55509412
The 2009 outburst of H 1743-322 as observed by RXTE
Context. Six outbursts have been observed by RXTE from the source since 2003. Following “a failed outburst” with a missing high/soft state in 2008, the most recent one occurred in 2009, exhibiting all spectral transitions. Aims. An outburst was observed by RXTE from the black hole candidate H 1743-322 in 2009. We investigate this particular outburst in the context of the source outburst history. Methods. We analyze the RXTE observations of the 2009 outburst of H 1743-322, as well as the observations of the previous five outbursts for comparison. All available RXTE observations taken since 2003 sum up to a total exposure of ∼1200 ks. Results. The hardness-intensity diagram (HID) shows a complete counter-clockwise q-track for the 2009 outburst. It leaves the low/hard state but does not reach the leftmost edge of the overall HID. Near maximum, the X-ray spectra show a power law with photon index <2.4; the peak luminosity during the whole outburst reached only 20% of the Eddington luminosity. The highest disk fractional luminosity is about 0.75 for the 2009 outburst, which is close to the lower limit observed from the black hole XRB sample in their state transitions from the intermediate to the high/soft state. While the lowest hardness (6–19 keV/3–6 keV) values in the HID is about 0.3–0.4 for the 2009 outburst, the timing analysis shows that a transition to the high soft state occurred. During the low/hard state of the 2009 outburst, the inner radius of the accretion disk is found to be closer to the central black hole and anti-correlated with the disk temperature implying reprocessing of the hot corona on the disk’s soft X-rays. In the luminosity diagram of the corona versus the disk, the tracks of the outbursts in 2003 and 2009 cross the line which represents a roughly equal contribution to the emission from the thermal and the non-thermal components; the track of the 2008 outburst has its turn-over falling on this line. This may indicate an emission balance between the corona and the disk that prevents the state transition from going further than the low/hard state.
17396076
INTEGRAL and RXTE/ASM observations on IGR J17098−3628
To probe further the possible nature of the unidentified source IGR J17098-3628, we have carried out a detailed analysis of its long-term time variability as monitored by RXTE/ASM, and of its hard X-ray properties as observed by INTEGRAL. INTEGRAL has monitored this sky region over years and significantly detected IGR J17098-3628 only when the source was in this dubbed active state. In particular, at $\ge$ 20 keV, IBIS/ISGRI caught an outburst in March 2005, lasting for $\sim$5 days with detection significance of 73$\sigma$ (20-40 keV) and with the emission at $ $20 keV) outburst by $\sim$2 days. This resembles the behavior of X-ray novae like XN 1124-683, hence it further suggests a LMXB nature for IGR J17098-3628. While the quality of the ASM data prevents us from drawing any definite conclusions, these discoveries are important clues that, coupled with future observations, will help to resolve the as yet unknown nature of IGR J17098-3628.
15715110
Suppressed star formation in circumnuclear regions in seyfert galaxies
Feedback from black hole activity is widely believed to play a key role in regulating star formation and black hole growth. A long-standing issue is the relation between star formation and the fueling of the supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We compile a sample of 57 Seyfert galaxies to tackle this issue. We estimate the surface densities of gas and star formation rates in circumnuclear regions (CNRs). Comparing them with the well-known Kennicutt-Schmidt (K-S) law, we find that the star formation rates (SFRs) in the CNRs of most Seyfert galaxies are suppressed in this sample. Feedback is suggested to explain the suppressed SFRs.
17406200
EVOLUTION OF GASEOUS DISK VISCOSITY DRIVEN BY SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS IN STAR-FORMING GALAXIES AT HIGH REDSHIFT
Motivated by Genzel et al.'s observations of high-redshift star-forming galaxies, containing clumpy and turbulent rings or disks, we build a set of equations describing the dynamical evolution of gaseous disks with inclusion of star formation and its feedback. Transport of angular momentum is due to "turbulent" viscosity induced by supernova explosions in the star formation region. Analytical solutions of the equations are found for the initial cases of a gaseous ring and the integrated form for a gaseous disk, respectively. For a ring with enough low viscosity, it evolves in a slow process of gaseous diffusion and star formation near the initial radius. For a high viscosity, the ring rapidly diffuses in the early phase. The diffusion drives the ring into a region with a low viscosity and starts the second phase undergoing pile-up of gas at a radius following the decreased viscosity torque. The third is a sharply decreasing phase because of star formation consumption of gas and efficient transportation of gas inward forming a stellar disk. We apply the model to two z similar to 2 galaxies BX 482 and BzK 6004, and find that they are undergoing a decline in their star formation activity.
16433217
The afterglows of ultraluminous quasars
Quasars represent a brief phase in the life cycle of most massive galaxies, but the evolutionary connection between central black holes and their host galaxies remains unclear. While quasars are active and shining brighter than the Compton-limit luminosity, their radiation heats the surrounding medium to the Compton temperature, forming Compton spheres extending to the Stromgren radius of Fe26+/He2+. After the quasars shut off, their "afterglow" can be detected through three signatures: (1) an extended X-ray envelope, with a characteristic temperature of ~3 × 107 K, (2) Lyα and Lyβ lines and the K edge of Fe26+, and (3) nebulosity from hydrogen and helium recombination emission lines. We discuss the possibility of detecting these signatures using Chandra, the planned X-Ray Evolving Universe Spectroscopy mission, and ground-based optical telescopes. The luminosity and size of quasar afterglows can be used to constrain the lifetime of quasars.
119102309
Possible hard X-ray shortages in bursts from KS 1731-260 and 4U 1705-44
Aims. A hard X-ray shortage, implying the cooling of the corona, was observed during bursts of IGR J17473-272, 4U 1636-536, Aql X-1, and GS 1826-238. Apart from these four sources, we investigate here an atoll sample, in which the number of bursts for each source is larger than 5, to explore the possible additional hard X-ray shortage during Rossi X-ray timing explorer (RXTE) era. Methods. According to the source catalog that shows type-I bursts, we analyzed all the available pointing observations of these sources carried out by the RXTE proportional counter array. We grouped and combined the bursts according to their outburst states and searched for the possible hard X-ray shortage while bursting. Results. We found that the island states of KS 1731-260 and 4U 1705-44 show a hard X-ray shortage at significant levels of 4.5 and 4.7σ and a systematic time lag of 0.9 ± 2.1 s and 2.5 ± 2.0 s with respect to the soft X-rays, respectively. While in their banana branches and other sources, we did not find any consistent shortage.
118647055
The Cores of the Fe Kα Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei: An Extended Chandra High Energy Grating Sample
We extend the study of the core of the Fe K{alpha} emission line at {approx}6.4 keV in Seyfert galaxies reported by Yaqoob and Padmanabhan using a larger sample observed by the Chandra high-energy grating (HEG). The sample consists of 82 observations of 36 unique sources with z < 0.3. Whilst heavily obscured active galactic nuclei are excluded from the sample, these data offer some of the highest precision measurements of the peak energy of the Fe K{alpha} line, and the highest spectral resolution measurements of the width of the core of the line in unobscured and moderately obscured (N {sub H} < 10{sup 23} cm{sup -2}) Seyfert galaxies to date. From an empirical and uniform analysis, we present measurements of the Fe K{alpha} line centroid energy, flux, equivalent width (EW), and intrinsic width (FWHM). The Fe K{alpha} line is detected in 33 sources, and its centroid energy is constrained in 32 sources. In 27 sources, the statistical quality of the data is good enough to yield measurements of the FWHM. We find that the distribution in the line centroid energy is strongly peaked around the value for neutral Fe, with over 80% of the observations giving values in the rangemore » 6.38-6.43 keV. Including statistical errors, 30 out of 32 sources ({approx}94%) have a line centroid energy in the range 6.35-6.47 keV. The mean EW, among the observations in which a non-zero lower limit could be measured, was 53 {+-} 3 eV. The mean FWHM from the subsample of 27 sources was 2060 {+-} 230 km s{sup -1}. The mean EW and FWHM are somewhat higher when multiple observations for a given source are averaged. From a comparison with the H{beta} optical emission-line widths (or, for one source, Br{alpha}), we find that there is no universal location of the Fe K{alpha} line-emitting region relative to the optical broad-line region (BLR). In general, a given source may have contributions to the Fe K{alpha} line flux from parsec-scale distances from the putative black hole, down to matter a factor {approx}2 closer to the black hole than the BLR. We confirm the presence of the X-ray Baldwin effect, an anti-correlation between the Fe K{alpha} line EW and X-ray continuum luminosity. The HEG data have enabled isolation of this effect to the narrow core of the Fe K{alpha} line.« less
40678363
High Gradient Performance of NLC/GLC X-Band Accelerating Structures
During the past five years, there has been an concerted program at SLAC and KEK to develop accelerator structures that meet the high gradient (65 MV/m) performance requirements for the Next Linear Collider (NLC) and Global Linear Collider (GLC) initiatives. The design that resulted is a 60-cm-long, traveling-wave structure with low group velocity and 150 degree per cell phase advance. It has an average iris size that produces an acceptable short-range wakefield, and dipole mode damping and detuning that adequately suppresses the long-range wakefield. More than eight such structures have operated at a 60 Hz repetition rate over 1000 hours at 65 MV/m with 400 ns long pulses, and have reached breakdown rate levels below the limit for the linear collider. Moreover, the structures are robust in that the rates continue to decrease over time, and if the structures are briefly exposed to air, the rates recover to their low levels within a few days. This paper presents a summary of the results from this program, which effectively ended last August with the selection of ‘cold’ technology for an International Linear Collider (ILC).
59126004
The velocity structure of moving magnetic feature pairs around sunspots: support for the U-loop model
Context. Moving magnetic feature (MMF) pairs are among the most significant fine-scale structures around sunspots. Several models have been proposed to interpret the origin and evolution of MMF pairs. These models provide important clues to understanding MMF pairs. Aims. We present an analysis of the velocity structure of MMF pairs in order to put further constrains on the MMF models. Methods. Using continuum images, longitudinal magnetograms and Dopplergrams, recorded by the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) instrument on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), we have traced 123 pairs of opposite magnetic polarity moving magnetic features (MMFs) in three active regions NOAA ARs 8375, 0330 and 9575. At the time of observation, AR 8375 was young, AR 0330 mature, and AR 9575 decaying. Results. The vertical velocity, measured from MDI Dopplergrams for the three active regions, indicates that the elements of MMF pairs with polarity opposite to that of the sunspot support a downflow (Doppler redshift) of around 50-100 m s -1 . The average Doppler shift difference between negative and positive elements of an MMF pair is about 150 m s -1 in AR 8375, 100 m s -1 in AR 0330, and 20 m s -1 in AR 9575. These observational results are in agreement with the model where MMF pairs are part of a U-loop emanating from the sunspot's magnetic canopy. According to this model, the downflow is caused by the Evershed flow returning below the solar surface. For AR 8375, the horizontal velocity of MMFs ranges from 0.1 km s -1 to 0.7 km s -1 , and on average, the velocity of an MMF pair decreases significantly (from 0.6 km s -1 to 0.35 km s -1 ) with increasing distance from the MMF's birth place. In contrast, the decrease of the average velocity is far less obvious from 0.5 km s -1 to 0.4 km s -1 with increasing distance from the sunspot. This result suggests that the change in MMF flow speed does not reflect the radial structure of the moat flow, but rather is intrinsic to the evolution of the MMF pairs. This result is also in agreement with the U-loop model of MMF pairs. We also find that properties of MMF pairs, most strikingly the lifetime, depend on the evolution stages of the parent sunspot. The mean lifetimes of MMF pairs in ARs 9575 and 0330 are 0.7 h and 1.6 h, respectively, which is considerably shorter than the 4 h lifetime previously found for AR 8375.
125127538
Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy at the LHC
The results of searches for new physics in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state are presented. The searches use an integrated luminosity of 35 pb−1 of pp collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The observed numbers of events agree with the standard model predictions, and no evidence for new physics is found. To facilitate the interpretation of our data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on our event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.
118461506
UM 625 Revisited: Multiwavelength Study of a Seyfert 1 Galaxy with a Low-mass Black Hole
UM 625, previously identified as a narrow-line active galactic nucleus (AGN), actually exhibits broad H alpha and H beta lines whose width and luminosity indicate a low black hole (BH) mass of 1.6 x 10(6) M-circle dot. We present a detailed multiwavelength study of the nuclear and host galaxy properties of UM 625. Analysis of Chandra and XMM-Newton observations suggests that this system contains a heavily absorbed and intrinsically X-ray weak (alpha(ox) = -1.72) nucleus. Although not strong enough to qualify as radio loud, UM 625 does belong to a minority of low-mass AGNs detected in the radio. The broadband spectral energy distribution constrains the bolometric luminosity to L-bol approximate to (0.5-3) x 10(43) erg s(-1) and L-bol/L-Edd approximate to 0.02-0.15. A comprehensive analysis of Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Hubble Space Telescope images shows that UM 625 is a nearly face-on S0 galaxy with a prominent, relatively blue pseudobulge (Sersic index n = 1.60) that accounts for similar to 60% of the total light in the R band. The extended disk is featureless, but the central similar to 150-400 pc contains a conspicuous semi-ring of bright, blue star-forming knots, whose integrated ultraviolet luminosity suggests a star formation rate of similar to 0.3 M-(c) yr(-1). The mass of the central BH roughly agrees with the value predicted from its bulge velocity dispersion but is significantly lower than that expected from its bulge luminosity.