Parameters of irradiated accretion disks from optical and X-ray observations of GS 1826-238

We show that the set of observational characteristics for low-mass X-ray binaries in the optical and X-ray bands can be explained in terms of the model of an optically thick accretion disk with an atmosphere irradiated by a central X-ray source. We show that this set of observational data can be successfully used to measure the orbital inclination of a binary, the geometric parameters of its accretion disk, and the reprocessing time of X-emission to optical one. For the burster GS 1826-238, a low-mass X-ray binary with a neutron star, we have estimated the binary inclination and the thickness of the disk atmosphere at the outer edge from the mean optical flux and the amplitude of periodic modulations in the optical light curve: i = 62.5° ± 5.5° and H _d/R _d = 0.145 ± 0.009. The optical response time of the binary to an X-ray burst disagrees with the geometric delay in the propagation of X-ray photons in the binary. We believe that this points to a finite X-ray reprocessing/reradiation time, 1.0 s ≲ τ _repr ≲ 2.2 s, in the hot atmosphere above the accretion disk.     

Spectral measurements of Cyg X-3: A thermal source embedded in hot plasma within a cold shell

The attempts at unified model fitting to explain the spectral variations in Cyg X-3 suggest equally probable fits with a combination of an absorbed blackbody and a separately absorbed power law with an exponential cut-off or a composite of absorbed free-free emission with a power law hard X-ray component apart from the iron emission line. These seemingly ordinary but ad hoc mixtures of simple X-ray emission mechanisms have a profound implication about the geometry of the X-ray source. While the first set suggests a black-hole nature of the compact object, the second combination is consistent with a neutron star binary picture. The spectral variability at hard X-ray energies above 30 keV can provide crucial input for the unified picture. In this paper, we present spectral observations of Cyg X-3, made in our on-going survey of galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources in the 20–200 keV energy region, using Large Area Scintillation counter Experiment. The data show a clear power-law photon spectrum of the form dN/dE ∼ E^−2.8 in the 20 to 130 keV energy range. A comparison with earlier data suggests that the total number of X-ray photons in the entire 2–500 keV energy band is conserved at all time for a given luminosity level irrespective of the state. We propose that this behaviour can be explained by a simple geometry in which a thermal X-ray source is embedded in a hot plasma formed by winds from the accretion disk within a cold shell. The high/soft and low/hard X-ray states of the source are simply the manifestation of the extent of the surrounding scattering medium in which the seed photons are Comptonized and hot plasma can be maintained by either the X-ray driven winds or the magneto-centrifugal winds.     

A Fundamental Plane of Black Hole Activity: Pushing Forward the Unification Scheme

We examine the disc-jet connection in stellar mass and supermassive black holes by investigating the properties of their compact emission in the hard X-ray and radio bands. We compile a sample of ∼100 active galactic nuclei with measured mass, 5 GHz core emission, and 2–10 keV luminosity, together with eight galactic black holes with a total of ∼50 simultaneous observations in the radio and X-ray bands. Using this sample, we study the correlations between the radio (L_R) and the X-ray (L_X) luminosity and the black hole mass (M). We find that the radio luminosity is correlated with both M and L_X, at a highly significant level. We show how this result can be used to extend the standard unification by orientation scheme to encompass unification by mass and accretion rate.     

Spectral Features of Photon Bubble Models of Ultraluminous X-ray Sources

The nature of Ultraluminous X-ray Sources – X-ray sources which exceed the Eddington luminosity for a ∼10 M _⊙ black hole – remains a mystery. One possible explanation is an inhomogeneous accretion disk around a solar mass black hole where photon transport through radiation-pressure dominated “photon bubbles” can lead to super-Eddington accretion. While previous studies of this model have focused primarily on its radiation-hydrodynamics aspects, here we explore some observational implications of such a model with a Monte Carlo–Fokker Planck radiation transport code.     

Magnetic fields of active galactic nuclei and quasars from the SDSS catalog

We analyze the spectropolarimetric observations of 12 candidates for quasars from the spectroscopic database of the SDSS Catalog. The magnetic fields of these objects are estimated in the context of a theory that includes the Faraday rotation of the polarization plane on the mean free path of a photon in the outflow from an accretion disk. As a result, we have determined the column density in the outflow, N _H ∼ 6 × 10²³ cm⁻², and the radial, B ∼ 1 G, and toroidal, B ∼ 600 G, magnetic fields.     

Re-ionizing the universe without stars

Recent observations show that the measured rates of star formation in the early universe are insufficient to produce re-ionization, and therefore, another source of ionizing photons is required. In this Letter, we examine the possibility that these can be supplied by the fast accretion shocks formed around the cores of the most massive haloes (10.5<log M/M _⊙<12) on spatial scales of order 1 kpc. We model the detailed physics of these fast accretion shocks, and apply these to a simple 1-D spherical hydrodynamic accretion model for baryonic infall in dark matter halos with an Einasto density distribution. The escape of UV photons from these halos is delayed by the time taken to reach the critical accretion shock velocity for escape of UV photons; 220 km s⁻¹, and by the time it takes for these photons to ionize the surrounding baryonic matter in the accretion flow. Assuming that in the universe at large the baryonic matter tracks the dark matter, we can estimate the epoch of re-ionization in the case that accretion shocks act alone as the source of UV photons. We find that 50% of the volume (and 5-8% of the mass) of the universe can be ionized by z∼7–8. The UV production rate has an uncertainty of a factor of about 5 due to uncertainties in the cosmological parameters controlling the development of large scale structure. Because our mechanism is a steeply rising function of decreasing redshift, this uncertainty translates to a re-ionization redshift uncertainty of less than ±0.5. We also find that, even without including the UV photon production of stars, re-ionization is essentially complete by z∼5.8. Thus, fast accretion shocks can provide an important additional source of ionizing photons in the early universe.     

Do EUV Nanoflares Account for Coronal Heating?

Recent observations with EUV imaging instruments such as SOHO/EIT and TRACE have shown evidence for flare-like processes at the bottom end of the energy scale, in the range of E _th≈10²⁴–10²⁷ erg. Here we compare these EUV nanoflares with soft X-ray microflares and hard X-ray flares across the entire energy range. From the observations we establish empirical scaling laws for the flare loop length, L(T)∼T, the electron density, n _e(T)∼T ², from which we derive scaling laws for the loop pressure, p(T)∼T ³, and the thermal energy, E _th∼T ⁶. Extrapolating these scaling laws into the picoflare regime we find that the pressure conditions in the chromosphere constrain a height level for flare loop footpoints, which scales with h _eq(T)∼T ^−0.5. Based on this chromospheric pressure limit we predict a lower cutoff of flare loop sizes at L _∖min≲5 Mm and flare energies E _∖min≲10²⁴ erg. We show evidence for such a rollover in the flare energy size distribution from recent TRACE EUV data. Based on this energy cutoff imposed by the chromospheric boundary condition we find that the energy content of the heated plasma observed in EUV, SXR, and HXR flares is insufficient (by 2–3 orders of magnitude) to account for coronal heating.     

A massive, dusty toroid with large grains in the pre-planetary nebula IRAS22036+5306

Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA), we have obtained high angular-resolution (∼1″) interferometric maps of the submillimeter (0.88 mm) continuum and CO J=3–2 line from IRAS 22036+5306 (I 22036), a bipolar pre-planetary nebula (PPN) with knotty jets discovered in our HST SNAPshot survey of young PPNe. In addition, we have obtained supporting lower-resolution (∼10″) 2.6 mm continuum and CO, ¹³CO J=1–0 observations with the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) interferometer. We find an unresolved source of submillimeter (and millimeter-wave) continuum emission in I 22036, implying a very substantial mass (0.02–0.04M _⊙) of large (i.e., radius ≳1 mm), cold (≲50 K) dust grains associated with I 22036’s toroidal waist. The CO J=3–2 observations show the presence of a very fast (∼220 km s⁻¹), highly collimated, massive (0.03M _⊙) bipolar outflow with a very large scalar momentum (about 10³⁹ g cm s⁻¹), and the characteristic spatio-kinematic structure of bow-shocks at the tips of this outflow. The fast outflow in I 22036, as in most PPNe, cannot be driven by radiation pressure. The large mass of the torus suggests that it has most likely resulted from common-envelope evolution in a binary, however it remains to be seen whether or not the time-scales required for the growth of grains to millimeter sizes in the torus are commensurate with such a formation scenario. The presence of the torus should facilitate the formation of the accretion disk needed to launch the jet. We also find that the ¹³C/¹²C ratio in I 22036 is very high (0.16), close to the maximum value achieved in equilibrium CNO-nucleosynthesis (0.33). The combination of the high circumstellar mass (i.e., in the torus and an extended dust shell inferred from ISO far-infrared spectra) and the high ¹³C/¹²C ratio in I 22036 provides strong support for this object having evolved from a massive (≳4M _⊙) progenitor in which hot-bottom-burning has occurred.     

The complex X-ray spectrum of the isolated neutron star RBS1223

We present a first analysis of a deep X-ray spectrum of the isolated neutron star RBS1223 obtained with XMM-Newton. Spectral data from four new monitoring observations in 2005/2006 were combined with archival observations obtained in 2003 and 2004 to form a spin-phase averaged spectrum containing 290 000 EPIC-pn photons. This spectrum shows higher complexity than its predecessors, and can be parameterised with two Gaussian absorption lines superimposed on a blackbody. The line centers, E ₂≃2E ₁, could be regarded as supporting the cyclotron interpretation of the absorption features in a field B∼4×10¹³ G. The flux ratio of those lines does not support this interpretation. Hence, either feature might be of truly atomic origin.      

On the change of the inner boundary of an optically thick accretion disk around white dwarfs using the dwarf nova SS Cyg as an example

We present the results of our studies of the aperiodic optical flux variability for SS Cyg, an accreting binary systemwith a white dwarf. The main set of observational data presented here was obtained with the ANDOR/iXon DU-888 photometer mounted on the RTT-150 telescope, which allowed a record (for CCD photometers) time resolution up to 8 ms to be achieved. The power spectra of the source’s flux variability have revealed that the aperiodic variability contains information about the inner boundary of the optically thick flow in the binary system. We show that the inner boundary of the optically thick accretion disk comes close to the white dwarf surface at the maximum of the source’s bolometric light curve, i.e., at the peak of the instantaneous accretion rate onto the white dwarf, while the optically thick accretion disk is truncated at distances 8.5 × 10⁹ cm ∼10R _WD in the low state. We suggest that the location of the inner boundary of the accretion disk in the binary can be traced by studying the parameters of the power spectra for accreting white dwarfs. In particular, this allows the mass of the accreting object to be estimated.     

A multiwavelength study of the supernova remnant G296.8-0.3

We report XMM-Newton observations of the Galactic supernova remnant G296.8-0.3, together with complementary radio and infrared data. The spatial and spectral properties of the X-ray emission, detected towards G296.8-0.3, was investigated in order to explore the possible evolutionary scenarios and the physical connexion with its unusual morphology detected at radio frequencies. G296.8-0.3 displays diffuse X-ray emission correlated with the peculiar radio morphology detected in the interior of the remnant and with the shell-like radio structure observed to the northwest side of the object. The X-ray emission peaks in the soft/medium energy range (0.5–3.0 keV). The X-ray spectral analysis confirms that the column density is high (N _H∼0.64×10²² cm⁻²) which supports a distant location (d>9 kpc) for the SNR. Its X-ray spectrum can be well represented by a thermal (PSHOCK) model, with kT∼0.86 keV, an ionization timescale of 6.1×10¹⁰ cm⁻³ s, and low abundance (∼0.12 Z _⊙). The 24 μm observations show shell-like emission correlated with part of the northwest and southeast boundaries of the SNR. In addition a point-like X-ray source is also detected close to the geometrical center of the radio SNR. The object presents some characteristics of the so-called compact central objects (CCO). Its X-ray spectrum is consistent with those found at other CCOs and the value of N _H is consistent with that of G296.8-0.3, which suggests a physical connexion with the SNR.     

WR 140 (=V1687 Cyg): Infrared photometry, 2001–2010

We present the results of our infrared observations of WR 140 (=V1687 Cyg) in 2001–2010. Analysis of the observations has shown that the J brightness at maximum increased near the periastron by about 0 ^m .3; the M brightness increased by ∼2 ^m in less than 50 days. The minimum J brightness and the minimum L and M brightnesses were observed 550–600 and 1300–1400 days after the maximum, respectively. The JHKLM brightness minimum was observed in the range of orbital phases 0.7–0.9. The parameters of the primary O5 component of the binary have been estimated to be the following: R(O5) ≈ 24.7R _⊙, L(O5) ≈ 8 × 10⁵ L _⊙, and M _bol(O5) ≈ −10 ^m . At the infrared brightness minimum, T _g ∼ 820–880 K, R _g ≈ 2.6 × 10⁵ R _⊙, the optical depth of the shell at 3.5 μm is ∼5.3 × 10⁻⁶, and its mass is ≈1.4 × 10⁻⁸ M _⊙. At the maximum, the corresponding parameters are ∼1300 K, 8.6 × 10⁴ R _⊙, ∼2 × 10⁻⁴, and ∼6 × 10⁻⁸ M _⊙; the mean rate of dust inflow (condensation) into the dust structure is ∼3.3 × 10⁻⁸ M _⊙ yr⁻¹. The mean escape velocity of the shell from the heating source is ∼10³ km s⁻¹ and the mean dispersal rate of the shell is ∼1.1 × 10⁻⁸ M _⊙ yr⁻¹.     

The black-hole candidate XTE J1817-330 as seen by XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL

The new black hole candidate XTE J1817-330, discovered on 26 January 2006 with RXTE, was observed with XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL in February and March 2006, respectively. The X-ray spectrum is dominated by the thermal emission of the accretion disk in the soft band, with a low absorption column density (N _H=1.77(±0.01)×10²¹ cm⁻²) and a maximum disk temperature kT _max=0.68(±0.01) keV, plus a power law component, with the photon index decreasing from 2.66±0.02 to 1.98±0.07 between the two observations. Several interstellar absorption lines are detected in the X-ray spectrum, corresponding to O I, O II, O III, O VII and Fe XXIV. We constrain the distance to the system to be in the range 1–5 kpc.      

The spectrum of diffuse cosmic X-rays in the 20–125 keV range

Diffuse cosmic X-rays in the energy range 20–125 keV were measured in four balloon flights from Hyderabad, India during 1968–70 using almost identical X-ray telescopes mounted on oriented platforms. The results from these flights show that the spectrum of the diffuse cosmic X-rays can be represented by the form dN/dE=29E ^–2.1±0.3 photons/(cm² sr s keV) in 20–125 keV interval after corrections for photoelectric absorption and Compton scattering effects in the atmosphere. The best fit spectrum of all published results in the energy interval 20–200 keV can be represented by the form dN/dE=36E ^–2.1±0.1 photons/(cm² sr s keV) after similar corrections are effected, and there is no need for a change of spectral index in this energy interval. The intensity at 20 keV obtained from the above spectrum agrees well with that given by the spectral form dN/dE=10E ^–1.7±0.1 photons/(cm² sr s keV) in the energy interval 1–20 keV in several rocket experiments. Therefore it is concluded that if there is a break in the spectrum, it occurs between 10 and 20 keV with a change of spectral index by about 0.5, or the index is continuously changing from 1.7±0.1 to 2.1±0.1 in 10–20 keV interval. The implications of the results are briefly discussed.     

The physics of E × B-drifting jets

E × B-drifting jets have been generally ignored for the past 25 years even though they may well describe all the astrophysical jet sources, both on galactic and stellar scales. Here we present closed-form solutions for their joint field-and-particle distribution, argue that the observed jets are near equipartition, with extremely relativistic, monoenergetic e^±-pairs of bulk Lorentz factor γ ≲ 10⁴, and are first-order stable. We describe plausible mechanisms for the jets’ (i) formation, (ii) propagation, and (iii) termination. Wherever a beam meets with resistance, its frozen-in Poynting flux transforms the delta-shaped energy distribution of the pairs into an almost white power law,E ² N _E ∼E ^−∫ with ∫ ≳ 0, via single-step falls through the huge convected potential.     

Discovery of a Giant Radio Halo in a Massive Merging Cluster at z?=?0.443

We have discovered a giant radio halo in the massive merging cluster MACSJ0417.5-1154. This cluster, at a redshift of 0.443, is one of the most X-ray luminous galaxy cluster in the MAssive Cluster Survey (MACS) with an X-ray luminosity in the 0.1–2.4 keV band of 2.9×10⁴⁵ erg s^− 1. Recent observations from GMRT at 230 and 610 MHz have revealed a radio halo of ∼ 1.2 × 0.3 Mpc² in extent. This halo is elongated along the North-West, similar to the morphology of the X-ray emission from Chandra. The 1400 MHz radio luminosity (L _r) of the halo is ∼2 × 10²⁵ W Hz^− 1, in good agreement with the value expected from the L _x − L _r correlation for cluster halos.     

X-rays from the Symbiotic Star RX Pup

We describe X-ray and optical observations of the symbiotic star RX Pup. From low resolution optical spectra, we obtain a reddening for RX Pup of E(B−V)=0.79. We use the neutral column density corresponding to this reddening as a lower limit for the X-ray spectra fits. The X-ray spectra can be fitted with either a two-temperarure thermal plasma model or a single-temperature plasma plus a narrow line at ≈0.55 keV, each modified by interstellar absorption. The RX Pup X-ray flux is not variable within the observation exposure time, suggesting that unlike in most CVs, an accretion disk boundary layer does not contribute significantly to the X-ray flux. Instead, the X-ray emission may come from shock-heated gas further away from the compact object.     

Structural peculiarities of the AGN object 1803+784

The structure of the AGN object 1803+784 has been investigated at a wavelength of 7 mm with a limiting angular resolution reaching 20 μas. The ejector nozzle surrounded by a ring structure, an accretion disk, has been identified. The nozzle size is ∼0.1 pc, the diameter of the ring structure is ∼1.4 pc, and its width is ∼0.25 pc. The reaction of the plasma flow produces a multimode precession responsible for the conical helical structure of the jet with a variable step and a curved axis. The viewing angle of the flow ejection is ∼40°. The central part of the ejected flow moving along the axis accelerates to a relativistic velocity. The apparent velocity reaches 12 s at a distance of ∼1 mas or ∼6 pc from the ejector. The outer part of the flow moves along a helix around a high-velocity component whose step is a factor of 4 smaller, because the longitudinal velocity is relatively low. The plasma is ejected almost toward the observer, as confirmed by its high brightness temperature T _b ≈ 8 × 10¹³ K and highly beamed emission. The polarized emission from the nozzle is axisymmetric. The orientation of the polarization of the flow along the whole length is aligned with the direction of its motion, suggesting the excitation of a ring magnetic field around it and self-focusing.     

Present Evidence for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in ULXs and Future Prospects

In a number of the most luminous ULXs (those with L_X ∼ 10⁴⁰ erg s⁻¹) in nearby galaxies, observations with XMM-Newton and Chandra are revealing evidence which suggests that these ULXs may harbor intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). The detection of accretion disk spectral components with temperatures 5–10 times lower than the temperatures observed in stellar-mass black hole binaries near to their Eddington limit may be particularly compelling evidence for IMBH primaries, since T ∝ M^−1/4 for disks around black holes. In some sources, X-ray timing diagnostics also hint at IMBHs. Evidence for IMBHs in a subset of the most luminous ULXs, a discussion of the robustness of this evidence and alternatives to the IMBH interpretation, and prospects for better determining the nature of these sources in the future, are presented in this work.     

Jet-driven disk accretion in low luminosity AGN?

We explore an accretion model for low luminosity AGN (LLAGN) that attributes the low radiative output to a low mass accretion rate, , rather than a low radiative efficiency. In this model, electrons are assumed to drain energy from the ions as a result of collisionless plasma microinstabilities. Consequently, the accreting gas collapses to form a geometrically thin disk at small radii and is able to cool before reaching the black hole. The accretion disk is not a standard disk, however, because the radial disk structure is modified by a magnetic torque which drives a jet and which is primarily responsible for angular momentum transport. We also include relativistic effects. We apply this model to the well known LLAGN M87 and calculate the combined disk-jet steady-state broadband spectrum. A comparison between predicted and observed spectra indicates that M87 may be a maximally spinning black hole accreting at a rate of ∼10⁻³ M _⊙ yr⁻¹. This is about 6 orders of magnitude below the Eddington rate for the same radiative efficiency. Furthermore, the total jet power inferred by our model is in remarkably good agreement with the value independently deduced from observations of the M87 jet on kiloparsec scales.