No Arabic abstract
We present new hard X-ray spectra of three radio-loud AGNs of moderately high X-ray luminosity (L_x ~ 10^45 erg/s; PKS 2349-01, 3C 323.1, and 4C 74.26) obtained with ASCA and BeppoSAX. The X-ray continua are described in all three cases with a power law model with photon indices of Gamma~1.85, modified at low energies by absorption in excess of the Galactic, which appears to be due to neutral gas. At higher energies, an Fe Ka emission line is detected in PKS 2349-01 and 4C 74.26, and is tentatively detected in 3C 323.1. The equivalent widths of the lines are consistent, albeit within large uncertainties, with the values for radio-quiet AGN of comparable X-ray luminosity. The Fe Ka line is unresolved in 4C 74.26. In the case of PKS 2349-01, however, the inferred properties of the line depend on the model adopted for the continuum: if a simple power-law model is used, the line is resolved at more than 99% confidence with a full width at half maximum corresponding to approximately 50,000 km/s and a rest-frame equivalent width of 230 +/- 120 eV, but if a Compton reflection model is used the line is found to be a factor of 2 weaker, for an assumed full width at half maximum of 50,000 km/s. In 4C 74.26, a strong Compton reflection component is detected. Its strength suggests that the scattering medium subtends a solid angle of 2pi to the illuminating source. Overall, the spectral indices of these radio-loud quasars are remarkably similar to those of their radio-quiet counterparts. On the other hand, if the absorber is indeed neutral, as our results suggest, this would be consistent with the typical properties of radio-loud AGNs.
We present the study on the X-ray emission for a sample of radio-detected quasars constructed from the cross-matches between SDSS, FIRST catalogs and XMM-Newton archives. A sample of radio-quiet SDSS quasars without FIRST radio detection is also assembled for comparison. We construct the optical and X-ray composite spectra normalized at rest frame $4215,rm AA$ (or $2200,rm AA$) for both radio-loud quasars (RLQs) and radio-quiet quasars (RQQs) at $zle3.2$, with matched X-ray completeness of 19%, redshift and optical luminosity. While the optical composite spectrum of RLQs is similar to that of RQQs, we find that RLQs have higher X-ray composite spectrum than RQQs, consistent with previous studies in the literature. By dividing the radio-detected quasars into radio loudness bins, we find the X-ray composite spectra are generally higher with increasing radio loudness. Moreover, a significant correlation is found between the optical-to-X-ray spectral index and radio loudness, and there is a unified multi-correlation between the radio, X-ray luminosities and radio loudness in radio-detected quasars. These results could be possibly explained with the corona-jet model, in which the corona and jet are directly related.
We report spectral, imaging, and variability results from four new XMM-Newton observations and two new Chandra observations of high-redshift (z > 4) radio-loud quasars (RLQs). Our targets span lower, and more representative, values of radio loudness than those of past samples of high-redshift RLQs studied in the X-ray regime. Our spectral analyses show power-law X-ray continua with a mean photon index, Gamma =1.74 +/- 0.11, that is consistent with measurements of lower redshift RLQs. These continua are likely dominated by jet-linked X-ray emission, and they follow the expected anti-correlation between photon index and radio loudness. We find no evidence of iron Kalpha ~ emission lines or Compton-reflection continua. Our data also constrain intrinsic X-ray absorption in these RLQs. We find evidence for significant absorption (N_H ~ 10^22 cm^-2) in one RLQ of our sample (SDSS J0011+1446); the incidence of X-ray absorption in our sample appears plausibly consistent with that for high-redshift RLQs that have higher values of radio loudness. In the Chandra observation of PMN J221-2719 we detect apparent extended (~ 14 kpc) X-ray emission that is most likely due to a jet; the X-ray luminosity of this putative jet is ~2% that of the core. The analysis of a 4.9 GHz VLA image of PMN J221-2719 reveals a structure that matches the X-ray extension found in this source. We also find evidence for long-term (450-460 days) X-ray variability by 80-100% in two of our targets.
Within the context of investigating possible differences between the mechanisms at play in Radio Loud AGN and those in Radio Quiet ones, we study the spectral characteristics of a selected sample of Intermediate-Luminosity Broad-Line Radio Galaxies in X-rays, optical, IR and radio. Here, we present the radio spectra acquired with the 100-m radio telescope in Effelsberg between 2.6 and 32 GHz. These measurements reveal a large variety of spectral shapes urging for radio imaging that would disclose the source morphology. Such studies could potentially discriminate between different mechanisms.
This paper reports on the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum of three low redshift ($z sim 0.6$) radio loud quasars, 3C 95, 3C 57 and PKS 0405-123. The spectra were obtained with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) of the Hubble Space Telescope. The bolometric thermal emission, $L_{bol}$, associated with the accretion flow is a large fraction of the Eddington limit for all of these sources. We estimate the long term time averaged jet power, $overline{Q}$, for the three sources. $overline{Q}/L_{bol}$, is shown to lie along the correlation of $overline{Q}/L_{bol}$ and $alpha_{EUV}$ found in previous studies of the EUV continuum of intermediate and high redshift quasars, where the EUV continuum flux density between 1100 AA, and 700 AA, is defined by $F_{ u} sim u^{-alpha_{EUV}}$. The high Eddington ratios of the three quasars extends the analysis into a wider parameter space. Selecting quasars with high Eddington ratios has accentuated the statistical significance of the partial correlation analysis of the data. Namely. the correlation of $overline{Q}/L_{mathrm{bol}}$ and $alpha_{EUV}$ is fundamental and the correlation of $overline{Q}$ and $alpha_{EUV}$ is spurious at a very high statistical significance level (99.8%). This supports the regulating role of ram pressure of the accretion flow in magnetically arrested accretion models of jet production. In the process of this study, we use multi-frequency and multi-resolution Very Large Array radio observations to determine that one of the bipolar jets in 3C 57 is likely frustrated by galactic gas that keeps the jet from propagating outside the host galaxy.
We present multi-frequency observations of a sample of 15 radio-emitting Broad Absorption Line Quasars (BAL QSOs), covering a spectral range between 74 MHz and 43 GHz. They display mostly convex radio spectra which typically peak at about 1-5 GHz (in the observers rest-frame), flatten at MHz frequencies, probably due to synchrotron self-absorption, and become steeper at high frequencies, i.e., >~ 20 GHz. VLA 22-GHz maps (HPBW ~ 80 mas) show unresolved or very compact sources, with linear projected sizes of <= 1 kpc. About 2/3 of the sample look unpolarised or weakly polarised at 8.4 GHz, frequency in which reasonable upper limits could be obtained for polarised intensity. Statistical comparisons have been made between the spectral index distributions of samples of BAL and non-BAL QSOs, both in the observed and the rest-frame, finding steeper spectra among non-BAL QSOs. However constraining this comparison to compact sources results in no significant differences between both distributions. This comparison is consistent with BAL QSOs not being oriented along a particular line of sight. In addition, our analysis of the spectral shape, variability and polarisation properties shows that radio BAL QSOs share several properties common to young radio sources like Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) or Gigahertz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) sources.