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October 15, 2001
"Quasar Microlensing: Polarization and Iron Lines as a Probe of Accretion Disk Physics"
Accretion disk models for quasars require strong magnetic fields for
transport of angular momentum, allowing gas to accrete and creating
magnetic activity which may result in X-ray emission. One consequence of
near-equipartition fields is that thermal emission from the accretion
disk should be unpolarized due to strong Faraday depolarization in the
accretion disk atmosphere. We discuss a means to measure the intrinsic
disk polarization using microlensing of a quasar to remove
contamination of polarized light created exterior to the disk. X-ray
emission near a disk can produce fluorescence from the disk, which if
microlensed by a caustic, creates a distinctive signature. We describe
predictions for the microlensing of a relativistic disk emission line by a
caustic, and discuss recent Chandra observations of the lens MG 0414+0534
which show evidence for microlensing of a narrow iron line, which might be
the outer edges of a relativistically broadened line.
Slides
Plot Animation
Elizabeth L. Blanton
University of Virginia
"The Interaction of Radio Sources and X-ray-Emitting Gas in Cluster Cooling Flows"
Recent Chandra observations of cooling flow clusters containing central radio sources reveal an anti-correlation between radio and X-ray emission. Abell 2052 is one such cluster that exhibits this morphology. The cD galaxy at the center of Abell 2052 is host to the powerful radio source 3C 317. "Holes" in the X-ray emission are coincident with the radio lobes which are surrounded by bright "shells" of X-ray emission. Heating by central radio sources has been proposed as one solution to the "missing gas" in cooling flows -- there is a lack of gas detected in the X-ray at temperatures at or below approximately 1 keV. However, the gas surrounding the radio source in Abell 2052 is cool. The data are consistent with the radio source displacing and compressing, and at the same time being confined by, the X-ray gas. The compression of the X-ray shells appears to have been relatively gentle and, at most, slightly transonic. The pressure in the X-ray gas (the shells and surrounding cooler gas) is approximately an order of magnitude higher than the minimum pressure derived for the radio source, suggesting that an additional source of pressure is needed to support the radio plasma. The compression of the X-ray shells has speeded up the cooling of the shells, and optical emission line filaments are found coincident with the brightest regions of the shells.
Markus Boettcher
Rice University
"Blazar Broadband Modeling and Observations"
I review our recent work on multi-frequency, multi-epoch modeling of
blazars (i.e. flat-spectrum radio quasar and BL Lac objects),
in particular our recent work on the quasar 3C279 and BL Lacertae.
We will see that radio-selected BL Lac objects (such as BL
Lacertae itself) are particularly interesting targets of X-ray
observations because they may offer a unique opportunity to probe
the high-energy portion of the relativistic
electron population in extragalactic jets
in cases where external photon fields are
playing a non-negligible role for the radiation physics and electron
dynamics.
In the near future, it will be possible to coordinate such X-ray
observations with high-energy gamma-ray observations in the multi-GeV
regime by ground-based air Cherenkov telescopes and the
soon-to-be-launched GLAST
satellite. I will discuss how such combined
spectral and variability measurements of
radio-selected BL Lac observations will help
to constrain physical parameters of this
class of blazars.
In view of the exciting prospects of spectral
and variability measurements of radio-selected
BL Lac objects, we have carried out a compre-
hensive multiwavelength observing campaign of
BL Lacertae in the fall of 2000, coordinating
radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray observations.
The first results of this campaign are
now becoming available and will be presented
and discussed in this talk.
Radio-selected BL Lac objects are an interesting
class of blazars, with physical properties
intermediate between radio quasars and high-
frequency-peaked (or X-ray selected) BL Lac
objects. The different sub-classes of blazars
present an apparently continuous sequence in
their physical properties, the origin of which
is not understood at this time. We have recently
proposed an evolutionary scenario, which allows
us to unify all blazar sub-classes in terms of gradual
depletion of the circumnuclear region of
quasars, which may even provide a link to the
class of radio-quiet quasars (at the high-density
end of the sequence) and non-active giant
elliptical galaxies (on the low-density end
of the sequence).
Slides
Ming Feng Gu
MIT
"A Program for Calculating Atomic Properties and Its Application in X-ray Spectroscopy"
The Flexible Atomic Code (FAC) is
an integrated software package for the calculation of various atomic
properties, such as radiative transition rates, cross sections of electron
impact excitation and ionization, photoionization, autoionization, and
their inverse processes, radiative and dielectronic recombination. The program
is fully relativistic based on the Dirac equation. The atomic structure is
solved in the configuration mixing approximation with the basis states
constructed using the Dirac-Fock-Slater method. The continuum processes are
treated in the distorted-wave approximation, which is valid for highly
ionized ions frequently encountered in the plasma modeling for X-ray
spectroscopy. Special attention is paid to the convergence of partial
wave summation and the large distance contributions to the continuum radial
integrals. The implementation of the factorization-interpolation procedure
increases the efficiency of the program considerably, especially for
large scale calculations. A flexible scripting user interface makes it easy to
specify the input and schedule the computation, and therefore, allows
typical calculations to be carried out with minimal understanding of theoretical
atomic physics. The program should be useful in providing atomic data for
the plasma modeling under a variety of physical conditions. In this talk, I will
briefly discuss the theoretical background and the structure of the
program. I will also present some simple example calculations to illustrate its
practical usage, and compare the results with previously published work.
Slides
Jeremy Heyl
Harvard
"So What Is the Weather Like on Aquila X-1?"
During a Type-I burst, the turbulent deflagation front may excite
waves in the neutron star atmosphere with frequencies of about
one cycle per second. On the Earth the analogs to these waves are
the Rossby waves which distort the path of the jet stream.
On a neutron star, these waves are observed as highly coherent
flux oscillations during a Type-I burst. The frequencies of these
waves change as the upper layers of the neutron star cool which
accounts for the small variation in the observed QPO
frequencies. In principle several modes could be excited but the
fundamental buoyant r-mode exhibits significantly larger
variability for a given excitation than all of the other
modes.
Slides
Jimmy Irwin
University of Michigan
"The Chandra View of the Stellar and Gaseous X-ray Components of Early-type Galaxies"
The sub-arcsecond spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray Observatory
has paved the way for the study of the X-ray binary population of
nearby galaxies, which in early-type systems are primarily low-mass
X-ray binaries (LMXBs). Here, I present some initial results on the
spectral characteristics and luminosity distribution function of the
LMXBs in a sample of early-type galaxies. For the galaxies studied so
far, there is either a break or cut-off in the luminosity function at
a luminosity of ~2e38 ergs/s, which is approximately the Eddington
luminosity of a 1.4 solar mass accreting neutron star. If this break
is a universal feature of galaxies, it might be used as a distance
estimator. At lower X-ray luminosities, the LMXB population is
remarkably similar from galaxy to galaxy, and I discuss a method of
using this similarity to further constrain the distances to these
galaxies. Finally, I discuss the implications of the tendency of LMXBs
to be preferentially located within globular clusters, and also the
importance of hot X-ray-emitting gas in these galaxies.
Slide
Li-Xin Li
Harvard University
"Disk Powered by a Black Hole"
When a Kerr black hole is connected to a disk rotating around it
by a magnetic field, the rotational energy of the Kerr black hole provides
an energy source for the radiation of the disk in addition to disk accretion.
If the black hole rotates faster than the disk, energy and angular momentum
are extracted from the black hole and transfered to the disk. The energy
deposited into the disk is eventually radiated away by the disk, which will
increase the efficiency of the disk. Interestingly, a disk magnetically
coupled to a rapidly rotating black hole can radiate without accretion. For
such a non-accretion disk the radial radiation profile is very different
from that of a standard accretion disk: the emissivity index is significantly
bigger, most radiation comes from a region which is closer to the center of
disk. Possible relevance of the model to observations will be briefly
discussed.
Slides
Andisheh Mahdavi
University of Hawaii
"The Relationship Between X-ray Luminosity and Velocity Dispersion for Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies"
We demonstrate that individual elliptical galaxies and clusters of galaxies form a continuous X-ray luminosity---velocity dispersion (Lx - Sigma) relation. Our samples of 280 clusters and 57 galaxies have Lx proportional to Sigma4.4 and Lx proportional to Sigma10, respectively. This unified Lx - Sigma relation spans 8 orders of magnitude in Lx and is fully consistent with the observed and theoretical luminosity---temperature scaling laws. Our results support the notion that galaxies and clusters of galaxies are the luminous tracers of similar dark matter halos.
Kristen Menou
Princeton University
"The Merger History of Supermassive Black Holes in Galaxies"
The ubiquity of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the centers of nearby
luminous galaxies can arise from the multiple mergers experienced by dark
matter halos in hierarchical structure formation models, even if only a
small fraction of these galaxies harbor SMBHs at high redshifts. We illustrate
this possibility using cosmological Monte Carlo simulations of the
merger history of dark matter halos and their associated SMBHs. In our most
extreme models, in order to populate nearly every bright galaxy with
a SMBH at z=0, only a few percent of the halos with virial temperatures
above 104 K are required to harbor a SMBH at high redshift.
This possibility must be included in studies of the luminosity function
and the clustering properties of quasars. We predict the number of SMBH
merger events that are detectable by the gravitational wave experiment
LISA, as a function of redshift, out to z=5. Although the event rates can
be significantly reduced in scenarios with rare
SMBHs, a minimum of ~10 detectable merger events per year is
predicted if SMBH binaries coalesce efficiently. The observed distribution
of events with redshift could yield valuable information
on the SMBH formation process. If SMBH binaries do not coalesce, we
find that at least several SMBH slingshot ejections probably occurred from
z=5 to the present in each galaxy more massive than ~1011 Msun at z=0.
Although our results are sensitive to the minimum cooling mass
assumed for the formation of SMBHs, we expect the qualitative
predictions of our models to be robust.
Slides
Erik Reese
University of California at Berkeley
"Determining the Cosmic Distance Scale with Galaxy Clusters"
Analysis of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) and X-ray data from a galaxy
cluster provides enough information to determine the distance to the
cluster. We determine distances to a sample of 18 galaxy clusters
from a maximum likelihood joint analysis of our own 30 GHz
interferometric SZE observations and publicly available X-ray data.
We quantify the statistical and systematic uncertainties inherent to
these direct distance measurements, and we determine constraints on
the Hubble parameter for various cosmologies. These distances imply a
Hubble constant of 60 +4/-4 +14/-19 km s-1 Mpc-1
for the currently
favored Omega_M = 0.3, Omega_Lambda = 0.7 cosmology, where the
uncertainties correspond to statistical followed by systematic at 68%
confidence. With a sample of 18 clusters, systematic uncertainties
clearly dominate. The systematics are observationally approachable
and will be addressed in the coming years through the current
generation of X-ray satellites (Chandra & XMM-Newton) and available
radio observatories (OVRO, BIMA, & VLA). Analysis of high redshift
clusters detected in future SZE and X-ray surveys will allow a
determination of the geometry of the universe from SZE determined
distances, providing a distance ladder independent check on recent
constraints on the cosmology of the universe.
Slides
(pdf version)
Masao Sako
Caltech
"Inflowing and Outflowing Regions in AGN"
High resolution soft X-ray spectra of Seyfert galaxies obtained with the grating spectrometers onboard Chandra and XMM-Newton are providing us with a detailed view of the circumnuclear regions surrounding the supermassive black hole. In Seyfert 1 galaxies, where the central continuum radiation source is viewed directly, accurate velocity and column density measurements of the outflowing gas along the line of sight are now possible, thereby allowing us to infer the properties of the intrinsic radiation spectrum produced in the vicinity of the black hole. The X-ray spectra of Seyfert 2 galaxies, on the other hand, are dominated by discrete line emission, presumably formed in the same outflowing gas that imprints absorption features in Seyfert 1 spectra. I will show some recent results obtained with Chandra and XMM-Newton, and discuss a few examples where the newly acquired X-ray spectra are challenging our conventional understanding of the physical conditions in these systems.
Dave Strickland
Johns Hopkins University
"Early Results from a High Resolution X-ray Survey of Violent Galactic Outflows"
With an order-of-magnitude increase in spatial resolution over any previous or other current X-ray instrumentation, the Chandra X-ray Observatory is revolutionizing our understanding of the energetic gas in starburst-driven galactic outflows. I will present early results, both imaging and spectroscopic, from an ongoing survey of local edge-on L*-luminosity starburst galaxies using Chandra, discussing some of our work on the first 6 galaxies in the sample: NGC 253, M82, NGC 3079, NGC 3628, NGC 4631 and NGC 4945.
Jacco Vink
Columbia University
"Evidence for Non-thermal Bremsstrahlung from the Supernova Remnant
MSH14-63/RCW 86"
I will present the results of an analysis of XMM-Newton observation
of the supernova remnant MSH 14-63 (also known as RCW 86 and G315.4-2.3).
The X-ray emission from this object is peculiar (as already observed by ASCA),
in that there are very distinct hard X-ray and soft X-ray emitting regions.
The lack of line emission from the hard X-ray emitting regions has been
attributed to X-ray synchrotron emission, but the detection of Fe K emission
at 6.4 keV, and the lack of spatial correlation between hard X-ray and radio
emission is evidence against a dominant X-ray synchrotron component.
Instead I will argue that the hard X-ray continuum is best explained by
non-thermal bremsstrahlung from a supra-thermal tail to an otherwise cool
electron gas. The existence of low electron temperatures, required to
explain the absence of line emission and to explain the low charge state of
iron, is supported by low temperatures found in other parts of the remnant,
which are as low as 0.2 keV in some regions.
Slides
Rudy Wijnands
MIT
"A Chandra Observation of the Neutron
Star X-ray Transient KS 1731-2600 in Quiescence:
Too cold a Neutron Star?"
The neutron-star X-ray transient KS 1731-260 was discovered in August of 1989 and until recently, the source was persistently bright in X-rays. In January of 2001, the source suddenly returned to quiescence again after more than a decade of actively accreting. I present the results of a Chandra/ACIS-S observation of KS 1731-260 performed just a few weeks after this transition. The source was detected in quiescence at a luminosity and a blackbody temperature which are very similar to those obtained for the normal short-duration neutron-star X-ray transients. If the prolonged accretion in KS 1731-260 had heated the neutron star to a higher temperature than those obtained for the neutron stars in ordinary transients, then a higher luminosity and temperature would be expected (assuming that KS 1731-260 is very similar to those other systems in all other aspects, like age and recurrence time of the outbursts). I will discuss these results in the context of the quiescent X-ray emission mechanisms (such as cooling models, residual accretion in quiescence) in neutron-star X-ray transients.
Last modified: 08/24/11
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