ABSTRACT
We investigate the contribution of reprocessed continuum emission (1000–10 000 Å) originating in broad-line region (BLR) gas, the diffuse continuum (DC), to the wavelength-dependent ...continuum delays measured in AGN disc reverberation mapping experiments. Assuming a spherical BLR geometry, we adopt a Local Optimally emitting Cloud (LOC) model for the BLR that approximately reproduces the broad emission-line strengths of the strongest UV lines (Ly α and C iv) in NGC 5548. Within this LOC framework, we explore how assumptions about the gas hydrogen density and column density distributions influence flux and delay spectra of the DC. We find that: (i) models which match well measured emission-line luminosities and time delays also produce a significant DC component, (ii) increased $\rm {\mathit{ n}_H}$ and/or $\rm {\mathit{ N}_H}$, particularly at smaller BLR radii, result in larger DC luminosities and reduced DC delays, (iii) in a given continuum band the relative importance of the DC component to the measured interband delays is proportional (though not 1:1) to its fractional contribution to the total light in that band, (iv) the measured DC delays and DC variability amplitude depend also on the variability amplitude and characteristic variability time-scale of the driving continuum, (v) the DC radial surface emissivity distributions F(r) approximate power laws in radius with indices close to −2 (≈1:1 response to variations in the driving continuum flux), thus their physics is relatively simple and less sensitive to the unknown geometry and uncertainties in radiative transfer. Finally, we provide a simple recipe for estimating the DC contribution in disc reverberation mapping experiments.
We present a homogeneous X-ray analysis of all 318 gamma-ray bursts detected by the X-ray telescope (XRT) on the Swift satellite up to 2008 July 23; this represents the largest sample of X-ray GRB ...data published to date. In Sections 2–3, we detail the methods which the Swift-XRT team has developed to produce the enhanced positions, light curves, hardness ratios and spectra presented in this paper. Software using these methods continues to create such products for all new GRBs observed by the Swift-XRT. We also detail web-based tools allowing users to create these products for any object observed by the XRT, not just GRBs. In Sections 4–6, we present the results of our analysis of GRBs, including probability distribution functions of the temporal and spectral properties of the sample. We demonstrate evidence for a consistent underlying behaviour which can produce a range of light-curve morphologies, and attempt to interpret this behaviour in the framework of external forward shock emission. We find several difficulties, in particular that reconciliation of our data with the forward shock model requires energy injection to continue for days to weeks.
Abstract
We have investigated the observational characteristics of a class of broad emission line region (BLR) geometries that connect the outer accretion disc with the inner edge of the dusty ...toroidal obscuring region (TOR). We suggest that the BLR consists of photoionized gas of densities which allow for efficient cooling by ultraviolet (UV)/optical emission lines and of incident continuum fluxes which discourage the formation of grains, and that such gas occupies the range of distance and scale height between the continuum-emitting accretion disc and the dusty TOR. As a first approximation, we assume a population of clouds illuminated by ionizing photons from the central source, with the scale height of the illuminated clouds growing with increasing radial distance, forming an effective surface of a 'bowl'. Observer lines of sight which peer into the bowl lead to a Type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN) spectrum. We assume that the gas dynamics are dominated by gravity, and we include in this model the effects of transverse Doppler shift (TDS), gravitational redshift (GR) and scale-height-dependent macroturbulence.
Our simple model reproduces many of the commonly observed phenomena associated with the central regions of AGN, including (i) the shorter than expected continuum-dust delays (geometry), (ii) the absence of response in the core of the optical recombination lines on short time-scales (geometry/photoionization), (iii) an enhanced redwing response on short time-scales (GR and TDS), (iv) the observed differences between the delays for high- and low-ionization lines (photoionization), (v) identifying one of the possible primary contributors to the observed line widths for near face-on systems even for purely transverse motion (GR and TDS), (vi) a mechanism responsible for producing Lorentzian profiles (especially in the Balmer and Mg ii emission lines) in low-inclination systems (turbulence), (vii) the absence of significant continuum-emission-line delays between the line wings and line core (turbulence; such time delays are weak for virialized motion, and turbulence serves to reduce any differences which may be present), (viii) associating the boundary between population A and population B sources as the cross-over between inclination-dependent (population A) and inclination-independent (population B) line profiles (GR+TDS), (ix) a partial explanation of the differences between the emission-line profiles, here explained in terms of their line formation radius (photoionization and/or turbulence) and (x) the unexpectedly high (but necessary) covering fractions (geometry).
A key motivation of this work was to reveal the physical underpinnings of the reported measurements of supermassive black hole (SMBH) masses and their uncertainties. We have driven our model with simulated continuum light curves in order to determine the virial scale factor ƒ from measurements of the simulated continuum-emission-line delay, and the width (fwhm, σ
l
) and shape (fwhm / σ
l
) of the rms and mean line profiles for the energetically more important broad UV and optical recombination lines used in SMBH mass determinations. We thus attempt to illuminate the physical dependencies of the empirically determined value of ƒ. We find that SMBH masses derived from measurements of the fwhm of the mean and rms profiles show the closest correspondence between the emission lines in a single object, even though the emission-line fwhm is a more biased mass indicator with respect to inclination. The predicted large discrepancies in the SMBH mass estimates between emission lines at low inclination, as derived using σ
l
, we suggest may be used as a means of identifying near face-on systems. Our general results do not depend on specific choices in the simplifying assumptions, but are in fact generic properties of BLR geometries with axial symmetry that span a substantial range in radially increasing scale height supported by turbulence, which then merge into the inner dusty TOR.
We investigate the sensitivity of the measured broad emission-line responsivity dlog f
line/dlog f
cont to continuum variations in the context of straw-man broad emission-line region (BLR) geometries ...of varying size with fixed BLR boundaries, and for which the intrinsic emission-line responsivity is known a priori. We find for a generic emission line that the measured responsivity ηeff, delay and maximum of the cross-correlation function are correlated for characteristic continuum variability time-scales T
char less than the maximum delay for that line τmax(line) for a particular choice of BLR geometry and observer orientation. The above correlations are manifestations of geometric dilution arising from reverberation effects within the spatially extended BLR. When present, geometric dilution reduces the measured responsivity, delay and maximum of the cross-correlation function. Conversely, geometric dilution is minimized if T
char ≥ τmax(line). We also find that the measured responsivity and delay show a strong dependence on light-curve duration, with shorter campaigns resulting in smaller than expected values, and only a weak dependence on sampling rate (for irregularly sampled data). The observed strong negative correlation between continuum level and line responsivity found in previous studies cannot be explained by differences in the sampling pattern, light-curve duration or in terms of purely geometrical effects. To explain this and to satisfy the observed positive correlation between continuum luminosity and BLR size in an individual source, the responsivity-weighted radius must increase with increasing continuum luminosity. For a BLR with fixed inner and outer boundaries this requires radial surface emissivity distributions which deviate significantly from a simple power law, and in such a way that the intrinsic emission-line responsivity increases towards larger BLR radii, in line with photoionization calculations.
Abstract
Previous examinations of fully convective M-dwarf stars have highlighted enhanced rates of nanoflare activity on these distant stellar sources. However, the specific role the convective ...boundary, which is believed to be present for spectral types earlier than M2.5V, plays on the observed nanoflare rates is not yet known. Here, we utilize a combination of statistical and Fourier techniques to examine M-dwarf stellar lightcurves that lie on either side of the convective boundary. We find that fully convective M2.5V (and later subtypes) stars have greatly enhanced nanoflare rates compared with their pre-dynamo mode-transition counterparts. Specifically, we derive a flaring power-law index in the region of 3.00 ± 0.20, alongside a decay timescale of 200 ± 100 s for M2.5V and M3V stars, matching those seen in prior observations of similar stellar subtypes. Interestingly, M4V stars exhibit longer decay timescales of 450 ± 50 s, along with an increased power-law index of 3.10 ± 0.18, suggesting an interplay between the rate of nanoflare occurrence and the intrinsic plasma parameters, e.g., the underlying Lundquist number. In contrast, partially convective (i.e., earlier subtypes from M0V to M2V) M-dwarf stars exhibit very weak nanoflare activity, which is not easily identifiable using statistical or Fourier techniques. This suggests that fully convective stellar atmospheres favor small-scale magnetic reconnection, leading to implications for the flare-energy budgets of these stars. Understanding why small-scale reconnection is enhanced in fully convective atmospheres may help solve questions relating to the dynamo behavior of these stellar sources.
In 2014 the NGC 5548 Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping campaign discovered a two-month anomaly when variations in the absorption and emission lines decorrelated from continuum ...variations. During this time the soft X-ray part of the intrinsic spectrum had been strongly absorbed by a line-of-sight (LOS) obscurer, which was interpreted as the upper part of a disk wind. Our first paper showed that changes in the LOS obscurer produces the decorrelation between the absorption lines and the continuum. A second study showed that the base of the wind shields the broad emission-line region (BLR), leading to the emission-line decorrelation. In that study, we proposed the wind is normally transparent with no effect on the spectrum. Changes in the wind properties alter its shielding and affect the spectral energy distribution (SED) striking the BLR, producing the observed decorrelations. In this work we investigate the impact of a translucent wind on the emission lines. We simulate the obscuration using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and Hubble Space Telescope observations to determine the physical characteristics of the wind. We find that a translucent wind can contribute a part of the He ii and Fe K emission. It has a modest optical depth to electron scattering, which explains the fainter far-side emission in the observed velocity-delay maps. The wind produces the very broad base seen in the UV emission lines and may also be present in the Fe K line. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for the effects of such winds in the analysis of the physics of the central engine.
We have performed extensive simulations to explore the possibility of detecting eclipses and transits of close, substellar and planetary companions to white dwarfs in WASP (the UK Wide-Angle Search ...for Planets) light curves. Our simulations cover companions ∼0.3 < R
pl < 12 R
and orbital periods 2 < P < 15 d, equivalent to orbital radii 0.003 < a < 0.1 au. For Gaussian random noise, WASP is sensitive to transits by companions as small as the Moon orbiting a V≃ 12 white dwarf. For fainter white dwarfs, WASP is sensitive to increasingly larger radius bodies. However, in the presence of correlated noise structure in the light curves, the sensitivity drops, although Earth-sized companions remain detectable, in principle, even in low signal-to-noise data. Mars-sized, and even Mercury-sized, bodies yield reasonable detection rates in high-quality light curves with little residual noise. We searched for eclipses and transit signals in long-term light curves of a sample of 194 white dwarfs resulting from a cross-correlation of the McCook & Sion catalogue and the WASP archive. No evidence for eclipsing or transiting substellar and planetary companions was found. We used this non-detection and results from our simulations to place tentative upper limits to the frequency of such objects in close orbits at white dwarfs. While only weak limits can be placed on the likely frequency of Earth-sized or smaller companions, brown dwarfs and gas giants (radius ≈R
jup) with periods <0.1-0.2 d must certainly be rare (<10 per cent). More stringent constraints likely require significantly larger white dwarf samples, higher observing cadence and continuous coverage. The short duration of eclipses and transits of white dwarfs compared to the cadence of WASP observations appears to be one of the main factors limiting the detection rate in a survey optimized for planetary transits of main-sequence stars.
ABSTRACT Recent intensive Swift monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 yielded 282 usable epochs over 125 days across six UV/optical bands and the X-rays. This is the densest extended active ...galactic nucleus (AGN) UV/optical continuum sampling ever obtained, with a mean sampling rate <0.5 day. Approximately daily Hubble Space Telescope UV sampling was also obtained. The UV/optical light curves show strong correlations ( ) and the clearest measurement to date of interband lags. These lags are well-fit by a wavelength dependence, with a normalization that indicates an unexpectedly large disk radius of lt-day at 1367 , assuming a simple face-on model. The U band shows a marginally larger lag than expected from the fit and surrounding bands, which could be due to Balmer continuum emission from the broad-line region as suggested by Korista and Goad. The UV/X-ray correlation is weaker ( ) and less consistent over time. This indicates that while Swift is beginning to measure UV/optical lags in general agreement with accretion disk theory (although the derived size is larger than predicted), the relationship with X-ray variability is less well understood. Combining this accretion disk size estimate with those from quasar microlensing studies suggests that AGN disk sizes scale approximately linearly with central black hole mass over a wide range of masses.
We present a detailed study of the long time-scale X-ray variability of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy MCG–6-30-15, based on eight years of frequent monitoring observations with the Rossi X-ray Timing ...Explorer. When combined with the published short-time-scale XMM—Newton observations, we derive the power-spectral density (PSD) covering six decades of frequency from ∼10−8 to ∼10−2 Hz. As with NGC 4051, another narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1), we find that the PSD of MCG–6-30-15 is a close analogue of the PSD of a galactic black hole X-ray binary system (GBH) in a ‘high’ rather than a ‘low’ state. As with NGC 4051 and the GBH Cygnus X-1 in its high state, a smoothly bending model is a better fit to the PSD of MCG–6-30-15, giving a derived break frequency of 7.6+10−3 × 10−5 Hz. Assuming linear scaling of the break frequency with black hole mass, we estimate the black hole mass in MCG–6-30-15 to be ∼2.9+1.8−1.6× 106 M⊙. Although, in the X-ray band, it is one of the best observed Seyfert galaxies, there has as yet been no accurate determination of the mass of the black hole in MCG–6-30-15. Here we present a mass determination using the velocity dispersion (MBH−σ*) technique and compare it with estimates based on the width of the Hα line. Depending on the calibration relationship assumed for the MBH−σ* relationship, we derive a mass of between 3.6 and 6 × 106 M⊙, consistent with the mass derived from the PSD. Using the newly derived mass and break time-scale, and revised reverberation masses for other active galactic nuclei (AGN) from Peterson et al., we update the black hole mass—break-time-scale diagram. The observations are still generally consistent with narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies having shorter break time-scales, for a given mass, than broad-line AGN, probably reflecting a higher accretion rate. However, the revised, generally higher, masses (but unchanged break time-scales) are also consistent with perhaps all of the X-ray bright AGN studied so far being high-state objects. This result may simply be a selection effect, based on their selection from high-flux X-ray all-sky catalogues, and their consequent typically high X-ray/radio ratios, which indicate high-state systems.
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