Variability in the southern blazars PKS 1921-293 and PKS 2155-152

We report results of 1435 MHz rapid variability observations of the southern extragalactic sources PKS 1921-293 and PKS 2155-152. Both objects displayed variability in their flux densities on timescales of the order of one and two weeks, respectively. A brief discussion on the origin of this variability is presented, with a comparison of different models that could account for the observations.Fellow of CONICET.     

On the Nature of Variability of Extragalactic Radio Sources: Fundamental Ideas by I.S. Shklovsky

The majority (maybe all) of proposed relativistic and non-relativistic models for variable extragalactic radio sources are based on the same general ideas proposed in the early model by Shklovsky (1960, 1965) – in particular, that the variability is caused by the synchrotron emission of magnetized clouds during their expansion. This model was a "standard" or "canonical" model for more than 20 years. One of the models that uses its ideas and approach is the "hedgehog" model, in which clouds or jets emit and expand in the strong external radial magnetic field of the nucleus of the source. This model has been suggested for a long time, but recent new results comparing it's predictions with observations of multifrequency spectra – especially, instantaneous spectra of many variable sources – and with the typical VLBI structure of compact objects have given strong new arguments in it's favour. The nature of the variability can be satisfactory explained by the hedgehog jet model for many variable and compact extragalactic radio sources. Thus, following up the ideas of I.S. Shklovsky, we conclude that the observed spectra and structure of compact sources can be caused by the synchrotron emission of a quasi-stationary jet in a longitudinal magnetic field, and the nature of variability can be explained by the variable ejection of the continious jet from the nucleus.     

The extragalactic neutrino background radiations from blazars and cosmic rays

Blazar emission of gamma rays and cosmic ray production of gamma rays in gas-rich clusters have been proposed recently as alternative sources of the high energy extragalactic diffuse gamma ray background radiation. We show that these sources also produce very different high energy extragalactic diffuse neutrino background radiations. An extragalactic neutrino background radiation may be detected by the new generation of large neutrino telescopes under construction and may be used to trace the origin of the extragalactic gamma radiation.     

Centaurus A as a source of extragalactic cosmic rays with arrival energies well beyond the GZK cutoff

The ultra-high energy cosmic rays recently detected by several air shower experiments could have an extragalactic origin. In this case, the nearest active galaxy Centaurus A might be the source of the most energetic particles ever detected on Earth. We have used recent radio observations in order to estimate the arrival energy of the protons accelerated by strong shock fronts in the outer parts of this southern radio source. We expect detections coresponding to particles with energies up to 2.2 × 10²¹ eV and an arrival direction of (l ≈ 310°, b ≈ 20°) in galactic coordinates. The future Southern Hemisphere Pierre Auger Observatory might provide a decisive test for extragalactic models of the origin of the ultra-high energy cosmic rays.     

Interstellar scintillation of compact extragalactic radio sources

The recent discovery of radio variability of a quasar on short time-scales (hours) prompts us to examine what is expected in respect of the interstellar scintillation of very compact, extragalactic radio sources. We find that large-amplitude, rapid, variability is predicted at commonly observed radio frequencies (1–20 GHz) over the vast majority of the extragalactic sky. As a guide to assist observers in understanding their data, we demonstrate simple techniques for predicting the effects of interstellar scintillation on any extragalactic source.     

The Role of Extragalactic Antimatter in Cosmic Ray Observations Near Earth

Quest for antimatter in cosmic rays has revealed no compelling evidence of primary, extragalactic antiparticles up to the present time. Recent positron and antiproton observations have been found to be consistent with a pure galactic origin up to energies of 50 GeV and 20 GeV respectively. In this paper it is discussed which role might be played by Ultra High Energy (UHE) extragalactic particles and antiparticles in cosmic-ray observations near Earth. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Extragalactic Gamma Ray Excess from Coma Supercluster Direction

The origin of extragalactic diffuse gamma ray is not accurately known, especially because our suggestions are related to many models that need to be considered either to compute the galactic diffuse gamma ray intensity or to consider the contribution of other extragalactic structures while surveying a specific portion of the sky. More precise analysis of EGRET data however, makes it possible to estimate the diffuse gamma ray in Coma supercluster (i.e., Coma\\backslash A1367 supercluster) direction with a value of $I\left( {E>{30}\,{\rm MeV}} \right)\simeq{1.9}\times {10}^{-{6}} {\rm cm}^{-{2}} {\rm s}^{-{1}}$I\left( {E>{30}\,{\rm MeV}} \right)\simeq{1.9}\times {10}^{-{6}} {\rm cm}^{-{2}} {\rm s}^{-{1}} , which is considered to be an upper limit for the diffuse gamma ray due to Coma supercluster. The related total intensity (on average) is calculated to be ~5% of the actual diffuse extragalactic background. The calculated intensity makes it possible to estimate the origin of extragalactic diffuse gamma ray.     

HESS observations of extragalactic objects

The HESS experiment (High Energy Stereoscopic System), consisting of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) in Namibia, has observed many extragalactic objects in the search for very high energy (VHE) γ-ray emission. These objects include active galactic nuclei (AGN), notably Blazars, Seyferts, radio galaxies, starburst galaxies and others. Beyond the established sources, γ-ray emission has been detected for the first time from several of these objects by HESS, and their energy spectra and variability characteristics have been measured. Multi-wavelength campaigns, including X-ray satellites, radio telescopes, and optical observations, have been carried out for AGNs, in particular for PKS 2155-304, H 2356-309 and 1ES 1101-232, for which the implications concerning emission models are presented. Also results from the investigations of VHE flux variability from the giant radio galaxy M 87 are shown. For the HESS Collaboration.     

Multi messenger astronomy and CTA: TeV cosmic rays and electrons

Cosmic rays are a sample of solar, galactic and extragalactic matter. Their origin and properties are one of the most intriguing question in modern astrophysics. The most energetic events and active objects in the Universe: supernovae explosion, pulsars, relativistic jets, active galactic nuclei, have been proposed as sources of cosmic rays although unambiguous evidences have still to be found. Electrons, while comprising ∼1% of the cosmic radiation, have unique features providing important information regarding the origin and propagation of cosmic rays in the Galaxy that is not accessible from the study of the cosmic-ray nuclear components due to their differing energy-loss processes. In this paper we will analyse, discussing the experimental uncertainties and challenges, the most recent measurements on cosmic-ray nuclei and, in particular, electrons with energies from tens of GeV into the TeV region.     

活动星系致密核视角大小的统计研究

本文对ＶＬＢＩ观测得到的河外射电源致密核ｃｏｒｅ的视角大小进行了统计研究，发现对单个源平均上视角大小近似反比于观测频率，与目前的模型相一致。在５ＧＨｚ上，在红移范围０．０４＜ｚ＜２．５内，平均的ｃｏｒｅ视角大小近似为常数，在非均匀喷流模型框架下，一种可能的解释是在河外射电源致密结构中磁场存在着演化。     

Intraday polarization variability outside the VLBI core of the active galactic nucleus 0716+714

Rapid ('intraday') cm-wavelength variations in both total and polarized flux density have been observed in a number of strong extragalactic radio sources. It is difficult to explain these variations purely as propagation effects, but if they are intrinsic to the sources, implausibly high brightness temperatures are required. We discuss here rapid polarization variability during our λ =6 cm global very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the active galactic nucleus 0716+714. Measurements made with the Very Large Array (VLA) during the VLBI observations indicate a ≃50° swing in the position angle χ of the VLA core polarization in 12 hours. Corresponding variations were observed only for short VLBI baselines, so that they could not have occurred in the VLBI core (the only feature detected in our VLBI polarization map). The fact that the variations appear both in the VLA data and in the VLBI data for short baselines makes it difficult to explain them as instrumental effects. This leads us to conclude that the rapid variations occurred outside the area covered by our VLBI map; we estimate that the variability occurred in some compact feature roughly 25 milliarcseconds from the nucleus. It is clear that compact structures on a wide range of scales must be taken into account in studies of intraday variability in AGN.     

Extragalactic cosmic rays and the galactic magnetic field

The origin and behavior of cosmic rays in the Galaxy depends crucially upon whether the galactic magnetic field has a closed topology, as does the field of Earth, or whether a major fraction of the lines of force connect into extragalactic space. If the latter, then cosmic rays could be of extragalactic origin, or they could be of galactic origin, detained in the Galaxy by the scattering offered by hydromagnetic waves, etc. If, on the other hand, the field is largely closed, then cosmic rays cannot be of extragalactic origin (at least below 10¹⁶ eV). They must be of galactic origin and escape because their collective pressure inflates the galactic field and they push their way out.This paper examines the structure of a galactic field that opens initially into intergalactic space and, with the inclusion of turbulent diffusion, finds no possibility for maintaining a significant magnetic connection with an extragalactic field. Unless some mechanism can be found, we are forced to the conclusion that the field is closed, that cosmic rays are of galactic origin, and that cosmic rays escape from the Galaxy only by pushing their way out.     

Coherence Inherent in an Incoherent Synchrotron Radio Source

We show that a partial coherence due to antenna mechanism can be inherently present in any compact synchrotron source, which resolves many long-standing problems in the spectra and variability of compact extragalactic radio sources.     

Polarization Position Angle Swings caused by Relativistic Effects

Polarization position angle swings of - 180 ° observed in extragalactic radio sources are a regular behavior of variability in polarization. They should be due to some kind of physically regular process. We consider relativistic shocks which propagate through and 'illuminate' regular configurations of magnetic field, producing polarization angle swing events. Two magnetic field configurations (force-free field and homogeneous helical field) are considered to demonstrate the results. It is shown that the properties of polarization angle swings and the relationship between the swings and variations in total and polarized flux density are critically dependent on the configuration of magnetic field and the dynamical behavior of the shock. In particular, we find that in some cases polarization angle swings can occur when the total and polarized flux densities only vary by a very small amount. These results may be useful for understanding the polarization variability with both long and short timescales obser     

Does the plasma composition affect the long-term evolution of relativistic jets?

We study the influence of the matter content of extragalactic jets on their morphology, dynamics and emission properties. For this purpose we consider jets of extremely different compositions, including pure leptonic and baryonic plasmas. Our work is based on two-dimensional relativistic hydrodynamic simulations of the long-term evolution of powerful extragalactic jets propagating into a homogeneous environment. The equation of state used in the simulations accounts for an arbitrary mixture of electrons, protons and electron–positron pairs. Using the hydrodynamic models, we have also computed synthetic radio maps and the thermal bremsstrahlung X-ray emission from their cavities.
Although there is a difference of about three orders of magnitude in the temperatures of the cavities inflated by the simulated jets, we find that both the morphology and the dynamic behaviour are almost independent of the assumed composition of the jets. Their evolution proceeds in two distinct epochs. During the first one, multidimensional effects are unimportant and the jets propagate ballistically. The second epoch starts when the first larger vortices are produced near the jet head, causing the beam cross-section to increase and the jet to decelerate. The evolution of the cocoon and cavity is in agreement with a simple theoretical model. The beam velocities are relativistic  ( Γ ≃4)  at kiloparsec scales, supporting the idea that the X-ray emission of several extragalactic jets may be due to relativistically boosted CMB photons. The radio emission of all models is dominated by the contribution of the hotspots. All models exhibit a depression in the X-rays surface brightness of the cavity interior, in agreement with recent observations.     

On redshifts and number counts of extragalactic objects in two cosmological models

Observed redshifts and magnitudes of seven classes of extragalactic objects, and number counts of QSRS are compared with predictions made by cosmological models. The uniform model U 1 and the proposed non-expanding model RHL 5 represent the observations very well. The latter offers numerous advantages. Absolute magnitudes and colors are determined.     

Circular polarization and the structure of compact extragalactic radio sources

The origin of the circularly polarized (CP) component of the synchrotron radiation in compact extragalactic radio sources is investigated. A convenient quantity, the CP excess, is defined as the ratio of the observed to the expected degree of CP in a source, with the latter calculated from synchrotron theory for transparent sources, using magnetic field strengths from VLBI measurements, and the degree of inhomogeneity estimated from the observed degree of linear polarization. For almost all sources, the CP excess is much larger than unity, and in addition appears to depend on the absolute luminosity of the source for both the radio galaxy and the quasar populations. Explanations for the amount and the luminosity dependence of the CP excess are considered, and the origin of the excess is suggested to lie in a special magnetic field geometry of the compact sources. A simple model with helical magnetic field and relativistic beaming, consistent with the quasar data, is presented. The importance of considering the CP component of radiation in the context of different physical source models is emphasized.     

活动星系和类星体中的喷流（Ⅰ）

自从人们获得河外射电源的第一个结构图像以来，３０多年时间已经过去了。在这段时间的后半期，人们对许多源中的喷流状结构作了大量研究。目前，我们正在分析所获得的有关喷流的第一代结果。这包括高分辨率观测，数值模拟和理论研究等诸方面的成就。在本文 详细地讨论河外射电源中的喷流。     

天球参考系实现中的问题评述

本文评述了在建立历表参考架和恒星参考架过程中所面临的问题和困难，回顾了建立河外射电天球参考架的发展历史，并介绍了其目前状况，讨论了河外射电天球参考架在与其他天球参考架连接过程中所遇到的问题及其可能的解决途径。     

HI absorption observations of two radio sources near the supernova remnant G 127.1 + 0.5

The compact source 0125 + 628 in the centre of the galactic supernova remnant G 127.1 + 0.5 has been re-observed in HI absorption using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT). The outer arm HI absorption atV = -95km s^-1 has been confirmed. The absorption spectrum is similar to that of the nearby extragalactic source 0123 + 633. We discuss the arguments concerning an extragalactic origin of 0125 + 628 and conclude that it is most likely extragalactic and not an SS 433 type object. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is operated by Associated Universities Inc. under contract with the National Science Foundation.