Broadband Spectral Properties of MAXI J1348–630 using AstroSat Observations

We present broadband X-ray spectral analysis of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI J1348-630,performed using five AstroSat observations.The source was in the soft spectral state for the first three observations and in the hard state for the last two.The three soft state spectra were modeled using a relativistic thin accretion disk with reflection features and thermal Comptonization.Joint fitting of the soft state spectra constrained the spin parameter of the black hole a_*> 0.97 and t...     

Jet-dominated quiescent state in black hole X-ray binaries: the cases of A0620–00 and XTE J1118+480

The radiative mechanism of black hole X-ray transients(BHXTs) in their quiescent states(defined as the 2–10 ke V X-ray luminosity 10~(34) erg s~(-1)) remains unclear. In this work, we investigate the quasi-simultaneous quiescent state spectrum(including radio, infrared, optical, ultraviolet and X-ray)of two BHXTs, A0620–00 and XTE J1118+480. We find that these two sources can be well described by a coupled accretion – jet model. More specifically, most of the emission(radio up to infrared, and the X-ray waveband) comes from the collimated relativistic jet. Emission from hot accretion flow is totally insignificant, and it can only be observed in mid-infrared(the synchrotron peak). Emission from the outer cold disk is only evident in the UV band. These results are consistent with our previous investigation on the quiescent state of V404 Cyg and confirm that the quiescent state is jet-dominated.     

Spectral Properties of Anomalous X-ray Pulsars

We examine the spectra of the persistent emission from anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs) and their variati on with the spin-down rate Ω. Based onan accretion-powered model, the influences of both the magnetic field and the mass accretion rate on the spectral properties of AXPs are addressed. We then investigate the relation between the spectral property of AXPs and mass accretion rate M. The result shows that there exists a linear correlation between the photon index and the mass accretion rate: the spectral hardness increases with increasing M. A possible emission mechanism for the explanation of the spectral properties of AXPs is also discussed.     

A Two—Temperature Supernova Fallback Disk Model for Anomalous X—ray Pulsars

We present a case study of the relevance of the radially pulsational instability of a two-temperature accretion disk around a neutron star to anomalous X-ray pulsars (AXPs). Our estimates are based on the approximation that such a neutron star disk with mass in the range of 10^-6-10^-5M⊙ is formed by supernova fallback. We derive several peculiar properties of the accretion disk instability: a narrow interval of X-ray pulse periods; lower X-ray luminosities; a period derivative and an evolution time scale. All these results are in good agreement with the observations of the AXPs.     

A disk-corona model for the low/hard state of black hole X-ray binaries

A disk-corona model for fitting the low/hard（LH）state of the associated steady jet in black hole X-ray binaries（BHXBs）is proposed based on the large-scale magnetic field configuration that arises from the coexistence of the Blandford-Znajek（BZ）and Blandford-Payne（BP）processes,where the magnetic field configuration for the BP process is determined by the requirement of energy conversion from Poynting energy flux into kinetic energy flux in the jet.It is found that corona current is crucial to guarantee the consistency of the jet launching from the accretion disk.The relative importance of the BZ and BP processes in powering jets from black hole accretion disks is discussed,and the LH state of several BHXBs is fitted based on our model.In addition,we suggest that magnetic field configuration can be regarded as the second parameter for governing the state transition of BHXBs.     

Variation of the inner disk radius during the onset of the 2010 outburst of MAXI J1659–152

Low mass black hole binaries are generally transient sources and spend most of their time in the quiescent state. It is believed that the inner accretion flow in the quiescent state is in the form of advection dominated accretion flow and the cold outer accretion disk is truncated far away from the central black hole. During the onset of an outburst, the disk gradually extends towards the central black hole.However, the observational evidence for this general picture is indirect at best. Here we present the results of a study performed to understand the variation of the inner disk radius during the early phase of an outburst. We investigated the variation of the inner disk radius during the 2010 outburst of the black hole candidate MAXI J1659-152 using the method of simultaneous spectral fitting. We found that the inner edge of the disk is truncated at a large radius in the beginning of the outburst when the source was in the hard state. We found a systematic decrease in the inner disk radius as the outburst progressed. We also estimated an upper limit on the mass of the black hole to be 8.1 ± 2.9 M within the uncertainty of the distance and inclination angle.     

The advection-dominated accretion flow＋thin accretion disk model for two low-luminosity active galactic nuclei： M81 and NGC 4579

It was found that advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF)+thin disk model calculations can reproduce the observed spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of two low- luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs), provided they are accreting at ～ 0.01 - 0.03 Eddington rates and the thin disks are truncated to ADAFs at～ 100Rs (Rs is the Schwarzschild radius) for M81 and NGC 4579 (Quataert et al. 1999). However, the black hole masses adopted in their work are about one order of magnitude lower than recent measurements on these two sources. Adopting the well estimated black hole masses, our ADAF+thin disk model calculations can reproduce the observed SEDs of these two low- luminosity AGNs, if the black hole is accreting at 2.5 × 10-4 Eddington rates with the thin disk truncated at Rtr = 120Rs for M81 ((m) = 3.3 × 10-3 and Rtr = 80Rs are required for NGC 4579). The transition zones with temperature from the thin disk with 104 - 105 to～109 - 1010 K in the ADAF will inevitably emit thermal X-ray lines, which provides a useful diagnosis of their physical properties. The observed widths of the thermal X-ray iron lines at(～)6.8 keV are consistent with Doppler broadening by Keplerian motion of the gases in the transition zones at～100Rs. We use the structure of the transition zone between the ADAF and the thin disk derived by assuming the turbulent diffusive heat mechanism to calculate their thermal X-ray line emission with the standard software package Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code (APEC). Comparing them with the equivalent widths of the observed thermal X-ray iron lines in these two sources, we find that the turbulent diffusive heat mechanism seems to be unable to reproduce the ob- served thermal X-ray line emission. The test of the evaporation model for the accretion mode transition with the observed thermal X-ray line emission is briefly discussed.     

A magnetic model for low/hard state of black hole binaries

A magnetic model for the low/hard state(LHS) of two black hole X-ray binaries(BHXBs),H1743–322 and GX 339–4, is proposed based on transport of the magnetic field from a companion into an accretion disk around a black hole(BH). This model consists of a truncated thin disk with an inner advection-dominated accretion flow(ADAF). The spectral profiles of the sources are fitted in agreement with the data observed at four different dates corresponding to the rising phase of the LHS. In addition,the association of the LHS with a quasi-steady jet is modeled based on transport of magnetic field, where the Blandford-Znajek(BZ) and Blandford-Payne(BP) processes are invoked to drive the jets from BH and inner ADAF. It turns out that the steep radio/X-ray correlations observed in H1743–322 and GX 339–4 can be interpreted based on our model.     

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.     

The Correlation between Optical Spectral Index and Continuum Luminosity Variation in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548

Using the archived optical spectra of NGC 5548 between 1989 and 2001, we derived the optical spectral index by fitting the spectra in wavelength windows unaffected by strong emission lines. We found that the index is anti-correlated with the continuum luminosity at 5100 A with a correlation coefficient of -0.8. Based on the standard thin accretion disk model, we investigated whether the correlation is related to the variations of the dimensionless accretion rate m (mass accretion rate in Eddington unit), or the inner radius of the accretion disk Rin, or both. The correlation can be modeled well using a co-variable mode of Rin/Rs = 12.5m-0.8 (Rs is Schwarzschild radius). As luminosity increases, m increases from 0.05 to 0.16 and at the same time Rin decreases from 133.9.RS to 55.5.RS, consistent with the prediction for a transition radius within which an ADAF structure exists. We concluded that the change of both inner accretion radius and the dimensionless accretion rate are key factors for the variation     

Relation between the ＂Double-Hump＂ Behavior in the Radio Band and the Broad-Line Luminosity for Blazars

The physics behind the spectral energy distribution (SED) of blazars remains open.We assembled 36 blazars to tackle the factors that control their SED. Now, many blazar spectra have the "double hump" feature in the radio and far-IR frequencies. For these a parameter,△, is created to characterize the behavior of the SED. We found a significant correlation between the broad-line luminosity (LBLR) and △. Because LBLR is an indicator of the accreting power of the source in blazars, we derived a linear correlation,△∝ (M)1/3. 18, which suggests that the SED of blazars may depend on the accretion rate, like that of BL Lac objects. We also found a significant correlation between (m) and△ for a sample of 11 blazars (out of one of 36)with available black hole masses. This implies the Eddington accretion ratio may influence the shape of the SED of blazars.     

Relation between the “Double-Hump” Behavior in the Radio Band and the Broad-Line Luminosity for Blazars

The physics behind the spectral energy distribution (SED) of blazars remains open. We assembled 36 blazars to tackle the factors that control their SED. Now, many blazar spec- tra have the "double hump" feature in the radio and far-IR frequencies. For these a parameter, , is created to characterize the behavior of the SED. We found a significant correlation be- tween the broad-line luminosity (LBLR) and . Because LBLR is an indicator of the accreting power of the source in blazars, we derived a linear correlation, ∝ M˙1/3.18, which suggests that the SED of blazars may depend on the accretion rate, like that of BL Lac objects. We also found a significant correlation between ■ and for a sample of 11 blazars (out of one of 36) with available black hole masses. This implies the Eddington accretion ratio may influence the shape of the SED of blazars.     

A Statistical Analysis of Point-like Sources in the Chandra Galactic Center Survey

The Chandra Galactic Center Survey detected ～ 800 X-ray point-like sources in the 2°× 0.8° sky region around the Galactic Center. We study the spatial and luminosity distributions of these sources according to their spectral properties. Fourteen bright sources detected are used to fit jointly an absorbed power-law model, from which the power-law photon index is determined to be ～2.5. Assuming that all other sources have the same power-law form, the relation between hardness ratio and HI column density NH is used to estimate the NH values for all sources. Monte Carlo simulations show that these sources are more likely concentrated in the Galactic center region, rather than distributed throughout the Galactic disk. We also find that the luminosities of the sources are positively correlated with their HI column densities, i.e., a more luminous source has a higher HI column density. From this relation, we suggest that the X-ray luminosity comes from the interaction between an isolated old neutron star and interstellar medium (mainly dense molecular clouds). Using the standard Bondi accretion theory and the statistical information of molecular clouds in the Galactic center, we confirm this positive correlation and calculate the luminosity range in this scenario,which is consistent with the observation (1032 - 1035 erg s-1).     

Properties of Broad Band Continuum of Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

We have performed a statistical study of the properties of the broadband continuum of Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) by collecting ratio,infrared, optical and X-ray continuum data from various databases and comparedthe results with control samples of Broad Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (BLSls). We findthat the fraction (～ 6%) of Radio Loud (RL) NLSls is significantly less than thatof BLS1s (～ 13%), which is caused by the lack of radio-very-loud sources in theformer. The rarity of RL NLS1s, especially radio-very-loud ones, is consistent withthe scenario of small black hole and high accretion rate for NLSls. Six new radio loudNLSls are found and five RL NLS1 candidates are presented. In comparison withthe BLS1s, the NLS1s tend to have stronger far infrared emission, cooler infraredcolors and redder B- K color, which suggests that NLS1s are hosted by dust-richernuclei. The NLS1s also show steeper soft X-ray spectrum and large soft X-rayto optical flux ratio, while a significant fraction show fiat soft X-ray spectra. Atleast two factors can account for this, absorption and spectral variability. We alsoperform a correlation analysis between various broad band data. It is found thatmost correlations identified for NLS1s are also valid for radio quiet BLS1s: (1) theoptical colors are anti-correlated with X-ray spectral index; (2) higher optical, X-ray and NIR luminosity objects show bluer optical colors and red H - K color; (3)higher luminosity objects show warmer IRAS color; (4) the radio loudness correlateswith B - K and X-ray to optical flux ratio. Radio loud objects behave somewhatdifferently in a few correlations.     

Correlation between excitation index and Eddington ratio in radio galaxies

We use a sample of 111 radio galaxies with redshift z 0.3 to investigate their nuclear properties.The black hole masses of the sources in this sample are estimated with the velocity dispersion/luminosity of the galaxies, or the width of the broad-lines. We find that the excitation index, the relative intensity of low and high excitation lines, is correlated with the Eddington ratio for this sample. The size of the narrow-line region(NLR) was found to vary with ionizing luminosity as RNLR∝L_(ion)~(0.25)(Liu et al. 2013). Using this empirical relation, we find that the correlation between the excitation index and the Eddington ratio can be reproduced by photoionization models. We adopt two sets of spectral energy distributions(SEDs), with or without a big blue bump in ultraviolet as the ionizing continuum, and infer that the modeled correlation between the excitation index and the Eddington ratio is insensitive to the applied SED. This means that the difference between high excitation galaxies and low excitation galaxies is not caused by the different accretion modes in these sources. Instead, it may be caused by the size of the NLR.     

Spin Evolution of Neutron Stars in OB／X-ray Binaries

We have investigated the relation between the orbital period Porb and the spin period Ps of neutron stars in OB/X-ray binaries. By simulating the time-development of the mass loss rate and radius expansion of a 20A⊙ donor star, we have calculated the detailed spin evolution of the neutron star before steady wind accretion occurs (that is, when the break spin period is reached), or when the OB star begins evolving off the main sequence or has filled its Roche lobe. Our results are compatible with the observations of OB/X-ray binaries. We find that in relatively narrow systems with orbital periods less than tens of days, neutron stars with initial magnetic field B0 stronger than about 3×1012 G can reach the break spin period to allow steady wind accretion in the main sequence time, whereas neutron stars with B0 < 3×1012 G and/or in wide systems would still be in one of the pulsar, rapid rotator or propeller phases when the companion evolves off the main sequence or fills its Roche lobe. Our results may     

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.     

Populations of Bright X-ray Sources in the Starburst Galaxies NGC 4038/4039

Assuming a naive star formation history, we construct synthetic X-ray source pop- ulations, using a population synthesis code, for comparison with the observed X-ray lumi- nosity function (XLF) of the interacting galaxies NGC 4038/4039. We have included high- and intermediate-mass X-ray binaries, young rotation-powered pulsars and fallback disk-fed black holes in modeling the bright X-ray sources detected. We find that the majority of the X-ray sources are likely to be intermediate-mass X-ray binaries, but for typical binary evolu- tion parameters, the predicted XLF seems to be steeper than observed. We note that the shape of the XLFs depends critically on the existence of XLF break for young populations, and suggest super-Eddington accretion luminosities or the existence of intermediate-mass black holes to account for the high luminosity end and the slope of the XLF in NGC 4038/4039.     

Effect of magnetic flux advection on the dynamics of shock in accretion flow around a rotating black hole

We investigate the dynamical behavior of a magnetized, dissipative accretion flow around a rapidly rotating black hole. We solve the magnetohydrodynamic equations and calculate the transonic accretion solutions which may contain discontinuous shock transitions. We investigate the effect of ζ-parameter(parametrizing the radial variation of the toroidal magnetic flux advection rate) on the dynamical behavior of shocks. For a rapidly rotating black hole and for fixed injection parameters at the outer edge, we show that stationary shocks are sustained in the global magnetized accretion solutions for a wide range of ζ and accretion rate( ˙m). To investigate the observational implications, we consider dissipative shocks and estimate the maximum accessible energy from the post-shock corona(PSC) for nine stellar mass black hole candidates. We compare this with the observed radio jet kinetic power reported in the literature, whenever available. We find close agreement between the estimated values from our model and those reported in the literature.     

On the Neutron Star/Black Hole Mass Gap and Black Hole Searches

Mass distribution of black holes in low-mass X-ray binaries previously suggested the existence of a ～2–5 M⊙mass gap between the most massive neutron stars and the least massive black holes, while some recent evidence appears to support that this mass gap is being populated. Whether there is a mass gap or not can potentially shed light on the physics of supernova explosions that form neutron stars and black holes, although significant mass accretion of neutron stars including binary mergers may l...