We present Chandra snapshot observations for a sample of 7 sources selected from the Arecibo OH megamaser (OHM) survey at z~0.13-0.22 and with far-infrared luminosities in excess of 10^{11} L_sun. In contrast with the known H2O megamasers, which are mostly associated with powerful Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), the situation is far less clear for OHMs, which have been poorly studied in the X-ray band thus far. All of the observed sources are X-ray weak, with only one OHM, IRAS FSC 03521+0028 (z=0.15), being detected by Chandra (with 5 counts). The results from this pilot program indicate that the X-ray emission, with luminosities of less than ~10^{42} erg/s, is consistent with that from star formation (as also suggested in some cases by the optical spectra) and low-luminosity AGN emission. If an AGN is present, its contribution to the broad-band emission of OHM galaxies is likely modest. Under reasonable assumptions about the intrinsic X-ray spectral shape, the observed count distribution from stacking analysis suggests absorption of ~10^{22} cm^{-2}.
We use the combination of the 2 Ms Chandra X-ray image, new J and H band images, and the Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images of the Chandra Deep Field-North to obtain high spectroscopic and photometric redshift completeness of high and intermediate X-ray luminosity sources in the redshift interval z=2-3. We measure the number densities of z=2-3 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and broad-line AGNs in the rest-frame 2-8 keV luminosity intervals 10^44-10^45 and 10^43-10^44 ergs/s and compare with previous lower redshift results. We confirm a decline in the number densities of intermediate-luminosity sources at z>1. We also measure the number density of z=2-3 AGNs in the luminosity interval 10^43-10^44.5 ergs/s and compare with previous low and high-redshift results. Again, we find a decline in the number densities at z>1. In both cases, we can rule out the hypothesis that the number densities remain flat to z=2-3 at above the 5-sigma level.
We present WIYN SparsePak observations of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) halo of NGC 891. Preliminary results of an analysis of the halo velocity field reveal a clear gradient of the azimuthal velocity with z which agrees with results for the neutral gas. The magnitude of the gradient has been determined, using two independent methods, to be approximately 15 km/s/kpc.
We present numerical simulations of penetrative convection and gravity wave excitation in the Sun. Gravity waves are self-consistently generated by a convective zone overlying a radiative interior. We produce power spectra for gravity waves in the radiative region as well as estimates for the energy flux of gravity waves below the convection zone. We calculate a peak energy flux in waves below the convection zone to be three orders of magnitude smaller than previous estimates for m=1. The simulations show that the linear dispersion relation is a good approximation only deep below the convective-radiative boundary. Both low frequency propagating gravity waves as well as higher frequency standing modes are generated; although we find that convection does not continually drive the standing g-mode frequencies.
We present observations of the T Tauri stars BP Tau, DG Tau, DI Tau, GM Aur, LkCa 15, RW Aur and V830 Tau, using long baseline infrared interferometry at K band (2.2 microns) from the Keck Interferometer. The target sources have a range of mass accretion rates and excess near-infrared emission. The interferometer is most sensitive to extended emission on characteristic size scales of 1 to 5 millarcseconds. All sources show evidence for resolved K band emission on these scales, although a few of the sources are marginally consistent with being unresolved. We calculate the infrared excess based on fitting stellar photosphere models to the optical photometry and estimate the physical size of the emission region using simple geometric models for the sources with a significant infrared excess. Assuming that the K band resolved emission traces the inner edge of the dust disk, we compare the measured characteristic sizes to predicted dust sublimation radii and find that the models require a range of dust sublimation temperatures and possibly optical depths within the inner rim to match the measured radii.
We present a series of turbulence simulations that represent a cluster-forming clump within a molecular cloud, investigating the role of magnetic fields on the formation of potential star-forming cores. We present an exhaustive analysis of numerical data from these simulations that includes the distributions of core masses, radii, mean density, angular momenta, spins and magnetizations. The simulations range between 5-30 Jeans masses of gas, and are representative of molecular cloud clumps with masses between 100-1000 M_sun. The field strengths in the bound cores that form tend to have the same ratio of gas pressure to magnetic pressure, beta, as the mean beta of the simulation. Thus, in order to explain the large magnetizations seen in Zeeman measurements of molecular cloud cores, a significant number of initial Jeans masses is needed in order to ensure that the simulations are sufficiently supercritical. Clouds that are only slightly supercritical will instead collapse along the field lines into sheets, and the cores that form as these sheets fragment have a different distribution of masses than what is observed. The spin rates of these cores (wherein 20-40% of cores have Omega t_ff >= 0.2) suggests that subsequent fragmentation into multiple systems is likely. The sizes of the bound cores that are produced are typically 0.02-0.2 pc and have densities in the range 10^4-10^5 cm^{-3} in agreement with observational surveys.
We perform a fluctuation analysis of the 1.1mm Bolocam Lockman Hole Survey, which covers 324 square arcmin to a very uniform point source-filtered RMS noise level of 1.4 mJy/beam. The fluctuation analysis has the significant advantage of utilizing all of the available data. We constrain the number counts in the 1-10 mJy range, and derive significantly tighter constraints than in previous work: the power-law index is 2.7 (+0.18, -0.15), while the amplitude is equal to 1595 (+85,-238) sources per mJy per square degree, or N(>1 mJy) = 940 (+50,-140) sources/square degree (95% confidence). Our results agree extremely well with those derived from the extracted source number counts by Laurent et al (2005). Our derived normalization is about 2.5 times smaller than determined by MAMBO at 1.2mm by Greve et al (2004). However, the uncertainty in the normalization for both data sets is dominated by the systematic (i.e., absolute flux calibration) rather than statistical errors; within these uncertainties, our results are in agreement. We estimate that about 7% of the 1.1mm background has been resolved at 1 mJy.
In this paper we describe a detailed analysis of the photometric uncertainties present within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging survey based on repeat observations of approximately 200 square degrees of the sky. We show that, for the standard SDSS aperture systems (petrocounts, counts_model, psfcounts and cmodel_counts), the errors generated by the SDSS photometric pipeline under-estimate the observed scatter in the individual bands. The degree of disagreement is a strong function of aperture and magnitude (ranging from 20% to more than a factor of 2). We also find that the photometry in the five optical bands can be highly correlated for both point sources and galaxies, although the correlation for point sources is almost entirely due to variable objects. Without correcting for this covariance the SDSS color errors could be in over-estimated by a factor of two to three. Combining these opposing effects, the SDSS errors on the colors differ from the observed color variation by approximately 10-20% for most apertures and magnitudes. We provide a prescription to correct the errors derived from the SDSS photometric pipeline as a function of magnitude and a semi-analytic method for generating the appropriate covariance between the different photometric passbands. Given the intrinsic nature of these correlations, we expect that all current and future multi-band surveys will also observe strongly covariant magnitudes. The ability of these surveys to complete their science goals is largely dependent on color-based target selection and photometric redshifts; these results show the importance of spending a significant fraction of early survey operations on re-imaging to empirically determine the photometric covariance of any observing/reduction pipeline.
The Surface Brightness Fluctuation method has been shown to be a powerful distance indicator for dwarf elliptical galaxies to very low surface brightness levels. It is applicable to stellar systems that are out of reach for classical indicators requiring resolved stellar populations such as the tip magnitude of the red giant branch. I briefly discuss a few results from recent SBF studies of dEs to demonstrate the significance of the SBF method to address long-standing issues related to cosmography, dark matter in galaxy groups, substructures in clusters, and the discrepancy between the mass function of collapsed objects and the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. For the analysis of the large number of galaxy images that need to be processed as part of such SBF studies we are currently developing a fast, semi-automatic reduction pipeline that will be made readily available to the astronomical community.
The behaviour of Maxwell and Dirac fields in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime is investigated using the Newman-Penrose method. Both the field equations are separable, with the angular parts given by the spin weighted spherical harmonics. The massless fields simply oscillate sinusoidally in conformal time. All the radial equations transform into the form of the one dimensional quantum mechanical barrier penetration problem. The potentials are mostly repulsive, just the rotational kinetic energies. They represent infinite walls at the origin for the flat and open cases, and a wall at each boundary for the closed case; higher the angular momentum, thicker the wall. Both the helicity states of the photon field see the same potential, but that of the Dirac field see different; one state even sees attractive potential. The em radial equations are solved in terms of the Bessel functions for the flat case, and Gegenbauer functions for the closed and open cases. The radial Dirac equation are solved as Bessel for flat, and Jacobi functions for closed and open universe. The time dependence of the massive Dirac field is complicated by the fact that the mass energy relation has to be implemented through the redshifting of the momentum, and is thus controlled by the evolution of the scale factor. The special case of the radiation filled flat universe is solved in terms of the Whittaker function.
(Abridged) We describe the cascade of plasma waves or turbulence injected, presumably by reconnection, at scales comparable to the size of a solar flare loop to scales comparable to particle gyroradii, and evaluate their damping by various mechanisms. We show that the classical viscous damping is unimportant for magnetically dominated or low beta plasmas and the primary damping mechanism is the collisionless damping by the background particles. We show that the damping rate is proportional to the total random momentum density of the particles. For solar flare conditions this means that in most flares, except the very large ones, the damping is dominated by thermal background electrons. For large flares one requires acceleration of essentially all background electrons into a nonthermal distribution so that the accelerated electrons can be important in the damping of the waves. In general, damping by thermal or nonthermal protons is negligible compared to that of electrons except for quasi-perpendicular propagating waves or for rare proton dominated flares with strong nuclear gamma-ray line emission. Using the rate for damping we determine the critical scale below which the damping becomes important and the spectrum of the turbulence steepens. This critical scale, however, has strong dependence on the angle of propagation with respect to the magnetic field direction. The waves can cascade down to very small scales, such as the gyroradii of the particles at small angles (quasi-parallel propagation) and possibly near 90 degree (quasi-perpendicular propagation) giving rise to a highly anisotropic spectral distribution.
We show that the coronal heating and the acceleration of the fast solar wind in the coronal holes are natural consequence of the footpoint fluctuations of the magnetic fields at the photosphere by one-dimensional, time-dependent, and nonlinear magnetohydrodynamical simulation with radiative cooling and thermal conduction. We impose low-frequency (<0.05Hz) transverse photospheric motions, corresponding to the granulations, with velocity <dv> = 0.7$km/s. In spite of the attenuation in the chromosphere by the reflection, the sufficient energy of the generated outgoing Alfven waves transmit into the corona to heat and accelerate of the plasma by nonlinear dissipation. Our result clearly shows that the initial cool (10^4K) and static atmosphere is naturally heated up to 10^6K and accelerated to 800km/s, and explain recent SoHO observations and Interplanetary Scintillation measurements.
Emission from the relativistic jet located at hundreds of kpc from the core of the superluminal quasar PKS 0637-752 was detected at 3.6 and 5.8 microns with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The unprecedented sensitivity and arcsecond resolution of IRAC allows us to explore the mid-infrared emission from kiloparsec-scale quasar jets for the first time. The mid-infrared flux from the jet knots, when combined with radio and optical fluxes, confirms a synchrotron origin of the radio-to-optical emission and constrains very well the high energy end of the nonthermal electron distribution. Assuming the X-rays are produced in the relativistically moving knots via inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, the infrared observation puts constraints on the matter content of the quasar extended jet. Specifically, pure electron-positoron pair jet models are unfavorable based on the lack of an infrared bump associated with ``bulk Comptonization'' of CMB photons by an ultrarelativistic jet.
We investigate the radial velocity difference between the narrow emission-line components of [O III] $\lambda$ 5007 and H$\beta$ in a sample of 150 SDSS NLS1s. Seven "blue outliers" with [O III] blueshifted by more than 250 \kms are found. A strong correlation between the [O III] blueshift and the Eddington ratio is found for these seven "blue outliers". For the entire sample, we found a modest correlation between the blueshift and the linewidth of the narrow component of the [O III] line. The reflected profile of [O III] indicates two kinematically and physically distinct regions. The [O III] linewidth depends not only on the bulge stellar gravitational potential, but also on the central black hole potential.
Spectra in the CH $^2\Pi_{1/2}$, J=1/2, F=1-1 transition at 3335 MHz were obtained in three 5-point crosses centered on the Galactic plane at $\ell =$ 50$\arcdeg$, 100$\arcdeg$, and 110$\arcdeg$. The lines of sight traverse both Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) and local, smaller entities. This transition is a good tracer of low-density molecular gas and the line profiles are very similar to CO(1-0) data at nearly the same resolution. In addition, the CH 3335 MHz line can be used to calibrate the CO-H$_2$ conversion factor (X$_{\rm CO}$) in low-density molecular gas. Although this technique underestimates X$_{\rm CO}$ in GMCs, our results are within a factor of two of X$_{\rm CO}$ values calibrated for GMCs by other techniques. The similarity of CH and CO line profiles, and that of X$_{\rm CO}$ values derived from CH and more traditional techniques, implies that most of the molecular gas along the observed lines of sight is at relatively low densities ($n \le$ 10$^3$ cm$^{-3}$).
Recent astronomical observations of systems of dark matter, which have been cited as providing possible support for self-interacting cold dark matter, may provide evidence for the extra dimensions predicted by superstring scenarios. We find that the properties of the required dark matter self-interaction are precisely the consequences of a world with 3 large extra dimensions of size \~1nm, where gravity follows the r^{-5} law at scales below ~1nm. From the cross sections measured for various dark matter systems, we also constrain the mass of dark matter particles to be m_x ~ 3*10^{-16} proton mass, consistent with the mass of axions.
We consider curvaton models with potentials that depart slightly from the quadratic form. We show that although such a small departure does not modify significantly the Gaussian part of the curvature perturbation, it can have a pronounced effect on the level of non-Gaussianity. We find that unlike in the quadratic case, the limit of small non-Gaussianity, $|f_{NL}|\ll1$, is quite possible even with small curvaton energy density $r\ll1$ . Furthermore, non-Gaussianity does not imply any strict bounds on $r$ but the bounds depend on the assumptions about the higher order terms in the curvaton potential.
Recently, X-ray emission lines have been observed in X-ray afterglows of several $\gamma$-ray bursts. It is a major breakthrough for understanding the nature of the progenitors. It is proposed that the X-ray emission lines can be well explained by the Geometry-Dominated models, but in these models the illuminating angle is much larger than that of the collimated jet of the $\gamma$-ray bursts(GRBs). For GRB 011211, we obtain the illuminating angle is about $\theta\sim45^{\circ}$, while the angle of GRB jet is only $3.6^{\circ}$, so we propose that the outflow of the GRBs with emission lines should have two distinct components. The wide component illuminates the reprocessing material, and produces the emission lines, while the narrow one produces the $\gamma$-ray bursts. The observations show that the energy for producing the emission lines is higher than that of the GRBs. In this case, when the wide component dominates the afterglows, a bump will appear in the GRBs afterglows. For GRB 011211, the emergence time of the bump is less than 0.05 days after the GRB, it is obviously too early for the observation to catch it. With the presence of the X-ray emission lines there should also be a bright emission component between the UV and the soft X-rays. These features can be tested by the $Swift$ satellite in the near future.
We present results of a study of the galactic open cluster population based on the all-sky catalogue ASCC-2.5 (I/280A) compiled from Tycho-2, Hipparcos and other catalogues. The sample of optical clusters from ASCC-2.5 is complete up to about 850 pc from the Sun. The symmetry plane of the clusters' distribution is determined to be at $Z_0=-22\pm4$ pc, and the scale height of open clusters is only $56\pm3$ pc. The total surface density and volume density in the symmetry plane are $\Sigma=$ 114 kpc$^{-2}$ and $D(Z_0)=1015$ kpc$^{-3}$, respectively. We find the total number of open clusters in the Galactic disk to be of order of 10$^5$ at present. Fluctuations in the spatial and velocity distributions are attributed to the existence of four open cluster complexes (OCCs) of different ages containing up to a few tens of clusters. Members in an OCC show the same kinematic behaviour, and a narrow age spread. We find, that the youngest cluster complex, OCC~1 ($\log t<7.9$), with 19 deg inclination to the Galactic plane, is apparently a signature of Gould's Belt. The most abundant OCC~2 complex has moderate age ($\log t\approx8.45$). The clusters of the Perseus-Auriga group, having the same age as OCC~2, but different kinematics are seen in breaks between Perseus-Auriga clouds. The oldest ($\log t\approx8.85$) and sparsest group was identified due to a large motion in the Galactic anticentre direction. Formation rate and lifetime of open clusters are found to be $0.23\pm0.03$ kpc$^{-2}$Myr$^{-1}$ and 322$\pm$31 Myr, respectively. This implies a total number of cluster generations in the history of the Galaxy between 30 to 40. We estimate that less than about 10% of the total Galactic stellar disk population has ever passed an open cluster membership.
The analysis of the high magnification events in the A and C components of the quadruple gravitational lens QSO2237+0305 observed by OGLE and GLITP collaborations in V band was carried out. The significant light amplifications of the components are interpreted as the effect of microlensing with a fold caustic. For the reconstruction of the one-dimensional source profile the technique based on Tikhonov regularization method was used. The estimates of the effective radius of the quasar's emitting region (the radius within which half of the light is emitted) based on reconstructed profile of the source from microlensing of the A and C components are in the range of 31 and 21 days and correspond to the linear sizes 0.62e+15 cm and 0.42e+15 cm. For the A component the positive crossing of the caustic and for the C component the negative crossing of the caustic was confirmed.
We present the first in a series of papers that attempt to investigate the relation between binarity, magnetic activity, and chemical surface abundances of cool stars. In the current paper, we lay out and test two abundance analysis methods and apply them to two well-known, active, single stars, HD 27536 (G8IV-III) and HD 216803 (K5V), presenting photospheric fundamental parameters and abundances of Li, Al, Ca, Si, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co and Ni. The abundances from the two methods agree within the errors for all elements except calcium in \hdeen, which means that either method yields the same fundamental model parameters and the same abundances. Activity is described by the radiative loss in the Ca II H & K lines with respect to the bolometric luminosity, through the activity index R_{HK}. Binarity is established by very precise radial velocity (RV) measurements using HARPS spectra. The spectral line bisectors are examined for correlations between RV and bisector shape to distinguish between the effects of stellar activity and unseen companions. We show that HD 27536 exhibit RV variations mimicking the effect of a low-mass (m ~ 4M_J) companion in a relatively close (a ~ 1AU) orbit. The variation is strongly correlated with the activity, and consistent with the known photometric period P = 306.9 d, demonstrating a remarkable coherence between R_{HK} and the bisector shape, i.e. between the photosphere and the chromosphere. We discuss the complications involved in distinguishing between companion and activity induced RV variations.
The Single Aperture Far-InfraRed (SAFIR) Observatory's science goals are driven by the fact that the earliest stages of almost all phenomena in the universe are shrouded in absorption by and emission from cool dust and gas that emits strongly in the far-infrared and submillimeter. Over the past several years, there has been an increasing recognition of the critical importance of this spectral region to addressing fundamental astrophysical problems, ranging from cosmological questions to understanding how our own Solar System came into being. The development of large, far-infrared telescopes in space has become more feasible with the combination of developments for the James Webb Space Telescope and of enabling breakthroughs in detector technology. We have developed a preliminary but comprehensive mission concept for SAFIR, as a 10 m-class far-infrared and submillimeter observatory that would begin development later in this decade to meet the needs outlined above. Its operating temperature (<4K) and instrument complement would be optimized to reach the natural sky confusion limit in the far-infrared with diffraction-limited peformance down to at least 40 microns. This would provide a point source sensitivity improvement of several orders of magnitude over that of Spitzer or Herschel, with finer angular resolution, enabling imaging and spectroscopic studies of individual galaxies in the early universe. We have considered many aspects of the SAFIR mission, including the telescope technology, detector needs and technologies, cooling method and required technology developments, attitude and pointing, power systems, launch vehicle, and mission operations. The most challenging requirements for this mission are operating temperature and aperture size of the telescope, and the development of detector arrays.
We present the results of the pilot observations of the Deep Extragalactic VLBI-Optical Survey (DEVOS). Our ultimate aim is to collect information on compact structures in a large sample of extragalactic radio sources (~10000 objects) up to two orders of magnitude fainter than those studied in typical imaging Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) surveys up until now. This would lead to an unprecedented data base for various astrophysical, astrometric and cosmological studies. The first global VLBI observations of the DEVOS programme were successfully conducted in May 2002. We selected sources without any spectral criterion from the Very Large Array (VLA) Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-centimeters (FIRST) catalogue, that are also detected with the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN). The DEVOS pilot sample sources are in the area of the sky that is covered by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We describe the sample selection and present high resolution 5-GHz radio images of the sources. Based on the results of this pilot study, we estimate the outcome of and the resources needed for a full-scale DEVOS project.
When high-energy cosmic rays impinge on a dense dielectric medium, radio waves are produced through the Askaryan effect. We show that at wavelengths comparable to the length of the shower produced by an Ultra-High Energy cosmic ray or neutrino, radio signals are an extremely efficient way to detect these particles. Through an example it is shown that this new approach offers, for the first time, the realistic possibility to measure UHE neutrino fluxes below the Waxman-Bahcall limit using an existing facility. It is shown that in only one month of observation with the recently-approved LOFAR radio telescope, cosmic-ray events can be measured beyond the GZK-limit, at a flux level of three orders of magnitude below that of the highest-energy events ever measured.
Dwarf galaxies in the Local Group provide a unique astrophysical laboratory. Despite their proximity some of these systems still lack a reliable distance determination as well as studies of their stellar content and star formation history. We present first results of our survey of variable stars in a sample of six Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies. We describe observational strategies and data reduction, and discuss the lightcurves of newly found and rediscovered dCep stars in DDO216, LeoA and GR8. Based on these data, we present newly derived independent Cepheid distances. Other variable stars found in our survey are discussed in a related article of this volume (Snigula et al.).
Using the H$\beta$ linewidth, we obtained the virial central supermassive black hole masses and then the Eddington ratios in a sample of broad-line AGNs and NLS1s observed by ASCA. Combined with the data from ROSAT and Chandra observations, We found a strong correlation between hard/soft X-ray photon index and the Eddington ratio. Such a correlation can be understood by a two-zone accretion flow model, in which zone is a thin disk and the inner zone is an advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) disk. The relation between X-ray photon index and the Eddington ratio may account for NLS1s with not too steep X-ray photon index founded by SDSS. If this relation is directly related to the accretion disk, it may also exist in the accretion disk of different scales (such as microquasar).
We present ESO-NTT low resolution spectroscopy of the neutron star X-ray transient Cen X-4 in quiescence over a complete orbital cycle. Our data reveal the presence of a K3-7 V companion which contributes 63% to the 5600-6900A flux and orbits the neutron star with a velocity semi-amplitude of K_2=145.8 +/- 1.0 km s^{-1}. This, combined with a previous determination of the inclination angle and mass ratio, yields a neutron star and companion mass of M_1=1.5 +/- 1.0 M_Sun and M_2=0.31 +/- 0.27 M_Sun, respectively. The mass donor is thus undermassive for the inferred spectral type indicating it is probably evolved, in agreement with previous studies. Doppler tomography of the H_alpha line shows prominent emission located on the companion and a slightly asymmetric accretion disc distribution similar to that seen in systems with precessing eccentric discs. Strong H_alpha emission from the companion can be explained by X-ray irradiation from the primary. No evidence is found for a hot spot in H_alpha, whereas one is revealed via Doppler tomography of the HeI lines. This can be interpreted as the hot spot and outer regions of the disc being at a higher temperature than in other systems.
According to the standard model, an active galactic nucleus (AGN) consists of an inner accretion disk with a jet around a central massive black hole, and a number of outer broad line regions (BLRs) and narrow line regions (NLRs). The geometrical relationship between the BLRs and the accretion disk is not well understood. Assuming the motion of the BLRs is virialized and its configuration is disk-like, we derived its inclination to the line of sight for a sample of AGNs from their bulge stellar velocity dispersion, their size of the BLRs and their H$\beta$ linewidth. Compared with the inclination of the accretion disk obtained from the X-ray Fe K$\alpha$ emission lines, we found that there is no positive correlation between the two. Our results showed that BLRs are not coplanar with the accretion disk and that we should be cautious of using the BLRs inclination as the disk inclination. The non-coplanar geometry of the outer BLRs and the inner accretion disk provides clues to the origin of BLRs and the properties of the accretion disk. Our preferable interpretation is that BLRs arise out of the outer part of a warped accretion disk.
We present the Chandra analysis of the galaxy cluster A521 (z=0.247). The high resolution of the Chandra observation has allowed us to refine the original merging scenario proposed for A521, and to reveal new features in its X-ray emission. A521 has strongly substructured ICM density and temperature maps. Its X-ray diffuse emission is elongated along a NW/SE direction (SX2) and shows two major components, a main cluster and a northern group of galaxies. This latter is in turn substructured, showing a clump of cold and very dense gas centred on the BCG, and a northern tail aligned in the SX2 direction. A compression of the X-ray isophotes is also observed South of the BCG. We conclude that the northern group is infalling onto the main cluster along the NW/SE direction. This hypothesis is corroborated by the presence of a hot bar in the ICM temperature map located between the southern and northern regions, as the gas could be compressionally heated due to the subclusters' collision. The hot region corresponds to the eastern part of an over-dense ridge of galaxies, along which it was originally suggested that a merging of subclusters has recently occurred along the line of sight. An alternative hypothesis about the origin of the hot central bar is that we could observe in projection the shock fronts due to this older cluster-cluster collision. Two other structures possibly interacting with the main cluster are detected on the West and North-East sides of the BCG. We also uncover the presence of two northern edges in the ICM density. A521 is a spectacular example of a multiple merger cluster made up by several substructures converging at different epochs towards the centre of the system.
The possibility of a connection between Dark Energy and Gravity through a direct coupling in the Lagrangian of the underlying theory has acquired an increasing interest due to the recently discovered capability of the Extended Quintessence model to encompass the fine-tuning problem of the Cosmological Constant. The gravity induced "R-boost" mechanism is indeed responsible for an early, enhanced scalar field dynamics, by virtue of which the residual imprint of a wide set of initial field values is cancelled out. The initial conditions problem is particularly relevant, as the most recent observations indicate that the Dark Energy equation of state approaches, at the present time, the cosmological constant value, wDE = -1; if confirmed, such observational evidence would cancel the advantage of a standard, minimally coupled scalar field as a Dark Energy candidate instead of the Cosmological Constant, because of the huge fine tuning it would require. We give here a general classification of the scalar-tensor gravity theories admitting R-boost solutions scaling as a power of the cosmological redshift, outlining those behaving as an attractor for the quintessence field. In particular, we show that all the R-boost solutions with the dark energy density scaling as the relativistic matter or shallower represent attractors. This analysis is exhaustive as for the classification of the couplings which admit R-boost and the subsequent enlargement of the basin of attraction enclosing the initial scalar field values.
Radio lobes inflated by active galactic nuclei at the centers of clusters are a promising candidate for halting condensation in clusters with short central cooling times because they are common in such clusters. In order to test the AGN-heating hypothesis, we obtained Chandra observations of two clusters with short central cooling times yet no evidence for AGN activity: Abell 1650 and Abell 2244. The cores of these clusters indeed appear systematically different from cores with more prominent radio emission. They do not have significant central temperature gradients, and their central entropy levels are markedly higher than in clusters with stronger radio emission, corresponding to central cooling times ~ 1 Gigayear. Also, there is no evidence for fossil X-ray cavities produced by an earlier episode of AGN heating. We suggest that either (1) the central gas has not yet cooled to the point at which feedback is necessary to prevent it from condensing, possibly because it is conductively stabilized, or (2) the gas experienced a major heating event $\gtrsim 1$ Gyr in the past and has not required feedback since then. The fact that these clusters with no evident feedback have higher central entropy and therefore longer central cooling times than clusters with obvious AGN feedback strongly suggests that AGNs supply the feedback necessary to suppress condensation in clusters with short central cooling times.
We use a 54.4 ks Chandra observation to study ram-pressure stripping and nuclear outflow activity in NGC 4552 (M89). Chandra images show a sharp leading edge in surface brightness 3.1 kpc north of NGC4552's center, a cool (0.51^{+0.09}_{-0.06} keV) tail with mean density ~ 5.4 \pm 1.7 x 10^{-3} cm^{-3}, extending ~10 kpc to the south of the galaxy,and two 3-4 kpc horns of emission extending southward away from the leading edge, all features characteristic of supersonic ram-pressure stripping of galaxy gas by the Virgo ICM. Fitting the surface brightness profile and spectra across the leading edge, we find the galaxy gas inside the edge is cooler (0.43^{+0.02}_{-0.03} keV) and denser (~ 0.010 cm^{-3}) than the surrounding Virgo ICM. The resulting pressure ratio (~ 7 \pm 1.4 for galaxy gas metallicities of 0.6^{+0.4}_{-0.2} Zs) between the free-streaming ICM and galaxy gas inside the leading edge suggests that NGC4552 is moving supersonically (Mach 2.1 \pm 0.2) with v ~ 1610 \pm 150 km/s through the cluster at an angle ~37^{+5}_{-4} degrees towards us with respect to the plane of the sky. Chandra images also show two rings ~1.7 kpc in diameter in the core of NGC4552. We argue that the shape of the surface brightness profile across the ring rims and the temperature of gas in the rings are consistent with a Mach 1.7 shock, carrying mean mechanical power of ~ 3 x 10^{41} erg/s produced by a ~1.4 x 10^{55} erg nuclear outburst 1 - 2 Myr ago.
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