The S-star cluster in the Galactic center allows us to study the physics close to a supermassive black hole, including distinctive dynamical tests of general relativity. Our best estimates for the ...mass of and the distance to Sgr A* using the three stars with the shortest period (S2, S38, and S55/S0-102) and Newtonian models are MBH = (4.15 0.13 0.57) × 106 M and R0 = 8.19 0.11 0.34 kpc. Additionally, we aim at a new and practical method to investigate the relativistic orbits of stars in the gravitational field near Sgr A*. We use a first-order post-Newtonian approximation to calculate the stellar orbits with a broad range of periapse distance rp. We present a method that employs the changes in orbital elements derived from elliptical fits to different sections of the orbit. These changes are correlated with the relativistic parameter defined as rs/rp (with rs being the Schwarzschild radius) and can be used to derive from observational data. For S2 we find a value of = 0.00088 0.00080, which is consistent, within the uncertainty, with the expected value of = 0.00065 derived from MBH and the orbit of S2. We argue that the derived quantity is unlikely to be dominated by perturbing influences such as noise on the derived stellar positions, field rotation, and drifts in black hole mass.
Context. The neutrino event IceCube−170922A appears to originate from the BL Lac object TXS 0506+056. To understand the neutrino creation process and to localize the emission site, we studied the ...radio images of the jet at 15 GHz. Aims. Other BL Lac objects show properties similar to those of TXS 0506+056, such as multiwavelength variability or a curved jet. However, to date only TXS 0506+056 has been identified as neutrino emitter. The aim of this paper is to determine what makes the parsec-scale jet of TXS 0506+056 specific in this respect. Methods. We reanalyzed and remodeled 16 VLBA 15 GHz observations between 2009 and 2018. We thoroughly examined the jet kinematics and flux-density evolution of individual jet components during the time of enhanced neutrino activity between September 2014 and March 2015, and in particular before and after the neutrino event. Results. Our results suggest that the jet is very strongly curved and most likely observable under a special viewing angle of close to zero. We may observe the interaction between jet features that cross each other’s paths. We find subsequent flux-density flaring of six components passing the likely collision site. In addition, we find a strong indication for precession of the inner jet, and model a precession period of about 10 yr via the Lense-Thirring effect. We discuss an alternative scenario, which is the interpretation of observing the signature of two jets within TXS 0506+056, again hinting toward a collision of jetted material. We essentially suggest that the neutrino emission may result from the interaction of jetted material in combination with a special viewing angle and jet precession. Conclusions. We propose that the enhanced neutrino activity during the neutrino flare in 2014–2015 and the single EHE neutrino IceCube-170922A could have been generated by a cosmic collision within TXS 0506+056. Our findings seem capable of explaining the neutrino generation at the time of a low gamma-ray flux and also indicate that TXS 0506+056 might be an atypical blazar. It seems to be the first time that a potential collision of two jets on parsec scales has been reported and that the detection of a cosmic neutrino might be traced back to a cosmic jet-collision.
While the motion of particles near a rotating, electrically neutral (Kerr), and charged (Kerr-Newman) black hole is always strictly regular, a perturbation in the gravitational or the electromagnetic ...field generally leads to chaos. The transition from regular to chaotic dynamics is relatively gradual if the system preserves axial symmetry, whereas non-axisymmetry induces chaos more efficiently. Here we study the development of chaos in an oblique (electrovacuum) magnetosphere of a magnetized black hole. Besides the strong gravity of the massive source represented by the Kerr metric, we consider the presence of a weak, ordered, large-scale magnetic field. An axially symmetric model consisting of a rotating black hole embedded in an aligned magnetic field is generalized by allowing an oblique direction of the field having a general inclination with respect to the rotation axis of the system. The inclination of the field acts as an additional perturbation to the motion of charged particles as it breaks the axial symmetry of the system and cancels the related integral of motion. The axial component of angular momentum is no longer conserved and the resulting system thus has three degrees of freedom. Our primary concern within this contribution is to find out how sensitive the system of bound particles is to the inclination of the field. We employ the method of the maximal Lyapunov exponent to distinguish between regular and chaotic orbits and to quantify their chaoticity. We find that even a small misalignment induces chaotic motion.
The physical origin of the broad line region in active galactic nuclei is still unclear despite many years of observational studies. The reason is that the region is unresolved, and the reverberation ...mapping results imply a complex velocity field. We adopt a theory-motivated approach to identify the principal mechanism responsible for this complex phenomenon. We consider the possibility that the role of dust is essential. We assume that the local radiation pressure acting on the dust in the accretion disk atmosphere launches the outflow of material, but higher above the disk the irradiation from the central parts causes dust evaporation and a subsequent fallback. This failed radiatively accelerated dusty outflow is expected to represent the material forming low ionization lines. In this paper we formulate simple analytical equations to describe the cloud motion, including the evaporation phase. The model is fully described just by the basic parameters of black hole mass, accretion rate, black hole spin, and viewing angle. We study how the spectral line generic profiles correspond to this dynamic. We show that the virial factor calculated from our model strongly depends on the black hole mass in the case of enhanced dust opacity, and thus it then correlates with the line width. This could explain why the virial factor measured in galaxies with pseudobulges differs from that obtained from objects with classical bulges, although the trend predicted by the current version of the model is opposite to the observed trend.
ABSTRACT
We present the results from an X-ray variability study of IRAS 13224-3809. This is probably the best source for X-ray reverberation studies since it is X-ray bright, extremely variable, and ...it has been extensively observed with XMM–Newton. We used all the archival XMM–Newton data from the three EPIC cameras (to increase the signal to noise) and, given the many observations of the source, we were able to compute the time lags spectra in three different flux levels/periods. We fitted the time lags and energy spectra, simultaneously, using a new X-ray reverberation code that computes the time-dependent reflection spectra of the disc as a response to an X-ray flash from a point source located on the axis of the black hole (BH) accretion disc (lamp-post geometry). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time for active galactic nuclei that both time lags and energy spectra are fitted by a model simultaneously in different flux periods. The model fits in the case when the BH is rapidly rotating are significantly better than the model fits in the case of a Schwarzschild BH. This result strongly favours the hypothesis of a rotating central BH in this source. We also detect significant variations in the height of the X-ray corona. The X-ray height appears to increase from ∼3–5 gravitational radii when the X-ray luminosity is of the order of ∼1.5–3 per cent of the Eddington limit, up to ∼10 gravitational radii, when the luminosity doubles.
Context.
Several dusty infrared sources traced on their orbits around Sgr A* with SINFONI and NACO mounted at the VLT/Chile show near-infrared (NIR) excess and Doppler-shifted line emission. We ...investigate these sources in order to clarify their nature and compare their relationship to other observed NIR objects close to Sgr A*.
Aims.
Using SINFONI, we are able to determine the spectroscopic properties of the dusty infrared sources. Furthermore, we can extract spatial and velocity information of these objects. We are able to identify X7, X7.1, X8, G1, DSO/G2, D2, D23, D3, D3.1, D5, and D9 in the Doppler-shifted line maps of the SINFONI
H
+
K
data. From our
K
- and
L
′-band NACO data, we derive the related magnitudes of the brightest sources located west of Sgr A*.
Methods.
For determining the line of sight velocity information and to investigate single emission lines, we used the near-infrared integral field spectrograph SINFONI datasets between 2005 and 2015. For the kinematic analysis, we used NACO datasets from the years between 2002 and 2018. This study was done in the
H
,
K
s
, and
L
′ band. From the 3D SINFONI data-cubes, we extracted line maps in order to derive positional information for the sources. In the NACO images, we identified the dusty counterpart of the objects. When possible, we determined the Keplerian orbits and applied a photometric analysis.
Results.
The spectrum of the investigated objects show a Doppler-shifted Br
γ
and HeI line emission. For some objects west of Sgr A*, we additionally find FeIII line emission that can be clearly distinguished from the background. A one-component blackbody model fits the extracted near-infrared flux for the majority of the investigated objects, with the characteristic dust temperature of 500 K. The photometric derived
H
- and
K
S
-band magnitudes are between mag
H
> 22.5 and mag
k
= 18.1
+0.3
−0.8
for the dusty sources. For the
H
-band magnitudes we can provide an upper limit. For the bright dusty sources D2, D23, and D3, the Keplerian orbits are elliptical with a semi-major axis of
a
D2
= (749 ± 13) mas,
a
D23
= (879 ± 13), and
a
D3
= (880 ± 13) mas. For the DSO/G2, a single-temperature and a two-component blackbody model is fitted to the
H
-,
K
-,
L
′-, and
M
-band data, while the two-component model that consists of a star and an envelope fits its SED better than an originally proposed single-temperature dusty cloud.
Conclusions.
The spectroscopic analysis indicates that the investigated objects could be dust-embedded pre-main-sequence stars. The Doppler-shifted FeIII line can be spectroscopically identified in several sources that are located between 17:45:40.05 and 17:45:42.00 in Dec However, the sources with a DEC less than 17:45:40.05 show no FeIII emission. Therefore, these two groups show different spectroscopic features that could be explained by the interaction with a non-spherical outflow that originates at the position of Sgr A*. Following this, the hot bubble around Sgr A* consists out of isolated sources with FeIII line emission that can partially account for the previously detected FeIII distribution on larger scales.
Context. The nearby, giant radio galaxy M 87 hosts a supermassive black hole (BH) and is well-known for a bright jet dominating the spectrum over ten orders of magnitude in frequency. Due to its ...proximity, jet prominence, and the large BH mass, M 87 is the best laboratory for investigating the formation, acceleration, and collimation of relativistic jets. Many kinematic studies have been performed to determine the proper motions in the jet. Despite M 87 providing all proofs of being an active BH, the apparent jet speed remained puzzling, because proper motion measurements between 15 and 43 GHz for the same region of 1–10 mas core distance provided largely discrepant results. This source is a prime object to be studied in exquisite detail with the upcoming Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) observations because it promises to allow a direct view on the jet launching process itself. Aims. We aim to decipher some of the kinematic puzzles in the pc-scale jet with the analysis we present here. Methods. We re-modeled and re-analyzed 31 VLBA observations at 15 GHz obtained within the MOJAVE program. The data span a time range between Jul. 1995 and May 2011. We performed a detailed investigation of the pc-scale jet kinematics on different timescales, the shortest periods between the observations beeing 10 and 80 days, and in different jet modes, making use of VLBA observations. In addition, we studied the jet ridge line behavior as a function of time. Special care was taken to analyze the region close to the 15 GHz core, and the dynamics and distribution of newly emerging jet features in the jet. Results. We find an indication for apparent superluminal motion in the jet. Moreover, we present evidence for acceleration between 0.5 and 10 mas of core separation. The data suggest that the central part of M 87 at 15 GHz seems to be rotating. Jet components and counter-jet components are ejected in different directions under varying angles, explaining the impression of a broad opening angle. In this paper we present evidence for two different operating modes of the jet of M 87. The jet switches between two phases: i) the jet ridge line is at least double or the jet axis is displaced vertically, and ii) an unperturbed phase where the jet ridge line remains almost straight but is smoothly curved and the jet components are aligned along a classical jet axis. The mode change occurs every couple of years. Between the two operating modes, a transition phase is visible. Conclusions. The M 87 jet visible at 15 GHz probes a different physical zone compared to the standard blazar-zone we tend to see in AGN jets. The most likely scenario explaining the observed phenomena is a turbulent mass loading into the jet, most probably due to local, fast reconnection processes driven by turbulence of a tangled magnetic field, which is either generated in the accretion disk or the disk corona. In addition, on large scales, a global magnetic structure is required to channel the turbulent flow into what evolves into a large-scale jet. Large-scale jet instabilities may explain the curved pattern of the observed jet flow.
ABSTRACT
We study the Fourier time lags due to the Comptonization of disc-emitted photons in a spherical, uniform, and stationary X-ray corona, which located on the rotational axis of the black hole. ...We use monk, a general relativistic Monte Carlo radiative transfer code, to calculate Compton scattering of photons emitted by a thin disc with a Novikov–Thorne temperature profile. We find that the model time lags due to Comptonization remain constant up to a characteristic frequency and then rapidly decrease to zero at higher frequencies. We provide equations that can be used to determine the time lags and cross-spectra for a wide range of values for the corona radius, temperature, optical depth, height, and for various accretion rates and black hole masses. We also provide an equation for the X-ray luminosity of a single corona, as a function of its characteristics and location above the disc. Remarkably, the observed X-ray time lags of nearby, bright active galaxies can be successfully reproduced by inverse Comptonization process of multiple dynamic coronae.
Several active galactic nuclei show correlated variations in the UV/optical range, with time delays increasing at longer wavelengths. Thermal reprocessing of the X-rays illuminating the accretion ...disk has been proposed as a viable explanation. In this scenario, the variable X-ray flux irradiating the accretion disk is partially reflected in X-rays and partially absorbed, thermalized, and reemitted with some delay by the accretion disk at longer wavelengths. We investigate this scenario assuming an X-ray pointlike source illuminating a standard Novikov-Thorne accretion disk around a rotating black hole. We consider all special and general relativistic effects to determine the incident X-ray flux on the disk and in propagating light from the source to the disk and to the observer. We also compute the disk reflection flux, taking into consideration the disk ionization. We investigate the dependence of the disk response function and time lags on various physical parameters, such as the black hole mass and spin; X-ray corona height, luminosity, and photon index; accretion rate; inclination; and inner/outer disk radii. We find it is important to consider relativistic effects and the disk ionization in estimating the disk response. We also find a strong nonlinearity between the X-ray luminosity and the disk response. We present an analytic function for the time-lag dependence on wavelength, which can be used to fit observed time-lag spectra. We also estimate the fraction of the reverberation signal with respect to the total flux, and we suggest possible explanations for the lack of X-ray-UV/optical correlated variations in a few sources.
PDF
