Observations of the gamma-ray flux from the galaxy Mk 501

We present two-year-long observations of the flux of very-high-energy (～10¹² eV) gamma rays from the active galactic nucleus Mk 501 performed with a Cherenkov detector at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. A gamma-ray flux from the object was shown to exist at confidence levels of 11 and 7 standard deviations for 1997 and 1998, respectively. The flux varied over a wide range. The mean flux at energies >10¹² eV, as inferred from the 1997 and 1998 data, is (5.0±0.6)×10^?11 and (3.7±0.6)×10^?11 cm^?2 s^?1, respectively. The errors are the sum of statistical observational and modeling errors. The mean power released in the form of gamma rays is ～2×10⁴³ erg s^?1 sr^?1.     

On the very-high-energy gamma-ray flux from the galaxy Mrk 421 in 2004

The galaxy Mrk 421 was observed with the GT-48 Cherenkov telescope in 2004. The observations revealed a very-high-energy gamma-ray flux at a confidence level of 4.8 σ. Comparison with the constant gamma-ray flux from the Crab Nebula yielded an estimate of the total flux from Mrk 421, 1.7 ± 0.7 Crab (E ≥ 1 TeV).     

A 23\mathop .\limits^d 2 period in the ultrahigh-energy gamma-ray flux from the Mk 501 active galactic nucleus

Observations at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory are used to show that the ultrahigh-energy gamma-ray flux from the galaxy Mk 501 varies with a $23\mathop .\limits^d 2$ period. The period was determined by the HEGRA team from the 1997 observations.     

Results of observation of Cyg γ-2, BL Lac, 3C66A, Mk 501, and the Crab nebula by the GT-48 gamma-ray telescope in 2006

The active galactic nuclei BL Lac, 3C66A, and Mk501, as well as the Crab nebula and the Cyg γ-2 source were observed in 2006 at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory using the GT-48 gamma-ray telescope. Very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray fluxes at a high confidence level (Q > 4) were detected from the active galactic nuclei and the Crab nebula. VHE gamma-ray fluxes from the unidentified gamma-ray source Cyg γ-2 and the X-ray source Cyg X-3 were recorded during observations of Cyg γ-2.     

Optical identification of the hard X-ray source IGR J18257-0707

We present the results of our optical identification of the hard X-ray source IGR J18257-0707 through its spectrophotometric observations with the optical RTT-150 telescope. The accurate position of the X-ray source determined using Chandra observations has allowed this source to be confidently associatedwith a faint optical object (m _R ≈ 20.4) whose optical spectrumexhibits a broad H _α emission line at redshift z = 0.037. Thus, the source IGR J18257-0707 is a type-1 Seyfert galaxy at redshift z = 0.037.     

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.     

Optical identifications of five INTEGRAL hard X-ray sources in the Galactic plane

The results of optical identifications of five hard X-ray sources in the Galactic plane from the INTEGRAL all-sky survey are presented. The X-ray data on one source (IGR J20216+4359) are published for the first time. The optical observations were performed with the 1.5-m RTT-150 telescope (Turkish National Observatory, Antalya, Turkey) and the 6-m BTA telescope (Special Astrophysical Observatory, Nizhny Arkhyz, Russia). A blazar, three Seyfert galaxies, and a high-mass X-ray binary are among the identified sources.     

WSRT observations of the quasar OH 471

The 325-MHz observations of the quasar OH 471 (z=3.4) in 1985–1996 revealed variability of its radio emission. Over this period, its radio flux density increased by a factor of 1.6. A steep-spectrum radio source was identified $2_.^\prime 5$ north of the quasar. Its radio flux density is 1.46 mJy at 5 GHz and 14.5 mJy at 350 MHz.     

The sun,the cosmic vibration,and the nucleus of the galaxy 4151

Numerous U and V magnitude measurements were performed for the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 at the Crimean Laboratory of the SAI (Moscow University) in 1994–2005. Adding them to the previous data for 1968–1997 has led to a substantial increase in the confidence level of the light variations in NGC 4151 with a stable period of P _G = 160.0108(7) min and a mean amplitude of 0.007 U mag (in the “active” state of the nucleus). The period of NGC 4151 agrees well with the period of 160.0101(15) min found previously in the oscillations of the Sun. It is treated as the period of a “coherent cosmic oscillation” independent of redshift z or as the period of “free cosmic vibrations” of the hydrogen atom, the main element of the Universe. The period and initial phase of the P _G oscillation have been constant for 38 years of NGC 4151 observations. The new astrophysical phenomenon appears to be closely related to the quantum nonlocality of photons and is of particular interest in physics and cosmology.     

Star formation history in the central region of the barred galaxy NGC 4245

We have investigated the gas and stellar kinematics and the stellar population properties at the center of the early-type galaxy NGC 4245 with a large-scale bar by the method of two-dimensional spectroscopy. The galaxy has been found to possess a pronounced chemically decoupled compact stellar nucleus, which is at least a factor of 2.5 richer in metals than the stellar population of the bulge, and a ring of young stars with a radius of 300 pc. Star formation goes on in the ring even now; its location corresponds to the inner Lindblad resonance of the large-scale bar. According to Hubble Space Telescope data, the mean stellar age in the chemically decoupled nucleus is significantly younger than that within 0″.25 of the center. It may be concluded that we take the former ultracompact star formation ring with a radius of no more than 100 pc located at the inner Lindblad resonance of the now disappeared nuclear bar as the chemically decoupled nucleus. On the whole, the picture of star formation at the center of this gas-poor galaxy is consistent with theoretical predictions of the consequences of the secular evolution of a stellar-gaseous disk under the action of a bar or bars.     

A model for the molecular accretion disk and H2O maser in the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 4258

A model is developed for the H₂O maser source observed in the circumnuclear region of the galaxy NGC 4258. The maser emission originates at distances of 0.15–0.29 pc from the center in a thin, cold accretion disk (gas-dust torus) rotating around a supermassive black hole of mass 4 × 10⁷ M _⊙. The conditions for the emergence of an inverse population of the signal 6₁₆?5₂₃ levels in ortho-H₂O working molecules are simulated numerically. The complex line profile, which includes both central and high-velocity components, is calculated. A comparison of the calculations with radiointerferometric and spectrophotometric observations allowed the physical conditions in the emitting region to be determined.     

Properties of the continua of eight PG QSOs from ASCA data

We have analyzed the continua of eight PG QSOs, obtained by the ASCA SIS detector with a higher energy resolution and a broader band than by ROSAT/PSPC and attempted to fit the data with a single power law, a double power law and a truncated power law. Four of the objects exhibit soft X excess in 0.4 – 10 keV. They are Mkn 478, PG 1444+407, PG 1543+48 and 3C 273. Furthermore, the ratio of the excess to total flux is the smaller, the greater the optical luminosity is. The presence or otherwise of the soft X-ray excess is unrelated to the radio properties and luminosity of the object.     

In the big blue bump in active galactic nuclei peaked around 1050 Å ?

We carried out a statistical test on the peak position of the big blue bump (BBB) of medium/small redshift AGNs of different luminosities. The main method is to compare the spectral index in the soft X-ray, _SX and the power law index for the straight line joining 1050 Å in UV and 0.5 keV of soft X-ray, _UV-SX. The distributions of these two quantities proved to be similar from their mean values and by the K-S test. Hence, between 1050 Å and 0.5 keV, a power law possibly holds. The statistics predict that the BBB peaks around 1050 Å. This statistical result can also be obtained in the soft X-ray-selected, low luminosity AGN sample, WF 93. This shows that, even though a soft X-ray excess generally exists in WF 93, the BBB may still peak around 1050 Å. However, there is no correlation between _SX and _UV-SX, indicating that there is still an unknown factor operating in the far and extreme ultraviolet (FUV and EUV), which while ensuring overall similarity in distribution, inhibits one-to-one correspondence between individual values.     

Comparison of the X-ray and optical variabilities in the Seyfert galaxy 3C 120

Based on our UBV RI observations and X-ray data from the RXTE satellite, we have investigated the variability of the galaxy 3C 120 over the period 1996–2008. The relative variability amplitude in the U and B bands without any subtraction of the contribution from the underlying galaxy is 23 and 22%, respectively, against 21% in the X-ray band. The autocorrelation function based on the B-band data is considerably wider than that based on the X-ray data. The structure functions on a time scale from 1 to ～100–300 days in the X-ray and optical spectral ranges have the form of a power law (SF ～ τ ^b ). However, their indices differ significantly: b = 0.42 in the X-ray band and b = 1.36 in the B band. Considering the X-ray and optical variabilities as a superposition of independent flares in a wide range of durations, we may conclude that the amplitudes of short flares in the X-ray band are higher than those in the optical one and, conversely, the relative amplitudes of long flares in the X-ray band are slightly lower than those in the optical one, i.e., short events dominate in the X-ray band. The optical flux variations in the R _c and I _c bands lag significantly behind those in the B band, by 3.9 _?0.7 ^+1.0 and 6.2 _?0.6 ^+1.1 days, respectively, if the lag is estimated from the centroid of the cross-correlation function. The X-ray variability on a time scale of about 1800 days (～5 yr) lags behind the B-band variations by 5.3 _?3.3 ^+2.7 days, but the confidence level of this estimate is only 87%. A more detailed analysis of the correlation between the X-ray and optical emissions has revealed a fairly complex picture: different degrees of correlation between the optical and X-ray fluxes are observed at different times.     

活动星系核FeⅡ发发射线的研究进展

FeⅡ发射线是活动星系核光谱从紫外到光学波段的一个重要特征,其不仅与活动星系核的一些基本物理问题紧密相关,而且在宇宙学上有着重要的应用。虽然对FeⅡ发射线的观测和理论研究已有好几十年,但许多问题仍未有定论。主要对FeⅡ发射线近年的研究进展进行综述,包括其与本征向量Ⅰ的关系、它的起源、激发机制、发射区的运动学特征及在宇宙学中的应用等几方面,并指出了一些研究方向。     

射电活动星系核中盘与喷流联系

本文收集了射电源表１Ｊｙ,Ｓ４ ,Ｓ５ 中的活动星系核的宽发射线数据,发现射电活动星系核的宽发射线与５ＧＨｚ 射电辐射强相关。ＢＬＬａｃ 天体具有较弱的宽发射线辐射,但具有与其它活动星系核类似的统计行为。结果表明射电活动星系核中的喷流与吸积过程存在本质联系。     

Nuclear activity of NGC 4151 as inferred from UBVRI observations in 1989–2000

We present our broadband UBVRI observations of the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151 from 1989 until 2000 at three astronomical observatories: the Crimean Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute, the Special Astrophysical Observatory in the Caucasus, and the Maidanak Observatory of the Ulugbek Astronomical Institute in Uzbekistan. All data have been reduced to a single system and are given for an A=27.″5 aperture. Regular R and I observations show that the pattern of optical variability is the same in all bands; the relative variability amplitude decreases from U to V, but it is even slightly larger in R than in V. The variability amplitude of the component fluctuating on time scales of several months is proportional to the UBV flux from the component varying on times scales of several years. The correlation between the slow and rapid components significantly weakens in the red, and no correlation has been found between the flux from the slow component and the amplitude of the rapid component in R. The color characteristics correspond to the recombination radiation from an optically thick plasma beyond the Balmer limit.     

X-ray emission from accretion disks in active galactic nuclei

We constructed a grid of relativistic models for standard high-relative-luminosity accretion α-disks around supermassive Kerr black holes (BHs) and computed X-ray spectra for their hot, effectively optically thin inner parts by taking into account general-relativity effects. They are known to be heated to high (～10⁶–10⁹ K) temperatures and to cool down through the Comptonization of intrinsic thermal radiation. Their spectra are power laws with an exponential cutoff at high energies; i.e., they have the same shape as those observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Fitting the observed X-ray spectra of AGNs with computed spectra allowed us to estimate the fundamental parameters of BHs (their mass and Kerr parameter) and accretion disks (luminosity and inclination to the line of sight) in 28 AGNs. We show that the Kerr parameter for BHs in AGNs is close to unity and that the disk inclination correlates with the Seyfert type of AGN, in accordance with the unification model of activity. The estimated BH masses M_x are compared with the masses M_rev determined by the reverberation mapping technique. For AGNs with luminosities close to the Eddington limit, these masses agree and the model under consideration may be valid for them. For low-relative-luminosity AGNs, the differences in masses increase with decreasing relative luminosity and their X-ray emission cannot be explained by this model.     

活动星系核VLBI观测的新进展

介绍了活动星系核 (AGN)的VLBI观测的新近展 ,特别关注其中心结构和低光度的活动星系核。主要目的是强调VLBI观测在该领域的重要性。