The Relation between the Inclinations of Broad Line Regions and the Accretion Disk

According to the standard model, an active galactic nucleus (AGN) consists of an inner accretion disk with a jet around a central massive black hole, and a number of outer broad line regions (BLRs) and narrow line regions (NLRs). The geometrical relationship between the BLRs and the accretion disk is not well understood. Assuming the motion of the BLRs is virialized and its configuration is disk-like, we derived its inclination to the line of sight for a sample of AGNs from their bulge stellar velocity dispersion, their size of the BLRs and their Hβ linewidth. Compared with the inclination of the accretion disk obtained from the X-ray Fe Kα emission lines, we found that there is no positive correlation between the two. Our results showed that BLRs are not coplanar with the accretion disk and that we should be cautious of using the BLRs inclination as the disk inclination. The non-coplanar geometry of the outer BLRs and the inner accretion disk provides clues to the origin of BLRs and the properties of the accretion disk. Our preferable interpretation is that BLRs arise out of the outer part of a warped accretion disk.     

On the reality of broad iron L lines from the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies 1H0707–495 and IRAS 13224–3809

We performed time resolved spectroscopy of 1H0707–495 and IRAS 13224–3809 using long XMM-Newton observations. These are strongly variable narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies and show broad features around 1 ke V that have been interpreted as relativistically broad Fe Lα lines. Such features are not clearly observed in other active galactic nuclei despite sometimes having high iron abundance required by the best fitted blurred reflection models. Given the importance of these lines, we explore whether the rapid variability of spectral parameters may introduce broad bumps/dips artificially in the time averaged spectrum, which may then be mistaken as broadened lines. We tested this hypothesis by performing time resolved spectroscopy using long(100 ks) XMM-Newton observations and by dividing them into segments with typical exposures of a few ks. We extracted spectra from each such segment and modeled them using a two component phenomenological model consisting of a power law to represent the hard component and a black body to represent the soft emission. As expected, both the sources showed variations in the spectral parameters. Using these variation trends, we simulated model spectra for each segment and then co-added to get a combined simulated spectrum. In the simulated spectra, we found no broad features below 1 ke V and in particular no deviation near 0.9 ke V as seen in the real averaged spectra. This implies that the broad Fe Lα line that is seen in the spectra of these sources is not an artifact of the variation of spectral components and, hence, provides evidence that the line is indeed genuine.     

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.     

An investigation of a magnetic cataclysmic variable with a period of 14.1 ks

Magnetic cataclysmic variables(CVs) contain a white dwarf(WD) with a magnetic field strong enough to control the accretion flow from a late type secondary. In this paper, we identify a magnetic CV(CXOGSG J215544.4+380116) from the Chandra archive data. The X-ray light curves show a significant period of 14.1 ks, and the X-ray spectra can be described by a multi-temperature hot thermal plasma, suggesting the source is a magnetic CV. The broad dip in the X-ray light curve is due to the eclipse of the primary magnetic pole, and the additional dip in the bright phase of the soft and medium bands may be caused by the accretion stream crossing our line of sight to the primary pole.Follow-up optical spectra show features of an M2–M4 dwarf dominating the red band and a WD which is responsible for the weak upturn in the blue band. The mass(~ 0.4 M⊙) and radius(~0.4 R⊙) for the M dwarf are obtained using CV evolution models and empirical relations between the orbital period and the mass/radius. The estimated low X-ray luminosity and accretion rate may suggest the source is a low-accretion-rate polar. In addition, Very Large Array observations reveal a possible radio counterpart to the X-ray source, but with a low significance. Further radio observations with high quality are needed to confirm the radio counterpart and explore the properties of this binary system.     

The Variabilities of the Soft and Hard X—ray Components of NGC 7314 and NGC 7582 and the Distribution of Absorbing Matter in Type Ⅱ AGNs

ASCA observations of the two Type Ⅱ AGNs,NGC7314 and NGC 7582,show clear variations in the broad X-ray band(0.4-10keV)on short timescales-10^4s.Spectral analysis indicates that they bot have an absorbed hard X-ray component and an unabsorbed soft“excess” component.To clarify the origin of the latter,we made a cross-correlation analysis of the two components.The results show that,for NGC7314,the soft X-ray variability is proportional to that of the hard X-ray component.This indicates that the active nucleus of NGC 7314 must be partially covered and so the soft emission is a “leaking” of the variable hard component.For NGC 7582,there is no detectable variability in the soft component, although there is a definite one in the hard component.This indicates that the variable nucleus of NGC 7582 must be fully blocked by absorbing matter,and the soft emission is most likely the scattered component predicted by the AGN unified model.     

Comptonization and Reprocessing Processes in Accretion Disks： Applications to the Seyfert 1 Galaxies NGC 5548 and NGC 4051

Simultaneous multi-wavelength observations have revealed complex variability in AGNs. To explain the variability we considered a theoretical model consisting of an inner hot comptonizing corona and an outer thin accretion disk, with interactions between the two components in the form of comptonization and reprocessing. We found that the variability of AGNs is strongly affected by the parameters of the model, namely, the truncated disk radius rmin, the corona radius rs, the temperature KTe and the optical depth τ0 of the corona. We applied this model to the two best observed Seyfert 1 galaxies, NGC 5548 and NGC 4051. Our model can reproduce satisfactory the observed SEDs. Our fits indicate that NGC 5548 may have experienced dramatic changes in physical parameters between 1989-1990 and 1998, and that NGC 4051 has a much larger truncated disk radius (700 Schwarzschild radii) than NGC 5548 (several tens of Schwarzschild radii). Since we adopted a more refined treatment of the comptonization process rather than simply assuming a cut-off power law, our results should be more reasonable than the previous ones.     

A solution to the puzzling symbiotic X-ray system 4U 1700+24

A circumstellar corona is proposed to explain a strange quark-cluster star during an accretion phase, which could be essential for understanding the observations of the puzzling symbiotic X-ray system 4U 1700+24. The state of cold matter at supranuclear density is still an important matter of debate, and one of the consequences of a strange star acting as a pulsar is the self-bound phenomenon on the surface, which makes extremely low-mass compact objects unavoidable. In principle,both the redshifted O VIII Ly-α emission line and the change in the blackbody radiation area could naturally be understood if 4U 1700+24 is a low-mass quark-cluster star which exhibits wind accretion.     

Jet-dominated quiescent state in black hole X-ray binaries: the cases of A0620–00 and XTE J1118+480

The radiative mechanism of black hole X-ray transients(BHXTs) in their quiescent states(defined as the 2–10 ke V X-ray luminosity 10~(34) erg s~(-1)) remains unclear. In this work, we investigate the quasi-simultaneous quiescent state spectrum(including radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet and X-ray)of two BHXTs, A0620–00 and XTE J1118+480. We find that these two sources can be well described by a coupled accretion – jet model. More specifically, most of the emission(radio up to infrared, and the X-ray waveband) comes from the collimated relativistic jet. Emission from hot accretion flow is totally insignificant, and it can only be observed in mid-infrared(the synchrotron peak). Emission from the outer cold disk is only evident in the UV band. These results are consistent with our previous investigation on the quiescent state of V404 Cyg and confirm that the quiescent state is jet-dominated.     

X-ray Spectroscopy of Dips of Cir X-1

We present X-ray spectral analyses of the low-mass X-ray binary Cir X-1 dur- ing X-ray dips,using the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer(RXTE)data.Each dip was divided into several segments,and the spectrum of each segment was fitted with a three-component blackbody model,in which the first two components are affected by partial covering and the third one is unaffected.A Gaussian emission line is also included in the spectral model to represent the Fe Kαline at～6.4 keV.The fitted temperatures of the two partially covered components are about 2 keV and 1 keV,while the uncovered component has a temperature of～0.5-0.6 keV.The equivalent blackbody emission radius of the hottest component is the smallest and that of the coolest component is the largest.During the dips the fluxes of the two hot components are linearly correlated,while that of the third component does not show any significant variation.The Fe line flux remains constant,within the errors,during the short dips.However,during the long dips the line flux varies significantly and is positively correlated with the fluxes of the two hot components.These results suggest:(1)that the tem- perature of the X-ray emitting region decreases with radius,(2)that the Fe Kαline emitting region is close to the hot continuum emitting region,and(3)that the size of the Fe line emit- ting region is larger than that of the obscuring matter causing the short dips but smaller than the region of that causing the long dips.     

A magnetic model for low/hard state of black hole binaries

A magnetic model for the low/hard state(LHS) of two black hole X-ray binaries(BHXBs),H1743–322 and GX 339–4, is proposed based on transport of the magnetic field from a companion into an accretion disk around a black hole(BH). This model consists of a truncated thin disk with an inner advection-dominated accretion flow(ADAF). The spectral profiles of the sources are fitted in agreement with the data observed at four different dates corresponding to the rising phase of the LHS. In addition,the association of the LHS with a quasi-steady jet is modeled based on transport of magnetic field, where the Blandford-Znajek(BZ) and Blandford-Payne(BP) processes are invoked to drive the jets from BH and inner ADAF. It turns out that the steep radio/X-ray correlations observed in H1743–322 and GX 339–4 can be interpreted based on our model.     

BL Lacertae： Hard Optical Spectrum and GeV γ-ray Emission

The spectral energy distribution (SED) of the γ-ray flare observed in July 1997 in BL Lacertae is re-considered. It is pointed out that the optical observations made by Webb et al. showed the associated optical flare has a hard spectrum (the average spectral index αopt～0.48, Fν∝ν^-α), and the ASCA observations made by Tanihata et al. showed very steep spectra in the soft X-ray band (0.7-1.5 keV) (αx～3-4). We find that the flux densities and spectral indices in both the optical and soft X-ray bands are closely consistent with a ‘canonical‘ synchrotron spectrum emitted by relativistic electrons of a power-law energy distribution with a high energy cutoff, and thus the peak of the SED of the synchrotron radiation (in representation of νFν) is located in the EUV - soft X-ray bands. Therefore, the GeV γ-ray emission observed in the July 1997 outburst may be mainly due to the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process, contrasting with the current explanations in terms of external radiation Compton (ERC) process, in which the seed photons are mostly taken to be the UV emission from the clouds of the broad emission line region. We argue that the hard optical spectra observed during the γ-ray outburst may be an important signature for the acceleration of high energy electrons (γe-10^4) in the γ-ray emitting region.     

The Variabilities of the Soft and Hard X-ray Components of NGC 7314 and NGC 7582 and the Distribution of Absorbing Matter in Type II AGNs

ASCA observations of the two Type II AGNs, NGC 7314 and NGC 7582, show clear variations in the broad X-ray band (0.4-10keV) on short timescales - 104s. Spectral analysis indicates that they both have an absorbed hard X-ray component and an unabsorbed soft "excess" component. To clarify the origin of the latter, we made a cross-correlation analysis of the two components. The results show that, for NGC 7314, the soft X-ray variability is proportional to that of the hard X-ray component. This indicates that the active nucleus of NGC 7314 must be partially covered and so the soft emission is a "leaking" of the variable hard component. For NGC 7582, there is no detectable variability in the soft component, although there is a definite one in the hard component. This indicates that the variable nucleus of NGC 7582 must be fully blocked by absorbing matter, and the soft emission is most likely the scattered component predicted by the AGN unified model.     

A Statistical Analysis of Point-like Sources in the Chandra Galactic Center Survey

The Chandra Galactic Center Survey detected ～ 800 X-ray point-like sources in the 2°× 0.8° sky region around the Galactic Center. We study the spatial and luminosity distributions of these sources according to their spectral properties. Fourteen bright sources detected are used to fit jointly an absorbed power-law model, from which the power-law photon index is determined to be ～2.5. Assuming that all other sources have the same power-law form, the relation between hardness ratio and HI column density NH is used to estimate the NH values for all sources. Monte Carlo simulations show that these sources are more likely concentrated in the Galactic center region, rather than distributed throughout the Galactic disk. We also find that the luminosities of the sources are positively correlated with their HI column densities, i.e., a more luminous source has a higher HI column density. From this relation, we suggest that the X-ray luminosity comes from the interaction between an isolated old neutron star and interstellar medium (mainly dense molecular clouds). Using the standard Bondi accretion theory and the statistical information of molecular clouds in the Galactic center, we confirm this positive correlation and calculate the luminosity range in this scenario,which is consistent with the observation (1032 - 1035 erg s-1).     

Toward an Understanding of the Periastron Puzzle of PSR B1259-63

Efforts are made to understand the timing behaviors (e.g., the jumps in the projected pulsar semimajor axis at the periastron passages) observed in the 13-year monitoring of PSR B1259-63. Planet-like objects are suggested to orbit around the Be star, which may gravitationally perturb the (probably low mass) pulsar when it passes through periastron. An accretion disk should exist outside the pulsar's light cylinder, which creates a spindown torque on the pulsar due to the propeller effect. The observed negative braking index and the discrepant timing residuals close to periastron could be related to the existence of a disk with a varying accretion rate. A speculation is presented that the accretion rate may increase on a long timescale in order to explain the negative braking index.     

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     

Understanding the X-ray spectrum of anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma-ray repeaters

Hard X-rays above 10 ke V are detected from several anomalous X-ray pulsars(AXPs)and soft gamma-ray repeaters(SGRs),and different models have been proposed to explain the physical origin within the frame of either a magnetar model or a fallback disk system.Using data from Suzaku and INTEGRAL,we study the soft and hard X-ray spectra of four AXPs/SGRs:1RXS J170849–400910,1E 1547.0–5408,SGR 1806–20 and SGR 0501+4516.It is found that the spectra could be well reproduced by the bulk-motion Comptonization(BMC)process as was first suggested by Tr¨umper et al.,showing that the accretion scenario could be compatible with Xray emission from AXPs/SGRs.Simulated results from the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope using the BMC model show that the spectra would have discrepancies from the power-law,especially the cutoff at～200 ke V.Thus future observations will allow researchers to distinguish different models of the hard X-ray emission and will help us understand the nature of AXPs/SGRs.     

A DE SITTER-FRIEDMANN PHASE TRANSITION MODEL

By means of a simple finite temperature 4 model, we have shown that a new type of singularity free cosmological models could be established by taking a series of important equantum and statistical effects into account such as spontaneous symmetry breaking, trace anomaly and particle creation, symmetry restoration at high temperature through phase transition and so on. To begin with, the state of the universe would be a cold sigularity free anti-de Sitter one rather than a hot one. Then associated with the particle creation, the temperature would become higher and higher, as soon as it would reach a critical value Tc, a second-order phase transition would take place and the universe would transfer to a hot radiation dominated Friedmann state. The phase transition could be interpreted as the Big Bang and there would not exist singularity before it.     

Possible γ-ray emission of radio intermediate AGN Ⅲ Zw 2 and its implication on the evolution of jets in AGNs

AGNs with hard γ-ray emission identified so far are radio-loud.III Zw 2 is a radio intermediate AGN with a relativistic jet.We study its spectral energy distribution (SED) and find that the broad band emissions are dominated by the non-thermal emissions from the jet.We model its SED through a synchrotron + inverse Compton (IC) model.The results show that the IC component of III Zw 2 peaks at a few MeV, and the flux density drops rapidly at higher energy with photon index Γ≈3.3 above 0.1GeV.The predicted flu...     

Can the temperature of Ellerman Bombs be more than 10000 K?

Ellerman bombs(EBs) are small brightening events in the solar lower atmosphere.By their original definition,the main characteristic of EBs is the two emission bumps in both wings of chromospheric lines,such as Hα and CaII 8542  lines.Up to now,most authors have found that the temperature increase of EBs around the temperature minimum region is in the range of 600–3000 K.However,with recent IRIS observations,some authors proposed that the temperature increase of EBs could be more than 10000 K.Using non-LTE semi-empirical modeling,we investigate the line profiles,continuum emission and radiative losses for EB models with different temperature increases,and compare them with observations.Our result indicates that if the EB maximum temperature reaches more than 10000 K around the temperature minimum region,then the resulting Hα and CaII 8542  line profiles and the continuum emission would be much stronger than those of EB observations.Moreover,due to the high radiative losses,a high temperature EB would have a very short lifetime,which is not compatible with observations.Thus,our study does not support the proposal that EB temperatures are higher than 10000 K.