Probing the nuclear activity with supermassive black holes

We report three new or updated techniques for probing the parameters of active galaxies based on the masses of their central black holes M_BH). First, we derived a near-IR analog of the bulge luminosity versus M_BH relationship. The low scatter makes it a promising new tool to study the black hole demographics. Next, we present relations between M_BH and the10 μm and 2-10 keV nuclear luminosity. They may help to study the M_BH evolution over wide redshift ranges. Finally, we measured M_BH in quasars from z ∼ 3.4 to z ∼ 0.3 to search directly for M_BH growth. Surprisingly, we found no evidence for growth implying that the majority of quasar host galaxies have undergone their last major merger at z ≥ 3. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Non-axisymmetric instabilities in shocked adiabatic accretion flows

We investigate the linear stability of a shocked accretion flow on to a black hole in the adiabatic limit. Our linear analyses and numerical calculations show that, despite the post-shock deceleration, the shock is generally unstable to non-axisymmetric perturbations. The simulation results of Molteni, Tóth & Kuznetsov can be well explained by our linear eigenmodes. The mechanism of this instability is confirmed to be based on the cycle of acoustic waves between the corotation radius and the shock. We obtain an analytical formula to calculate the oscillation period from the physical parameters of the flow. We argue that the quasi-periodic oscillation should be a common phenomenon in accretion flows with angular momentum.     

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna double black holes: dynamics in gaseous nuclear discs

We study the inspiral of double black holes, with masses in the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna ( LISA ) window of detectability, orbiting inside a massive circumnuclear, rotationally supported gaseous disc. Using high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations, we follow the black hole dynamics in the early phase when gas-dynamical friction acts on the black holes individually, and continue our simulation until they form a close binary. We find that in the early sinking the black holes lose memory of their initial orbital eccentricity if they corotate with the gaseous disc. As a consequence, the massive black holes bind forming a binary with a low eccentricity, consistent with zero within our numerical resolution limit. The cause of circularization resides in the rotation present in the gaseous background where dynamical friction operates. Circularization may hinder gravitational waves from taking over and leading the binary to coalescence. In the case of counter-rotating orbits, the initial eccentricity (if present) does not decrease, and the black holes may bind forming an eccentric binary. When dynamical friction has subsided, for equal mass black holes and regardless their initial eccentricity, angular momentum loss, driven by the gravitational torque exerted on the binary by surrounding gas, is nevertheless observable down to the smallest scale probed (≃1 pc). In the case of unequal masses, dynamical friction remains efficient down to our resolution limit, and there is no sign of formation of any ellipsoidal gas distribution that may further harden the binary. During inspiral, gravitational capture of gas by the black holes occurs mainly along circular orbits; eccentric orbits imply high relative velocities and weak gravitational focusing. Thus, the active galactic nucleus activity may be excited during the black hole pairing process and double active nuclei may form when circularization is completed, on distance scales of tens of parsecs.     

Optical Response of the Atmosphere During the Caribbean Total Solar Eclipses of 26 February 1998 and of 3 February 1916 at Falcón state,Venezuela

An investigation of the optical response of the atmosphere before, during, and afterthe total solar eclipse of 26 February 1998 at the Caribbean Peninsula of Paraguaná (Falcón State) in Venezuela, was made by measuring photometrically the intensity of the sky brightness in three strategic directions: zenith, horizon anti-parallel or opposite the umbra path, and horizon perpendicular to this path. From these measurements, and by applying in an inverse way an empirical photometric model, very rough estimations of theextinction coefficient, and also of the average optical depth, were obtained in one of these particular directions. However based on meteorological measurements such as those of relative humidity and temperature, and applying a different model, a better estimation in the visual of the total global extinction coefficient of the sky (except the horizon), were made considering the contribution of each component: atmospheric aerosol, water vapour, ozone and Rayleigh scattering. It is shown that this global coefficient is mostly dependent upon aerosol extinction. In spite of the strong reduction of sky brightness photometrically observed during the totality, the results show that the sky was not dark. This is confirmed by the results obtained for the total global extinction coefficient. Additionally it is estimated that the total solar eclipse that took place also in Falcón State, Venezuela, at the beginning of the last century on 3 February 1916, was 30% darker that the 1998 eclipse, and that atmospheric aerosol played a relevant and similar role in the scattering of sunlight during the totality as it was for 1998's. Visual observations made during each event, which show that at length only one or two bright stars could be seen in the sky, support the results obtained for both eclipses.     

Weibel Turbulence in Laboratory Experiments and GRB/SN Shocks

It has recently been realized that the Weibel instability plays a major role in the formation and dynamics of astrophysical shocks of gamma-ray bursts and supernovae. Thanks to technological advances in the recent years, experimental studies of the Weibel instability are now possible in laser-plasma interaction devices. We, thus, have a unique opportunity to model and study astrophysical conditions in laboratory experiments – a key goal of the Laboratory Astrophysics program. Here we briefly review the theory of strong non-magnetized collisionless GRB and SN shocks, emphasizing the crucial role of the Weibel instability and discuss the properties of radiation emitted by (isotropic) electrons moving through the Weibel-generated magnetic fields, which is referred to as the jitter radiation. We demonstrate that the jitter radiation field is anisotropic with respect to the direction of the Weibel current filaments and that its spectral and polarization characteristics are determined by microphysical plasma parameters. We stress that the spectral analysis can be used for accurate diagnostics of the plasma conditions in laboratory experiments and in astrophysical GRB and SN shocks.     

Aeronomy of extra-solar giant planets at small orbital distances

One-dimensional aeronomical calculations of the atmospheric structure of extra-solar giant planets in orbits with semi-major axes from 0.01 to 0.1 AU show that the thermospheres are heated to over 10,000 K by the EUV flux from the central star. The high temperatures cause the atmosphere to escape rapidly, implying that the upper thermosphere is cooled primarily by adiabatic expansion. The lower thermosphere is cooled primarily by radiative emissions from H⁺₃, created by photoionization of H₂ and subsequent ion chemistry. Thermal decomposition of H₂ causes an abrupt change in the composition, from molecular to atomic, near the base of the thermosphere. The composition of the upper thermosphere is determined by the balance between photoionization, advection, and H⁺ recombination. Molecular diffusion and thermal conduction are of minor importance, in part because of large atmospheric scale heights. The energy-limited atmospheric escape rate is approximately proportional to the stellar EUV flux. Although escape rates are large, the atmospheres are stable over time scales of billions of years.