Very high energy γ rays from close active galactic nuclei Mkn 421, Mkn 501, and NGC 1275

The results of observations of two types of metagalactic sources, BLLacs Mkn 421 (z = 0.031) and Mkn 501 (z = 0.034) and the Seyfert galaxy NGC 1275 (z = 0.017) are reported. These observations have been carried out with the SHALON mirror telescope (Lebedev Institute of Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences). The γ-ray fluxes (with energies E > 0.8 TeV) from Mkn 421 and Mkn 501, averaged over the entire observation period, were estimated to be (0.63 ± 0.14) × 10^?12 and (0.86 ± 0.13) × 10^?12 cm^?2 s^?1, respectively. The flux from the source NGC 1275 was (0.78 ± 0.13) × 10^?12 cm^?2 s^?1. The energy spectra of γ rays and images of the sources are reported.     

Low-energy gamma-ray sources observed by the MISO telescope

Summary The MISO telescope is a gamma-ray detector operating in the (0.1÷20) MeV energy range. This instrument was flown success-fully from Palestine, Texas (U.S.A.) in May 1977, October 1978, September 1979 and May 1980. During the four flights, the telescope observed a number of galactic and extragalactic sources. The Crab Nebula was detected in 1980 and its spectrum was measured up to 2 MeV. Cygnus X-1 was observed in 1979 and 1980 and was found to be in different hard X-ray states on each occasion: in a superlow state in 1979 and in a low state in 1980. The COS-B high-energy (E>50 MeV) gamma-ray sources CG 135+1 (1978) and CG 195+4 (1978) were also observed by the same instrument. From the region containing CG 135+1 a 5σ excess was measured in the counting rate of the telescope above 120 keV. No statistically significant low-energy gamma-ray flux was detected from CG 195+4. The Seyfert galaxies NCG 4151 (1977, 1979, 1980), and MCG 8-11-11 (1979), the BL LAC object MK 501 (1979) and the ?peculiar? galaxy NGC 1275 (1979) were also searched for gamma-ray emission. The data on NGC 4151 and MCG 8-11-11 are consistent with power law spectra having photon indices α∼1 in the (0.1÷3) MeV energy range. Above this energy, the MISO and SAS-2/COS-B measurements require spectral breaks to α≥3. Upper limits were obtained on the emission from both MK 501 and NGC 1275. Paper presented at the 2° Convegno Nazionale di Fisica Cosmica, held at L'Aquila, 29 May–2 June 1984.     

Gamma-ray emission in the radio galaxy NGC 5128

The results of experiments on scanning discrete high-energy cosmic gamma-ray sources obtained with the GLONASS onboard equipment in 2004–2010 are presented. A synchrotron pulsating hard gamma-ray source has been detected in the radio galaxy NGC 5128. It is hypothesized that the gamma-ray fluxes from NGC 5128 are bent near the collapsing structure located in the vicinity of the Boomerang Nebula.     

Detecting fluorescent dark matter with X-ray lasers

Fluorescent dark matter has been suggested as a possible explanation of both the 3.5 keV excess in the diffuse emission of the Perseus Cluster and of the deficit at the same energy in the central active galaxy within that cluster, NGC 1275. In this work we point out that such a dark matter candidate can be searched for at the new X-ray laser facilities that are currently being built and starting to operate around the world. We present one possible experimental set up where the laser is passed through a narrow cylinder lined with lead shielding. Fluorescent dark matter would be excited upon interaction with the laser photons and travel across the lead shielding to decay outside the cylinder, in a region which has been instrumented with X-ray detectors. For an instrumented length of 7 cm at the LCLS-II laser we expect \(\mathcal {O}\)(1–10) such events per week for parameters which explain the astronomical observations.     

The X-ray emission from the knots in 3C 120

3C 120 is a Seyfert galaxy with a well detected X-ray jet. We investigate the X-ray emission of its five jet knots and fit their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from the radio to the X-ray bands with a single-zone lepton model. We find that the SEDs of knots k7, s2, and s3 can be explained by synchrotron radiation, and the X-rays are the simple extension of the radio-optical emission component, but that of the inner knot k4 requires the IC/CMB model, in which the X-rays are due to the inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background photons by relativistic electrons in the jet with a beaming factor δ∼14. The outer knot k25 is resolved into a three-part sub-structure. It is shown that the fitting of the X-rays from this knot with the IC/CMB model needs an extraordinary beaming factor δ∼15–25 for a jet at the kpc scale. If the X-rays of knot k25 are produced by synchrotron radiation similar to k7, s2, and s3, they may be contributed by a relativistic electron population whose radiations in other wavelengths are not detected.

     

High energy activity of the super-massive black hole at the Galactic Center

The center of our galaxy hosts the nearest super-massive black hole to the solar system, identified with the compact radio source Sgr A^*. High energy experiments have tried in the past to detect the X/gamma-ray emission expected from the accretion of the surrounding material into this super-massive black hole. Only recently, however, thanks to the new generation of telescopes, it has been possible to reveal high energy radiation associated with Sgr A^* or its close environment. I will review and discuss in particular the results on the Sgr A^* X-ray flares discovered with Chandra and XMM-Newton, on the central soft gamma-ray source detected with INTEGRAL, and on the galactic center TeV emission revealed by HESS. To cite this article: A. Goldwurm, C. R. Physique 8 (2007).     

Active galactic nuclei at gamma-ray energies

Active Galactic Nuclei can be copious extragalactic emitters of MeV–GeV–TeV γ rays, a phenomenon linked to the presence of relativistic jets powered by a super-massive black hole in the center of the host galaxy. Most of γ-ray emitting active galactic nuclei, with more than 1500 known at GeV energies, and more than 60 at TeV energies, are called “blazars”. The standard blazar paradigm features a jet of relativistic magnetized plasma ejected from the neighborhood of a spinning and accreting super-massive black hole, close to the observer direction. Two classes of blazars are distinguished from observations: the flat-spectrum radio-quasar class (FSRQ) is characterized by strong external radiation fields, emission of broad optical lines, and dust tori. The BL Lac class (from the name of one of its members, BL Lacertae) corresponds to weaker advection-dominated flows with γ-ray spectra dominated by the inverse Compton effect on synchrotron photons. This paradigm has been very successful for modeling the broadband spectral energy distributions of blazars. However, many fundamental issues remain, including the role of hadronic processes and the rapid variability of a few FSRQs and several BL Lac objects whose synchrotron spectrum peaks at UV or X-ray frequencies. A class of γ-ray-emitting radio galaxies, which are thought to be the misaligned counterparts of blazars, has emerged from the results of the Fermi-Large Area Telescope and of ground-based Cherenkov telescopes. Soft γ-ray emission has been detected from a few nearby Seyfert galaxies, though it is not clear whether those γ rays originate from the nucleus. Blazars and their misaligned counterparts make up most of the ≳100 MeV extragalactic γ-ray background (EGB), and are suspected of being the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays. The future “Cherenkov Telescope Array”, in synergy with the Fermi-Large Area Telescope and a wide range of telescopes in space and on the ground, will write the next chapter of blazar physics.     

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.     

磁场对黑洞吸积盘的能量提取及其天体物理应用

考虑到螺旋不稳定性的影响, 提出了一种黑洞磁层的新磁场位形(NCMF). 其中涉及到磁场提取能量的三种机制: (1) Blandford-Znajek (BZ)过程; (2)磁耦合(MC)过程; (3) 通过开磁力线联系吸积盘和天体物理负载,并提取吸积盘的旋转能量新机制(文中称为DL过程). 利用两类等效电路导出上述三种提能机制的功率和力矩的表达式. 结果表明,在新磁场位形中提能功率和效率比未考虑螺旋不稳定性的磁场位形有所增大,新磁场位形导出的非常陡的发射率指数可以拟合XMM-Newton天文卫星对邻近的明亮的Seyfert 1星系MCG-6-30-15的观测结果.     

Long-term observations of the Cyg X-3 and λCygni SNR at ultrahigh energies by SHALON mirror Cherenkov telescopes

The Cygnus X region contains a number of powerful sources of radio and X-ray radiation which are also considered as potential sources of high and ultrahigh-energy radiation. One of such sources is the massive binary system Cyg X-3 systematically observed by the SHALON telescope from 1995 to the present. The results of Cyg X-3 observations are presented by γ-ray spectra and images at energies of 800 GeV-85 TeV. In the field of the SHALON telescope, an ultrahigh-energy γ-ray source was detected, whose position is ～2° from Cyg X-3; its coordinates coincide with coordinates of the known source of radio and X-ray radiation, i.e., the γCygni SNR supernova remnant. The γCygni SNR spectra, spectral energy distribution, and image according to the SHALON telescope data are presented in the energy range of 800 GeV-50 TeV.     

High-energy spectral changes in three Seyfert galaxies observed with GINGA

Summary We have analysed observations of the three Seyfert Galaxies IC4329A, MCG-6-30-15 and NGC 4051 extracted from the GINGA archive. The variations in the (4⋎18) keV spectrum of the three sources can be interpreted in the framework of a model with two components: a ?direct? power law with constant spectral index (α=1.9⋎2.1), and the ?reflection bump? predicted by Guilbert and Rees, and Lightman and White which is produced by reprocessing of the direct power law in optically thick matter in the surroundings of the central source. The differences found in the behaviour of the three sources would arise, in this scenario, from the different size of the ?reprocessing region?. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

Pointlike gamma ray sources as signatures of distant accelerators of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays

We discuss the possibility of observing distant accelerators of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays in synchrotron gamma rays. Protons propagating away from their acceleration sites produce extremely energetic electrons during photopion interactions with cosmic microwave background photons. If the accelerator is embedded in a magnetized region, these electrons will emit high energy synchrotron radiation. The resulting synchrotron source is expected to be pointlike, steady, and detectable in the GeV-TeV energy range if the magnetic field is at the nanoGauss level.     

Extragalactic electromagnetic cascades as a possible instrument for the study of background radio emission

We analyzed the diffuse gamma-ray emission generated in the interactions between cosmic rays of ultrahigh energies and the background radiation in extragalactic space. The intensity of gamma-ray emission was calculated within a simplified model for energies E ≈ 10¹⁴ eV in different assumptions concerning the cosmic ray sources with the use of different estimates of nonthermal background radiation. It was shown that the gamma-ray radiation intensity in this energy range depends on the background radio emission and that under different assumptions concerning the radio background it can differ tens of times. It was concluded that gamma-ray emission can serve as a test for the models of background radio-frequency radiation.     

Incoherent microwave radiation of an extensive air shower

Incoherent radiation of relativistic electrons (positrons) of an extensive air shower in the ultrahigh energy range (～10 GHz) has been studied. The method of the division of an electron track into coherent segments has been used to estimate the power of a radio signal and to determine the radiation pattern. Comparison of the signal with radio noise of an antenna has shown that this radiation can be detected by modern engineering instruments and applied to detect ultrahigh-energy cosmic particles.     

Studying the mechanism of gamma quantum radiation in cosmic gamma-ray bursts using data from the Swift,CGRO, and FERMI spacecraft

Light curves of 115 bright gamma-ray bursts with known cosmological distances z from sources detected by the BAT telescope on board the Swift spacecraft in four energy channels are analyzed. An averaged curve describing the shift of the light curves is obtained that depends on the energy of the channels in the coordinate system associated with the source. The results are compared to similar detailed curves for individual gamma-ray bursts detected in a wider range of energies by the BATSE (CGRO) and GBM (FERMI) telescopes. The divergence of curves in the region of low energies for some gamma ray bursts indicates the existence of an additional radiation source.     

Correlations of Active Galactic Nuclei with Microquasars

Correlations of active galactic nuclei （AGNs） with microquasars are discussed based on the coexistence of the Blandford-Znajek （BZ） and magnetic coupling （MC） processes （CEBZMC） in black hole （BH） accretion disk. The proportions of several quantities of BH systems for both AGNs and microquasars are derived by combining the observational data with CEBZMC. It is shown that the square of the magnetic field at the BH horizon is inversely proportional to the BH mass, while the accretion rate of the disk is proportional to the BH mass. In addition, the very steep emissivity indexes from the recent XMM-Newton observations of the nearby bright Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15 and the microquasars XTE J1650-500 are well fitted by considering the MC effects on the disk radiation. These results suggest strongly the correlations of A GNs with microquasars.     

Correlations of Active Galactic Nuclei with Microquasars

Correlations of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with microquasars are discussed based on the coexistence of the Blandford-Znajek (BZ) and magnetic coupling (MC) processes (CEBZMC) in black hole (BH) accretion disk.The proportions of several quantities of BH systems for both AGNs and microquasars are derived by combining the observational data with CEBZMC. It is shown that the square of the magnetic field at the BH horizon is inversely proportional to the BH mass, while the accretion rate of the disk is proportional to the BH mass. In addition, the very steep emissivity indexes from the recent XMM-Newton observations of the nearby bright Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15 and the microquasars XTE J1650-500 are well fitted by considering the MC effects on the disk radiation. These results suggest strongly the correlations of A GNs with microquasars.     

Standard model Higgs field and energy scale of gravity

The effective potential of the Higgs scalar field in the Standard Model may have a second degenerate minimum at an ultrahigh vacuum expectation value. This second minimum then determines, by radiative corrections, the values of the top-quark and Higgs-boson masses at the standard minimum corresponding to the electroweak energy scale. An argument is presented that this ultrahigh vacuum expectation value is proportional to the energy scale of gravity, E _Planck ≡ √?c ⁵/G _N, considered to be characteristic of a spacetime foam. In the context of a simple model, the existence of kink-type wormhole solutions places a lower bound on the ultrahigh vacuum expectation value and this lower bound is of the order of E _Planck.     

Ultra-high energy cosmic rays and prompt TeV gamma rays from gamma ray bursts

Gamma ray bursts (GRBs) have been proposed as one possible class of sources of the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray (UHECR) events observed up to energies ≳ 10²⁰ eV. The synchrotron radiation of the highest energy protons accelerated within the GRB source should produce gamma rays up to TeV energies. Here we briefly discuss the implications on the energetics of the GRB from the point of view of the detectability of the prompt TeV γ-rays of proton-synchrotron origin in GRBs in the up-coming ICECUBE muon detector in the south pole.     

K+3P-core excitons in potassium halides studied at low temperatures with high resolution

Reflection spectra of KF, KCl, KBr and KI single crystals have been measured at photon energies of approximately 20 eV with a bandwidth of 10 meV using synchrotron radiation in order to study fine structure and temperature dependence of the excitonic transitions associated with the K⁺3p core level. The crystals were cleaved under ultrahigh vacuum and cooled down to 20 K. Information on energy positions, halfwidths and line shapes for the K⁺3p-core excitons and their temperature dependence has been obtained. A new exciton predicted by the ligand field model was observed. For KI we evaluate an electron-hole exchange energy of only 30 (± 7) meV.