119181453
THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN OPTICAL VARIABILITY AND PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF QUASARS IN SDSS STRIPE 82
We investigate the optical variability of 7658 quasars from SDSS Stripe 82. Taking advantage of a larger sample and relatively more data points for each quasar, we estimate variability amplitudes and divide the sample into small bins of redshift, rest-frame wavelength, black hole mass, Eddington ratio, and bolometric luminosity, respectively, to investigate the relationships between variability and these parameters. An anti-correlation between variability and rest-frame wavelength is found. The variability amplitude of radio-quiet quasars shows almost no cosmological evolution, but that of radio-loud ones may weakly anti-correlate with redshift. In addition, variability increases as either luminosity or Eddington ratio decreases. However, the relationship between variability and black hole mass is uncertain; it is negative when the influence of Eddington ratio is excluded, but positive when the influence of luminosity is excluded. The intrinsic distribution of variability amplitudes for radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars are different. Both radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars exhibit a bluer-when-brighter chromatism. Assuming that quasar variability is caused by variations of accretion rate, the Shakura-Sunyaev disk model can reproduce the tendencies of observed correlations between variability and rest-frame wavelength, luminosity as well as Eddington ratio, supporting that changes of accretion rate play an important role in producing the observed optical variability. However, the predicted positive correlation between variability and black hole mass seems to be inconsistent with the observed negative correlation between them in small bins of Eddington ratio, which suggests that other physical mechanisms may still need to be considered in modifying the simple accretion disk model.
118357880
ON THE STRUCTURE OF ACCRETION DISKS WITH OUTFLOWS
To study the outflows from accretion disks, we solve the set of hydrodynamic equations for accretion disks in spherical coordinates (rθ) to obtain the explicit structure along the θ-direction. Using self-similar assumptions in the radial direction, we change the equations to a set of ordinary differential equations about the θ-coordinate, which are then solved with symmetrical boundary conditions in the equatorial plane; the velocity field is then obtained. The α viscosity prescription is applied and an advective factor f is used to simplify the energy equation. The results display thinner, quasi-Keplerian disks for Shakura-Sunyaev disks; thicker, sub-Keplerian disks for advection-dominated accretion flows; and slim disks which are consistent with previous popular analytical models. However, an inflow region and an outflow region always exist, except when the viscosity parameter α is too large, which supports the results of some recent numerical simulation works. Our results indicate that the outflows should be common in various accretion disks and may be stronger in slim disks, where both advection and radiation pressure are dominant. We also present the structure's dependence on the input parameters and discuss their physical meanings. The caveats of this work and possible improvements for the future are discussed.
2227030
Testing the transition layer model of quasi-periodic oscillations in neutron star X-ray binaries
We compare the theoretical predictions of the transition layer model with some observational features of quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in neutron star X-ray binaries. We found that the correlation between horizontal branch oscillation (HBO) frequencies and kilohertz (kHz) QPO frequencies, the difference between the low-frequency QPOs in atoll sources and HBOs in Z sources, and the correlation between the frequencies of low-frequency QPOs and break frequencies can be well explained by the transition layer model, provided the neutron star mass is around 1.4 M☉ and the angle between magnetosphere equator and accretion disk plane is around 6°. The observed decrease of peak separation between the two kHz QPO frequencies with the increase of the kHz QPO frequencies and the increase of QPO frequencies with the increase of inferred mass accretion rate are also consistent with the theoretical predictions of the transition layer model. In addition, we derive a simple equation that can be adopted to estimate the angle (δ) between magnetosphere equator and accretion disk plane by use of the simultaneously observed QPO frequency data. We estimate this angle, in the range of 4°-8°, for five Z sources and two atoll sources. The nearly constant δ value for each source, derived from the different sets of simultaneously observed QPO frequency data, provides a strong test of the theoretical model. Finally, we suggest that similar transition layer oscillations may be responsible for the observed QPOs in accretion-powered millisecond X-ray pulsars and Galactic black hole candidates.
2377462
Galaxy bulge formation: Interplay with dark matter halo and central supermassive black hole
We present a simple scenario where the formation of galactic bulges was regulated by the dark halo gravity and regulates the growth of the central supermassive black hole. Assuming the angular momentum is low, we suggest that bulges form in a runaway collapse due to the "gravothermal" instability once the central gas density or pressure exceeds a certain threshold. We emphasize that the threshold is nearly universal, set by the background NFW dark matter gravity gDM ~ 1.2 × 10-8 cm s-2 in the central cusps of halos. Unlike known thresholds for gradual formation of galaxy disks, we show that the universal "halo-regulated" star formation threshold for spheroids matches the very high star formation rate and star formation efficiency seen in high-redshift observations of central starburst regions. The starburst feedback also builds up a pressure shortly after the collapse. This large pressure could act both outward to halt further infall of gas from larger scales and inward to counter the Compton-thick wind launched from the central black hole in an Eddington accretion. Assuming the feedback balances inward and outward forces, our scenario naturally gives rise to the black hole-bulge relationships observed in the local universe.
199676816
Discovering the missing bright quasars at intermediate redshifts based on the optical/near-IR color selections
2132712
Inclinations and black hole masses of Seyfert 1 galaxies
A tight correlation between black hole mass (MBH) and central velocity dispersion (σ) has been found recently for both active and quiescent galaxies. By applying this correlation, we develop a simple method to derive the inclination angles for a sample of 11 Seyfert 1 galaxies that have both measured central velocity dispersions and black hole masses estimated by reverberation mapping. These angles, with a mean value of 36° that agrees well with the result obtained by fitting the iron Kα lines of Seyfert 1 galaxies observed with ASCA, provide further support to the orientation-dependent unification scheme of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). A positive correlation of the inclinations with observed FWHMs of the Hβ line and a possible anticorrelation with the nuclear radio loudness have been found. We conclude that more accurate knowledge of inclinations and broad-line region dynamics is needed to improve the black hole mass determination of AGNs with the reverberation mapping technique.
118830580
Dynamics of holographic vacuum energy in the DGP model
We consider the evolution of the vacuum energy in the Dvali-Gabadadze-Porrati (DGP) model according to the holographic principle under the assumption that the relation linking the IR and UV cutoffs still holds in this scenario. The model is studied when the IR cutoff is chosen to be the Hubble scale H(-1), the particle horizon R(ph), and the future event horizon R(eh), respectively. The two branches of the DGP model are also taken into account. Through numerical analysis, we find that in the cases of H(-1) in the (+) branch and R(eh) in both branches, the vacuum energy can play the role of dark energy. Moreover, when considering the combination of the vacuum energy and the 5D gravity effect in both branches, the equation of state of the effective dark energy may cross -1, which may lead to the big rip singularity. Besides, we constrain the model with the Type Ia supernovae and baryon oscillation data and find that our model is consistent with current data within 1 sigma, and that the observations prefer either a pure holographic dark energy or a pure DGP model.
118684122
Hadronic production of $\Xi_{cc}$ at a fixed-target experiment at the LHC
In the paper, we present a detailed discussion on the $\Xi_{cc}$ production at a fixed target experiment at the LHC (After@LHC). The doubly charmed baryon $\Xi_{cc}$ is produced via the channel, ${\rm Proton} + {\rm Proton}\to\Xi_{cc}+X$. In estimating its hadroproduction, we discuss three dominant subprocesses, e.g. $g+g\to \Xi_{cc} +\bar{c} +\bar{c}$, $g+c\to \Xi_{cc}+\bar{c}$ and $c+c\to \Xi_{cc}+g$. During the production, it shall first generate a binding diquark and then form the $\Xi_{cc}$ baryon by grabbing soft light-quarks or gluons. We observe that both the two diquark configurations $(cc)[^3S_1]_{\bf\bar 3}$ and $(cc)[^1S_0]_{\bf 6}$ can have sizable contributions to the $\Xi_{cc}$ production. Large number of $\Xi_{cc}$ events can be generated at the After@LHC, whose total production cross section is larger than that of the SELEX experiment by about thirty-five times. It may also possible to study the properties of $\Xi_{bc}$ at the After@LHC. More specifically, we shall have about $8.3 \times 10^6$ $\Xi_{cc}$ events/year and $1.8 \times 10^4$ $\Xi_{bc}$ events/year when its integrated luminosity approaches to $2$ fb$^{-1}$/year. Thus, in addition to SELEX and LHC, the After@LHC shall provide another useful platform for studying the baryon properties.
118629237
Limits from Weak Gravity Conjecture on Dark Energy Models
The weak gravity conjecture has been proposed as a criterion to distinguish the landscape from the swampland in string theory. As an application in cosmology of this conjecture, we use it to impose theoretical constraint on parameters of two types of dark energy models. Our analysis indicates that the Chaplygin-gas-type models realized in quintessence field are in the swampland, whereas the $a$ power-low decay model of the variable cosmological constant can be viable but the parameters are tightly constrained by the conjecture.
118630156
Implication on the pion distribution amplitude from the pion-photon transition form factor with the new BABAR data
The new BABAR data on the pion-photon transition form factor arouses people's interest for the determination of the pion distribution amplitude. To explain the data, we take both the leading valence quark state's and the nonvalence quark state's contributions into consideration, where the valence quark part up to next-to-leading order is presented and the nonvalence quark part is estimated by a phenomenological model based on its limiting behavior at both Q(2) -> 0 and Q(2) -> infinity. Our results show that to be consistent with the new BABAR data at the large Q(2) region, a broader amplitude other than the asymptoticlike pion distribution amplitude should be adopted. The broadness of the pion distribution amplitude is controlled by a parameter B. It has been found that the new BABAR data at low and high energy regions can be explained simultaneously by setting B to be around 0.60, in which the pion distribution amplitude is closed to the Chernyak-Zhitnitsky form.
119278847
Information on the Pion Distribution Amplitude from the Pion-Photon Transition Form Factor with the Belle and BaBar Data
The pion-photon transition form factor (TFF) provides strong constraints on the pion distribution amplitude (DA). We perform an analysis of all existing data (CELLO, CLEO, BaBar, Belle) on the pion-photon TFF by means of light-cone pQCD approach in which we include the next-to-leading order correction to the valence-quark contribution and estimate the non-valence-quark contribution by a phenomenological model based on the TFF's limiting behavior at both $Q^2\to 0$ and $Q^2\to\infty$. At present, the pion DA is not definitely determined, it is helpful to have a pion DA model that can mimic all the suggested behaviors, especially to agree with the constraints from the pion-photon TFF in whole measured region within a consistent way. For the purpose, we adopt the conventional model for pion wavefunction/DA that has been constructed in our previous paper \cite{hw1}, whose broadness is controlled by a parameter $B$. We fix the DA parameters by using the CELLO, CLEO, BABAR and Belle data within the smaller $Q^2$ region ($Q^2 \leq 15$ GeV$^2$), where all the data are consistent with each other. And then the pion-photon TFF is extrapolated into larger $Q^2$ region. We observe that the BABAR favors $B=0.60$ which has the behavior close to the Chernyak-Zhitnitsky DA, whereas the recent Belle favors $B=0.00$ which is close to the asymptotic DA. We need more accurate data at large $Q^2$ region to determine the precise value of $B$, and the definite behavior of pion DA can be concluded finally by the consistent data in the coming future.