A magnetic reconnection model for quasi-periodic oscillations in black hole systems

The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) in black hole (BH) systems with different scales are interpreted based on the magnetic reconnection of large-scale magnetic fields generated by toroidal electric currents flowing in the inner region of the accretion disk, where the current density is assumed to be proportional to the mass density of the accreting plasma. The magnetic connection (MC) is taken into account in resolving dynamic equations describing the accretion disk, in which the MC between the inner and outer disk regions, between the plunging region and the disk, and between the BH horizon and the disk are involved. It turns out that a single QPO frequency associated with several BH systems with different scales can be fitted by invoking the magnetic reconnection due to the MC between the inner and outer regions of the disk, including the BH binaries XTE J1859+226, XTE J1650-500 and GRS 1915+105 and the massive BHs in NGC 5408 X-1 and RE J1034+396. In addition, the X-ray spectra corresponding to the QPOs for these sources are fitted based on the typical disk-corona model.     

Separation of Different Contributions to the Total X-ray Luminosity in Gamma-ray Loud Blazars

The relativistic beaming model has been successfully used to explain many of the observational properties of active galactic nuclei. In this model the total emission is formed by two components, one beamed, one unbeamed. However, the exact contribution from each component in unresolved sources is still not clear. In the radio band, the core and extended emissions are clearly separated. We adopt the method proposed by Kembhavi to separate the two contributions in the X-ray emissions in a sample of 19 gamma-ray loud blazars. It is clearly shown that the beamed emission dominates the X-ray flux and the unbeamed X-ray emission is correlated with the extended radio emission of the considered objects. We also find that the ratio of the beamed to the unbeamed X-ray luminosity is correlated with the X-ray spectral index, an effect that should be a consequence of the underlying X-ray emission mechanism.     

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.     

Probing the Variation of Reverberation Lags along with X-Ray Flux in the AGN Mrk 704

Understanding the variation of lags with respect to the X-ray flux is important to explore the geometry of the inner region of the accretion disk in AGNs. We performed frequency-lag, energy–lag and spectral studies for two sets of observations, in order to investigate the variations in lags with respect to X-ray flux in the AGN source Mrk 704 using the XMM-Newton observatory. We divided one of the light curves into two sections which were noticed to exhibit a flux variation. The frequency-lag sp...     

XMM-Newton observations of H_2O maser galaxy NGC 7479

The XMM-Newton observations of H2O megamaser galaxy NGC 7479 are presented. Its smoothed X-ray image clearly shows spiral morphology, which matches well with its optical asymmetric spiral structure. One prominent source can be found at the tip of its northern spiral arm, which is much brighter than its nuclear X-ray source (about a 50% higher count rate). For the nuclear source (a circular region with a radius of 20 ), the spectra show soft excess below 2 keV and a strong iron Kα emission line. The best fitting model includes a partially absorbed model for the hard continuum and one thermal plasma model for the soft scatter component. Both the high column density (NH ～ 6.88×1023 cm-2) and strong fluorescent iron line (with an equivalent width of ～1.5 keV) support the existence of one heavily obscured AGN. For the bright prominent source, its radial profile is consistent with that of a single point-like source. Its spectra are extracted from the circular region around its peak, with a radius of 20 and 6 respectively and both spectra show no significant difference. Four alternative models for the ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULXs) can reproduce the spectra well: an absorbed power law, thermal bremsstrahlung, multicolor blackbody disk plus another blackbody or power law. Further observations (e.g., the tremendous improvement in the spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray observations) and studies are desirable for probing the nature of this prominent source. In addition, we also estimate the mass of its central engine to be 1.18×107 M and maser disk parameters: the disk radius of ～0.7pc and the dimensionless accretion rate (L2-10keV/LEdd) of 1.2×10-4.     

XMM-Newton observations of H2O maser galaxy NGC 7479

The XMM-Newton observations of H2O megamaser galaxy NGC 7479 are presented.Its smoothed X-ray image clearly shows spiral morphology,which matches well with its optical asymmetric spiral structure.One prominent source can be found at the tip of its northern spiral arm,which is much brighter than its nuclear X-ray source(about a 50% higher count rate).For the nuclear source(a circular region with a radius of 20"),the spectra show soft excess below 2 keV and a strong iron Kα emission line.The best fitting model includes a partially absorbed model for the hard continuum and one thermal plasma model for the soft scatter component.Both the high column density(NH～6.88 × 1023 cm-2)and strong fluorescent iron line(with an equivalent width of～1.5 keV)support the existence of one heavily obscured AGN.For the bright prominent source,its radial profile is consistent with that of a single point-like source.Its spectra are extracted from the circular region around its peak,with a radius of 20"and 6"respectively and both spectra show no significant difference.Four alternative models for the ultra-luminous X-ray source(ULXs)can reproduce the spectra well: an absorbed power law,thermal bremsstrahlung,multicolor blackbody disk plus another blackbody or power law.Further observations(e.g.,the tremendous improvement in the spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray observations)and studies are desirable for probing the nature of this prominent source.In addition,we also estimate the mass of its central engine to be 1.18× 107 M⊙ and maser disk parameters: the disk radius of～0.7 pc and the dimensionless accretion rate(L2-10keV/LEdd)of 1.2 × 10-4.     

Swift/BAT Observations of X-Ray Flashes

An analysis of prompt gamma-rays of X-ray flashes (XRFs) observed with the Swift/BAT has been presented. Our sample includes 235 bursts. It is found that the BAT detection ratio of XRFs to typical Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is 42:193, for division at Γ=2 (roughly corresponding Ep～50 keV), Γ being the power law index of the BAT spectrum and Ep, the peak energy (Ep) of the νfν spectrum. This is consistent with the HETE-2 observations. For both XRFS and GRBs Γ are almost normally distributed in the range of 1 to 2.8, similar that observed with HETE-2. The distribution of Γ for the entire set of GRBs/XRFs is not available due to poor statistics on the peak at Γ>2.3. This result probably indicates that the BAT spectrum of a typical XRF could have a Γ of roughly 2.3, if they indeed are a distinct soft component of the GRB population. By comparing the fluence and the peak flux in different energy bands, it is found that the XRFs are ordinarily softer than the GRBs, but during the peak time the spectra of both GRBs and XRF are similar, showing that the dominant radiation mechanisms of both GRBs and XRFs are similar.     

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.     

Temporal variations and spectral properties of the Be/X-ray pulsar GRO J1008–57 studied by INTEGRAL

The spin period variations and hard X-ray spectral properties of the Be/Xray pulsar GRO J1008–57 are studied with INTEGRAL observations during two outbursts in 2004 June and 2009 March.The pulsation periods of～93.66 s in 2004and～93.73 s in 2009 are determined.Pulse profiles of GRO J1008–57 during outbursts are strongly energy dependent with a double-peaked profile from 3–7 keV and a single-peaked profile in hard X-rays above 7 keV.Combined with previous measurements,we find that GRO J1008–57 has undergone a spin-down trend from 1993–2009 with a rate of～4.1×10-5s d-1,and could have changed into a spin-up trend after 2009.We find a relatively soft spectrum in the early phase of the 2009 outburst with cutoff energy～13 keV.Above a hard X-ray flux of～10-9erg cm-2s-1,the spectra of GRO J1008–57 during outbursts need an enhanced hydrogen absorption with column density～6×1022cm-2.The observed dip-like pulse profile of GRO J1008–57 in soft X-ray bands could be caused by this intrinsic absorption.Around the outburst peaks,a possible cyclotron resonance scattering feature at～74 keV is detected in the spectra of GRO J1008–57 which is consistent with the feature that was reported in MAXI/GSC observations,making the source a neutron star with the highest known magnetic field(～6.6×1012G)among accreting X-ray pulsars.This marginal feature is supported by the present detections in GRO J1008–57 following the correlation between the fundamental line energies and cutoff energies in accreting X-ray pulsars.Finally we discovered two modulation periods at～124.38 d and～248.78 d using RXTE/ASM light curves of GRO J1008–57.Two flare peaks appearing in the folded light curve had different spectral properties.The normal outburst lasting 0.1 of an orbital phase had a hard spectrum and could not be significantly detected below 3 keV.The second flare lasting ten days showed a very soft spectrum without significant detections above 5 keV.GRO J1008–57 is a good candidate of an accreting system with an equatorial circumstellar disk around the companion star.The neutron star passing the disk of the Be star near periastron and apastron produces two X-ray flares.The soft spectral properties in the secondary flares still need further detailed studies with soft X-ray spectroscopy.     

Bending of Jets in the QSO NRAO 530

We present radio images of NRAO 530 on scales ranging from pc to kpc. The observations include the EVN at 5 GHz, the VLBA at 1.6, 8.6 and 15 GHz, the MERLIN at 1.6 and 5 GHz, and the VLA at 5, 8.4, 15, 22, and 43 GHz. The VLBI images show a core-jet structure with an oscillating trajectory on a scale of about 30 mas north of the strongest compact component (core). Superluminal motions are detected in five of the jet compo-nents with apparent velocities in the range of 13.6 to 25.2c. A new component is detected at 15 GHz with the VLBA observations, which appears to be associated with the outburst in 2002. Significant polarized emission is detected around the core with the VLBA observationsat 15 GHz. Rapid variations of the polarization intensity and angle are found between the epochs in 2002 and 2004. On the kpc-scale, a distant component (labelled as WL) located 11 arcsec west (PA=-86°) of the core is detected beyond the core-jet structure which ex-tended to several hundreds of mas in the north-west direction (-50°). A significant emission between the core-jet structure and the WL is revealed. A clump of diffuse emission (labelled EL, 12 arcsec long) at PA 70° to the core, is also detected in the VLA observations, suggest-ing the presence of double lobes in the source. The core component shows a flat spectrum,while the distant components WL and EL have steep spectra. The steep spectra of the distantcomponents and the detection of the arched emission suggest that the distant components are lobes or hot-spots powered by the core of NRAO 530. The morphologies from pc-to kpc- scales and the bending of jets are investigated. The observed radio morphology from pc to kcp appears to favor the model in which precession or wobbling of the nuclear disk drives the helical motion of the radio plasma and produces the S-shaped structure on kpc scale.     

ALMA observations of the circumstellar envelope around EP Aqr

Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array(ALMA) observations of CO(1–0) and CO(2–1) emissions from the circumstellar envelope of the asymptotic giant branch(AGB) star EP Aqr have been made with four times better spatial resolution than previously available. They are analysed with emphasis on the de-projection in space of the effective emissivity and flux of matter using as input a prescribed configuration of the velocity field, assumed to be radial. The data are found to display an intrinsic axisymmetry with respect to an axis making a small angle with respect to the line of sight. A broad range of wind configurations, from prolate(bipolar) to oblate(equatorial) has been studied and found to be accompanied by significant equatorial emission. Qualitatively, the effective emissivity is enhanced near the equator to produce the central narrow component observed in the Doppler velocity spectra and its dependence on star latitude generally follows that of the wind velocity with the exception of an omni-present depression near the poles. In particular, large equatorial expansion velocities produce a flared disc or a ring of effective emissivity and mass loss. The effect on the determination of the orientation of the star axis of radial velocity gradients, and possibly competing rotation and expansion in the equatorial disc, is discussed. In general,the flux of matter is found to reach a broad maximum at distances of the order of 500 AU from the star.Arguments are given that may be used to favour one wind velocity distribution over another. As a result of the improved quality of the data, a deeper understanding of the constraints imposed on morphology and kinematics has been obtained.     

First photometric study of the eclipsing binary PS Persei

CCD photometric observations of the eclipsing binary PS Persei (PS Per) were obtained on two consecutive days in 2009.The 2003 version of the WilsonDevinney code was used to analyze the first complete light curves in the V and R bands.It is found that PS Per is a short-period Algol-type binary with the less massive component completely filling its inner critical Roche lobe.The mass ratio of q=0.518 and the orbital inclination of i=89.86° are obtained.In addition,based on all available times of primary light...     

Highly variable γ-ray emission of CTD 135 and implications for its compact symmetric structure

The γ-ray emission properties of CTD 135,a typical compact symmetric object(CSO),are investigated with ～11-year Fermi/LAT observations.We show that it has bright and significantly variable GeV emission,with the γ-ray luminosity of L_γ～ 10~(47) erg s~(-1) and a variation index of TS_(var)=1002.A quasi-periodic oscillation(QPO) with a periodicity of ～460 days is detected in the global 95% false-alarm level.These γ-ray emission features are similar to that of blazars.Its broadband spectral energy distribution(SED) can be attributed to the radiations of the relativistic electrons accelerated in the core region and the extended region.The SED modeling shows that the γ-rays are from the core region,which has a Doppler boosting factor of δ～10.8 and relativistically moves with a small viewing angle,being similar to blazar jets.On the base of the analysis results,we propose that the episodic activity of the central engine in CTD135 results in a blazar-like jet and the bubble-like lobes as the Fermi bubbles in the Galaxy.The strong 7-ray emission with obvious variability is from the jet radiations and the symmetric radio structure is attributed to the bubbles.The jet radiation power and disk luminosity in units of Eddington luminosity of CTD 135 follow the same relation as other young radio sources,indicating that its jet radiation may also be driven by the Eddington ratio.     

GRB 130310A: very high peak energy and thermal emission

The special GRB 130310 A was observed by Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor and Large Area Telescope,with T90~2.4 s.With a combination of a Band function and a blackbody(BB)function,the time-resolved spectral analysis of GRB 130310 A confirmed that there is a sub-dominate thermal component in the early period(e.g.,slice T0+[4.03-4.14]s)spectrum with BB temperature(kT)being~7~5 keV,which can be interpreted as photosphere emission.The precursor of GRB 130310 A can be fitted well with a BB component with kT~45 keV,which is higher than that of the main burst.It suggests that the radiation of GRB 130310 A is in transition from thermal to non-thermal.Such a transition is an indication of the change in jet composition from a fireball to a Poynting-flux-dominated jet.A very high peak energy is obtained in the first time bin,with the peak energy E_p of the Band component for Band+BB and Band model being~8.5~5.2 MeV and~11.1~7.4 MeV,respectively.Afterwards,the E_p drops to~1 MeV.The E_p evolution patterns with respect to the pulses in the GRB 130310 A light curves show a hard-to-soft evolution.The interpretation of the high peak energy E_p within the photosphere and internal shock model is difficult.It also suggests that at least for some bursts,the Band component must invoke a non-thermal origin in the optically thin region of a GRB outflow.Assuming the redshift is z~0.1~8,the radius of the jet base r₀~10⁹ cm to allow(1+σ₁₅)>1 in line with the calculation results of the magnetization parameter at~1015 cm(σ₁₅).However,the value of(1+σ₁₅)is■1 in the zone z around 3 for r₀~10⁹ cm,suggesting the non-excluded possibility that the origin is from ICMART with a low value.The photosphere-internal shock seems capable of interpreting the high peak energy,which requires electron Lorentz factorγe~60 andεe~0.06.     

Damping and power spectra of quasi-periodic intensity disturbances above a solar polar coronal hole

We study intensity disturbances above a solar polar coronal hole that can be seen in the AIA 171 A?and 193 passbands,aiming to provide more insights into their physical nature.The damping and power spectra of the intensity disturbances with frequencies from 0.07 m Hz to 10.5 m Hz are investigated.The damping of the intensity disturbances tends to be stronger at lower frequencies,and their damping behavior below 980′′(for comparison,the limb is at 945′′) is different from what happens above.No significant difference is found between the damping of the intensity disturbances in the AIA 171 and that in the AIA193 A?.The indices of the power spectra of the intensity disturbances are found to be slightly smaller in the AIA 171 than in the AIA 193 A?,but the difference is within one standard deviation.An additional enhanced component is present in the power spectra in a period range of 8–40 min at lower heights.The power spectra of a spicule is highly correlated with its associated intensity disturbance,which suggests that the power spectra of the intensity disturbances might be a mixture of spicules and wave activities.We suggest that each intensity disturbance in the polar coronal hole is possibly a series of independent slow magnetoacoustic waves triggered by spicular activities.     

Systematic analysis of low/hard state RXTE spectra of GX 339–4 to constrain the geometry of the system

One of the popular models for the low/hard state of black hole binaries is that the standard accretion disk is truncated and the hot inner region produces, via Comptonization, hard X-ray flux.This is supported by the value of the high energy photon index, which is often found to be small,～ 1.7( 2), implying that the hot medium is starved of seed photons. On the other hand, the suggestive presence of a broad relativistic Fe line during the hard state would suggest that the accretion disk is not truncated but extends all the way to the innermost stable circular orbit. In such a case, it is a puzzle why the hot medium would remain photon starved. The broad Fe line should be accompanied by a broad smeared reflection hump at ～ 30 ke V and it may be that this additional component makes the spectrum hard and the intrinsic photon index is larger, i.e. 2. This would mean that the medium is not photon deficient, reconciling the presence of a broad Fe line in the observed hard state. To test this hypothesis,we have analyzed the RXTE observations of GX 339–4 from the four outbursts during 2002–2011 and identify observations when the system was in the hard state and showed a broad Fe line. We have then attempted to fit these observations with models, which include smeared reflection, to understand whether the intrinsic photon index can indeed be large. We find that, while for some observations the inclusion of reflection does increase the photon index, there are hard state observations with a broad Fe line that have photon indices less than 2.     

On the torque exerted by a warped,magnetically threaded accretion disk

Most astrophysical accretion disks are likely to be warped.In X-ray binaries,the spin evolution of an accreting neutron star is critically dependent on the interaction between the neutron star magnetic field and the accretion disk.There have been extensive investigations on the accretion torque exerted by a coplanar disk that is magnetically threaded by the magnetic field lines from the neutron stars,but relevant works on warped/tilted accretion disks are still lacking.In this paper we develop a simplified twocomponent model,in which the disk is comprised of an inner coplanar part and an outer,tilted part.Based on standard assumption on the formation and evolution of the toroidal magnetic field component,we derive the dimensionless torque and show that a warped/titled disk is more likely to spin up the neutron star compared with a coplanar disk.We also discuss the possible influence of various initial parameters on the torque.     

Magnetic Energy of Force-Free Fields with Detached Field Lines

Using an axisymmetrical ideal MHD model in spherical coordinates, we present a numerical study of magnetic configurations characterized by a levitating flux rope embedded in a bipolar background field whose normal field at the solar surface is the same or very close to that of a central dipole. The characteristic plasma β (the ratio between gas pressure and magnetic pressure) is taken to be sosmall (β= 10^-4) that the magnetic field is close to being force-free. The system as a whole is then let evolve quasi-statically with a slow increase of either the annular magnetic flux or the axial magnetic flux of the rope, and the total magneticenergy of the system grows accordingly. It is found that there exists an energy threshold: the flux rope sticks to the solar surface in equilibrium if the magneticenergy of the system is below the threshold, whereas it loses equilibrium if the threshold is exceeded. The energy threshold is found to be larger than that of thecorresponding fully-open magnetic field by a factor of nearly 1.08 irrespective as towhether the background field is completely closed or partly open, or whether the magnetic energy is enhanced by an increase of annular or axial flux of the rope.This gives an example showing that a force-free magnetic field may have an energy larger than the corresponding open field energy if part of the field lines is allowed tobe detached from the solar surface. The implication of such a conclusion in coronal mass ejections is briefly discussed and some comments are made on the maximum energy of force-free magnetic fields.     

Lunar surface potential and electric field

The Moon has no significant atmosphere, thus its surface is exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation and the solar wind. Photoemission and collection of the solar wind electrons and ions may result in lunar surface charging. On the dayside, the surface potential is mainly determined by photoelectrons, modulated by the solar wind;while the nightside surface potential is a function of the plasma distribution in the lunar wake. Taking the plasma observations in the lunar environment as inputs, the global potential distribution is calculated according to the plasma sheath theory, assuming Maxwellian distributions for the surface emitted photoelectrons and the solar wind electrons. Results show that the lunar surface potential and sheath scale length change versus the solar zenith angle, which implies that the electric field has a horizontal component in addition to the vertical one. By differentiating the potential vertically and horizontally, we obtain the global electric field. It is found that the vertical electric field component is strongest at the subsolar point,which has a magnitude of 1 V m-1. The horizontal component is much weaker, and mainly appears near the terminator and on the nightside, with a magnitude of several mV m-1. The horizontal electric field component on the nightside is rotationally symmetric around the wake axis and is strongly determined by the plasma parameters in the lunar wake.     

Effects of dynamo magnetic fields on observational properties of accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars

In this paper,we have investigated accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars,which are rapidly rotating neutron stars in low-mass X-ray binaries.These systems exhibit coherent X-ray pulsations that arise when the accretion flow is magnetically channeled to the stellar surface.Here,we have developed the fundamental equations for an accretion disk around accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars in the presence of a dynamo generated magnetic field in the inner part of the disk.We have also formulated the numerical method for the structure equations in the inner region of the disk and the highest accretion rate is enough to form the inner region of the disk,which is overpowered by radiation pressure and electron scattering.Finally,we have examined our results with the effects of dynamo magnetic fields on accreting millisecond X-ray pulsars.