262 research outputs found
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
Ratio of energies radiated in the universe through accretive processes and nucleosynthesis
We present here a new determination of the ratio of energies radiated by
active galactic nuclei and by stars and discuss the reasons for the apparently
conflicting results found in previous studies. We conclude that the energy
radiated by accretion processes onto super massive black holes is about 1 to 5%
of the energy radiated by stars. We also estimate that the total mass accreted
on average by a super massive black hole at the centre of a typical 10^11 Msol
galaxy is of about 7 10^7 Msol.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic
Stochastic Acceleration in Relativistic Parallel Shocks
(abridged) We present results of test-particle simulations on both the first
and the second order Fermi acceleration at relativistic parallel shock waves.
We consider two scenarios for particle injection: (i) particles injected at the
shock front, then accelerated at the shock by the first order mechanism and
subsequently by the stochastic process in the downstream region; and (ii)
particles injected uniformly throughout the downstream region to the stochastic
process. We show that regardless of the injection scenario, depending on the
magnetic field strength, plasma composition, and the employed turbulence model,
the stochastic mechanism can have considerable effects on the particle spectrum
on temporal and spatial scales too short to be resolved in extragalactic jets.
Stochastic acceleration is shown to be able to produce spectra that are
significantly flatter than the limiting case of particle energy spectral index
-1 of the first order mechanism. Our study also reveals a possibility of
re-acceleration of the stochastically accelerated spectrum at the shock, as
particles at high energies become more and more mobile as their mean free path
increases with energy. Our findings suggest that the role of the second order
mechanism in the turbulent downstream of a relativistic shock with respect to
the first order mechanism at the shock front has been underestimated in the
past, and that the second order mechanism may have significant effects on the
form of the particle spectra and its evolution.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures (9 black/white and 2 color postscripts). To be
published in the ApJ (accepted 6 Nov 2004
INTEGRAL and Swift observations of IGRJ19294+1816 in outburst
IGRJ19294+1816 was discovered by INTEGRAL in 2009 during a bright X-ray
outburst and was classified as a possible Be X-ray binary or supergiant fast
X-ray transient. On 2010 October 28, the source displayed a second X-ray
outburst and a 2 months-long monitoring with Swift was carried out to follow
the evolution of the source X-ray flux during the event. We report on the
INTEGRAL and Swift observations of the second X-ray outburst observed from
IGRJ19294+1816. We detected pulsations in the X-ray emission from the source at
\sim12.5 s up to 50 keV. The source X-ray flux decreased smoothly during the
two months of observation displaying only marginal spectral changes. Due to the
relatively rapid decay of the source X-ray flux, no significant variations of
the source spin period across the event could be measured. This prevented a
firm confirmation of the previously suggested orbital period of the source at
117 d. This periodicity was also searched by using archival Swift /BAT data. We
detected a marginally significant peak in the periodogram and determined the
best period at 116.2\pm0.6 days (estimated chance probability of a spurious
detection 1%). The smooth decline of the source X-ray flux across the two
months of observations after the onset of the second outburst, together with
its relatively low value of the spin period and the absence of remarkable
changes in the spectral parameters (i.e., the absorption column density),
suggests that IGRJ19294+1816 is most likely another member of the Be X-ray
binaries discovered by INTEGRAL and not a supergiant fast X-ray transient.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 7 pages, 10 figure
CIV 1549 as an Eigenvector 1 Parameter for Active Galactic Nuclei
[Abridged] We have been exploring a spectroscopic unification for all known
types of broad line emitting AGN. The 4D Eigenvector 1 (4DE1) parameter space
shows promise as a unification capable of organizing quasar diversity on a
sequence primarily governed by Eddington ratio. This paper considers the role
of CIV 1549 measures with special emphasis on the CIV 1549 line shift as a
principal 4DE1 diagnostic. We use HST archival spectra for 130 sources with S/N
high enough to permit reliable CIV 1549 broad component (BC) measures. We find
a CIV 1549 BC profile blueshift that is strongly concentrated among (largely
radio-quiet: RQ) sources with FWHM(H beta BC) < 4000 km/s (which we call
Population A). Narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1, with FWHM H beta < 2000 km/s)
sources belong to this population but do not emerge as a distinct class. The
systematic blueshift, widely interpreted as arising in a disk wind/outflow, is
not observed in broader lined AGN which we call Population B. We find new
correlations between FWHM(CIV 1549 BC) and CIV 1549 line shift as well as the
equivalent width of CIV 1549. They are seen only in Pop. A sources. CIV 1549
measures enhance the apparent dichotomy at FWHM(Hbeta BC) approx. 4000 \kms\
(Sulentic et al. 2000) suggesting that it has more significance in the context
of Broad Line Region structure than the more commonly discussed RL vs. RQ
dichotomy. Black hole masses computed from FWHM CIV 1549 BC for about 80 AGN
indicate that the CIV 1549 width is a poor virial estimator. Comparison of mass
estimates derived from Hbeta BC and CIV 1549 reveals that the latter show
different and nonlinear offsets for population A and B sources. A significant
number of sources also show narrow line CIV 1549 emission. We present a recipe
for CIV 1549 narrow component extraction.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
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