16666515
Disk Evaporation-Fed Corona: Structure and Evaporation Features with Magnetic Field
The disk-corona evaporation model naturally accounts for many observational phenomena in black hole X-ray binaries, such as the truncation of an accretion disk and the spectral state transitions. On the other hand, magnetic fields are known to play an important role in transporting angular momentum and producing viscosity in accretion flows. In this work, we explicitly take the magnetic field in the accretion disk corona into consideration and numerically calculate the coronal structure on the basis of our two-temperature evaporation code. We show that the magnetic field influences the coronal structure through its contribution to the pressure, energy, and radiative cooling in the corona and by decreasing the vertical heat conduction. We find that the maximum evaporation rate stays more or less constant (similar to 3% of the Eddington rate) when the strength of the magnetic field changes, but that the radius corresponding to the maximum evaporation rate decreases with increasing magnetic field. This suggests that spectral state transitions always occur at a few percent of the Eddington accretion rate, while the inner edge of the thin disk can be at similar to 100RS or even less in the hard state before the transition to the soft state. These results alleviate the problem of previous evaporation models' predicting too large a truncation radius and are in better agreement with the observational results for several black hole X-ray binaries, although discrepancies remain.
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.
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.
199676816
Discovering the missing bright quasars at intermediate redshifts based on the optical/near-IR color selections
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.
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.
119118341
Massless scalar field vacuum in de Sitter spacetime
As a spacetime with compact spatial sections, de Sitter spacetime does not have a de Sitter-invariant ground state for a minimally-coupled massless scalar field that gives definite expectation values for any observables not invariant under constant shifts of the field. However, if one restricts to observables that are shift invariant, as the action is, then there is a unique vacuum state. Here we calculate the shift-invariant four-point function that is the vacuum expectation value of the product of the difference of the field values at one pair of points and of the difference of the field values at a second pair of points. We show that this vacuum expectation value obeys a cluster-decomposition property of vanishing in the limit that the one pair of points is moved arbitrarily far from the other pair. We also calculate the shift-invariant correlation of the gradient of the scalar field at two different points and show that it also obeys a cluster-decomposition property. Possible relevance to a putative de Sitter-invariant quantum state for gravity is discussed.
118358081
B_c Meson Production Around the Z^0 Peak at a High Luminosity e^+ e^- Collider
Considering the possibility to build an $e^+ e^-$ collider at the energies around the $Z^0$-boson resonance with a planned luminosity so high as ${\cal L}\propto 10^{34}\sim 10^{36}cm^{-2}s^{-1}$ (super $Z$-factory), we make a detailed discussion on the $(c\bar{b})$-quarkonium production through $e^{+}+e^{-}\rightarrow (c\bar{b})[n]+b+\bar{c}$ within the framework of non-relativistic QCD. To simplify the hard-scattering amplitude as much as possible and to derive analytic expressions for the purpose of future events simulation, we adopt the "improved trace technology" to do our calculation, which deals with the hard scattering amplitude directly at the amplitude level other than the conventional way at the squared-amplitude level. Total cross-section uncertainties caused by the quark masses are predicted by taking $m_c=1.50\pm0.30$ GeV and $m_b=4.90\pm0.40$ GeV. If all higher $(c\bar{b})$-quarkonium states decay to the ground state $B_c$ ($|(c\bar{b})_{\bf 1}[^1S_0]>$) with 100% efficiency, we obtain $\sigma_{e^{+}+e^{-}\rightarrow B_{c}+b+\bar{c}} =5.190^{+6.222}_{-2.419}$ pb, which shows that about $10^5 \sim 10^7$ $B_c$ events per operation year can be accumulated in the super $Z$-factory. If taking the collider energy runs slightly off the $Z^0$-peak, i.e. $\sqrt{S}=(1.00\pm0.05) m_Z$, the total cross-section shall be lowered by about one-order from its peak value. Such a super $Z$-factory shall provide another useful platform to study the properties of $B_c$ meson, or even the properties of its excited $P$-wave states, in addition to its production at the hadronic colliders Tevatron and LHC.
119144104
Age constraints on the Agegraphic Dark Energy Model
We investigate the age constraint on the agegraphic dark energy model by using two old galaxies (LBDS 53W091 and LBDS 53W069) and the old high redshift quasar APM 08279+5255. We find that the agegraphic dark energy model can easily accommodate LBDS 53W091 and LBDS 53W069. To accommodate APM 08279+5255, one can take the reduced Hubble parameter as large as h=0.64, when the fraction matter energy density $\Omega_{m0}\approx 0.22$.
118371472
Holographic entanglement entropy and thermodynamic instability of planar R-charged black holes
The holographic entanglement entropy of an infinite strip subsystem on the asymptotic AdS boundary is used as a probe to study the thermodynamic instabilities of planar R-charged black holes (or their dual field theories). We focus on the single-charge AdS black holes in $D=5$, which correspond to spinning D3-branes with one non-vanishing angular momentum. Our results show that the holographic entanglement entropy indeed exhibits the thermodynamic instability associated with the divergence of the specific heat. When the width of the strip is large enough, the finite part of the holographic entanglement entropy as a function of the temperature resembles the thermal entropy, as is expected. As the width becomes smaller, however, the two entropies behave differently. In particular, there exists a critical value for the width of the strip, below which the finite part of the holographic entanglement entropy as a function of the temperature develops a self-intersection. We also find similar behavior in the single-charge black holes in $D=4$ and $7$.
118446028
Z0 boson decays to $B^{(*)}_{c}$ meson and its uncertainties
The planned new e+e− collider with high luminosity shall provide another useful platform to study the properties of the doubly heavy Bc meson in addition to the hadronic colliders as LHC and TEVATRON. In the ‘New Trace Amplitude Approach’, we calculate the production of the spin-singlet Bc and the spin-triplet $B^{*}_{c}$ mesons through the Z0 boson decays, where uncertainties for the production are also discussed. Our results show $\varGamma_{(^{1}S_{0})}=81.4^{+102.1}_{-40.5}$ KeV and $\varGamma_{(^{3}S_{1})}=116.4^{+163.9}_{-62.8}$ KeV, where the errors are caused by varying mb and mc within their reasonable regions.