X-ray Line Diagnostics of Hot Accretion Flows around Black Holes

We compute X-ray emission lines from thermal plasma in hot accretion flows. We show that line profiles are strong probes of the gas dynamics, and we present line-ratio diagnostics which are sensitive to the distribution of mass with temperature in the flow. We show how these can be used to constrain the run of density with radius, and the size of the hot region. We also present diagnostics which are primarily sensitive to the importance of recombination versus collisional ionization, and which could help discriminate ADAFs from photoionization-dominated accretion disk coronae. We apply our results to the Galactic center source Sagittarius A* and to the nucleus of M87. We find that the brightest predicted lines are within the detection capability of current $X$-ray instruments.Comment: 16 pages, 1 table, 9 figures, accepted to Ap

Initial measurements of black hole spin in GX 339-4 from Suzaku spectroscopy

We report on a deep Suzaku observation of the stellar-mass black hole GX 339-4 in outburst. A clear, strong, relativistically shaped iron emission line from the inner accretion disk is observed. The broadband disk reflection spectrum revealed is one of the most sensitive yet obtained from an accreting black hole. We fit the Suzaku spectra with a physically motivated disk reflection model, blurred by a new relativistic line function in which the black hole spin parameter is a variable. This procedure yielded a black hole spin parameter of a p. Joint modeling of these Suzaku spectra and prior XMM-Newton spectra obtained in two different 0.89 +/- 0.04 outburst phases yields a spin parameter of a = 0.93 +/- 0.01. The degree of consistency between these results suggests that disk reflection models allow for spin measurements that are not strongly biased by scattering effects. We suggest that the best value of the black hole spin parameter is a = 0.93 +/- 0.01 (statistical) +/- 0.04 (systematic). Although preliminary, these results represent the first direct measurement of nonzero spin in a stellar-mass black hole using relativistic line modeling

The Role of Diffusive Shock Acceleration on Nonequilibrium Ionization in Supernova Remnant Shocks II: Emitted Spectra

We present a grid of nonequilibrium ionization models for the X-ray spectra from supernova remnants undergoing efficient diffusive shock acceleration. The calculation follows the hydrodynamics of the blast wave as well as the time-dependent ionization of the plasma behind the shock. The ionization state is passed to a plasma emissivity code to compute the thermal X-ray emission, which is combined with the emission from nonthermal synchrotron emission to produce a self-consistent model for the thermal and nonthermal emission from cosmic-ray dominated shocks. We show how plasma diagnostics such as the G'-ratio of He-like ions, defined as the ratio of the sum of the intercombination, forbidden, and satellite lines to the resonance line, can vary with acceleration efficiency, and discuss how the thermal X-ray emission, when the time-dependent ionization is not calculated self-consistently with the hydrodynamics, can differ from the thermal X-ray emission from models which do account for the hydrodynamics. Finally we compare the thermal X-ray emission from models which show moderate acceleration (~ 35%) to the thermal X-ray emission from test-particle models.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

The First Reported Infrared Emission from the SN 1006 Remnant

We report results of infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations of the SN 1006 remnant, carried out with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The 24 micron image from MIPS clearly shows faint filamentary emission along the northwest rim of the remnant shell, nearly coincident with the Balmer filaments that delineate the present position of the expanding shock. The 24 micron emission traces the Balmer filaments almost perfectly, but lies a few arcsec within, indicating an origin in interstellar dust heated by the shock. Subsequent decline in the IR behind the shock is presumably due largely to grain destruction through sputtering. The emission drops far more rapidly than current models predict, however, even for a higher proportion of small grains than would be found closer to the Galactic plane. The rapid drop may result in part from a grain density that has always been lower -- a relic effect from an earlier epoch when the shock was encountering a lower density -- but higher grain destruction rates still seem to be required. Spectra from three positions along the NW filament from the IRS instrument all show only a featureless continuum, consistent with thermal emission from warm dust. The dust-to-gas mass ratio in the pre-shock interstellar medium is lower than that expected for the Galactic ISM -- as has also been observed in the analysis of IR emission from other SNRs but whose cause remains unclear. As with other SN Ia remnants, SN 1006 shows no evidence for dust grain formation in the supernova ejecta.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure

Identification of an Extended Accretion Disk Corona in the Hercules X-1 Low State: Moderate Optical Depth, Precise Density Determination, and Verification of CNO Abundances

We identify an accretion disk atmosphere and corona from the high resolution X-ray spectrum of Hercules X-1, and we determine its detailed physical properties. More than two dozen recombination emission lines (from Fe XXVI at 1.78 A to N VI at 29.08 A) and Fe K-alpha, K-beta fluorescence lines were detected in a 50 ks observation with the Chandra High-Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS). They allow us to measure the density, temperature, spatial distribution, elemental composition, and kinematics of the plasma. We exclude HZ Her as the source of the recombination emission. We compare accretion disk model atmospheres with the observed spectrum in order to constrain the stratification of density and ionization, disk atmosphere area, elemental composition, and energetics. The atmospheric spectrum observed during the low state is photoionized by the main-on X-ray continuum, indicating that the disk is observed edge-on during the low state. We infer the mean number of scatterings N of Ly-alpha and Ly-beta line photons from H-like ions. We derive N < 69 for O VIII Ly_alpha_1, which rules out the presence of a mechanism modeled by Sako (2003) to enhance N VII emission via a line overlap with O VIII. The line optical depth diagnostics are consistent with a flattened atmosphere. Our spectral analysis, the disk atmosphere model, and the presence of intense N VII and N VI lines (plus N V in the UV), confirm the over-abundance of nitrogen relative to other metals, which was shown to be indicative of CNO cycle processing in a massive progenitor.Comment: 38 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

\u3cem\u3eSuzaku\u3c/em\u3e Observations of the Black Hole H1743-322 in Outburst

We observed the Galactic black hole candidate H1743-322 with Suzaku for approximately 32 ks, while the source was in a low/hard state during its 2008 outburst. We collected and analyzed the data with the HXD/PIN, HXD/GSO, and XIS cameras spanning the energy range 0.7-200 keV. Fits to the spectra with simple models fail to detect narrow Fe XXV and Fe XXVI absorption lines, with 90% confidence upper limits of 3.5 and 2.5 eV on the equivalent width, respectively. These limits are commensurate with those in the very high state, but are well below the equivalent widths of lines detected in the high/soft state, suggesting that disk winds are partially state-dependent. We discuss these results in the context of previous detections of ionized Fe absorption lines in H1743-322 and connections to winds and jets in accreting systems. Additionally, we report the possible detection of disk reflection features, including an Fe K emission line