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We have analyzed observations for two lensing clusters of galaxies, A1689 and A2218. Our investigations have explored the implications of their X-ray properties for mass determinations both in X-rays and through both weak and strong gravitational lensing. The work on these two clusters is summarized below and copies of the two papers submitted to the Astrophysical Journal and accepted for publication are attached.
The origin of cosmic magnetic (B) fields remains an open question. It is generally believed that very weak primordial B fields are amplified by dynamo processes, but it appears unlikely that the amplification proceeds fast enough to account for the fields presently observed in galaxies and galaxy clusters. In an alternative scenario, cosmic B fields are generated near the inner edges of accretion disks in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) by azimuthal electric currents due to the difference between the plasma electron and ion velocities that arises when the electrons are retarded by interactions with photons. While dynamo processes show no preference for the polarity of the (presumably random) seed field that they amplify, this alternative mechanism uniquely relates the polarity of the poloidal B field to the angular velocity of the accretion disk, resulting in a unique direction for the toroidal B field induced by disk rotation. Observations of the toroidal fields of 29 AGN jets revealed by parsec-scale Faraday rotation measurements show a clear asymmetry that is consistent with this model, with the probability that this asymmetry came about by chance being less than 1 %. This lends support to the hypothesis that the Universe is seeded by B fields that are generated in AGN via this mechanism
Ten-arcsec resolution 21-cm spectral line observations of the merging galaxies NGC 3690/IC 694 are presented. Strong H I absorption was seen at three sites of activity identified previously by Gehrz, Sramek, and Weedman (1983), and regions of weak emission were found extending from the optical edges of the system. The absorption data set lower limits on the neutral hydrogen mass contained in the nuclei and in the overlap region. The emission shows evidence of a single rotating disk of H I surrounding the system out to a radius twice that of the optical radius. This single H I disk morphology indicates that IC 694 and NGC 3690 are coverage of Arp 299 which now spans from the UV to radio regimes, thus making it possible to compare the distribution and kinematics of atomic hydrogen with previous observations, and offering new insight into the effect of a collision on a progenitor's interstellar medium.
A slowly braked, rotating neutron star is believed to be a star which rapidly rotates, has no nebula, is nonpulsing, and has a long initial braking time of ten thousand to a million years because of a low magnetic field. Such an object might be observable as an extended weak source of infrared or radio wave radiation due to the scattering of low-frequency strong-wave photons by accelerated electrons. If these objects exist abundantly in the Galaxy, they would act as sources of relatively low-energy cosmic rays. Pulsars (rapidly braked neutron stars) are shown to have difficulties in providing an adequate amount of cosmic-ray matter, making these new sources seem necessary. The possibility that the acceleration mechanism around a slowly braked star may be not a direct acceleration by the strong wave but an acceleration due to plasma turbulence excited by the strong wave is briefly explored. It is shown that white dwarfs may also be slowly braked stars with braking times longer than 3.15 million years.
The International Ultraviolet Explorer observations of the nuclei of the elliptical galaxies NGC 3379 and NGC 4472 show that the flux drops rapidly with decreasing wavelength until about 2300 A, below which the flux increases rapidly. The hot UV component of the radiation can be approximately represented by a blackbody at 30,000 K. The spectra of NGC 3379, NGC 4472, and M31 are very similar from 1260 to 8000 A. The hot UV component is abnormally weak in M 32 and abnormally strong in M 87. The UV spectrum from 1300 to 3200 A of the metal-rich globular cluster NGC 6624 resembles those of NGC 3379, NGC 4472, and M 31, and shows evidence for hot blue stars. A comparison of the UV fluxes with those measured in large-redshift normal galaxies shows good agreement, although allowance must be made for the line-strength differences found between the integrated galaxy spectra and the nuclear-region spectra.
New radio, optical and X-ray observations of a galaxy with one-sided radio structure located 2.2 Mpc from the center of Abell 754 are reported. From the optical spectra, the cluster membership of the galaxy is confirmed and it is noted that no emission lines are found. An X-ray source with Lx of approximately 2 x 10 to the 43rd erg/s (0.5-3.0 keV) is located in the nucleus (diameter, less than 4 kpc). There is also a weak X-ray extension to the southeast. The central radio source has a luminosity of about 10 to the 41st ergs/s with a diameter of less than 1.5 kpc. A straight radio feature of low surface brightness (a 'jet' or 'tail') extends 170 kpc to the southeast, ending in a diffuse lobe which is oriented in PA of about 45 deg. Consideration is given to pressure balance between the various radio components and the cluster gas, and also to four processes for the origin of the nuclear X-ray emission. Alternative interpretations of the data are given for a classical tailed radio galaxy and for a truly one-sided radio source.
Four weak sources for which precise positions have been obtained from the HEAO-1 Scanning Modulation Collimator (MC) experiment are discussed. One source (4U 0446+44) with the center of the cluster of galaxies containing 3C129 and 3C129.1 has been identified, and its angular size has been measured. One source with a galactic star is identified, although it is at galactic latitude b = 51 deg. The other two sources, 2A 0526-328 and 2A 0922-317, remain unidentified.
We present the results of a 21-cm HI survey of 27 local massive gas-rich late-stage mergers and merger remnants with the Green Bank Telescope (GBT). These remnants were selected from the Quasar/ULIRG Evolution Study (QUEST) sample of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs; L(sub 8 - 1000 micron) > 10(exp 12) solar L) and quasars; our targets are all bolometrically dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) and sample the later phases of the proposed ULIRG-to-quasar evolutionary sequence. We find the prevalence of HI absorption (emission) to be 100% (29%) in ULIRGs with HI detections, 100% (88%) in FIR-strong quasars, and 63% (100%) in FIR-weak quasars. The absorption features are associated with powerful neutral outflows that change from being mainly driven by star formation in ULIRGs to being driven by the AGN in the quasars. These outflows have velocities that exceed 1500 km/s in some cases. Unexpectedly, we find polarization-dependent HI absorption in 57% of our spectra (88% and 63% of the FIR-strong and FIR-weak quasars, respectively). We attribute this result to absorption of polarized continuum emission from these sources by foreground HI clouds. About 60% of the quasars displaying polarized spectra are radio-loud, far higher than the approx 10% observed in the general AGN population. This discrepancy suggests that radio jets play an important role in shaping the environments in these galaxies. These systems may represent a transition phase in the evolution of gas-rich mergers into "mature" radio galaxies.
The masses of galaxy clusters are dominated by dark matter, and a robust determination of their temperatures and masses has the potential of indicating how much dark matter exists on large scales in the universe, and the cosmological parameter Omega. X-ray observations of galaxy clusters provide a direct measure of both the gas mass in the intra-cluster medium, and also the total gravitating mass of the cluster. We used new and archival ASCA and ROSAT observations to measure these quantities for a sample of intermediate redshift clusters which have also been subject to intensive dynamical studies, in order to compare the mass estimates from different methods. We used data from 12 of the CNOC cluster sample at 0.18 less than z less than 0.55 for this study. A direct comparison of dynamical mass estimates from Carlberg, Yee & Ellingson (1997) yielded surprisingly good results. The X-ray/dynamical mass ratios have a mean of 0.96+/- 0.10, indicating that for this sample, both methods are probably yielding very robust mass estimates. Comparison with mass estimates from gravitational lensing studies from the literature showed a small systematic with weak lensing estimates, and large discrepancies with strong lensing estimates. This latter is not surprising, given that these measurements are made close to the central core, where optical and Xray estimates are less certain, and where substructure and the effects of individual galaxies will be more pronounced. These results are presented in Lewis, Ellingson, Morris \& Carlberg, 1998, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal.
A sample of 26 low-redshift quasars was examined for relationships between X-ray luminosity and optical spectroscopic features; all quasars were observed with the Einstein Observatory and with the IDS on the Lick 3 meter telescope. Evidence is found for correlations between quasar X-ray luminosity and both optical continuum luminosity and H-beta luminosity. In the latter case, there is a smooth relationship connecting quasars, Seyfert 1, and Seyfert 2 galaxies. For the quasars in this sample, there is also a strong correlation between optical continuum luminosity and both the H-beta luminosity and equivalent width. Evidence is also found for a weak correlation between alpha-prime (ox), the mean continuum spectral index between 5000 A and 2 keV, and Fe II equivalent width, H-beta equivalent width, H-beta line width at zero intensity, and the ratio of H-beta equivalent width to its line width at zero intensity.
We report on the results of an analysis o f XMM-Newton observations o f MS 0735+7421, the galaxy cluster that hosts the most energetic AGN outburst currently known. .The previous chandra image shows twin giant x-ray cavities (approx.200 kpc diameter) filled with radio emission and surrounded by a weak shock front. XMM data are consistent with these findings. The total energy in cavities and shock (1E62 erg(approx.100 kpc), to heat the gas within 1 Mpc by approx.1/4 kev per particle. The cluster exhibits an upward departure (factor approx.2) from the mean L-T relation. The boost in emissivity produced by the ICM compression in the bright shells due to the cavity expansion may contribute to explain the high luminosity and high central gas mass fraction that we measure. The scaled temperature and metallicity profiles are in general agreement with those observed in re1axed clusters. Also, the quantities we measure are consistent with the observed M-T relation. We conclude that violent outbursts such as the one in MS 0735+7421 do not cause dramatic scaling relations (other than the L-T relation). However, if they are relatively common they may play a role in creating the global cluster properties.
The masses of galaxy clusters are dominated by dark matter, and a robust determination of their masses has the potential of indicating how much dark matter exists on large scales in the universe, and the cosmological parameter Omega. X-ray observations of galaxy clusters provide a direct measure of both the gas mass in the intra-cluster medium, and also the total gravitating mass of the cluster. We used new and archival ROSAT observations to measure these quantities for a sample of intermediate redshift clusters which have also been subject to intensive dynamical studies, in order to compare the mass estimates from different methods. We used data from 14 of the CNOC cluster sample at 0.18 less than z less than 0.55 for this study. A direct comparison of dynamical mass estimates from Carlberg, Yee & Ellingson (1997) yielded surprisingly good results. The X-ray/dynamical mass ratios have a mean of 0.96+/- 0.10, indicating that for this sample, both methods are probably yielding very robust mass estimates. Comparison with mass estimates from gravitational lensing studies from the literature showed a small systematic with weak lensing estimates, and large discrepancies with strong lensing estimates. This latter is not surprising, given that these measurement are made close to the central core, where optical and X-ray estimates are less certain, and where substructure and the effects of individual galaxies will be more pronounced. These results are presented in Lewis, Ellingson, Morris/Carlberg, 1998, submitted to the Astrophysical Journal. (Note that Lewis is Ellingson's Ph.D. thesis, who received direct support from this grant and is using this investigation as part of his thesis.) Three additional papers are in preparation. The first provides a comparison of the mass profiles as measured in X- rays and in galaxy dynamics. These profiles are difficult to determine for individual clusters, and are subject to asphericity and other individual quirks of each cluster. However, a composite profile for each method will allow us to test our assumptions of hydrostatic/dynamical equilibrium in the sample as a whole. A second paper provides a more detailed look at the cluster MS0906+11, which is a merging system. A third paper authord with J. Mohr at U. Chicago will invetigate the size-temoerature relationship for intermediate redshift clusters and its impications on cluster formation and cosmology. Future work on these data will include comparisons of the cluster galaxy populations and the extent of the intra-cluster medium, and a more homogeneous analysis of gravitational lensing.
A search for X-ray emission from optically quiet, compact radio sources reveals that such sources are significantly weaker X-ray emitters than are optically identified objects with comparable radio properties. For the radio samples examined here, the X-ray luminosity, relative to the radio, is typically at least 3 times lower in the optically quiet, compact radio sources than in the optically identified ones. Possible reasons for the distinction between optically quiet, compact radio sources and other compact radio sources are discussed. If strong nonthermal sources occur in the nuclei of dust-rich galaxies and do not eliminate the dust and gas of the interstellar medium, a few percent of such sources should be optically faint and red (due to extinction by dust) and X-ray weak (due to K-edge absorption). However, many optically quiet, compact radio sources are apparently 'blazars' with particularly sharp high-frequency breaks in their synchrotron spectra.
We perform a detailed study of the stacked Suzaku observations of 47 galaxy clusters, spanning a redshift range of 0.01-0.45, to search for the unidentified 3.5 keV line. This sample provides an independent test for the previously detected line. We detect a 2sigma-significant spectral feature at 3.5 keV in the spectrum of the full sample. When the sample is divided into two subsamples (cool-core and non-cool core clusters), the cool-core subsample shows no statistically significant positive residuals at the line energy. A very weak (approx. 2sigma confidence) spectral feature at 3.5 keV is permitted by the data from the non-cool-core clusters sample. The upper limit on a neutrino decay mixing angle of sin(sup 2)(2theta) = 6.1 x 10(exp -11) from the full Suzaku sample is consistent with the previous detections in the stacked XMM-Newton sample of galaxy clusters (which had a higher statistical sensitivity to faint lines), M31, and Galactic center, at a 90% confidence level. However, the constraint from the present sample, which does not include the Perseus cluster, is in tension with previously reported line flux observed in the core of the Perseus cluster with XMM-Newton and Suzaku.
We extend the analysis of axisymmetric magnetic shear instabilities from ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flows to weakly ionized plasmas with coupling between ions and neutrals caused by collisions, ionization, and recombination. As part of the analysis, we derive the single-fluid MHD dispersion relation without invoking the Boussinesq approximation. This work expands the range of applications of these instabilities from fully ionized accretion disks to molecular disks in galaxies and, with somewhat more uncertainty, to protostellar disks. Instability generally requires the angular velocity to decrease outward, the magnetic field strengths to be subthermal, and the ions and neutrals to be sufficiently well coupled. If ionization and recombination processes can be neglected on an orbital timescale, adequate coupling is achieved when the collision frequency of a given neutral with the ions exceeds the local epicyclic freqency. When ionization equilibrium is maintained on an orbital timescale, a new feature is present in the disk dynamics: in contrast to a single-fluid system, subthermal azimuthal fields can affect the axisymmetric stability of weakly ionized two-fluid systems. We discuss the underlying causes for this behavior. Azimuthal fields tend to be stabilizing under these circumstances, and good coupling between the neutrals and ions requires the collision frequency to exceed the epicyclic frequency by a potentially large secant factor related to the magnetic field geometry. When the instability is present, subthermal azimuthal fields may also reduce the growth rate unless the collision frequency is high, but this is important only if the field strengths are very subthermal and/or the azimuthal field is the dominant field component. We briefly discuss our results in the context of the Galactic center circumnuclear disk, and suggest that the shear instability might be present there, and be responsible for the observed turbulent motions.
Relativistic jets are streams of plasma moving at appreciable fractions of the speed of light. They have been observed from stellar-mass black holes (approx. 3 to 20 solar masses) as well as supermassive black holes (approx.. 10(exp 6) to 10(exp 9) Solar Mass) found in the centers of most galaxies. Jets should also be produced by intermediate-mass black holes (approx. 10(exp 2) to 10(exp 5) Solar Mass), although evidence for this third class of black hole has, until recently, been weak. We report the detection of transient radio emission at the location of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate ESO 243-49 HLX-1, which is consistent with a discrete jet ejection event. These observations also allow us to refine the mass estimate of the black hole to be between approx. 9 × 10(exp 3) Solar Mass and approx. 9 × 10(exp 4) Solar Mass.
During the final moments of a binary black hole (BH) merger, the gravitational wave (GW) luminosity of the system is greater than the combined electromagnetic (EM) output of the entire observable universe. However, the extremely weak coupling between GWs and ordinary matter makes these waves very difficult to detect directly. Fortunately, the inspirating BH system will interact strongly-on a purely Newtonian level-with any surrounding material in the host galaxy, and this matter can in turn produce unique EM signals detectable at Earth. By identifying EM counterparts to GW sources, we will be able to study the host environments of the merging BHs, in turn greatly expanding the scientific yield of a mission like LISA. Here we present a comprehensive review of the recent literature on the subject of EM counterparts, as well as a discussion of the theoretical and observational advances required to fully realize the scientific potential of the field.
ROSAT observations of narrow-line Seyfert 1s found consistently steep spectra and rapid variability, but ASCA observations show more diversity, very different to classical Seyfert 1s. However, in 3 NLS1s, ASCA finds common characteristics of these exciting new class of AGN (active galactic nuclei): a very strong high temperature soft excess, weak hard tail, a possible blue shifted ionized oxygen edge, and rapid large amplitude variability characterized by flares and quiescent periods. It is necessary to observe many more such objects in order to understand the physical processes underlying the different phenomenology in ASCA. ASCA observations of two NLS1s discovered by ROSAT's all sky survey were proposed and an observation of one of these objects, RX J0439-45, was awarded. The results of spectral and variability analysis are included in Leighly 1999ab, and preliminary results are found in Leighly 1998ab.