X-ray absorption in the strong Fe ii narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Markarian 507

We present results from spectral analysis of ASCA data on the strong Fe  ii narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 507. This galaxy was found to have an exceptionally flat ROSAT spectrum among the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) studied by Boller, Brandt & Fink. The ASCA spectrum, however, shows a clear absorption feature in the energy band below 2 keV, which partly accounts for the flat spectrum observed with the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC). Such absorption is rarely observed in other NLS1s. The absorption is mainly the result of cold (neutral or slightly ionized) gas with a column density of (2–3) × 10²¹ cm⁻². A reanalysis of the PSPC data shows that an extrapolation of the best-fitting model for the ASCA spectrum underpredicts the X-ray emission observed with the PSPC below 0.4 keV if the absorber is neutral (which indicates that the absorber is slightly ionized), covers only part of the central source, or there is extra soft thermal emission from an extended region. There is also evidence that the X-ray absorption is complex; an additional edge feature marginally detected at 0.84 keV suggests the presence of an additional high-ionization absorber, which imposes a strong O  viii edge on the spectrum. After correction for the absorption, the photon index of the intrinsic continuum, Γ ≃ 1.8, obtained from the ASCA data is quite similar to that of ordinary Seyfert 1 galaxies. Mrk 507 still has one of the flattest continuum slopes among the NLS1s, but is no longer exceptional. The strong optical Fe  ii emission remains unusual in the light of the correlation between Fe  ii strengths and steepness of soft X-ray slope.     

浅析渭河断陷地下热水赋存的地质构造背景

渭河断陷赋存丰富的地下热水资源．本文叙述了该区地热分布特征,阐明了区内地质构造、深部地质条件对地下热水赋存和水温、水量变化的控制作用,兼论了西安城郊区及地热赋存的地质构造背景．对指导当前和今后这一地区地热资源的开发利用和管理工作有重要意义。     

江西茅排金矿床地质特征及找矿方向

茅排金矿是我省近年发现、探明的又一小—中型岩金矿床。震旦纪—早古生代火山沉积建造提供主要成矿物质,多期次构造活动为成矿主要的控制因素,同期岩浆活动也促进了矿化富集。可注意沿北东—北北东向韧－脆性断裂带旁侧,多期次构造－岩浆发育地段寻找类似金矿。     

Extensional Tectonic System of Erlian Fault Basin Group and Its Deep Background

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Red quasars not so dusty

Webster et al. claimed that up to 80 per cent of QSOs may be obscured by dust. They inferred the presence of this dust from the remarkably broad range of B − K optical–infrared colours of a sample of flat-spectrum PKS radio QSOs. If such dust is typical of QSOs, it will have rendered invisible most of those which would otherwise have been detected by optical surveys. We used the William Herschel Telescope on La Palma to obtain K infrared images of 54 B3 radio QSOs selected at low frequency (mainly steep-spectrum), and we find that although several have very red optical–infrared colours, most of these can be attributed to an excess of light in K rather than a dust-induced deficit in B. We present evidence that some of the infrared excess comes from the light of stars in the host galaxy (some, as previously suggested, comes from synchrotron radiation associated with flat-spectrum radio sources). The B − K colours of the B3 QSOs provide no evidence for a large reddened population. Either the Webster et al. QSOs are atypical in having such large extinctions, or their reddening is not due to dust; either way, the broad range of their B − K colours does not provide evidence that a large fraction of QSOs has been missed from optical surveys.     

A complete infrared Einstein ring in the gravitational lens system B1938 + 666

We report the discovery, using NICMOS on the Hubble Space Telescope , of an arcsec-diameter Einstein ring in the gravitational lens system B1938+666. The lensing galaxy is also detected, and is most likely an early-type galaxy. Modelling of the ring is presented and compared with the radio structure from MERLIN maps. We show that the Einstein ring is consistent with the gravitational lensing of an extended infrared component, centred between the two radio components.     

B0712+472: a new radio four-image gravitational lens

A new four-image gravitational lens system, B0712+472, has been discovered during the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey. This system consists of four flat-spectrum radio images that are also seen on a Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) image, together with the lensing galaxy. We present MERLIN, VLA and VLBA maps and WHT spectra of the system as well as the HST images. The light distribution of the lensing galaxy is highly elongated and so too is the mass distribution deduced from modelling. We suggest a redshift of ∼1.33 for the lensed object; the lens redshift will require further investigation. The discovery of this new system further increases the ratio of four-image to two-image lens systems currently known, exacerbating problems of required ellipticity of matter distributions in lensing galaxies.     

Iron line profiles including emission from within the innermost stable orbit of a black hole accretion disc

We propose a model for the source of the X-ray background (XRB) in which low-luminosity active nuclei ( L  ∼ 10⁴³ erg s⁻¹) are obscured ( N  ∼ 10²³ cm⁻²) by nuclear starbursts within the inner ∼ 100 pc. The obscuring material covers most of the sky as seen from the central source, rather than being distributed in a toroidal structure, and hardens the averaged X-ray spectrum by photoelectric absorption. The gas is turbulent with velocity dispersion ∼ few × 100 km s⁻¹ and cloud–cloud collisions lead to copious star formation. Although supernovae tend to produce outflows, most of the gas is trapped in the gravity field of the star-forming cluster itself and the central black hole. A hot ( T  ∼ 10⁶ − 10⁷ K) virialized phase of this gas, comprising a few per cent of the total obscuring material, feeds the central engine of ∼ 10⁷ M⊙ through Bondi accretion, at a sub-Eddington rate appropriate for the luminosity of these objects. If starburst-obscured objects give rise to the residual XRB, then only 10 per cent of the accretion in active galaxies occurs close to the Eddington limit in unabsorbed objects.     

The radio properties of radio-quiet quasars

Although radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) constitute ≳ 90 per cent of optically identified quasar samples, their radio properties are only poorly understood. In this paper we present the results of a multi-frequency VLA study of 27 low-redshift RQQs. We detect radio emission from 20 objects, half of which are unresolved (≤ 0.24 arcsec). In cases where significant structure can be resolved, double, triple and linear radio sources on scales of a few kpc are found. The radio emission (typically) has a steep spectrum (α ∼ 0.7, where S  ∝ ν^−α), and high brightness temperatures ( T _B ≥ 10⁵ K) are measured in some of the radio components. The RQQs form a natural extension to the radio luminosity–absolute magnitude distribution of nearby Seyfert 1s. We conclude that a significant fraction of the radio emission in RQQs originates in a compact nuclear source directly associated with the quasar. There are no significant differences between the radio properties of RQQs with elliptical hosts and those in disc galaxies within the current sample.     

A new look at the isotropy of narrow-line emission in extragalactic radio sources

We undertake a quantitative investigation, using Monte Carlo simulations, of the amount by which quasars are expected to exceed radio galaxies in optical luminosity in the context of the 'receding torus' model. We compare these simulations with the known behaviour of the [O  III ] λ5007 and [O  II ] λ3727 emission lines and conclude that [O  III ] is the better indicator of the strength of the underlying non-stellar continuum.