Relation between the ＂Double-Hump＂ Behavior in the Radio Band and the Broad-Line Luminosity for Blazars

The physics behind the spectral energy distribution (SED) of blazars remains open.We assembled 36 blazars to tackle the factors that control their SED. Now, many blazar spectra have the "double hump" feature in the radio and far-IR frequencies. For these a parameter,△, is created to characterize the behavior of the SED. We found a significant correlation between the broad-line luminosity (LBLR) and △. Because LBLR is an indicator of the accreting power of the source in blazars, we derived a linear correlation,△∝ (M)1/3. 18, which suggests that the SED of blazars may depend on the accretion rate, like that of BL Lac objects. We also found a significant correlation between (m) and△ for a sample of 11 blazars (out of one of 36)with available black hole masses. This implies the Eddington accretion ratio may influence the shape of the SED of blazars.     

Disk-Corona Model in Active Galactic Nuclei： an Observational Test

We compiled a sample of 98 radio-quiet active galactic nuclei observed by ASCA, Chandra, XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL and Swift with the aim of testing the formation of hot corona and the magnetic shear stress operating in a disk-corona system. We found a strong correlation between the hard X-ray luminosity, bolometric luminosity L Bol and Eddington luminosity LEdd, in the sense that the fraction f of hard X-ray to the bolometric luminosity is inversely proportional to the Eddington ratio. This correlation favors the shear stress tensor being of the form of trφ∝ Pgas, with which the disk-corona structure is stable.     

External photon fields in Fermi bright blazars

The external Compton(EC) model is used to study the high energy emission of some blazars,in which the external photon field is considered to dominate inverse Compton radiation. We explore the properties of the external photon field through analyzing the FERMI LAT bright AGN sample within three months of the start of operations in sky-survey mode. In the sample,assuming the high energy radiation of low synchrotron peaked blazars is from the EC process,we find that the external photon parameter Uext/νext may ...     

Variation of the inner disk radius during the onset of the 2010 outburst of MAXI J1659–152

Low mass black hole binaries are generally transient sources and spend most of their time in the quiescent state. It is believed that the inner accretion flow in the quiescent state is in the form of advection dominated accretion flow and the cold outer accretion disk is truncated far away from the central black hole. During the onset of an outburst, the disk gradually extends towards the central black hole.However, the observational evidence for this general picture is indirect at best. Here we present the results of a study performed to understand the variation of the inner disk radius during the early phase of an outburst. We investigated the variation of the inner disk radius during the 2010 outburst of the black hole candidate MAXI J1659-152 using the method of simultaneous spectral fitting. We found that the inner edge of the disk is truncated at a large radius in the beginning of the outburst when the source was in the hard state. We found a systematic decrease in the inner disk radius as the outburst progressed. We also estimated an upper limit on the mass of the black hole to be 8.1 ± 2.9 M within the uncertainty of the distance and inclination angle.     

Effects of Redshift on the Classifying Criteria of BL Lacertae Objects

We have collected a sample of 70 BL Lacs (33 radio-selected BL Lacs and 37 X-ray selected BL Lacs) with multi-waveband data for investigating the classifying criteria of BL Lacertae Objects. For each source, we estimate its luminosities in radio, optical and X-ray, the broad-band spectral index from radio to X-ray and the peak frequency of the syn- chrotron emission, and make a statistical analysis of the data obtained. Our main results are as follows: (1) The broad-band spectral index and the peak frequency have no correlation with the redshift, while they are inversely correlated with each other and they could be regarded as equivalent classifying criteria of BL Lac objects. (2) There are significant effects of the luminosity/redshift relation on the observed luminosity distribution in our sample, hence, if the radio luminosity is to be used as a classifying criterion of BL Lac objects, it should not be regarded as equivalent to the broad-band spectral index or the peak frequency. (3) Our re- sults supply a specific piece of evidence for the suggestion that the use of luminosities always introduces a redshift bias to the data and show that the location of the peak frequency is not always linked to the luminosity of any wave band.     

BL Lacertae objects and the extragalactic γ-ray background

A tight correlation between γ-ray and radio emission is found for a sample of BL Lacertae(BL Lac) objects detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope(Fermi) and the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope(EGRET) . The γ-ray emission of BL Lac objects exhibits strong variability,and the detection rate of γ-ray BL Lac objects is low,which may be related to the γ-ray duty cycle of BL Lac objects. We estimate the γ-ray duty cycle,δγ 0.11,for BL Lac objects detected by EGRET and Fermi. Using the empirical r...     

A Study of the Star-forming Dwarf Galaxy NGC 855 with Spitzer

We present a study of the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 855 using the narrow-band Hα and Spitzer data. Both the Hα and Spitzer IRAC images confirm star-forming activity in the center of NGC 855. We obtained a star formation rate (SFR) of 0.022 and 0.025M◎yr-1,respectively,from the Spitzer IRAC 8.0μm and MIPS 24μm emission data. The HI observa-tion suggests that the star-forming activity might be triggered by a minor merger. We also find that there is a distinct IR emission region in 5.8 and 8.0μm bands,located at about 10 away from the nucleus of NGC 855. Given the strong 8.0μm but faint Hα emission,we expect that it is a heavily obscured star-forming region,which needs to be confirmed by further optical spectroscopic observations.     

The Multi-Wavelength Quasar Survey IV. Quasars in the Leo Cluster

We aim to providea quasar sample that is more complete than any previous surveys by using a combined selection technique to reduce the selection effects. Here we present the observational results for the X-ray candidates in the field of the Leo Cluster. We found 33 X-ray AGNs in this field of which 10 are new discoveries. The X-ray data and optical spectra of these AGNs are given. We also study the near-IR properties of the X-ray-selected AGNs by using the data from 2MASS. Most of the AGNs in our sample span the color range 0.0 < B-J < 2.5, 1.0 < J-Ks < 2.0 and 0.5 < H-Ks < 1.2.     

The Long-term Survival Chances of Young Massive Star Clusters

We review the long-term survival chances of young massive star clusters (YMCs), hallmarks of intense starburst episodes often associated with violent galaxy interactions. We address the key question as to whether at least some of these YMCs can be considered proto- globular clusters (GCs), in which case these would be expected to evolve into counterparts of the ubiquitous old GCs believed to be among the oldest galactic building blocks. In the absence of significant external perturbations, the key factor determining a cluster's long-term survival chances is the shape of its stellar initial mass function (IMF). It is, however, not straightforward to assess the IMF shape in unresolved extragalactic YMCs. We discuss in detail the promise of using high-resolution spectroscopy to make progress towards this goal, as well as the numerous pitfalls associated with this approach. We also discuss the latest progress in worldwide efforts to better understand the evolution of entire cluster systems, the disruption processes they are affected by, and whether we can use recently gained insights to determine the nature of at least some of the YMCs observed in extragalactic starbursts as proto-GCs. We conclude that there is an increasing body of evidence that GC formation appears to be continuing until today; their long-term evolution crucially depends on their environmental conditions, however.     

The pc-scale radio structure of MIR-observed radio galaxies

We investigated the relationship between the accretion process and jet properties by utilizing very long baseline array(VLBA) and mid-infrared(MIR) data for a sample of 45 3 CRR radio galaxies selected with a flux density at 178 MHz 16.4 Jy, 5 GHz very large array(VLA) core flux density≥7 m Jy and MIR observations. The pc-scale radio structure at 5 GHz is presented by using our VLBA observations for 21 sources acquired in February, 2016, the analysis of archival data for 16 objects and directly obtaining measurements for eight radio galaxies available from literatures. The accretion mode is constrained from the Eddington ratio with a dividing value of 0.01, which is estimated from the MIR-based bolometric luminosity and the black hole masses. While most Fanaroff-Riley type II radio galaxies(FRIIs) have higher Eddington ratio than Fanaroff-Riley type I radio galaxies(FRIs), we found that there is indeed no single correspondence between the FR morphology and accretion mode with eight FRIIs at low accretion rate and two FRIs at high accretion rate. There is a significant correlation between the VLBA core luminosity at 5 GHz and the Eddington ratio. Various morphologies are identified in our sample, including core only, single-sided core-jet and two-sided core-jet structures. We found that the higher accretion rate may be more likely related with the core-jet structure, thus generating a more extended jet. These results imply that the higher accretion rates are likely able to produce more powerful jets. There is a strong correlation between the MIR luminosity at 15 μm and VLBA 5 GHz core luminosity, in favor of the tight relation between the accretion disk and jets. In our sample, the core brightness temperature ranges from 10~9 to 10~(13.38) K with a median value of 10~(11.09) K, indicating that systematically the beaming effect may not be significant. The exceptional cases, FRIs at high accretion rates and FRIIs at low accretion rates, are exclusively at the high and low ends, respectively, of the distribution of the flux ratio for VLBA core to 178 MHz flux density. It is not impossible that the locations of these sources are due to the recent shining or weakening of their central engines(i.e., both accretion and jet).     

Populations of Bright X-ray Sources in the Starburst Galaxies NGC 4038/4039

Assuming a naive star formation history, we construct synthetic X-ray source pop- ulations, using a population synthesis code, for comparison with the observed X-ray lumi- nosity function (XLF) of the interacting galaxies NGC 4038/4039. We have included high- and intermediate-mass X-ray binaries, young rotation-powered pulsars and fallback disk-fed black holes in modeling the bright X-ray sources detected. We find that the majority of the X-ray sources are likely to be intermediate-mass X-ray binaries, but for typical binary evolu- tion parameters, the predicted XLF seems to be steeper than observed. We note that the shape of the XLFs depends critically on the existence of XLF break for young populations, and suggest super-Eddington accretion luminosities or the existence of intermediate-mass black holes to account for the high luminosity end and the slope of the XLF in NGC 4038/4039.     

Disk Thicknesses and Some Parameters of 108 Non-Edge-On Spiral Galaxies

We present disk thicknesses, some other parameters and their statistics of 108 non-edge-on spiral galaxies. The method for determining the disk thickness is based on solving Poisson's equation for a disturbance of matter density in three-dimensional spiral galaxies. From the spiral arms found we could obtain the pitch angles, the inclination of the galactic disk, and the position of the innermost point (the forbidden region with radius r 0 to the galactic center) of the spiral arm, and finally the thickness.     

The Correlation between Optical Spectral Index and Continuum Luminosity Variation in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548

Using the archived optical spectra of NGC 5548 between 1989 and 2001, we derived the optical spectral index by fitting the spectra in wavelength windows unaffected by strong emission lines. We found that the index is anti-correlated with the continuum luminosity at 5100 A with a correlation coefficient of -0.8. Based on the standard thin accretion disk model, we investigated whether the correlation is related to the variations of the dimensionless accretion rate m (mass accretion rate in Eddington unit), or the inner radius of the accretion disk Rin, or both. The correlation can be modeled well using a co-variable mode of Rin/Rs = 12.5m-0.8 (Rs is Schwarzschild radius). As luminosity increases, m increases from 0.05 to 0.16 and at the same time Rin decreases from 133.9.RS to 55.5.RS, consistent with the prediction for a transition radius within which an ADAF structure exists. We concluded that the change of both inner accretion radius and the dimensionless accretion rate are key factors for the variation     

Correlation between excitation index and Eddington ratio in radio galaxies

We use a sample of 111 radio galaxies with redshift z 0.3 to investigate their nuclear properties.The black hole masses of the sources in this sample are estimated with the velocity dispersion/luminosity of the galaxies, or the width of the broad-lines. We find that the excitation index, the relative intensity of low and high excitation lines, is correlated with the Eddington ratio for this sample. The size of the narrow-line region(NLR) was found to vary with ionizing luminosity as RNLR∝L_(ion)~(0.25)(Liu et al. 2013). Using this empirical relation, we find that the correlation between the excitation index and the Eddington ratio can be reproduced by photoionization models. We adopt two sets of spectral energy distributions(SEDs), with or without a big blue bump in ultraviolet as the ionizing continuum, and infer that the modeled correlation between the excitation index and the Eddington ratio is insensitive to the applied SED. This means that the difference between high excitation galaxies and low excitation galaxies is not caused by the different accretion modes in these sources. Instead, it may be caused by the size of the NLR.     

SDSS J143030.22-001115.1： A Misclassified Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxy with Flat X-ray Spectrum

We used multi-component profiles to model the Hβ and [OⅢ]λλ4959,5007 lines of SDSS J143030.22-001115.1, a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1) in a sample of 150 NLS1 candidates selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), Early Data Release (EDR). After subtracting the Hβ contribution from narrow line regions (NLRs), we found that its full width half maximum (FWHM) of broad Hβ line is nearly 2900km s~(-1) , significantly larger than the customarily adopted criterion of 2000 km s~(-1) . With its weak Fe Ⅱ multiples, we believe that SDSS J143030.22-001115.1 should not be classified as a genuine NLS1. When we calculate the virial black hole masses of NLS1s, we should use the Hβ linewidth after subtracting the NLR component.     

X-Ray Properties of the Point Source Population in the Spiral Galaxy NGC 5055 （M63） with Chandra

Using Chandra ACIS S3 data we studied the X-ray properties of low-and high- mass X-ray binary populations in the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5055. A total of 43 X-ray point sources were detected within two effective radii, with 31 sources located on the disk and the rest 12 sources in the bulge. The resolved point sources dominate the X-ray emission of the galaxy, accounting for about 80% of the total counts in 0.3–10keV. From spectral fittings we calculated the 0.3–10.0keV luminosities of all the detected X-ray point sources and found that they span a wide range from a few times 1037 erg s-1 to over 1039 erg s-1. After compensating for incompleteness at the low luminosity end, we found that the corrected XLF of the bulge populationis well fitted with a brokenpower-law with a break at 1.57 - 00..2210× 1038 erg s-1, while the profile of the disk population’s XLF agrees with a single power- law distribution of slope 0.93 -00..0076. The disk population is significantly richer at >～ 2 × 1038 erg s-1 than the bulge population, indicating that the disk may have undergonerelatively recent, strong starbursts that significantly increased the HMXB population, although ongoing starbursts are also observed in the nuclear region. Similar XLF profiles of the bulge and disk populations were found in M81. However, in most other spiral galaxies different patterns of spatial variation of the XLF profiles from the bulge to the disk have been observed, indicating that the star formation and evolution history may be more complex than we have expected.     

On the intrinsic shape of the gamma-ray spectrum for Fermi blazars

The curvature of the γ-ray spectrum in blazars may reflect the intrinsic distribution of emitting electrons, which will further give some information on the possible acceleration and cooling processes in the emitting region. The γ-ray spectra of Fermi blazars are normally fitted either by a single power-law(PL) or a log-normal(call Logarithmic Parabola, LP) form. The possible reason for this difference is not clear. We statistically explore this issue based on the different observational properties of 1419 Fermi blazars in the 3 LAC Clean Sample. We find that the γ-ray flux(100 Me V–100 Ge V) and variability index follow bimodal distributions for PL and LP blazars, where the γ-ray flux and variability index show a positive correlation. However, the distributions of γ-ray luminosity and redshift follow a unimodal distribution. Our results suggest that the bimodal distribution of γ-ray fluxes for LP and PL blazars may not be intrinsic and all blazars may have an intrinsically curved γ-ray spectrum, and the PL spectrum is just caused by the fitting effect due to less photons.     

Comparisons of Jet Properties between GeV Radio Galaxies and Blazars

We compile a sample of spectral energy distributions(SEDs) of 12 GeV radio galaxies(RGs),including eight FR Ⅰ RGs and four FR Ⅱ RGs. These SEDs can be represented with the one-zone leptonic model. No significant unification, as expected in the unification model, is found for the derived jet parameters between FR Ⅰ RGs and BL Lacertae objects(BL Lacs) and between FR Ⅱ RGs and flat spectrum radio quasars(FSRQs). However, on average FR Ⅰ RGs have a larger γb(break Lorentz factor of electrons) and lower B(magnetic field strength) than FR Ⅱ RGs, analogous to the differences between BL Lacs and FSRQs. The derived Doppler factors(δ) of RGs are on average smaller than those of blazars, which is consistent with the unification model such that RGs are the misaligned parent populations of blazars with smaller δ. On the basis of jet parameters from SED fits, we calculate their jet powers and the powers carried by each component, and compare their jet compositions and radiation efficiencies with blazars. Most of the RG jets may be dominated by particles, like BL Lacs, not FSRQs.However, the jets of RGs with higher radiation efficiencies tend to have higher jet magnetization. A strong anticorrelation between synchrotron peak frequency and jet power is observed for GeV RGs and blazars in both the observer and co-moving frames, indicating that the "sequence" behavior among blazars, together with the GeV RGs, may be intrinsically dominated by jet power.     

Refractive Focusing of Interstellar Clouds and Intraday Polarization Angle Swings

Intraday variations of compact extragalactic radio sources in flux density and po- larization are generally interpreted in terms of refractive scintillation from the continuous interstellar medium of our Galaxy. However, continuous polarization angle swings of～180° (for example, the one observed in the QSO 0917 624) could not be interpreted in this way. Qian et al. have shown that the polarization angle swing observed in the QSO 1150 812 can be explained in terms of focusing-defocusing effect by an interstellar cloud, which occults two closely-placed polarized components. Here we further show that the polarization angle swing event observed in the QSO 0917 624 can also be explained in this way. We also found evidence for the cloud eclipsing a non-polarized (core) component during a short period out- side the swing. A particular (and specific) plasma-lens model is proposed to model-fit the polarization swing event of 0917 624. Some physical parameters related to the plasma-lens and the source components are estimated. The brightness temperatures of the two lensed components are estimated to be ～1.6×1013 K. Thus bulk relativistic motion with a Lorentz factor less than ～20 may be sufficient to avoid the inverse - Compton catastrophe.     

The Multi-Wavelength Quasar Survey III. Quasars in Field 836

This is the third paper in a series connected with our Multiwavelength Quasar Survey. The survey is aimed to provide a quasar sample more complete than any previous survey by using a combined selection technique to reduce selection effects. We present the observational results for the X-ray candidates in field f836. We found 15 X-ray AGNs in this field of which eight are new discoveries. The X-ray data and optical spectra of these AGNs are given. We give the X-ray candidate selection criteria, which proved to be highly efficient in isolating X-ray AGNs.