The optical counterpart to SAX J1808.4−3658: observations in quiescence

We report the first extensive set of optical photometric observations of the counterpart to SAX J1808.4−3658 (V4580 Sagittarii) in quiescence. The source was detected at V ∼21 , 5 mag fainter than at the peak of its 1998 outburst. However, a comparable ∼6 per cent semi-amplitude 2-h modulation of its flux is revealed. This has the same phasing and approximately sinusoidal modulation as seen during outburst, and with photometric minimum when the pulsar is behind the companion. The lack of a double-humped morphology rules out an ellipsoidal origin, implying that the bulk of the optical flux does not arise from the companion. Moreover, applying crude modelling to the disc and X-ray irradiated face of the donor shows that the internal energy release of a remnant disc (with mass transfer driven by gravitational radiation) is sufficient to explain most of the optical emission, and with the modulation because of the varying contribution of the heated face of the star. We note that this model is also consistent with the much lower X-ray to optical flux ratio in quiescence versus outburst, and with the phasing of the optical modulation.     

Hubble Space Telescope photometry of globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy

We explore the rich globular cluster (GC) system of the nearby Sa galaxy M104, the 'Sombrero' (NGC 4594), using archive Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 data. The GC colour distribution is found to be bimodal at the >99 per cent confidence level, with peaks at     and     . The inferred metallicities are very similar to those of GCs in our Galaxy and M31. However, the Sombrero reveals a much enhanced number of red (metal-rich) GCs compared to other well-studied spirals. Because the Sombrero is dominated by a huge bulge and only has a modest disc, we associate the two subpopulations with the halo and bulge components, respectively. Thus our analysis supports the view that the metal-rich GCs in spirals are associated with the bulge rather than with the disc. The Sombrero GCs have typical effective (half-light) radii of ∼2 pc with the red ones being ∼30 per cent smaller than the blue ones. We identify many similarities between the GC system of the Sombrero and those of both late-type spirals and early-type galaxies. Thus both the GC system and the Hubble type of the Sombrero galaxy appear to be intermediate in their nature.     

Kinematics from spectroscopy with a wide slit: detecting black holes in galaxy centres

We consider long-slit emission-line spectra of galactic nuclei when the slit is wider than the instrumental point spread function, and the target has large velocity gradients. The finite width of the slit generates complex distributions of brightness at a given spatial point in the measured spectrum, which can be misinterpreted as coming from additional physically distinct nuclear components. We illustrate this phenomenon for the case of a thin disc in circular motion around a nuclear black hole (BH). We develop a new method for estimating the mass of the BH that exploits a feature in the spectrum at the outer edge of the BH's sphere of influence, and therefore gives higher sensitivity to BH detection than traditional methods. Moreover, with this method we can determine the BH mass and the inclination of the surrounding disc separately, whereas the traditional approach to BH estimation requires two long-slit spectra to be taken. We show that, with a given spectrograph, the detectability of a BH depends on the sense of rotation of the nuclear disc. We apply our method to estimate the BH mass in M84 from a publicly available spectrum, and recover a value four times lower than that published previously from the same data.     

The symbiotic star CH Cygni – I. Non-thermal bipolar jets

Very Large Array surface brightness and spectral index maps of the evolving extended emission of the triple symbiotic star CH Cygni are presented. These are derived from observations at 4.8, 8.4 and 14 GHz between 1985 and 1999. The maps are dominated by thermal emission around the central bright peak of the nebula, but we also find unambiguous non-thermal emission associated with the extended regions. Our observations confirm that this is a jet. The central region has been associated with the stellar components through Hubble Space Telescope imaging. If the jets are the result of ejection events at outburst, expansion velocities are consistent with those from other measurement methods. We propose that the non-thermal emission is caused by material ejected in the bipolar jets interacting with the circumstellar wind envelope. The resulting shocks lead to local enhancements in the magnetic field from the compact component of the order of 3 mG.     

The departure of η Carinae from axisymmetry and the binary hypothesis

I argue that the large-scale departure from axisymmetry of the η Carinae nebula can be explained by the binary star model of η Carinae. The companion diverts the wind blown by the primary star, by accreting from the wind and possibly by blowing its own collimated fast wind (CFW). The effect of these processes depends on the orbital separation, and hence on the orbital phase of the eccentric orbit. The variation of the mass outflow from the binary system with the orbital phase leads to a large-scale departure from axisymmetry along the equatorial plane, as is observed in η Carinae. I further speculate that such a companion may have accreted a large fraction of the mass that was expelled in the Great Eruption of 1850 and the Lesser Eruption of 1890. The accretion process was likely to form an accretion disc, with the formation of a CFW, or jets, on the two sides of the accretion disc. The CFW may have played a crucial role in the formation of the two lobes.     

Faraday rotation in the VLBI core of BL Lacertae

External Faraday rotation has been detected in both the core and the parsec-scale jet of BL Lac in a four-frequency very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment. This unexpected result indicates the presence of significant amounts of thermal gas close to the nucleus of this object. The rotation measure (RM) in the jet components is constant, and differs from the currently accepted Galactic RM, indicating that this value (−205 rad m⁻²) is not applicable to the components in the parsec-scale jet. The similarity of the RM in these jet components leads us to suspect that the jet RM is caused by a foreground screen in our Galaxy, although we cannot rule out a combination of Galactic RM and RM local to the jet. If the jet RM is due solely to the Galaxy, this would mean that the currently accepted value of the foreground RM (−205 rad m⁻² ) is not correct, either because the value changed between 1982 and 1997, or because the assumption of no intrinsic source rotation was incorrect, as it was at our later epoch of observation. Our observations suggest a value of     .
After correcting for the foreground RM, the core value is −427 rad m⁻², which is unexpected since, owing to the weakness of their line emission, BL Lac objects are often assumed to be depleted in gas. The core RM appears to be variable, probably because of the presence of at least two polarized components close to the core the relative contributions of which vary with time.     

Chandra measurements of the X-ray core and cluster of 3C 220.1

We report results of an 18-ks exposure with the ACIS instrument on Chandra of the powerful z =0.62 radio galaxy 3C 220.1. The X-ray emission separates into cluster gas of emission-weighted kT ∼5 keV , 0.7–12 keV luminosity (to a radius of 45 arcsec) of 5.6×10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹ and unresolved emission (coincident with the radio core). While the extended X-ray emission is clearly thermal in nature, a straightforward cooling-flow model, even in conjunction with a point-source component, is a poor fit to the radial profile of the X-ray emission. This is despite the fact that the measured properties of the gas suggest a massive cooling flow of ∼130 M_⊙ yr⁻¹, and the data show weak evidence for a temperature gradient. The central unresolved X-ray emission has a power-law spectral energy index α ∼0.7 and 0.7–12 keV luminosity of 10⁴⁵ erg s⁻¹, and any intrinsic absorption is relatively small. The two-point spectrum of the core emission between radio and X-ray energies has α _rx=0.75 . Since this is a flatter spectrum than seen in other sources where the X-ray emission is presumed to be radio-related, regions close to the active galactic nucleus (AGN) in this source may dominate the central X-ray output, as is believed to be the case for lobe-dominated quasars. Simple unification models would be challenged if this were found to be the case for a large fraction of high-power radio galaxies.     

On the Red Rectangle optical emission bands

We have observed the Red Rectangle nebula with the Multi-Object Spectrograph on the WIYN telescope. Moderate-resolution spectra (Δ λ =0.4 Å) in the region of 5800 Å were obtained in 3-arcsec apertures at over 50 positions in the nebula. Accurate and precise wavelength calibrations were obtained against a thorium–argon lamp and the sodium lines in the sky and nebula. The peak position and full width at half-maximum of the 5800-Å Red Rectangle band (RRB) were measured to beyond 15 arcsec from the star. The shortest wavelength of the band is found to be 5799.10±0.15 Å in the rest frame of the nebula. None of the emission bands has intensity coincident with the wavelength of the diffuse interstellar band (DIB) at 5797.11±0.05 Å. The 2-Å offset cannot be explained by an instrumental, spectroscopic or photophysical effect. The hypothesis that the same molecule may be the carrier of the RRB and the DIB is contradicted by these observations. As a further test of the hypothesis, absorption has been sought that would be due to a potential DIB carrier in the nebula. Tentative evidence for absorption is found in the RRB spectra taken within 9 arcsec of the star; but any absorption has a peak position essentially coincident in wavelength with the band maximum of the emission band.