59 research outputs found
X-shaped radio galaxies as observational evidence for the interaction of supermassive binary black holes and accretion disk at pc scale
A supermassive black hole binary may form during galaxy mergering. we
investigate the interaction of the supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) and
an accretion disk and show that the detected X-shaped structure in some FRII
radio galaxies may be due to the interaction-realignment of inclined binary and
accretion disk occurred within the pc scale of the galaxy center. We compare in
detail the model and observations and show that the configuration is consistent
very well with the observations of X-shaped radio sources. X-shaped radio
feature form only in FRII radio sources due to the strong interaction between
the binary and a standard disk, while the absence of X-shaped FRI radio
galaxies is due to that the interaction between the binary and the radiatively
inefficient accretion flow in FRI radio sources is negligible. It is suggested
that the binary would keep misaligned with the outer disk for most of the life
time of FRII radio galaxies and the orientation of jet in most FRII radio
galaxies distributes randomly, while the jets in most FRI radio galaxies is
expected to be vertical to the accretion disk and thus the major axis of host
galaxy. We discuss the relationship of X-shaped and double-double radio
galaxies (DDRGs). The model is applied in paticular to two X-shaped radio
sources 4C+01.30 and 3C293 and one DDRG source J0116-473 and show that the
SMBBHs in the three objects have black hole mass ratios .Comment: 35 pages, no figure, no table. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Multi-epoch VLBA observations of 3C 66A
We present the results of six-epoch Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA)
observations of 3C~66A. The high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometer
(VLBI) maps obtained at multi-frequency (2.3, 8.4, and 22.2 GHz) simultaneously
enabled us to identify the brightest compact component with the core. We find
that the spectrum of the core can be reasonably fitted by the synchrotron
self-absorption model. Our VLBA maps show that the jet of 3C~66A has two
bendings at about 1.2 and 4 mas from the core. We also give possible
identifications of our jet components with the components in previous VLBA
observations by analysing their proper motions. We find consistent differences
of the position from the core in one component between different frequencies at
six epochs.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, received 30 January 2007, accepted 22 March 200
Is Thermal Expansion Driving the Initial Gas Ejection in NGC 6251?
In this paper, we explore the possibility that the radiative properties of
the most compact region in NGC 6251* may be understood in the same sense as Sgr
A*, though with some telling differences that may hint at the nature of jet
formation. We show that observations of this object with ASCA, ROSAT, HST and
VLBI together may be hinting at a picture in which Bondi-Hoyle accretion from
an ambient ionized medium feeds a standard disk accreting at ~ 4.0*10^{22} g
s^{-1}. Somewhere near the event horizon, this plasma is heated to >10^{11} K,
where it radiates via thermal synchrotron (producing a radio component) and
self-Comptonization (accounting for a nonthermal X-ray flux). This temperature
is much greater than its virial value and the hot cloud expands at roughly the
sound speed (~0.1c), after which it begins to accelerate on a parsec scale to
relativistic velocities. In earlier work, the emission from the extended jet
has been modeled successfully using nonthermal synchrotron self-Compton
processes, with a self-absorbed inner core. In the picture we are developing
here, the initial ejection of matter is associated with a self-absorbed thermal
radio component that dominates the core emission on the smallest scales. The
nonthermal particle distributions responsible for the emission in the extended
jet are then presumably energized, e.g., via shock acceleration, within the
expanding, hot gas. The power associated with this plasma represents an
accretion efficiency of about 0.54, requiring dissipation in a prograde disk
around a rapidly spinning black hole (with spin parameter a~1).Comment: 17 pages, 1 figures, to appear in Ap
The 2006 Radio Outburst of a Microquasar Cyg X-3: Observation and Data
We present the results of the multi-frequency observations of radio outburst
of the microquasar Cyg X-3 in February and March 2006 with the Nobeyama 45-m
telescope, the Nobeyama Millimeter Array, and the Yamaguchi 32-m telescope.
Since the prediction of a flare by RATAN-600, the source has been monitored
from Jan 27 (UT) with these radio telescopes. At the eighteenth day after the
quench of the activity, successive flares exceeding 1 Jy were observed
successfully. The time scale of the variability in the active phase is
presumably shorter in higher frequency bands.
We also present the result of a follow-up VLBI observation at 8.4 GHz with
the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN) 2.6 days after the first rise. The VLBI image
exhibits a single core with a size of <8 mas (80 AU). The observed image was
almost stable, although the core showed rapid variation in flux density. No jet
structure was seen at a sensitivity of K.Comment: 17 pages,6 figures; accepted by PAS
Real-time terahertz imaging for art conservation science
A new real-time terahertz imaging system has been developed by using a quantum cascade laser source and a microbolometer focal plane detector array. The application to non-invasive analyses of cultural heritage is demonstrated with an oil paint specimen. The experimental results suggested that the terahertz imaging system can identify materials based on a spectral database with a spatial resolution of about 300 ÎŒm. The transmission imaging indicated the difference between natural and artificial ultramarine pigments. Since the size of the system is similar to a common portable infrared camera, it can be used at the place where the object is located, such as museums, and can contribute to conservation activities, such as drying process monitoring. This real-time, small, non-invasive terahertz imaging system can be used in various fundamental research fields and practical industries
Estimating black hole masses of blazars
Estimating black hole masses of blazars is still a big challenge. Because of
the contamination of jets, using the previously suggested size -- continuum
luminosity relation can overestimate the broad line region (BLR) size and black
hole mass for radio-loud AGNs, including blazars. We propose a new relation
between the BLR size and emission line luminosity and present
evidences for using it to get more accurate black hole masses of radio-loud
AGNs. For extremely radio-loud AGNs such as blazars with weak/absent emission
lines, we suggest to use the fundamental plane relation of their elliptical
host galaxies to estimate the central velocity dispersions and black hole
masses, if their velocity dispersions are not known but the host galaxies can
be mapped. The black hole masses of some well-known blazars, such as OJ 287, AO
0235+164 and 3C 66B, are obtained using these two methods and the M -
relation. The implications of their black hole masses on other related studies
are also discussed.Comment: 7 pages, invited talk presented in the workshop on Multiwavelength
Variability of Blazars (Guangzhou, China, Sept. 22-24, 2010). To be published
in the Journal of Astrophysics and Astronom
Microstructure and kinematics of H2O masers in the massive star forming region IRAS 06061+2151
We have made multi-epoch VLBI observations of H2O maser emission in the
massive star forming region IRAS 06061+2151 with the Japanese VLBI network
(JVN) from 2005 May to 2007 October. The detected maser features are
distributed within an 1\arcsec1\arcsec (2000 au2000 au at the
source position) around the ultra-compact H {\small\bf II} region seen in radio
continuum emission. Their bipolar morphology and expanding motion traced
through their relative proper motions indicate that they are excited by an
energetic bipolar outflow. Our three-dimensional model fitting has shown that
the maser kinematical structure in IRAS 06061+2151 is able to be explained by a
biconical outflow with a large opening angle ( 50\degr). The position angle
of the flow major axis coincides very well with that of the large scale jet
seen in 2.1\:\mu\rmn{m} hydrogen emission. This maser geometry indicates the
existence of dual structures composed of a collimated jet and a less collimated
massive molecular flow. We have also detected a large velocity gradient in the
southern maser group. This can be explained by a very small (on a scale of
several tens of au) and clumpy (the density contrast by an order of magnitude
or more) structure of the parental cloud. Such a structure may be formed by
strong instability of shock front or splitting of high density core.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures accepted for publication in MNRA
Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics with Application to Gamma-Ray Burst Outflows: I. Theory and Semianalytic Trans-Alfvenic Solutions
We present a general formulation of special-relativistic magnetohydrodynamics
and derive exact radially self-similar solutions for axisymmetric outflows from
strongly magnetized, rotating compact objects. We generalize previous work by
including thermal effects and analyze in detail the various forces that guide,
accelerate, and collimate the flow. We demonstrate that, under the assumptions
of a quasi-steady poloidal magnetic field and of a highly relativistic poloidal
velocity, the equations become effectively time-independent and the motion can
be described as a frozen pulse. We concentrate on trans-Alfvenic solutions and
consider outflows that are super-Alfvenic throughout in the companion paper.
Our results are applicable to relativistic jets in gamma-ray burst (GRB)
sources, active galactic nuclei, and microquasars, but our discussion focuses
on GRBs. We envision the outflows in this case to initially consist of a hot
and optically thick mixture of baryons, electron-positron pairs, and photons.
We show that the flow is at first accelerated thermally but that the bulk of
the acceleration is magnetic, with the asymptotic Lorentz factor corresponding
to a rough equipartition between the Poynting and kinetic-energy fluxes (i.e.,
\~50% of the injected total energy is converted into baryonic kinetic energy).
The electromagnetic forces also strongly collimate the flow, giving rise to an
asymptotically cylindrical structure.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal. The
companion paper is astro-ph/030348
A Shock-Induced Pair of Superbubbles in the High-Redshift Powerful Radio Galaxy MRC 0406-244
We present new optical spectroscopy of the high-redshift powerful radio
galaxy MRC 0406244 at redshift of 2.429. We find that the two extensions
toward NW and SE probed in the rest-frame ultraviolet image are heated mainly
by the nonthermal continuum of the active galactic nucleus. However, each
extension shows a shell-like morphology, suggesting that they are a pair of
superbubbles induced by the superwind activity rather than by the interaction
between the radio jet and the ambient gas clouds. If this is the case, the
intense starburst responsible for the formation of superbubbles could occur
yr ago. On the other hand, the age of the radio jets may
be of the order of yr, being much shorter than the starburst age.
Therefore, the two events, i.e., the starburst and the radio-jet activities,
are independent phenomena. However, their directions of the expanding motions
could be governed by the rotational motion of the gaseous component in the host
galaxy. This idea appears to explain the alignment effect of MRC 0406244.Comment: 4 pages (emulateapj.sty), Fig. 1 (jpeg) + Fig.2 (eps). Accepted for
publications in ApJ (Letters
TEMPO2, a new pulsar timing package. III: Gravitational wave simulation
Analysis of pulsar timing data-sets may provide the first direct detection of
gravitational waves. This paper, the third in a series describing the
mathematical framework implemented into the tempo2 pulsar timing package,
reports on using tempo2 to simulate the timing residuals induced by
gravitational waves. The tempo2 simulations can be used to provide upper bounds
on the amplitude of an isotropic, stochastic, gravitational wave background in
our Galaxy and to determine the sensitivity of a given pulsar timing experiment
to individual, supermassive, binary black hole systems.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
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