Chandra observations of the H2O megamaser galaxy Mrk1210

We present the first Chandra X-ray observations of the H₂O megamaser galaxy Mrk1210 (UGC4203), a Seyfert 2 galaxy at an approximate distance of D ∼ 57.6 Mpc. The Chandra X-ray image, with by far the highest angular resolution (∼1″), displays an unresolved compact core toward the nuclear region of Mrk1210. Comparisons with the previous X-ray observations in the nuclear emission and the spectral shape indicate a fairly stable phase between 2001 (BeppoSAX and XMM-Newton) and 2004 (Chandra) after a dramatic variation since 1995 (ASCA). The best-fit model of Chandra X-ray spectrum consists of two components. The soft scattered component can be best fitted by a moderately absorbed power-law model adding a spectral line at ∼0.9 keV (possibly a Ne-Kα fluorescent line), while the hard nuclear component can be well reproduced by a heavily absorbed power-law model (N _H ∼ 2×10²³ cm⁻²) with an additional line at ∼6.19 keV (close to the Fe-Kα fluorescent line). The derived absorption-corrected X-ray luminosity implies that the dramatic variation of spectral properties is caused by significant changes of the absorbing column density along the line-of-sight, while the intrinsic nuclear X-ray luminosity remains stable. In this case, the absorbers should be anisotropic and its size can be constrained to be less than 0.0013 pc. In addition, we also estimate the mass of central engine, the disk radius and the accretion rate of the accretion disk to be 10^7.12±0.31 M _⊙, ∼1 pc and 0.006, respectively. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10633010) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No. 8451009101001047) Recommended by Zhou YouYuan     

Estimate of the black-hole mass in NGC 6814 from a relativistic accretion disk scenario

Summary By using a fully relativistic model for the spectral line produced by a Keplerian disk orbiting a Schwarzschild black hole, we study the temporal behaviour of the line intensity in response to a continuum variation at an extended central source. We compare our results with the observed properties of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 6814, whose X-ray flux has been observed to decrease by a factor of two in ≈ 50 s, while the iron line intensity variations lag continuum variations by 250 s, at the most. Taking the stationary values of the iron line centroid energy and width, and assuming that the line comes from high-ionisation stages of iron (as several indications suggest) we derive that the inner radius of the line-emitting region is between 6 and 30r _g (r _g =GM/c ²), the inclination is ≤40°, while the mass of the central object is constrained to 8·10⁴ L ₄₃<M<3.9·10⁶ M _⊙(L ₄₃ is the accretion luminosity in units of 10⁴³ erg s⁻¹). Paper presented at the 6th Cosmic Physics National Conference, Palermo, 3–7 November 1992. Affiliated to ICRA.     

The Coevolution of Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes in the Near Universe

A fundamental role is attributed to supermassive black holes (SMBH), and the feedback they generate, in the evolution of galaxies. But theoretical models trying to reproduce the M_SMBH vs. sigma relation (between the SMBH mass and stellar velocity dispersion of the galaxy bulge) make broad assumptions about the physical processes involved. These assumptions are needed due to the scarcity of observational constraints on the relevant physical processes which occur when the SMBH is being fed via mass accretion in active galactic nuclei (AGN). In search for these constraints, our group—AGN integral field spectroscopy (AGNIFS)—has been mapping the gas kinematics as well as the stellar population properties of the inner few hundred parsecs of a sample of nearby AGN hosts. In this contribution, I report on results obtained so far which show gas inflows along nuclear spirals and compact disks in the inner tens to hundreds of pc in nearby AGN hosts which seem to be the sources of fuel to the AGN. As the inflow rates are much larger than the AGN accretion rate, the excess gas must be depleted via formation of new stars in the bulge. Indeed, in many cases, we find ～100 pc circumnuclear rings of recent star formation (ages ～10–500 Myr) that can be interpreted as a signature of coevolution of the host galaxy and its AGN. I also report on the mapping of outflows in ionized gas, which are ubiquitous in Seyfert galaxies, and discuss mass outflow rates and powers.     

A black hole spectral signature

An accreting black hole is, by definition, characterized by the drain. Namely, the matter falls into a black hole much the same way as water disappears down a drain — matter goes in and nothing comes out. As this can only happen in a black hole, it provides a way to see “a black hole”, an unique observational signature. The accretion proceeds almost in a free-fall manner close to the black hole horizon, where the strong gravitational field dominates the pressure forces. In this paper we present analytical calculations and Monte-Carlo simulations of the specific features of X-ray spectra formed as a result of upscattering of the soft (disk) photons in the converging inflow (CI) into the black hole. The full relativistic treatment has been implemented to reproduce these spectra. We show that spectra in the soft state of black hole systems (BHS) can be described as the sum of a thermal (disk) component and the convolution of some fraction of this component with the CI upscattering spread (Greens) function. The latter boosted photon component is seen as an extended power-law at energies much higher than the characteristic energy of the soft photons. We demonstrate the stability of the power spectral index over a wide range of the plasma temperature 0 – 10 keV and mass accretion rates (higher than 2 in Eddington units). We also demonstrate that the sharp high energy cutoff occurs at energies of 200–400 keV which are related to the average energy of electrons m_ec² impinging upon the event horizon. The spectrum is practically identical to the standard thermal Comptonization spectrum when the CI plasma temperature is getting of order of 50 keV (the typical ones for the hard state of BHS). In this case one can see the effect of the bulk motion only at high energies where there is an excess in the CI spectrum with respect to the pure thermal one. Furthermore we demonstrate that the change of spectral shapes from the soft X-ray state to the hard X-ray state is clearly to be related with the temperature of the bulk flow. In other words the effect of the bulk Comptonization compared to the thermal one is getting stronger when the plasma temperature drops below 10 keV. We clearly demonstrate that these spectra emerging from the converging inflow are a inevitable stamp of the BHS where the strong gravitational field dominates the pressure forces.     

The flux-E p relation within GRB060218 in comparison with typical GRB pulses

The prompt gamma-ray/X-ray emission of gamma-ray burst (GRB) 060218 was simultaneously observed by the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) and X-ray Telescope (XRT) onboard Swift. Its peak energy of the joint vf _v spectrum (E _p) clearly evolves with time from tens of keV to ∼1 keV, crossing both the BAT and XRT bands. The best fit yields log E _p=(4.61±0.23)+(−1.29±0.08) log t, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98 and a chance probability of p<10⁻⁴. We derive its bolometric flux (F) in the 0.01–10⁴ keV band, and find that its F-E _p relation, with a power-law index of 0.37, is much shallower than that observed in typical GRB pulses. Discussion of this shallowness is presented.

     

Ejection of massive black holes from galaxies

Gravitational recoil of a gigantic black hole (M∼10^8–9 M_⊙) formed in the nonspherical collapse of the nuclear part of a typical galaxy can take place with an appreciable speed as a consequence of the anisotropic emission of gravitational radiation. Accretion of gaseous matter during its flight through the galaxy results in the formation of a glowing shock front. The accompanying stellar captures can lead to the formation of an accretion disk-star system about the hole. Consequently, the hole can become “luminous” enough to be observable after it emerges out of the galaxy. The phenomenon seems to have an importance in relation to the observations of quasar-galaxy association in a number of cases.     

On the mean radiative efficiency of accreting massive black holes in AGNs and QSOs

Radiative efficiency is an important physical parameter that describes the fraction of accretion material converted to radiative energy for accretion onto massive black holes (MBHs). With the simplest So?tan argument, the radiative efficiency of MBHs can be estimated by matching the mass density of MBHs in the local universe to the accreted mass density by MBHs during AGN/QSO phases. In this paper, we estimate the local MBH mass density through a combination of various determinations of the correlations between the masses of MBHs and the properties of MBH host galaxies, with the distribution functions of those galaxy properties. We also estimate the total energy density radiated by AGNs and QSOs by using various AGN/QSO X-ray luminosity functions in the literature. We then obtain several hundred estimates of the mean radiative efficiency of AGNs/QSOs. Under the assumption that those estimates are independent of each other and free of systematic effects, we apply the median statistics as described by Gott et al. and find the mean radiative efficiency of AGNs/QSOs is ∈= 0.105_(0.008)~(+0.006), which is consistent with the canonical value ~0.1. Considering that about 20% Compton-thick objects may be missed from current available X-ray surveys,the true mean radiative efficiency may be actually ~0.12.     

An X-ray luminosity analysis for FRIs and FRIIs

Radio galaxies are divided into two groups according to their luminosities at 178 MHz, namely Fanaroff-Riley type Is (FRIs) and Fanaroff-Riley type IIs (FRIIs) with FRIs showing lower radio luminosities than FRIIs. In this paper, the X-ray data are compiled for 183 radio galaxies (61 FRIs and 122 FRIIs), from the available literature, for the analysis of the X-ray properties. The 1 keV X-ray luminosities are calculated and discussed for the two groups, and an averaged X-ray luminosity of logL _X^{1 keV} = 41.30±2.51 erg·s⁻¹·keV⁻¹ is found for FRIs, which is lower than that for FRIIs, logL _X^{1 keV} = 43.39±3.06 erg·s⁻¹·keV⁻¹. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test indicates that the probability for the X-ray luminosity distributions of the two groups to be from the same parent distribution is 1.44×10⁻¹⁰. We also discuss the origin and the mechanism of the X-ray emission for FRIs and FRIIs. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10573005 and 10633010) and the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB815405)     

Synchrotron peak luminosity,black hole mass and Eddington ratio for SDSS flat-spectrum radio quasars

For a sample of 185 flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) constructed from the SDSS DR3 quasar catalog, we found a significant correlation between the synchrotron peak luminosity and both the black hole mass and Eddington ratio. This implies that the physics of its jet formation is not only tightly related with the black hole mass, but also with the accretion rate. We verify that the synchrotron peak luminosity can be a better indicator of jet emission than 5 GHz luminosity, through comparing the relationships between each of these two parameters and both black hole mass and Eddington ratio. The fundamental plane of black hole activity for our FSRQs is established as L _r ∝ L ^0.80±0.06_x M ^{−0.04±0.09}_bh with a weak dependence on black hole mass, however, the scatter is significant.

     

Long term performance evaluation of the TACTIC imaging telescope using ∼400 h Crab Nebula observation during 2003–2010

The TeV atmospheric Cherenkov telescope with imaging camera (TACTIC) γ-ray telescope has been in operation at Mt. Abu, India since 2001 to study TeV γ-ray emission from celestial sources. During the last 10 years, apart from consistently detecting a steady signal from the Crab Nebula above ～1.2 TeV energy, at a sensitivity level of ～5.0 σ in ～25 h, the telescope has also detected flaring activity from Mrk 421 and Mrk 501 on several occasions. Although we used Crab Nebula data partially, in some of the reported results, primarily for testing the validity of the full data analysis chain, the main aim of this work is to study the long term performance of the TACTIC telescope by using consolidated data collected between 2003 and 2010. The total on-source data, comprising ～402 h, yields an excess of ～(3742±192) γ-ray events with a statistical significance of ～19.9 σ. The off-source data, comprising ～107 h of observation, is found to be consistent with a no-emission hypothesis, as expected. The resulting γ-ray rate for the on-source data is determined to be ～(9.31±0.48) h ^?1. A power law fit (dΦ/dE=f ₀ E ^?Γ ) with f ₀ ～ (2.66±0.29) × 10^?11 cm^?2 s^?1 TeV^?1 and Γ ～ 2.56±0.10 is found to provide reasonable fit to the inferred differential spectrum within statistical uncertainties. The spectrum matches reasonably well with that obtained by other groups. A brief summary of the improvements in the various subsystems of the telescope carried out recently, which has resulted in a substantial improvement in its detection sensitivity (viz., ～5 σ in an observation period of ～13 h as compared to ～25 h earlier) are also presented in this paper. Encouraged by the detection of strong γ-ray signals from Mrk 501 and Mrk 421 on several occasions, there is considerable scope for the TACTIC telescope to monitor similar TeV γ-ray emission activity from other active galactic nuclei on a long-term basis.     

Improving results on transverse double spin asymmetries in the CNI region at STAR

Double spin effects in polarized pp-elastic scattering in the Coulomb nuclear interference (CNI) region are sensitive to small contributions to the nuclear amplitude in addition to Pomeron exchange dominating at high energies. Measurements of double spin asymmetries require external luminosity normalization using collision counts for all spin combinations. Several possible sources of such data from various STAR subsystems were thoroughly analyzed to make the best choice. BBC arrays were found to be free of double spin effects to the level of ～ 2 × 10^?4 thus leading to the systematic uncertainty ～10^?3 in the value of (A _NN + A _SS )/2.     

X-ray spectral signatures of very thick cold matter in the Spectra of seyfert galaxies

Summary Over the last few years, GINGA observations of several bright Seyfert galaxies have revealed the existence of a new flat component in the X-ray spectrum of these objects above 8 keV. This component (the ?high-energy bump?) is probably produced by the reprocessing of the intrinsic emission (through Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption) by a very thick and cold medium in the environment of the central source, such as an accretion disk. An alternative explanation is provided by partial covering and reprocessing by thick clouds, whose existence is supported by the latest results on the broad line region obtained by line reverberation measurements in the optical-ultraviolet band. The presence of iron fluorescent lines at 6.4 keV with an equivalent width ≅ (100÷200) eV in all those galaxies supports both scenarios. The implications of the presence of the high-energy bump on the spectral shape of the intrinsic continuum, the level of the soft X-ray excess and the X-ray background are briefly pointed out. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

Molecular-orbital X-rays from 1 GeV 208Pb + 208Pb and 209Bi + 209Bi collisions

We have measured the spectra of continuum X-rays above the characteristic K lines for 4.5 to 4.8 MeV/N ²⁰⁸₈₂Pb → ²⁰⁸₈₂Pb, Pb → Bi, Bi → Pb and Bi → Bi collisions. Above ≈400 keV X-ray energy the spectral shape and intensity agree roughly with calculations of Kirsch et al. for the 1sσ molecular-orbital (MO) X-ray spectrum from Pb-Pb. Deviations from the theory below ≈400 keV suggest transitions to other MO's.     

Fast scintillation detectors for high-energy X-ray region

We have developed fast scintillation detectors for nuclear resonant scattering experiments using synchrotron radiation and a nuclear excited level existing in >30?keV. A fast x-ray detector using an organic-inorganic perovskite scintillator of phenethylamine lead bromide (PhE-PbBr₄) had a dominant light emission with a fast decay time of 9.9?ns. An x-ray detector equipped with a 0.9-mm-thick PhE-PbBr₄ crystal (size: ～8 × 7?mm²) was used to detect nuclear resonant scattering in ⁶¹Ni (the first excited level: 67.41?keV; half-life: 5.3?ns). We could successfully record the decaying gamma rays emitted from ⁶¹Ni with a relatively high detection efficiency of 24%. A lead-doped plastic scintillator (NE142, Pb ～5?wt% doped) had been known to have a faster decay time of 1.7?ns. Following a test of a single NE142 detector, a four-channel NE142 detector was fabricated and successfully applied to the synchrotron-radiation based M?ssbauer spectroscopy experiment on ⁶¹Ni.     

Nuclear orientation of14N after grazing collisions with a silicon surface

The nuclear orientation of¹⁴N is investigated after the scattering of¹⁴N⁺ ions with energies ranging from 7 to 350 keV from an Si(111)-surface under grazing angles of incidence. For projectile energies above 50 keV, we find a constant nuclear orientationP ₁=〈I _z 〉/I∼22%, whereas towards lower energiesP _I shows a pronounced decrease. Our measurements provide important information in the application of surface scattering to obtain nuclear polarized beams.     

A plunger set-up for measuring picosecond nuclear half-lives

A plunger set-up has been designed and constructed to measure picosecond nuclear half-lives using recoil distance method (RDM). The system has been used to measure the half-lives of nuclear states in³⁵Cl,^37,38Ar and⁴⁰K. The shortest half-life measured with the system isT _1/2=0.36(14) ps for the 4366 keV (8⁺) state and the longest half-life isT _1/2=1.10(7) ns for the 2543 keV (7⁺) state in⁴⁰K.     

Band-reject-filtering X-ray spectra by mosaic structures of pyrolytic graphite

The possibility of effective band-reject filtration of intense spectral lines in X-ray spectra and the creation of deep spectral valleys in the continuous spectrum by diffraction extinction was shown. Optimum material for band-reject filters in the energy range E > 6 keV is highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The filtering scheme in the form of an echelon arrangement of HOPG films is proposed, which suppresses the negative effect of multiple reflections due to diffraction extinction. The full width at half minimum of the spectral valleys can vary from tens of electronvolt to several kiloelectron volt depending on the HOPG mosaic spread, HOPG filters arrangement, and rejected energy region. At the energy range E of ~10 keV, the spectral density attenuation value may be of order 10⁻³ and lower. The obtained results can be used in various fields of X-ray spectrometry, as well as in static energy dispersive diffractometry and reflectometry.     

Laser-produced plasma helium-like titanium Kα x-ray source and its application to Rayleighben-Taylor instability study

Several experiments are performed on the ShenGuang-II laser facility to investigate an x-ray source and test radiography concepts. X-ray lines emitted from laser-produced plasmas are the most practical means of generating these high intensity sources. By using a time-integrated space-resolved keV spectroscope and pinhole camera, potential helium-like titanium Kα x-ray backlighting (radiography) line source is studied as a function of laser wavelength, ratio of pre-pulse intensity to main pulse intensity, and laser intensity (from 7.25 to ～11.3× 10¹⁵ W/cm²⁾. One-dimensional radiography using a grid consisting of 5 μm Au wires on 16 μm period and the pinhole-assisted point projection is tested. The measurements show that the size of the helium-like titanium Kα source from a simple foil target is larger than 100 μm, and relative x-ray line emission conversion efficiency ξ_x from the incident laser light energy to helium-like titanium K-shell spectrum increases significantly with pre-pulse intensity increasing, increases rapidly with laser wavelength decreasing, and increases moderately with main laser intensity increasing. It is also found that a gold gird foils can reach an imaging resolution better than 5-μm featured with high contrast. It is further demonstrated that the pinhole-assisted point projection at such a level will be a novel two-dimensional imaging diagnostic technique for inertial confinement fusion experiments.     

Isomer shifts and changes of the nuclear charge radii in99Ru and101Ru

The recoilless nuclear gamma resonance of the 127 keV γ-rays of¹⁰¹Ru was observed in ruthenium metal, RuO₂ and [Ru(NH₃)₄(HSO₃)₂]. By comparison of the isomer shifts observed in these materials for the 127 keV absorption line with the corresponding shifts of the 90keV γ-rays of⁹⁹Ru one obtains δ〈r ²〉 [127 keV]/ δ〈r ²〉 [90 keV]=1.78±0.26 for the ratio of the changes of the mean square nuclear charge radii between the first excited and the ground states in these nuclei. An estimate of electron density differences based on free-ion relativistic self-consistent field calculations yields δ〈r ²〉[90keV]≈+1.4·10^?3 for⁹⁹Ru and δ〈r ²〉/〈r ²〉 [127 keV]≈+2.4·10^?3 for the¹⁰¹Ru case. These results are discussed in terms of the core excitation model.