1,537 research outputs found
Retention capacity of random surfaces
We introduce a "water retention" model for liquids captured on a random
surface with open boundaries, and investigate it for both continuous and
discrete surface heights 0, 1, ... n-1, on a square lattice with a square
boundary. The model is found to have several intriguing features, including a
non-monotonic dependence of the retention on the number of levels in the
discrete case: for many n, the retention is counterintuitively greater than
that of an n+1-level system. The behavior is explained using percolation
theory, by mapping it to a 2-level system with variable probability. Results in
1-dimension are also found.Comment: 5 page
C IV BAL disappearance in a large SDSS QSO sample
Broad absorption lines (BALs) in the spectra of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs)
originate from outflowing winds along our line of sight; winds are thought to
originate from the inner regions of the QSO accretion disk, close to the
central supermassive black hole (SMBH). Winds likely play a role in galaxy
evolution and aid the accretion mechanism onto the SMBH. BAL equivalent widths
can change on typical timescales from months to years; such variability is
generally attributed to changes in the covering factor and/or in the ionization
level of the gas. We investigate BAL variability, focusing on BAL
disappearance. We analyze multi-epoch spectra of more than 1500 QSOs -the
largest sample ever used for such a study- observed by different programs from
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-I/II/III (SDSS), and search for disappearing C IV
BALs. The spectra rest-frame time baseline ranges from 0.28 to 4.9 yr; the
source redshifts range from 1.68 to 4.27. We detect 73 disappearing BALs in the
spectra of 67 sources. This corresponds to 3.9% of disappearing BALs, and 5.1%
of our BAL QSOs exhibit at least one disappearing BAL. We estimate the average
lifetime of a BAL along our line of sight (~ 80-100 yr), which appears
consistent with the accretion disk orbital time at distances where winds are
thought to originate. We inspect properties of the disappearing BALs and
compare them to the properties of our main sample. We also investigate the
existence of a correlation in the variability of multiple troughs in the same
spectrum, and find it persistent at large velocity offsets between BAL pairs,
suggesting that a mechanism extending on a global scale is necessary to explain
the phenomenon. We select a more reliable sample of disappearing BALs following
Filiz Ak et al. (2012), where a subset of our sample was analyzed, and compare
the findings from the two works, obtaining generally consistent results.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&
Spectropolarimetric Evidence for Radiatively Inefficient Accretion in an Optically Dull Active Galaxy
We present Subaru/FOCAS spectropolarimetry of two active galaxies in the
Cosmic Evolution Survey. These objects were selected to be optically dull, with
the bright X-ray emission of an AGN but missing optical emission lines in our
previous spectroscopy. Our new observations show that one target has very weak
emission lines consistent with an optically dull AGN, while the other object
has strong emission lines typical of a host-diluted Type 2 Seyfert galaxy. In
neither source do we observe polarized emission lines, with 3-sigma upper
limits of P_BLR < 2%. This means that the missing broad emission lines (and
weaker narrow emission lines) are not due to simple anisotropic obscuration,
e.g., by the canonical AGN torus. The weak-lined optically dull AGN exhibits a
blue polarized continuum with P = 0.78 +/- 0.07% at 4400 A < lambda_rest < 7200
A (P = 1.37 +/- 0.16% at 4400 A < lambda_rest < 5050 A). The wavelength
dependence of this polarized flux is similar to that of an unobscured AGN
continuum and represents the intrinsic AGN emission, either as synchrotron
emission or the outer part of an accretion disk reflected by a clumpy dust
scatterer. Because this intrinsic AGN emission lacks emission lines, this
source is likely to have a radiatively inefficient accretion flow.Comment: Accepted to ApJ. 6 pages, 2 figure
Characteristics of a trapped-vortex (TV) combustor
The characteristics of a Trapped-Vortex (TV) combustor are presented. A vortex is trapped in the cavity established between two disks mounted in tandem. Fuel and air are injected directly into the cavity in such a way as to increase the vortex strength. Some air from the annular flow is also entrained into the recirculation zone of the vortex. Lean blow-out limits of the combustor are determined for a wide range of annular air flow rates. These data indicate that the lean blow-out limits are considerably lower for the TV combustor than for flames stabilized using swirl or bluff-bodies. The pressure loss through the annular duct is also low, being less than 2% for the flow conditions in this study. The instantaneous shape of the recirculation zone of the trapped vortex is measured using a two-color PIV technique. Temperature profiles obtained with CARS indicate a well mixed recirculation zone and demonstrate the impact of primary air injection on the local equivalence ratio
Bayesian High-Redshift Quasar Classification from Optical and Mid-IR Photometry
We identify 885,503 type 1 quasar candidates to i<22 using the combination of
optical and mid-IR photometry. Optical photometry is taken from the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey-III: Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
(SDSS-III/BOSS), while mid-IR photometry comes from a combination of data from
the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) "ALLWISE" data release and
several large-area Spitzer Space Telescope fields. Selection is based on a
Bayesian kernel density algorithm with a training sample of 157,701
spectroscopically-confirmed type-1 quasars with both optical and mid-IR data.
Of the quasar candidates, 733,713 lack spectroscopic confirmation (and 305,623
are objects that we have not previously classified as photometric quasar
candidates). These candidates include 7874 objects targeted as high probability
potential quasars with 3.5<z<5 (of which 6779 are new photometric candidates).
Our algorithm is more complete to z>3.5 than the traditional mid-IR selection
"wedges" and to 2.2<z<3.5 quasars than the SDSS-III/BOSS project. Number counts
and luminosity function analysis suggests that the resulting catalog is
relatively complete to known quasars and is identifying new high-z quasars at
z>3. This catalog paves the way for luminosity-dependent clustering
investigations of large numbers of faint, high-redshift quasars and for further
machine learning quasar selection using Spitzer and WISE data combined with
other large-area optical imaging surveys.Comment: 54 pages, 17 figures; accepted by ApJS Data for tables 1 and 2
available at
http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~gtr/outgoing/optirqsos/data/master_quasar_catalogs.011414.fits.bz2
and
http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~gtr/outgoing/optirqsos/data/optical_ir_quasar_candidates.052015.fits.bz
Accretion Rate and the Physical Nature of Unobscured Active Galaxies
We show how accretion rate governs the physical properties of a sample of
unobscured broad-line, narrow-line, and lineless active galactic nuclei (AGNs).
We avoid the systematic errors plaguing previous studies of AGN accretion rate
by using accurate accretion luminosities (L_int) from well-sampled
multiwavelength SEDs from the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), and accurate
black hole masses derived from virial scaling relations (for broad-line AGNs)
or host-AGN relations (for narrow-line and lineless AGNs). In general, broad
emission lines are present only at the highest accretion rates (L_int/L_Edd >
0.01), and these rapidly accreting AGNs are observed as broad-line AGNs or
possibly as obscured narrow-line AGNs. Narrow-line and lineless AGNs at lower
specific accretion rates (L_int/L_Edd < 0.01) are unobscured and yet lack a
broad line region. The disappearance of the broad emission lines is caused by
an expanding radiatively inefficient accretion flow (RIAF) at the inner radius
of the accretion disk. The presence of the RIAF also drives L_int/L_Edd < 10^-2
narrow-line and lineless AGNs to 10 times higher ratios of radio to optical/UV
emission than L_int/L_Edd > 0.01 broad-line AGNs, since the unbound nature of
the RIAF means it is easier to form a radio outflow. The IR torus signature
also tends to become weaker or disappear from L_int/L_Edd < 0.01 AGNs, although
there may be additional mid-IR synchrotron emission associated with the RIAF.
Together these results suggest that specific accretion rate is an important
physical "axis" of AGN unification, described by a simple model.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 15 pages, 9
figure
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