New active galactic nuclei among the INTEGRAL and SWIFT X-ray sources

We present the results of our optical identifications of a set of X-ray sources from the INTEGRAL and SWIFT all-sky surveys. The optical data have been obtained with the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish Telescope (RTT-150). Nine X-ray sources have been identified with active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Two of them are located in the nearby spiral galaxies MCG-01-05-047 and NGC 973 seen almost edge-on. One source, IGR J16562-3301, is probably a BL Lac object (blazar). The remaining AGNs are observed as the starlike nuclei of spiral galaxies whose spectra exhibit broad emission lines. The relation between the hard X-ray (17–60 keV) luminosity and the [O III] 5007 line luminosity, log L _x/L _{[O III]} ≈ 2.1, holds good for most of the AGNs detected in hard X rays. However, the luminosities of some AGNs deviate from this relation. The fraction of such objects can reach ～20%. In particular, the [O III] line flux is lower for two nearby edge-on spiral galaxies. This can be explained by the effect of absorption in the galactic disks.     

Radio spectra of the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus NGC 266 at centimetre-to-submillimetre wavelengths

We report multi-frequency and multi-epoch radio continuum observations with multi-spatial resolution for the low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (LLAGN) NGC 266. In the centimetre regime, we find diffuse components with Very Large Array (VLA) observations, and a variable compact core with a rising spectrum with Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations. Although the spectral index of the rising spectrum is consistent with the prediction of the simple advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) model, the observed radio power is slightly high compared with that of the model prediction. A spectral break at centimetre-to-millimetre wavelengths is inferred from the upper limits of flux densities from Nobeyama Millimetre Array (NMA) and James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) data at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths, respectively. More complicated considerations are required for the theoretical model to interpret such observed radio properties.     

New nearby active galactic nuclei among INTEGRAL and RXTE X-ray sources

We present the first results of a campaign to optically identify X-ray sources discovered in the all-sky surveys of the RXTE and INTEGRAL observatories. Six newly discovered sources proved to be hitherto unknown nearby active galactic nuclei (z < 0.1). Spectrophotometric studies of these sources were performed with the Russian-Turkish 1.5-m telescope (RTT150). We measured their redshifts and parameters of the strongest emission lines. Published in Russian in Pis’ma v Astronomicheskiĭ Zhurnal, 2006, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 250–256. The article was translated by the authors. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Chandra HRC and HST observations of NGC 6240: resolving the active galactic nucleus and starburst

We present high spatial resolution X-ray Chandra HRC and HST WFPC2 H α observations of the prototypical infrared-luminous galaxy NGC 6240. The central region of this system shows a remarkably complex morphology, with filaments and loops observed in the optical and X-rays. The total X-ray luminosity is dominated by the extended emission. Both nuclei are clearly detected in the HRC image and both appear to be extended. The energetics of the nuclei imply that the southern nucleus is the more plausible counterpart to the obscured active galactic nucleus. The overall spectral energy distribution of the galaxy is in good agreement with a blend of starburst and AGN components that have similar bolometric luminosities,   L _bol∼5×10⁴⁵ erg s^-1  , with the starburst dominating the observed continuum in the near-infrared ( K band), optical and soft X-ray bands.     

Clustering of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei

A total of 235 active galactic nuclei (AGN) from two different soft X-ray surveys [the ROSAT Deep Survey (DRS) and the ROSAT International X-ray Optical Survey (RIXOS)] with redshifts between 0 and 3.5 are used to study the clustering of X-ray selected AGN and its evolution. A 2σ significant detection of clustering of such objects is found on scales < 40–80 h ⁻¹ Mpc in the RIXOS sample, while no clustering is detected on any scales in the DRS sample. Assuming a single power-law model for the spatial correlation function (SCF), quantitative limits on the AGN clustering have been obtained: a comoving correlation length 1.5 ≲  r ₀ ≲ 3.3  h ⁻¹ Mpc is implied for comoving evolution, while 1.9 ≲  r ₀ ≲ 4.8 for stable clustering and 2.2 ≲  r ₀ ≲ 5.5 for linear evolution. These values are consistent with the correlation lengths and evolutions obtained for galaxy samples, but imply smaller amplitude or faster evolution than recent ultraviolet and optically selected AGN samples. We also constrain the ratio of bias parameters between X-ray selected AGN and IRAS galaxies to be ≲ 1.7 on scales ≲ 10  h ⁻¹ Mpc, a somewhat smaller value than is inferred from local large-scale dynamical studies.     

A galactic model with a pulsating active nucleus

The accumulation and distribution of rare-light elements in the Galaxy is investigated according to a model of the galaxy at which center there exists a pulsating active nucleus with decreasing activity with time. The abundances of rare-light elements rapidly decrease with approaching to the galactic center whereas the most abundant region of these elements is the annular region of the radial distance ofr=8～14 kpc from the galactic center. In the inner region ofr?8 kpc the abundances of these elements have varied by two to three orders of magnitude from the early days of the galactic history till now, but inr?8 kpc they have been almost constant within a factor of 2. It has become clear that if the nuclides D,³He,⁷Li,¹⁰B and¹¹B have been produced mainly by the shock process taking place in the outer envelope of type-II supernova, they must have been created by the mass fractions of the supernova of some 2.7×10^?3, 1.7×10^?4, 6.9×10^?8, 1.7×10^?7 and 7.9×10^?7, respectively, to account for the solar system abundances.     

A galactic model with a pulsating active nucleus

The chemical evolution of the Galaxy with a pulsating active nucleus is investigated. The surface densities of gas, stellar remnants, stars and chemical species such as helium and heavy elements inZ6 are calculated as functions of the position in the Galaxy and of the evolutional time of the Galaxy. According to this model, the entire luminosity of the galactic disk becomes almost constant at some 2×10⁹ yr after the galactic formation, but the nuclear bulge, whose dimensions gradually diminishes, becomes more and more luminous with time. On the other hand, the abundance depletion of helium and heavy elements appears in the inner region of the disk after some 6×10⁹ yr of the galactic formation. It also becomes clear that the activity for the nucleosynthesis in the nucleus is limited only in the early history of the Galaxy and has been reduced rapidly with time. Using this model, we can account for the observed phenomena such as the smooth dependence of the elemental abundance in the halo population on the distance from the galactic center, the high abundance of heavy elements in quasar spectra and etc.     

The exceptional X-ray variability of the dwarf Seyfert nucleus NGC 4395

An analysis of the X-ray variability of the low-luminosity Seyfert nucleus NGC 4395, based on a long XMM–Newton observation, is presented. The power spectrum shows a clear break from a flat spectrum  (α≈ 1)  to a steeper spectrum  (α≈ 2)  at a frequency   f _br= 0.5–3.0 × 10⁻³ Hz  , comparable to the highest characteristic frequency found previously in a Seyfert galaxy. This extends the measured   M _BH− f _br  values to lower M _BH than previous studies of Seyfert galaxies, and is consistent with an inverse scaling of variability frequency with black hole mass. The variations observed are among the most violent seen in an active galactic nuclei to date, with the fractional rms amplitude  ( F _var)  exceeding 100 per cent in the softest band. The amplitude of the variations seems intrinsically higher in NGC 4395 than most other Seyfert galaxies, even after accounting for the differences in characteristic frequencies. The origin of this difference is not clear, but it is unlikely to be a high accretion rate (   L / L _Edd≲ 20  per cent for NGC 4395). The variations clearly follow the linear rms–flux relation, further supporting the idea that this is a ubiquitous characteristics of accreting black holes. The variations are highly coherent between different energy bands with any frequency-dependent time delay limited to ≲1 per cent.