9,238 research outputs found
On the origin of radio core emission in radio-quiet quasars
We present a model for the radio emission from radio-quiet quasar nuclei. We
show that a thermal origin for the high brightness temperature, flat spectrum
point sources (known as radio ``cores'') is possible provided the emitting
region is hot and optically-thin. We hence demonstrate that optically-thin
bremsstrahlung from a slow, dense disk wind can make a significant contribution
to the observed levels of radio core emission. This is a much more satisfactory
explanation, particularly for sources where there is no evidence of a jet, than
a sequence of self-absorbed synchrotron components which collectively conspire
to give a flat spectrum. Furthermore, such core phenomena are already observed
directly via milli-arcsecond radio imaging of the Galactic microquasar SS433
and the active galaxy NGC1068. We contend that radio-emitting disk winds must
be operating at some level in radio-loud quasars and radio galaxies as well
(although in these cases, observations of the radio cores are frequently
contaminated/dominated by synchrotron emission from jet knots). This
interpretation of radio core emission mandates mass accretion rates that are
substantially higher than Eddington. Moreover, acknowledgment of this mass-loss
mechanism as an AGN feedback process has important implications for the input
of energy and hot gas into the inter-galactic medium (IGM) since it is
considerably less directional than that from jets.Comment: to appear in ApJ Letters (4 pages
Dynamics of the Lyman alpha and C IV emitting gas in 3C 273
In this paper we study the variability properties of the Lyman alpha and C IV
emission lines in 3C273 using archival IUE observations. Our data show for the
first time the existence of variability on time scales of several years. We
study the spatial distribution and the velocity field of the emitting gas by
performing detailed analyses on the line variability using correlations, 1D and
2D response functions, and principal component analysis. In both lines we find
evidence for two components, one which has the dynamic properties of gas in
Keplerian motion around a black hole with a mass of the order of 10^9 Mo, and
one which is characterized by high, blue-shifted velocities at large lag. There
is no indication of the presence of optically thick emission medium neither in
the Lya, nor in the Civ response functions. The component characterized by
blue-shifted velocities, which is comparatively much stronger in Civ than in
Lya, is more or less compatible with being the result of gas falling towards
the central black hole with free-fall acceleration. We propose however that the
line emission at high, blue-shifted velocities is better explained in terms of
entrainment of gas clouds by the jet. This gas is therefore probably
collisionally excited as a result of heating due to the intense infrared
radiation from the jet, which would explain the strength of this component in
Civ relative to Lya. This phenomenon might be a signature of disk-jet
interaction.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Uses aaste
Evidence for nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration of cosmic-rays in the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi
Spectroscopic observations of the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS
Ophiuchi at both infrared (IR) and X-ray wavelengths have shown that the blast
wave has decelerated at a higher rate than predicted by the standard
test-particle adiabatic shock-wave model. Here we show that the observed
evolution of the nova remnant can be explained by the diffusive shock
acceleration of particles at the blast wave and the subsequent escape of the
highest energy ions from the shock region. Nonlinear particle acceleration can
also account for the difference of shock velocities deduced from the IR and
X-ray data. The maximum energy that accelerated electrons and protons can have
achieved in few days after outburst is found to be as high as a few TeV. Using
the semi-analytic model of nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration developed by
Berezhko & Ellison, we show that the postshock temperature of the shocked gas
measured with RXTE/PCA and Swift/XRT imply a relatively moderate acceleration
efficiency.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
Systematic Errors in the Estimation of Black Hole Masses by Reverberation Mapping
The mass of the central black hole in many active galactic nuclei has been
estimated on the basis of the assumption that the dynamics of the broad
emission line gas are dominated by the gravity of the black hole. The most
commonly-employed method is to estimate a characteristic size-scale from
reverberation mapping experiments and combine it with a characteristic velocity
taken from the line profiles; the inferred mass is then estimated by . We critically discuss the evidence supporting the assumption of
gravitational dynamics and find that the arguments are still inconclusive. We
then explore the range of possible systematic error if the assumption of
gravitational dynamics is granted. Inclination relative to a flattened system
may cause a systematic underestimate of the central mass by a factor , where is the aspect ratio of the flattening. The coupled
effects of a broad radial emissivity distribution, an unknown angular radiation
pattern of line emission, and sub-optimal sampling in the reverberation
experiment can cause additional systematic errors as large as a factor of 3 or
more in either direction.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, AASLaTeX, accepted by Ap
Spectral Properties From Lyman-alpha to H-alpha For An Essentially Complete Sample of Quasars I: Data
We have obtained quasi-simultaneous ultraviolet-optical spectra for 22 out of
23 quasars in the complete PG-X-ray sample with redshift, z<0.4, and M_B<-23.
The spectra cover rest-frame wavelengths from at least Lyman-alpha to H-alpha.
Here we provide a detailed description of the data, including careful
spectrophotometry and redshift determination. We also present direct
measurements of the continua, strong emission lines and features, including
Lyman-alpha, SiIV+OIV], CIV, CIII], SiIII], MgII, H-beta, [OIII],
He5876+NaI5890,5896, H-alpha, and blended iron emission in the UV and optical.
The widths, asymmetries and velocity shifts of profiles of strong emission
lines show that CIV and Lyman-alpha are very different from H-beta and H-alpha.
This suggests that the motion of the broad line region is related to the
ionization structure, but the data appears not agree with the radially
stratified ionization structure supported by reverberation mapping studies, and
therefore suggest that outflows contribute additional velocity components to
the broad emission line profiles.Comment: 42 pages, 10 figures, 13 tables. Accepted by AJ. Supplemental figures
not included. Full version available at
http://physics.uwyo.edu/~shang/pgxpaper/ShangPaper.pd
Modeling Variable Emission Lines in AGNs: Method and Application to NGC 5548
We present a new scheme for modeling the broad line region in active galactic
nuclei (AGNs). It involves photoionization calculations of a large number of
clouds, in several pre-determined geometries, and a comparison of the
calculated line intensities with observed emission line light curves. Fitting
several observed light curves simultaneously provides strong constraints on
model parameters such as the run of density and column density across the
nucleus, the shape of the ionizing continuum, and the radial distribution of
the emission line clouds. When applying the model to the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC
5548, we were able to reconstruct the light curves of four ultraviolet
emission-lines, in time and in absolute flux. This has not been achieved by any
previous work. We argue that the Balmer lines light curves, and possibly also
the MgII2798 light curve, cannot be tested in this scheme because of the
limitations of present-day photoionization codes. Our fit procedure can be used
to rule out models where the particle density scales as r^{-2}, where r is the
distance from the central source. The best models are those where the density
scales as r^{-1} or r^{-1.5}. We can place a lower limit on the column density
at a distance of 1 ld, of N_{col}(r=1) >~ 10^{23} cm^{-2} and limit the
particle density to be in the range of 10^{12.5}>N(r=1)>10^{11} cm^{-3}. We
have also tested the idea that the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the
ionizing continuum is changing with continuum luminosity. None of the
variable-shape SED tried resulted in real improvement over a constant SED case
although models with harder continuum during phases of higher luminosity seem
to fit better the observed spectrum. Reddening and/or different composition
seem to play a minor role, at least to the extent tested in this work.Comment: 12 pages, including 9 embedded EPS figures, accepted for publication
in Ap
Swift observations of the 2006 outburst of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi: I. Early X-ray emission from the shocked ejecta and red giant wind
RS Ophiuchi began its latest outburst on 2006 February 12. Previous outbursts
have indicated that high velocity ejecta interact with a pre-existing red giant
wind, setting up shock systems analogous to those seen in Supernova Remnants.
However, in the previous outburst in 1985, X-ray observations did not commence
until 55 days after the initial explosion. Here we report on Swift observations
covering the first month of the 2006 outburst with the Burst Alert (BAT) and
X-ray Telescope (XRT) instruments. RS Oph was clearly detected in the BAT 14-25
keV band from t=0 to days. XRT observationsfrom 0.3-10 keV, started at
3.17 days after outburst. The rapidly evolving XRT spectra clearly show the
presence of both line and continuum emission which can be fitted by thermal
emission from hot gas whose characteristic temperature, overlying absorbing
column, , and resulting unabsorbed total flux decline monotonically
after the first few days. Derived shock velocities are in good agreement with
those found from observations at other wavelengths. Similarly, is in
accord with that expected from the red giant wind ahead of the forward shock.
We confirm the basic models of the 1985 outburst and conclude that standard
Phase I remnant evolution terminated by days and the remnant then
rapidly evolved to display behaviour characteristic of Phase III. Around t=26
days however, a new, luminous and highly variable soft X-ray source began to
appear whose origin will be explored in a subsequent paper.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures (2 updated), accepted by Ap
Lens or Binary? Chandra Observations of the Wide Separation Broad Absorption Line Quasar Pair UM425
We have obtained a 110 ksec Chandra ACIS-S exposure of UM425, a pair of QSOs
at z=1.47 separated by 6.5 arcsec, which show remarkably similar emission and
broad absorption line (BAL) profiles in the optical/UV. Our 5000 count X-ray
spectrum of UM425A (the brighter component) is well-fit with a power law
(photon spectral index Gamma=2.0) partially covered by a hydrogen column of
3.8x10^22 cm^-2. The underlying power-law slope for this object and for other
recent samples of BALQSOs is typical of radio-quiet quasars, lending credence
to the hypothesis that BALs exist in every quasar. Assuming the same Gamma for
the much fainter image of UM425B, we detect an obscuring column 5 times larger.
We search for evidence of an appropriately large lensing mass in our Chandra
image and find weak diffuse emission near the quasar pair, with an X-ray flux
typical of a group of galaxies at redshift z ~ 0.6. From our analysis of
archival HST WFPC2 and NICMOS images, we find no evidence for a luminous
lensing galaxy, but note a 3-sigma excess of galaxies in the UM425 field with
plausible magnitudes for a z=0.6 galaxy group. However, the associated X-ray
emission does not imply sufficient mass to produce the observed image
splitting. The lens scenario thus requires a dark (high M/L ratio) lens, or a
fortuitous configuration of masses along the line of sight. UM425 may instead
be a close binary pair of BALQSOs, which would boost arguments that
interactions and mergers increase nuclear activity and outflows.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Fallback accretion on to a newborn magnetar : long GRBs with giant X-ray flares
Flares in the X-ray afterglow of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) share more characteristics with the prompt emission than the afterglow, such as pulse profile and contained fluence. As a result, they are believed to originate from late-time activity of the central engine and can be used to constrain the overall energy budget. In this paper, we collect a sample of 19 long GRBs observed by Swift-XRT that contain giant flares in their X-ray afterglows. We fit this sample with a version of the magnetar propeller model, modified to include fallback accretion. This model has already successfully reproduced extended emission in short GRBs. Our best fits provide a reasonable morphological match to the light curves. However, 16 out of 19 of the fits require efficiencies for the propeller mechanism that approach 100%. The high efficiency parameters are a direct result of the high energy contained in the flares and the extreme duration of the dipole component, which forces either slow spin periods or low magnetic fields. We find that even with the inclusion of significant fallback accretion, in all but a few cases it is energetically challenging to produce prompt emission, afterglow and giant flares within the constraints of the rotational energy budget of a magnetar
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