On the relativistic beaming and orientation effects in core-dominated quasars

In this paper, we investigate the relativistic beaming effects in a well-defined sample of core-dominated quasars using the correlation between the relative prominence of the core with respect to the extended emission (defined as the ratio of core-to lobe-flux density measured in the rest frame of the source) and the projected linear size as an indicator of relativistic beaming and source orientation. Based on the orientation-dependent relativistic beaming and unification paradigm for high luminosity sources in which the Fanaroff-Riley class-II radio galaxies form the unbeamed parent population of both the lobe- and core-dominated quasars which are expected to lie at successively smaller angles to the line of sight, we find that the flows in the cores of these core-dominated quasars are highly relativistic, with optimum bulk Lorentz factor,γ _opt∼ 6–16, and also highly anisotropic, with an average viewing angle, ∼ 9°–16°. Furthermore, the largest boosting occurs within a critical cone angle of ≈ 4°–10°.     

Relativistic Beaming and Orientation Effects in Lobe-Dominated Quasars

We examine a simple statistical consequence of relativistic beaming model using the core-to-lobe flux density ratio (R) and projected linear size (D) as orientation indicators. It is shown that the observed R-D intercept for the 3CRR source sample provides values of the bulk Lorentz factor () which are consistent with the beaming scenario. The result also shows that if the lobe-dominated quasars are to be unified with the core-dominated quasars, they should be oriented at a median angle, _{_med} 40° with respect to the line of sight, but if with powerful radio galaxies, then _{_med} 24°. Application of this result to the quasar-galaxy unification scheme using the observed angular size-redshift relation shows that the scheme is consistent with the observed data.     

Radio and X-ray properties of relativistic beaming models for ultraluminous X-ray sources

We calculate the broad-band radio–X-ray spectra predicted by microblazar and microquasar models for ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), exploring the possibility that their dominant power-law component is produced by a relativistic jet, even at near-Eddington mass accretion rates. We do this by first constructing a generalized disc–jet theoretical framework in which some fraction of the total accretion power, P _a, is efficiently removed from the accretion disc by a magnetic torque responsible for jet formation. Thus, for different black hole masses, mass accretion rates and magnetic coupling strength, we self-consistently calculate the relative importance of the modified disc spectrum, as well as the overall jet emission due to synchrotron and Compton processes. In general, transferring accretion power to a jet makes the disc fainter and cooler than a standard disc at the same mass accretion rate; this may explain why the soft spectral component appears less prominent than the dominant power-law component in most bright ULXs. We show that the apparent X-ray luminosity and spectrum predicted by the microquasar model are consistent with the observed properties of most ULXs. We predict that the radio synchrotron jet emission is too faint to be detected at the typical threshold of radio surveys to date. This is consistent with the high rate of non-detections over detections in radio counterpart searches. Conversely, we conclude that the observed radio emission found associated with a few ULXs cannot be due to beamed synchrotron emission from a relativistic jet.     

Relativistic beaming effects in the spectra of cores and hotspots in radio galaxies and quasars

We present the results of multiwavelength observations of cores and hotspots, at L , C , X and U bands with the Very Large Array, of a matched sample of radio galaxies and quasars selected from the Molonglo Reference Catalogue . We use these observations to determine the spectra of cores and hotspots, and test the unified scheme for radio galaxies and quasars. Radio cores have been detected at all wavelengths in all of the quasars in our sample, whereas only ∼50 per cent of the galaxies have cores detected in at least one of the wavelengths . The degree of core prominence in this sample is consistent with the unified scheme for radio galaxies and quasars. A comparison of the distributions of the two-point spectral index of the cores in our sample of lobe-dominated quasars, with the distributions in a matched sample of core-dominated quasars, shows that the distributions for these two classes are significantly different, and this is consistent with the expectations of the unified scheme. The difference in the spectral indices of the two hotspots on opposite sides is also significantly larger for quasars than for radio galaxies, as is expected in the unified scheme. We also investigate the relationship between the spectral index of the hotspots and the redshift or luminosity for our sample of sources.     

Some nonlinear effects in the relativistic two-body problem

The test-particle motion in the centrally symmetric gravitational field can be described by the equation in the form appropriate for a nonlinear oscillator — the nonlinear terms being due to the nonrelativistic effects. This enables us to apply to this equation the well-known asymptotic methods of the theory of nonlinear oscillations. Typical nonlinear oscillation phenomena arising from the action of external forces are shown to take place. The form of equations and the main results remain valid in the problem of two bodies of comparable mass in the post-Newtonian approximation.     

Quasars Associated with NGC 613, NGC 936 and NGC 941

The association of low redshift, active galaxies with high redshift quasars is here tested in two regions uniformly surveyed for quasars to faint limits. Three active galaxies in these regions all show significant association with nearby quasars. Radio, optical and X-ray data available for these galaxies give new information on the processes which accompany the proposed ejection of the quasars. It is concluded that the quasars are originally relatively compact compared to the galactic medium through which they exit but can be slowed. It is argued that effects of ejection can be seen on the galaxies and may be connected with spiral structure. Evidence for periodicity of the redshifts is discussed.     

Solitary and rogue waves in Fermi-Dirac plasmas: relativistic degeneracy effects

Ion acoustic (IA) solitary and rogue waves are studied in an unmagnetized plasma consisting of non-degenerate warm ions, relativistically degenerate electrons and positrons. By using the reductive perturbation technique, the evolution of IA solitary waves is described by the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. However, when the frequency of the carrier wave is much smaller than the ion plasma frequency then the KdV equation is also used to study the nonlinear evolution of modulationally unstable modified IA wavepackets through the derivation of nonlinear Schrödinger equation. It is found that the characteristics of the IA solitary and rogue waves are substantially influenced by the intrinsic plasma parameters. The relevance of the present investigation involving IA solitary and rogue waves in astrophysical plasma environments is also highlighted.     

A Comparison of BBN,ADTree and MLP in separating Quasars from Large Survey Catalogues

We compare the performance of Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN), Multilayer Perception (MLP) networks and Alternating Decision Trees (ADtree) on separating quasars from stars with the database from the 2MASS and FIRST survey catalogs. Having a train- ing sample of sources of known object types, the classifiers are trained to separate quasars from stars. By the statistical properties of the sample, the features important for classifica- tion are selected. We compare the classification results with and without feature selection. Experiments show that the results with feature selection are better than those without feature selection. From the high accuracy found, it is concluded that these automated methods are robust and effective for classifying point sources. They may all be applied to large survey projects (e.g. selecting input catalogs) and for other astronomical issues, such as the parame- ter measurement of stars and the redshift estimation of galaxies and quasars.     

A characteristic observable signature of preferred-frame effects in relativistic binary pulsars

In this paper, we develop a consistent, phenomenological methodology to measure preferred-frame effects (PFEs) in binary pulsars that exhibit a high rate of periastron advance. We show that in these systems the existence of a preferred frame for gravity leads to an observable characteristic 'signature' in the timing data, which uniquely identifies this effect. We expand the standard Damour–Deruelle timing formula to incorporate this 'signature' and show how this new PFE timing model can be used to either measure or constrain the parameters related to a violation of the local Lorentz invariance of gravity in the strong internal fields of neutron stars. In particular, we demonstrate that in the presence of PFEs we expect a set of the new timing parameters to have a unique relationship that can be measured and tested incontrovertibly. This new methodology is applied to the Double Pulsar, which turns out to be the ideal test system for this kind of experiment. The currently available data set allows us only to study the impact of PFEs on the orbital precession rate,     , providing limits that are, at the moment, clearly less stringent than existing limits on PFE strong-field parameters. However, simulations show that the constraints improve fast in the coming years, allowing us to study all new PFE timing parameters and to check for the unique relationship between them. Finally, we show how a combination of several suitable systems in a PFE antenna array , expected to be available, for instance, with the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), provides full sensitivity to possible violations of local Lorentz invariance in strong gravitational fields in all directions of the sky. This PFE antenna array may eventually allow us to determine the direction of a preferred frame should it exist.     

切仑科夫线状辐射与类星体的宽发射线起源探讨

当具有各向同性速度分布的相对论电子穿过稠密气体区,或者轰击稠密气体区的表面时,切仑科夫效应将会产生1种特殊的原子或离子发射线,称做切仑科夫线状发射.这一预言在光学波段已由实验室的实验所证实.研究指出了切仑科夫线状辐射在类星体和赛弗特1星系的宽发射线研究中的重要性,利用此新机制有可能解决类星体研究中的一些重大且长期没有解决的疑惑.例如宽氢线之间存在的反常强度比,特别是反常Lyα/Lyβ强度比的问题.并且进一步估计了相对论电子穿过宇宙气体时所产生的各种效应的能耗的数量级,并对各种能耗进行比较,证实了切仑科夫线状发射机制在类星体和塞弗特1型星系中的有效性.     

类星体与赛弗特Ⅰ型星系陡的巴尔末减缩的起源

类星体与赛弗特Ⅰ型星系中观测到很陡的巴尔末减缩,与传统的理论预言相矛盾．这是一个长期没有解决的困惑．如果活动星系核的宽的氢线是产生于“Cerenkov线状辐射”机制,这一难题就可解决．搜集了过去已发表的近百个有巴尔末减缩观测结果的类星体与赛弗特星系源,并采用“Cerenkov线状辐射”这一新型辐射机制的线强比公式完成了对观测的巴尔末减缩的理论计算．理论与观测符合很好,这是活动星系核宽的氢发射线主要起源于“Cerenkov线状辐射”机制的一个重要证据．如果这一结论最终获得肯定,将大大改变人们对活动星系核物理的认识．     

Color-Redshift Relations and Photometric Redshift Estimations of Quasars in Large Sky Surveys

With a recently constructed composite quasar spectrum and the X2 minimization technique, we describe a general method for estimating the photometric redshifts of a large sample of quasars by deriving theoretical color-redshift relations and comparing the theoretical colors with the observed ones. We estimated the photometric redshifts from the 5-band SDSS photometric data of 18678 quasars in the first major data release of SDSS and compared them with their spectroscopic redshifts. The difference is less than 0.1 for 47% of the quasars and less than 0.2 for 68%. Based on the calculation of the theoretical color-color diagrams of stars, galaxies and quasars both on the SDSS system and on the BATC system, we expect that we would be able to select candidates of high redshift quasars more efficaciously with the latter than with the former, provided the BATC survey can detect objects with magnitudes fainter than 21.     

Classical and relativistic node precessional effects in WASP-33b and perspectives for detecting them

WASP-33 is a fast rotating, main sequence star which hosts a hot Jupiter moving along a retrograde and almost polar orbit with semi-major axis a=0.02 au and eccentricity provisionally set to e=0. The quadrupole mass moment J₂^*J_{2}^{\star} and the proper angular momentum S _⋆ of the star are 1900 and 400 times, respectively, larger than those of the Sun. Thus, huge classical and general relativistic non-Keplerian orbital effects should take place in such a system. In particular, the large inclination Ψ_⋆ of the orbit of WASP-33b to the star’s equator allows to consider the node precession [(W)\dot]\dot{\Omega} and the related time variation dt _d /dt of the transit duration t _d . The WASP-33b node rate due to J₂^*J_{2}^{\star} is 9×10⁹ times larger than the same effect for Mercury induced by the Sun’s oblateness, while the general relativistic gravitomagnetic node precession is 3×10⁵ times larger than the Lense-Thirring effect for Mercury due to the Sun’s rotation. We also consider the effect of the centrifugal oblateness of the planet itself and of a putative distant third body X. The magnitudes of the induced time change in the transit duration are of the order of 3×10⁻⁶,2×10⁻⁷,8×10⁻⁹ for J₂^*J_{2}^{\star}, the planet’s rotational oblateness and general relativity, respectively. A yet undiscovered planet X with the mass of Jupiter orbiting at more than 1 au would induce a transit duration variation of less than 4×10⁻⁹. A conservative evaluation of the accuracy in measuring dt _d /dt over 10 yr points towards ≈10⁻⁸. The analysis presented here will be applicable also to other exoplanets with similar features if and when they will ne discovered.     

Cerenkov Line-like Radiation and the Origin of Broad Emission Lines in Quasars

When the thermal relativistic electrons with isotropic distribution of velocities move through a dense gas region or impinge upon the surface of a cloud of dense gas, the Cerenkov effect will produce peculiar atomic or ionic emission lines, which we call the “Cerenkov line-like radiation”. This prediction has been verified by the laboratory experiments in optical waveband. In this paper, the importance of the Cerenkov line-like radiation in the exploration of broad emission lines in quasars and Syf1 s is pointed out. By using this mechanism, some long standing and significant puzzles in the study of quasars could be solved. Furthermore, the magnitude orders of energy losses of various effects of a relativistic electron in cosmic gas are estimated and compared with each other to prove the effectiveness of this new mechanism in quasars.     

Hemispherical asymmetries in sunspot areas and auroral frequencies

One thousand and fifty-two aurorae boreales and 554 aurorae australes recorded during the nineteenth century at medium latitudes 55° N or 55° S are compared statistically with the known hemispherical asymmetry of the sums of the areas of sunspots. According to the present study, the solar hemispherical asymmetry may be accompanied by an analogous pattern of the hemispherical frequency of auroral days. For the number of auroral days in each hemisphere beyond the two auroral ovals, a remarkable degree of phase equality with the sunspot areas during the second Gleissberg cycle can be demonstrated.     

Radio Luminosity, Black Hole Mass and Eddington Ratio for Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the MBH-O'.relation for radio-loud quasars with redshift z＜0.83 in Data Release 3 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).The sample consists of 3772 quasars with better models of the H/~ and [O III] lines and available radio luminosity,including 306 radio-loud quasars,3466 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity or upper-limit of radio luminosity (181 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity).The virial supermassive black hole mass (MBH) is calculated from the broad H/line,and the host stellar velocity dispersion (σ*) is traced by the core [O III] gaseous velocity dispersion.The radio luminosity and radio loudness are derived from the FIRST catalog.Our results are as follows:(1) For radio-quiet quasars,we confirm that there is no obvious deviation from the MBH-O".relation defined for inactive galaxies when the uncertainties in MBH and the luminosity bias are concerned.(2) We find that the radio-loud quasars deviate more from the MBH-σ.relation than do the radio-quiet quasars.This deviation is only partly due to a possible cosmological evolution of the MBH-σ* relation and the luminosity bias.(3) The radioluminosity is proportional to M128 0.23-0.16 BH(LBol/LEdd)1.29 0.31-0.24 for radio-quiet quasars and to M3.10 0.6.-0.70(LBol.LEdd)4.18 1.40-1.10 for radio-loud quasars.The weaker dependence of the radio luminosity on the mass and the Eddington ratio for radio-loud quasars shows that other physical effects would account for their radio luminosities,such as the spin of the black hole.     

Comments on the HUBBLE Diagram,the Luminosity Function and the Space Density Evolution of Radio Quiet Quasars

The consequences of a pure power law luminosity function on the distribution of objects in the HUBBLE diagram are described. As long as such a law acts, magnitudes do not contain any information on distances. A high value of the coefficient of the luminosity function of radio quiet quasars, b = 0.95 ± 0.05 in the expression lg ψ(M) ∽ b. M, is shown to be plausible. This implies a high density evolution, ǫ ∽ (1 + z)^k, with k near 9–10. Findings from modern samples, searched on low-dispersion spectral plates point to an even stronger evolution at z < 2.5; the discrepancy may be removed if L_α/H_β > 3 (about 30) for these radio-quiet QSOs.