Mechanism for the suppression of intermediate-mass black holes

A model for the formation of supermassive primordial black holes in galactic nuclei with the simultaneous suppression of the formation of intermediate-mass black holes is presented. A bimodal mass function for black holes formed through phase transitions in a model with a “Mexican hat” potential has been found. The classical motion of the phase of a complex scalar field during inflation has been taken into account. Possible observational manifestations of primordial black holes in galaxies and constraints on their number are discussed.     

On the Relationship Between the Jets from X-Ray Binaries and Agn

The scale invariance model (Heinz, S. and Sunyaev, R.A.: 2003, MNRAS 343, L59) can be used to derive robust scaling relations between the radio luminosity from accreting black holes and the black hole mass and accretion rate. These relations agree well with the recently found “fundamental plane” of black hole activity (Merloni, A., Heinz, S. and Di Matteo, T.: 2003, MNRAS 345, 1057). This relation provides a new, powerful tool for the comparison of jets from black holes of different masses and accretion rates. The regression coefficients of this relation contain information about the nature of the X-ray emission mechanism driving the correlation. We argue that X-ray synchrotron emission from the base of the jets is unlikely to be the dominant contribution to the X-ray spectrum in most of the sources.     

Resonant Oscillations of Accretion Flow and Khz QPOS

High-frequency quasi-periodic variations (HF QPOs) in the X-ray light curves of black hole X-ray novae can be understood as oscillations of the accretion disk in a nonlinear 3:2 resonance. An m = 0 vertical oscillation near a black hole modulates the X-ray emission through gravitational lensing (light-bending) at the source. Certain oscillations of the accretion disk will also modulate the mass accretion rate, and in neutron-star systems this would lead to nearly periodic variations in brightness of the luminous boundary layer on the stellar surface – the amplitude of the neutron-star HF QPOs would be thus increased relative to the black hole systems. The “kHz QPOs” in black holes are in the hecto-Hz range.     

Extrapolating SMBH correlations down the mass scale: the case for IMBHs in globular clusters

Empirical evidence for both stellar mass black holes (M _•<10²  M _⊙) and supermassive black holes (SMBHs, M _•>10⁵  M _⊙) is well established. Moreover, every galaxy with a bulge appears to host a SMBH, whose mass is correlated with the bulge mass, and even more strongly with the central stellar velocity dispersion σ _c , the M _•–σ relation. On the other hand, evidence for “intermediate-mass” black holes (IMBHs, with masses in the range 100–10⁵ M _⊙) is relatively sparse, with only a few mass measurements reported in globular clusters (GCs), dwarf galaxies and low-mass AGNs. We explore the question of whether globular clusters extend the M _•–σ relationship for galaxies to lower black hole masses and find that available data for globular clusters are consistent with the extrapolation of this relationship. We use this extrapolated M _•–σ relationship to predict the putative black hole masses of those globular clusters where existence of central IMBH was proposed. We discuss how globular clusters can be used as a constraint on theories making specific predictions for the low-mass end of the M _•–σ relation.     

On the progenitors of core-collapse supernovae

Theory holds that a star born with an initial mass between about 8 and 140 times the mass of the Sun will end its life through the catastrophic gravitational collapse of its iron core to a neutron star or black hole. This core collapse process is thought to usually be accompanied by the ejection of the star’s envelope as a supernova. This established theory is now being tested observationally, with over three dozen core-collapse supernovae having had the properties of their progenitor stars directly measured through the examination of high-resolution images taken prior to the explosion. Here I review what has been learned from these studies and briefly examine the potential impact on stellar evolution theory, the existence of “failed supernovae”, and our understanding of the core-collapse explosion mechanism.     

Basic thermodynamic parameters of a black hole resulting from a Yukawa type of correction to the metric

There has been a renewed interest in the recent years in the possibility of deviations from the predictions of Newton’s “inverse-square law” of universal gravitation. One of the reasons for renewing this interest lies in various theoretical attempts to construct a unified elementary particle theory, in which there is a natural prediction of new forces over macroscopic distances. Therefore the existence of such a force would only coexist with gravity, and in principle could only be detected as a deviation from the inverse square law, or in the “universality of free fall” experiments. New experimental techniques such that of Sagnac interferometry can help explore the range of the Yukawa correction λ≥10¹⁴ m where such forces might be present. It may be, that future space missions might be operating in this range which has been unexplored for very long time. In this paper we derive the basic thermodynamic parameters of such a Yukawa stationary spherically symmetric black hole. First, the expression for the event horizon of such a black hole is derived, with the help of which the temperature, entropy and heat capacity of this particular black hole are obtained. We have also obtained analytical expressions for the change of mass of such black hole, and also its corresponding evaporation time.     

Intensity oscillations at the feet of coronal holes

We investigate the regime of chromospheric oscillations at the bases of coronal holes and compare them with the oscillations in the quiet chromosphere outside coronal holes using time series of spectrograms taken at different times in eight quiet regions on the Sun. As the oscillation parameter being studied, we have chosen the central intensity of the chromospheric Ca II K and H and 849.8-nm lines. The intensity measurements at all spatial points (along the spectrograph slit) have been subjected to a standard Fourier analysis. For the identified areas of the networks, cells, and network boundaries, we have calculated the integrated oscillation powers in several frequency bands. For all frequency bands, the powers of the intensity oscillations at the formation level of the Ca II resonance doublet line cores have been found to be enhanced at the bases of coronal holes approximately by a factor of 1.5. For the “three-minute” band, this enhancement is more pronounced in the network than in the cell, while the opposite is true for the “five-minute” band. The power in the five-minute band is higher than that in the three-minute one both at the bases of coronal holes and outside them, but this ratio in the network for a coronal hole is higher (1.40 ± 0.25 and 1.30 ± 0.10). We interpret this fact and the fact that the power of the three-minute oscillations for nonmagnetic regions changes with height differently at the base of a coronal hole and outside it as an increase in the importance of magnetoacoustic portals at the chromospheric base of the coronal hole.     

Solar Drift Pair Bursts in the Decameter Range

The results of observations of solar decametric drift pair bursts are presented. These observations were carried out during a Type III burst storm on July 11–21, 2002, with the decameter radio telescope UTR-2, equipped with new back-end facilities. High time and frequency resolution of the back-end allowed us to obtain new information about the structure and properties of these bursts. The statistical analysis of more than 700 bursts observed on 13–15 July was performed separately for “forward” and “reverse” drift pair bursts. Such an extensive amount of these kind of bursts has never been processed before. It should be pointed out that “forward” and “reverse” drift pair bursts have a set of similar parameters, such as time delay between the burst elements, duration of an element, and instant bandwidth of an element. Nevertheless some of their parameters are different. So, the absolute average value of frequency drift rate for “forward” bursts is 0.8 MHz s⁻¹, while for “reverse” ones it is 2 MHz s⁻¹. The obtained functional dependencies “drift rate vs. frequency” and “flux density vs. frequency” were found to be different from the current knowledge. We also report about the observation of unusual variants of drift pairs, in particular, of “hook” bursts and bursts with fine time and frequency structure. A possible mechanism of drift pairs generation is proposed, according to which this emission may originate from the interaction of Langmuir waves with the magnetosonic waves having equal phase and group velocities.     

Nernst theorem and Hawking radiation from a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole

The thermal character of inner horizon in a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole is studied via Hamilton-Jacobi method. There is “Hawking absorption” as a quantum effect near the inner horizon, and a negative temperature of the inner horizon was attained by choosing an observer outside the black hole. Using a redefined entropy of the black hole, we give a new expression of Bekenstein-Smarr formula. The redefined entropy satisfies Nernst Theorem, so it can be regarded as Planck absolute entropy of the Reissner-Nordstrom black hole.     

Finding Faint Intermediate-Mass Black Holes in the Radio Band

We discuss the prospects for detecting faint intermediate-mass black holes, such as those predicted to exist in the cores of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We briefly summarize the difficulties of stellar dynamical searches, then show that recently discovered relations between black hole mass, X-ray luminosity and radio luminosity imply that in most cases, these black holes should be more easily detected in the radio than in the X-rays. Finally, we show upper limits from some radio observations of globular clusters, and discuss the possibility that the radio source in the core of the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal galaxy might be a ∼10,000–100,000 M⊙ black hole.     

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.     

A new model for the periodic outbursts of the BL Lac object OJ287

Recent observations provide strong evidence for the BL Lac object OJ287 exhibiting a 11.6±0.5 yr periodicity with a double-peaked maxima in its optical flux variations. Several models have been proposed for the optical behavior. The 2005 November outburst in OJ287 gives us a surprising result since calculation based on the periodicity was predicting such an outburst in late 2006. Here we suggest a new model, it can not only explain the optical quasi-periodic behavior, but also the radio flares behavior which is and simultaneous with the optical flares. We propose that OJ287 is a binary pair of super-massive black holes, both of them creating a jet. The quasi-periodic double peaks would be due to the relativistic beaming effect on the emission coming from the double helix jets. We used “core flares” to explain the large lags between light curves at different frequencies, and the assumption of two jets appear to be merged with each other partly in the radio frequency emitting regions provides a viable interpretation that we can see only a broad maximum which contains two radio flares that we cannot distinguish.     

Spin evolution of neutron stars in binary systems

I review our understanding of the evolution of the spin periods of neutron stars in binary stellar systems, from their birth as fast, spin-powered pulsars, through their middle life as accretion-powered pulsars, upto their recycling or “rebirth” as spin-powered pulsars with relatively low magnetic fields and fast rotation. I discuss how the new-born neutron star is spun down by electromagnetic and “propeller” torques, until accretion of matter from the companion star begins, and the neutron star becomes an accretion-powered X-ray pulsar. Detailed observations of massive radio pulsar binaries like PSR 1259-63 will yield valuable information about this phase of initial spindown. I indicate how the spin of the neutron star then evolves under accretion torques during the subsequent phase as an accretion-powered pulsar. Finally, I describe how the neutron star is spun up to short periods again during the subsequent phase of recycling, with the accompanying reduction in the stellar magnetic field, the origins of which are still not completely understood.     

Some Peculiarities of Intensity Oscillations in Ca <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">ii</Emphasis> Lines under Coronal Holes

Observations of the central intensity of the Ca ii K and 849.8 nm lines are used to derive the ratios of the oscillation power in the frequency ranges of the “five-minute” (W ₅) and “three-minute” (W ₃) oscillations. It is shown that at high significance level ratios, (W ₅/W ₃) >1 at coronal hole bases, and W ₅/W ₃ ≈1 in quiet chromospheric areas far from holes.     

Atmospheric Losses Under Dust Bombardment in the Ancient Atmospheres

We have considered the new process of atmospheric losses - “sputtering” under bombardment by interplanetary dust. It is demonstrated that “sputtering” due to collisions with the interplanetary dust is an effective way of atmospheric gas loss (10^–4–10^–3 of the dust particles' accreting mass) and that it changes the composition of the atmospheric gases. In calculations we have taken that the dust particles collide elastically with the atoms and molecules of the atmosphere. Estimation of the effects of inelastic collisions was also considered. As a result of these collisions a part of the atmospheric atoms and molecules will have “upward” velocity and enough energy to escape. It was considered that escaping atoms can collide with the atoms of the “main” gas of the upper atmosphere. The atmospheric gas composition is assumed to be just as in the modern Martian atmosphere - the “main” gases in the upper atmosphere were taken to be O and CO₂. In our computations we pay particular attention to the abundance of noble gases in planetary atmospheres since these gases are very important for theories of atmospheric origin. We computed that under “sputtering” by the interplanetary dust, atmospheres were enriched by the “heavy” elements and isotopes in the wide range of the upper atmospheric parameters O/CO₂, T/g (O/CO₂– on the level of homosphere;T is temperature of the exosphere,g is gravitational acceleration). However the loss efficiency for “heavy” gases is relatively high compared to other known gas loss processes. In the case of noble gases for the specific parameters of the upper atmosphere (small T/g ratio; high O/CO₂ on the level of homosphere) we have got the unique result: despite the diffusion separation in the upper atmosphere the loss efficiency of Xe > Kr > Ar. The effect of “sputtering” of the planetary atmospheres was strongest during the early stages of the planetary evolution - when the rate of the dust accretion was intrinsically higher than now because of collisions of planetesimals. In light of the new escape process, the main peculiarities of the noble gases abundance in the planetary atmospheres could be explained. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Some doubts on the validity of the foreground Galactic contribution subtraction from microwave anisotropies

The Galactic foreground contamination in CMBR anisotropies, especially from the dust component, is not easily separable from the cosmological or extragalactic component. In this paper, some doubts will be raised concerning the validity of the methods used until now to remove Galactic dust emission and will show that none of them achieves its goal. First, I review the recent bibliography on the topic and discuss critically the methods of foreground subtraction: the cross-correlation with templates, analysis assuming the spectral shape of the Galactic components, the “maximum entropy method”, “internal linear combination”, and “wavelet-based high resolution fitting of internal templates”. Second, I analyse the Galactic latitude dependence from WMAP data. The frequency dependence is discussed with data in the available literature. The result is that all methods of subtracting the Galactic contamination are inaccurate. The Galactic latitude dependence analysis or the frequency dependence of the anisotropies in the range 50–250 GHz put a constraint on the maximum Galactic contribution in the power spectrum to be less than ∼ 10% (68% C. L.) for an ∼ 1 degree scale, and possibly higher for larger scales. The origin of most of the signals in the CMBR anisotropies is not Galactic. In any case, the subtraction of the galaxy is not accurate enough to allow a “precision Cosmology”; other sources of contamination (extragalactic, solar system) are also present.     

Waiting Time Distribution of Emissions in Complex Coronal Mass Ejections

The waiting time distribution of emissions in Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) with several emissions is examined. We define the waiting time as the time interval between the commencement of an emission and the commencement of the next emission considered as parts of a unique CME. The distribution seems to follow a power-law. Two classes of CMEs several emissions are considered: “close” and “separate” depending on angular distance between emissions.     

非微扰的极早期宇宙现象学: 共振的原初扰动与非高斯尾巴

在精确宇宙学的时代, 多信使、高精度、小尺度的宇宙学观测在帮助人们从更加深刻的层面理解宇宙极早期的同时, 也给基于线性近似和微扰展开宇宙学扰动理论带来了新的挑战. 近年来, 对原初引力波和原初黑洞的搜寻使得研究人员们对早期宇宙在小尺度上的非线性非微扰过程产生了浓厚的研究兴趣. 综述了在宇宙学小尺度上关于原初黑洞产生以及引力波研究取得的诸多进展, 重点关注了使用Mathieu方程的共振效应来研究小尺度功率谱放大以及诱导产生可观测的原初引力波的方法. 此外, 还尝试探讨了非高斯尾巴对原初黑洞形成的影响. 发现Mathieu方程所具备的共振效应可以提供一种有效的方法来刻画原初宇宙中小尺度的非微扰动力学过程, 从而能够更好地理解原初黑洞的形成以及相关的引力波产生机制. 同时, 非微扰的非高斯性在原初黑洞形成中可能会产生不可忽视的影响.     

The Recovery of CME-Related Dimmings and the ICME’s Enduring Magnetic Connection to the Sun

It is generally accepted that transient coronal holes (TCHs, dimmings) correspond to the magnetic footpoints of CMEs that remain rooted in the Sun as the CME expands out into the interplanetary space. However, the observation that the average intensity of the 12 May 1997 dimmings recover to their pre-eruption intensity in SOHO/EIT data within 48 hours, whilst suprathermal unidirectional electron heat fluxes are observed at 1 AU in the related ICME more than 70 hours after the eruption, leads us to question why and how the dimmings disappear whilst the magnetic connectivity is maintained. We also examine two other CME-related dimming events: 13 May 2005 and 6 July 2006. We study the morphology of the dimmings and how they recover. We find that, far from exhibiting a uniform intensity, dimmings observed in SOHO/EIT data have a deep central core and a more shallow extended dimming area. The dimmings recover not only by shrinking of their outer boundaries but also by internal brightenings. We quantitatively demonstrate that the model developed by Fisk and Schwadron (Astrophys. J. 560, 425, 2001) of interchange reconnections between “open” magnetic field and small coronal loops is a strong candidate for the mechanism facilitating the recovery of the dimmings. This process disperses the concentration of  “open” magnetic field (forming the dimming) out into the surrounding quiet Sun, thus recovering the intensity of the dimmings whilst still maintaining the magnetic connectivity to the Sun. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.