocities of -10 km s^{-1}, -51 km s^{-1}, and -90 km s^{-1} with respect to
the local standard of rest (LSR) and H-Alpha intensities of 0.20 R, 0.15 R, and
0.023 R, respectively, corresponding to emission measures of 0.55 cm^{-6} pc,
0.42 cm^{-6} pc, and 0.06 cm^{-6} pc. We have also detected an H-Alpha emission
component at -1 km s^{-1} (LSR) with an intensity of 0.20 R (0.55 cm^{-6} pc)
toward the direction l = 148.5, b = +53.0, which lies in the region of
exceptionally low H I column density known as the Lockman Window. In addition,
we studied the direction l = 163.5, b = +53.5. Upper limits on the possible
intensity of Galactic emission toward this direction are 0.11 R at the LSR and
0.06 R at -50 km s^{-1}. We also detected and characterized twelve faint
(~0.03-0.15 R), unidentified atmospheric lines present in WHAM H-Alpha spectra.
Lastly, we have used WHAM to obtain [O I] 6300 spectra along the line of sight
toward HD 93521. We place an upper limit of 0.060 R on the [O I] intensity of
the -51 km s^{-1} component. If the temperature of the gas is 10,000 K within
the H-Alpha emitting region, the hydrogen ionization fraction n(H+)/n(H_total)
> 0.6.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures. Acccepted for publication in the 1 Feb issue of
The Astronomical Journa
The Equilibrium Photoionized Absorber in 3C351
We present two ROSAT PSPC observations of the radio-loud, lobe-dominated
quasar 3C 351, which shows an `ionized absorber' in its X-ray spectrum. The
factor 1.7 change in flux in the 2~years between the observations allows
a test of models for this ionized absorber.
The absorption feature at ~0.7 keV (quasar frame) is present in both spectra
but with a lower optical depth when the source intensity - and hence the
ionizing flux at the absorber - is higher, in accordance with a simple,
single-zone, equilibrium photoionization model. Detailed modeling confirms this
agrement quantitatively. The maximum response time of 2 years allows us to
limit the gas density: n_e > 2 x 10^4 cm^{-3}; and the distance of the ionized
gas from the central source R < 19 pc. This produces a strong test for a
photoionized absorber in 3C~351: a factor 2 flux change in ~1 week in this
source must show non-equilibrium effects in the ionized absorber.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Ap
Searching for additional heating - [OII] emission in the diffuse ionized gas of NGC891, NGC4631 and NGC3079
We present spectroscopic data of ionized gas in the disk--halo regions of
three edge-on galaxies, NGC 891, NGC 4631 and NGC 3079, covering a wavelength
range from [\ion{O}{2}] 3727\AA to [\ion{S}{2}] 6716.4\AA.
The inclusion of the [\ion{O}{2}] emission provides new constraints on the
properties of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG), in particular, the origin of the
observed spatial variations in the line intensity ratios. We used three
different methods to derive electron temperatures, abundances and ionization
fractions along the slit. The increase in the [\ion{O}{2}]/H line ratio
towards the halo in all three galaxies requires an increase either in electron
temperature or in oxygen abundance. Keeping the oxygen abundance constant
yields the most reasonable results for temperature, abundances, and ionization
fractions. Since a constant oxygen abundance seems to require an increase in
temperature towards the halo, we conclude that gradients in the electron
temperature play a significant role in the observed variations in the optical
line ratios from extraplanar DIG in these three spiral galaxies.Comment: 43 pages, 29 figure
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