一个耀变体样本在射电波段的Jurkevich周期分析

利用欧文斯谷射电天文台(Owens Valley Radio Observatory, OVRO) 15 GHz的观测数据,通过Jurkevich理论分析了78个耀变体样本的光变曲线,结果表明,射电源显示了显著的光变周期,范围为0.83–2.55 yr.另外,通过估算射电源光变的调制指数,发现蝎虎天体的调制指数较平谱射电类星体有更大的高斯分布峰值.     

平谱射电类星体3C 454.3的中长周期光变特性研究

耀变体具有明显的、剧烈的大幅度光变,中长时标的光变研究对于揭示耀变体的光变特征和光变机理有重要作用。通过选取平谱射电类星体3C 454.3的光学B, V, R和红外J, K波段2008年6月～2017年7月的原始光变数据,采用功率谱方法研究3C 454.3的中长周期光变特性,得出光变主周期为1.25年,4.57年的周期为1.25年周期的叠加。3C 454.3在光学、红外以及射电波段的光变有一定的关系。研究显示,3C 454.3的红外光度比光学波段更为明亮,红外光变比光学波段更为剧烈。     

FSRQ 0208-512的光学波段长周期光变分析和色指数变化研究

从SMARTS (The Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System)数据库,收集到了平谱射电类星体(FRSQ) 0208-512天体光学波段B、 V、 R的观测数据,数据从2008年2月–2017年8月,时间跨度近10 yr.分别获得了光学B波段数据627组、V波段数据634组、 R波段数据639组.通过加权小波Z变换法(WWZ)和蒙特卡洛模拟的LombScargle periodogram (LSP)方法研究得出了如下结论:(1)在两种方法中都得到了光学B、V、R 3个波段有可能存在396 d左右约为1.08 yr的周期性光变;(2)得到了B波段星等B与光学波段色指数(B-V)呈正相关关系,当B星等越小时色指数(B-V)越小,即越亮越蓝;(3)通过光学3个波段的1.08 yr的长周期光变得到天体中心黑洞质量M约为0.12×106M⊙,辐射区半径RM=1.052×108km,其中M⊙为太阳质量.     

利用贝叶斯分层模型估算耀变体的多普勒因子

基于亚毫米波阵列(Submillimeter Array, SMA)的1 mm波长的长时间监测数据,利用贝叶斯分层模型对耀变体的光变曲线进行拟合,估算了155个耀变体的射电亮温度和光变多普勒因子。利用Wilcoxon秩和检验,比较了蝎虎座BL型天体(BL Lac)子样本和平谱射电类星体(Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar, FSRQ)子样本的亮温度和多普勒因子分布,也比较了费米耀变体和非费米耀变体的亮温度和多普勒因子分布。结果表明：(1)相对蝎虎座BL型天体,平谱射电类星体平均具有更高的多普勒因子;(2)相对非费米耀变体,费米耀变体平均具有更高的亮温度和多普勒因子。通过与15 GHz波段的亮温度和多普勒因子进行比较发现,射电亮温度和多普勒因子可能有向更高频率降低的趋势。     

耀变体亮温度与黑洞喷流能量的相关性讨论

耀变体(Blazars)的亮温度与黑洞喷流能量和吸积率有重要关系。搜集了53个耀变体源样本,包括22个蝎虎天体(BL Lacs)和31个平谱射电类星体(Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars,FSRQs),研究了耀变体亮温度与黑洞喷流能量的分布,并对子类中亮温度与黑洞喷流能量的相关性进行了讨论。研究结果表明:(1)蝎虎天体与平谱射电类星体的亮温度与黑洞喷流能量的分布存在明显差异,这可能与蝎虎天体与平谱射电类星体的内禀性质有关,也可能与其有无发射线及发射线的强弱有关;(2)蝎虎天体的亮温度与黑洞喷流能量之间的相关性较强,亮温度可以在一定程度上描述蝎虎天体的黑洞喷流能量,亮温度大的蝎虎天体喷流携带的能量也较大;(3)平谱射电类星体的亮温度与黑洞喷流能量之间有弱相关性,平谱射电类星体的亮温度不能清楚地描述黑洞喷流能量,黑洞喷流能量受亮温度影响较小,平谱射电类星体的黑洞喷流能量可能受到其他因素的影响;(4)耀变体的亮温度与黑洞吸积率之间有弱的相关性。     

Blazar天体的辐射特性研究

收集了47个Blazar天体的短时标光变资料,估算了中心天体质量和不同波段辐射区域,并对估算结果作了统计分析,发现Blazar天体中心黑洞质量在10~7M_☉到10~(10)M_☉之间,BL Lac天体与平谱射电类星体中心黑洞质量有很大差异,平谱射电类星体中心黑洞质量大于BL Lac天体中心黑洞质量;红外波段和γ射线波段辐射区域大小相似.同时,利用收集到Blazar天体的热光度分析了Blazar天体热光度与短时标光变之间的关系,证实了射电选BL Lac(RBL)天体和平谱射电类星体(FSRQs)的辐射是强成束的,但相对论聚柬效应对X射线选BL Lac(XBL)天体的辐射影响较小.     

恒星射电耀发6cm波段偏振观测试验

利用新疆天文台南山基地25m射电望远镜在6cm波段对恒星V772 Her和βPer进行了偏振观测试验.通过数据处理和校准得到恒星的射电光变曲线.探测到V772 Her的射电耀发现象,耀发时的线偏振度约达30%,偏振位置角约4°;探测到βPer的缓变成份及叠加其上的快速耀发,βPer耀发时线偏振很弱.     

低峰频blazars的射电光变分析

从大量文献资料中收集了6个低峰频blazars(BL Lacertae、0235+164、OQ530、0716+714、3C 345及3C 273)最近30多年来在4.8 GHz、8 GHz、14.5 GHz、22GHz和37 GHz最完备的光变数据.利用离散相关函数法对这6个源的相关性及延迟进行分析,利用结构函数法对6个源的光变曲线的光变周期和光变时标进行分析并对其光变幅度进行比较分析.分析结果显示:在光变幅度方面,0716+714和0235+164在6个blazars中的光变幅度相对较大,3C 345和OQ 530次之,3C 273和BL Lacertae的光变幅度相对较小;多波段的延迟分析显示0235+164在相邻两波段之间都显示高频波段要超前于低频波段的变化趋势,3C 345整体呈现出高频波段滞后于低频波段的变化趋势.其余blazars分析结果显示在部分射电波段之间呈现出高频波段要超前于低频波段的变化趋势,而在其余射电波段之间却呈现出高频波段滞后于低频波段的变化趋势;结构函数法的分析结果显示3C 345的光变时标、拟合斜率及光变周期与其它5个低峰频blazars相比都偏大,这表明3C 345的活动性与其它5个源相比较弱,这表明在3C 345内部可能存在与其它5个低峰频blazars不同的物理过程.     

类星体3C 446射电光变非线性特性分析

类星体有剧烈、大幅度的光变现象, 光变研究有助于建立与观测相符的理论模型. 这篇文章从密歇根大学射电天文台数据库收集了类星体3C 446射电4.8、8.0和14.5GHz波段的长期观测数据. 传统的线性方法难以分析复杂的光变现象, 文章采用了集合经验模态分解(Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition, EEMD)方法和非线性分析方法相结合, 从混沌动力学特性、分形特性和周期性多角度对类星体光变随时间演化的规律进行了较全面的分析, 并重点对比分析了除去周期成分或混沌成分前后, 光变的周期性和非线性特性是否存在明显区别. 分析结果表明, 类星体3C 446射电波段光变资料由周期成分、趋势成分和混沌成分组成, 光变具有周期性、混沌性和分形特性. 除去混沌成分和趋势成分后的光变周期与原始光变资料的周期完全相同, 而两者的混沌和分形特性有明显不同. 从饱和关联维数来看, 重构动力学系统时, 除去周期成分和趋势成分后的光变资料比原始光变资料需要更多的独立参量, Kolmogorov熵值表明前者信息的损失率比后者大, 系统的混沌程度更高, 系统也更复杂, Hurst值表明后者自相似性和长程相关性比前者略强.     

活动星系核的演化与宇宙学红移

通过搜集了457个活动星系核样本,根据活动星系核的演化实质是指宇宙时标上的变化,讨论了红移量与活动星系核演化的关系,最终证明了活动星系核的演化分为两个序列:(1)从类星体到Seyfert星系之间的演化;(2)平谱射电类星体(FSRQ)—BL Lac天体—射电星系(RG)的演化。     

Optical monitoring of the quasar 4C 38.41

The results of a photometric monitoring of the quasar 4C 38.41, performed at the optical R and B bands in 2002 February–March, are presented. With a 60/90 cm Schmidt telescope at the Xinglong station of the National Astronomical Observatories of China, we observed the source exhibiting amplitude variations of up to 0.78 mag in both bands during the whole campaign. Intraday and even intranight variations are detected as well. A typical variability time-scale of about 36 d is derived from our 2-month observations at the optical bands, which is identical to that found at a radio wavelength of 92 cm, suggesting a common origin for the variations in 4C 38.41 from optical to radio bands.     

HST and UKIRT imaging observations of z∼ 1 6C radio galaxies – II. Galaxy morphologies and the alignment effect

Powerful radio galaxies often display enhanced optical/ultraviolet emission regions, elongated and aligned with the radio jet axis. The aim of this series of papers is to investigate separately the effects of radio power and redshift on the alignment effect, together with other radio galaxy properties. In this second paper, we present a deeper analysis of the morphological properties of these systems, including both the host galaxies and their surrounding aligned emission.
The host galaxies of our 6C subsample are well described as de Vaucouleurs ellipticals, with typical scale sizes of  ∼10 kpc  . This is comparable to the host galaxies of low- z radio sources of similar powers, and also the more powerful 3CR sources at the same redshift. The contribution of nuclear point source emission is also comparable, regardless of radio power.
The 6C alignment effect is remarkably similar to that seen around more powerful 3CR sources at the same redshift in terms of extent and degree of alignment with the radio source axis, although it is generally less luminous. The bright, knotty features observed in the case of the z ∼ 1 3CR sources are far less frequent in our 6C subsample; neither do we observe such strong evidence for evolution in the strength of the alignment effect with radio source size/age. However, we do find a very strong link between the most extreme alignment effects and emission-line region properties indicative of shocks, regardless of source size/age or power. In general, the 6C alignment effect is still considerably stronger than that seen around lower redshift galaxies of similar radio powers. Cosmic epoch is clearly just as important a factor as radio power: although aligned emission is observed on smaller scales at lower redshifts, the processes which produce the most extreme features simply no longer occur, suggesting considerable evolution in the properties of the extended haloes surrounding the radio source.     

Photometric monitoring of the blazar 3C 345 for the period 1996–2006

We present the results of the blazar 3C 345 monitoring in Johnson‐Cousins BVRI bands for the period 1996–2006. We have collected 29 V and 43 R data points for this period; the BI light curves contain a few measurements only. The accuracy of our photometry is not better than 0.03 mag in the VR bands. The total amplitude of the variability obtained from our data is 2.06 mag in the V and 2.25 mag in the R band. 3C 345 showed periods of flaring activity during 1998/99 and 2001: a maximum of the blazar brightness was detected in 2001 February – 15.345 mag in the V and 14.944 mag in the R band. We confirm that during brighter stages 3C 345 becomes redder; for higher fluxes the colour index seems to be less dependent on the magnitude. The intra‐night monitoring of 3C 345 in three consecutive nights in 2001 August revealed no significant intra‐night variability; 3C 345 did not show evident flux changes over timescales of weeks around the period of the intra‐night monitoring. This result supports the existing facts that intra‐night variability is correlated with rapid flux changes rather than with specific flux levels. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The far-infrared–radio relationship at high and low redshift

We use the results of the SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey, a submillimetre (submm) survey of galaxies in the nearby Universe, to investigate the relationship between the far-infrared (FIR)–submm and radio emission of galaxies at both low and high redshift. At low redshift we show that the correlation between radio and FIR emission is much stronger than the correlation between radio and submm emission, which is evidence that massive stars are the source of both the FIR and radio emission. At high redshift we show that the submm sources detected by SCUBA are brighter sources of radio emission than are predicted from the properties of galaxies in the local Universe. We discuss possible reasons for the cosmic evolution of the relationship between radio and FIR emission.     

Radio and X-ray observations of an exceptional radio flare in the extreme z= 4.72 blazar GB B1428+4217

We report on the extreme behaviour of the high-redshift blazar GB B1428+4217 at   z = 4.72  . A continued programme of radio measurements has revealed an exceptional flare in the light curve, with the 15.2-GHz flux density rising by a factor of ∼3 from ∼140 to ∼430  mJy in a rest-frame time-scale of only ∼4 months – much larger than any previous flares observed in this source. In addition to new measurements of the 1.4–43  GHz radio spectrum, we also present the analysis and results of a target-of-opportunity X-ray observation using XMM–Newton , made close to the peak in radio flux. Although the X-ray data do not show a flare in the high-energy light curve, we are able to confirm the X-ray spectral variability hinted at in previous observations. GB B1428+4217 is one of several high-redshift radio-loud quasars that display a low-energy break in the X-ray spectrum, probably due to the presence of excess absorption in the source. X-ray spectral analysis of the latest XMM–Newton data is shown to be consistent with the warm-absorption scenario which we have hypothesized previously. Warm absorption is also consistent with the observed X-ray spectral variability of the source, in which the spectral changes can be successfully accounted-for with a fixed column density of material in which the ionization state is correlated with hardness of the underlying power-law emission.     

Simultaneous Multi-Wavelength Observations of the TeV Blazar Mrk 421 during February - March, 2003： X-Ray and NIR Correlated Variability

We report the result of simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of the TeV blazar Mrk 421 during February - March 2003. We observed Mrk 421 using the Pachmarhi Array of Cerenkov Telescopes (PACT) of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research at Pachmarhi, India. Other simultaneous data were taken from the literature and public data archives. We have analyzed the high quality X-ray (2-20keV) observations from the NASA Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). We obtained a possible correlated variability between X-ray and J band (1.25 μ) near infrared (NIR) wavelength. This is the first case of X-ray and NIR correlated variability in Mrk 421 or any high energy peaked (HBL) blazar. The correlated variability reported here indicates a similar origin for the NIR and X-ray emissions. The emission is not affected much by the environment of the surrounding medium of the central engine of Mrk 421. The observations are consistent with the shock-in-jet model for the emissions.     

A submillimetre survey of the star formation history of radio galaxies

We present the results of the first major systematic submillimetre survey of radio galaxies spanning the redshift range 1< z <5. The primary aim of this work is to elucidate the star formation history of this sub class of elliptical galaxies by tracing the cosmological evolution of dust mass. Using SCUBA on the JCMT, we have obtained 850-μm photometry of 47 radio galaxies to a consistent rms depth of 1 mJy, and have detected dust emission in 14 cases. The radio galaxy targets have been selected from a series of low-frequency radio surveys of increasing depth (3CRR, 6CE, etc.), in order to allow us to separate the effects of increasing redshift and increasing radio power on submillimetre luminosity. Although the dynamic range of our study is inevitably small, we find clear evidence that the typical submillimetre luminosity (and hence dust mass) of a powerful radio galaxy is a strongly increasing function of redshift; the detection rate rises from ≃15 per cent at z <2.5 to ≳75 per cent at z >2.5, and the average submillimetre luminosity rises at a rate ∝(1+ z )³ out to z ≃4. Moreover, our extensive sample allows us to argue that this behaviour is not driven by underlying correlations with other radio galaxy properties such as radio power, radio spectral index, or radio source size/age. Although radio selection may introduce other more subtle biases, the redshift distribution of our detected objects is in fact consistent with the most recent estimates of the redshift distribution of comparably bright submillimetre sources discovered in blank field surveys. The evolution of submillimetre luminosity found here for radio galaxies may thus be representative of massive ellipticals in general.     

The depolarization properties of powerful extragalactic radio sources as a function of cosmic epoch

We use the observed polarization properties of a sample of 26 powerful radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars to constrain the conditions in the Faraday screens local to the sources. We adopt the cosmological redshift, low-frequency radio luminosity and physical size of the large-scale radio structures as our 'fundamental' parameters. We find no correlation of the radio spectral index with any of the fundamental parameters. The observed rotation measure is also independent of these parameters, suggesting that most of the Faraday rotation occurs in the Galactic foreground. The difference between the rotation measures of the two lobes of an individual source, as well as the dispersion of the rotation measure, shows significant correlations with the source redshift, but not with the radio luminosity or source size. This is evidence that the small-scale structure observed in the rotation measure is caused by a Faraday screen local to the sources. The observed asymmetries between the lobes of our sources show no significant trends with each other or other source properties. Finally, we show that the commonly used model for the depolarization of synchrotron radio emission by foreground Faraday screens is inconsistent with our observations. We apply alternative models to our data and show that they require a strong increase of the dispersion of the rotation measure inside the Faraday screens with cosmological redshift. Correcting our observations with these models for redshift effects, we find a strong correlation of the depolarization measure with redshift and a significantly weaker correlation with radio luminosity. We do not find any (anti-)correlation of depolarization measure with source size. All our results are consistent with a decrease in the order of the magnetic field structure of the Faraday screen local to the sources for increasing cosmological redshift.     

PMN J0525−3343: soft X-ray spectral flattening in a blazar at z = 4.4

We report optical, radio and X-ray observations of a new distant blazar, PMN J0525−3343, at a redshift of 4.4. The X-ray spectrum measured from ASCA and BeppoSAX flattens below a few keV, in a manner similar to the spectra of two other z >4 blazars, GB 1428+4217 ( z =4.72) reported by Boller et al. and RX J1028.6−0844 ( z =4.28) reported by Yuan et al. The spectrum is well fitted by a power-law continuum which either is absorbed or breaks at a few keV. An intrinsic column density corresponding to 2×10²³ H‐atoms cm⁻² at solar abundance is required by the absorption model. This is however a million times greater than the neutral hydrogen, or dust, column density implied by the optical spectrum, which covers the rest-frame ultraviolet emission of the blazar nucleus. We discuss the problems raised and suggest that, unless there is intrinsic flattening in the spectral distribution of the particles/seed photons producing X-rays via inverse Compton scattering, the most plausible solution is a warm absorber close to the active nucleus.