The high quality light curves of Kepler space telescope make it possible to analyze the optical variability of AGNs with an unprecedented time resolution. Studying the asymmetry in variations could give independent constraints on the physical models
for AGN variability. In this paper, we use Kepler observations of 19 sources to perform analyses on the variability asymmetry of AGNs. We apply smoothing-correction to light curves to deduct the bias to high frequency variability asymmetry, caused by long term variations which are poorly sampled due to the limited length of light curves. A parameter $beta$ based on structure functions is introduced to quantitively describe the asymmetry and its uncertainty is measured using extensive Monte-Carlo simulations. Individual sources show no evidence of asymmetry at timescales of $1sim20$ days and there is not a general trend toward positive or negative asymmetry over the whole sample. Stacking data of all 19 AGNs, we derive averaged $bar{beta}$ of 0.00$pm$0.03 and -0.02$pm$0.04 over timescales of 1$sim$5 days and 5$sim$20 days, respectively, statistically consistent with zero. Quasars and Seyfert galaxies show similar asymmetry parameters. Our results indicate that short term optical variations in AGNs are highly symmetric.
Ram pressure stripping can remove hot and cold gas from galaxies in the intracluster medium (ICM), as shown by observations of X-ray and HI galaxy wakes in nearby clusters of galaxies. However, ram pressure stripping, including pre-processing in grou
p environments, does not remove all the hot coronal gas from cluster galaxies. Recent high-resolution Chandra observations have shown that $sim 1 - 4$ kpc extended, hot galactic coronae are ubiquitous in group and cluster galaxies. To better understand this result, we simulate ram pressure stripping of a cosmologically motivated population of galaxies in isolated group and cluster environments. The galaxies and the host group and cluster are composed of collisionless dark matter and hot gas initially in hydrostatic equilibrium with the galaxy and host potentials. We show that the rate at which gas is lost depends on the galactic and host halo mass. Using synthetic X-ray observations, we evaluate the detectability of stripped galactic coronae in real observations by stacking images on the known galaxy centers. We find that coronal emission should be detected within $sim 10$ arcsec, or $sim 5$ kpc up to $sim 2.3$ Gyr in the lowest (0.1 - 1.2 keV) energy band. Thus the presence of observed coronae in cluster galaxies significantly smaller than the hot X-ray halos of field galaxies indicates that at least some gas removal occurs within cluster environments for recently accreted galaxies. Finally, we evaluate the possibility that existing and future X-ray cluster catalogs can be used in combination with optical galaxy positions to detect galactic coronal emission via stacking analysis. We briefly discuss the effects of additional physical processes on coronal survival, and will address them in detail in future papers in this series.
Observations of early-type dwarf galaxies in clusters often show that cluster dwarf members have significantly higher velocities and less symmetric distributions than cluster giant ellipticals, suggesting that these dwarfs are recently accreted galax
ies, possibly from an infalling group. We use a series of $N$-body simulations, exploring a parameter space of groups falling into clusters, to study the observed velocity distributions of the infall components along various lines of sight. We show that, as viewed along a line of sight parallel to the groups infall direction, there is a significant peculiar velocity boost during the pericentric passage of the group, and an increase in velocity dispersion that persists for many Gyr after the merger. The remnants of the infalling group, however, do not form a spatially distinct system -- consistent with recent observations of dwarf galaxies in the Virgo and Fornax clusters. This velocity signature is completely absent when viewed along a direction perpendicular to the merger. Additionally, the phase-space distribution of radial velocity along the infall direction versus cluster-centric radius reveals the separate dynamical evolution of the groups central core and outer halo, including the presence of infalling remnants outside the escape velocity envelope of the system. The distinct signature in velocity space of an infalling groups galaxies can therefore prove important in understanding the dynamical history of clusters and their dwarfs. Our results suggest that dwarf galaxies, being insensitive to dynamical friction, are excellent probes of their host clusters dynamical histories.
Galaxies in clusters are more likely to be of early type and to have lower star formation rates than galaxies in the field. Recent observations and simulations suggest that cluster galaxies may be `pre-processed by group or filament environments and
that galaxies that fall into a cluster as part of a larger group can stay coherent within the cluster for up to one orbital period (`post-processing). We investigate these ideas by means of a cosmological $N$-body simulation and idealized $N$-body plus hydrodynamics simulations of a group-cluster merger. We find that group environments can contribute significantly to galaxy pre-processing by means of enhanced galaxy-galaxy merger rates, removal of galaxies hot halo gas by ram pressure stripping, and tidal truncation of their galaxies. Tidal distortion of the group during infall does not contribute to pre-processing. Post-processing is also shown to be effective: galaxy-galaxy collisions are enhanced during a groups pericentric passage within a cluster, the merger shock enhances the ram pressure on group and cluster galaxies, and an increase in local density during the merger leads to greater galactic tidal truncation.
Typical flows in stellar interiors are much slower than the speed of sound. To follow the slow evolution of subsonic motions, various sound-proof equations are in wide use, particularly in stellar astrophysical fluid dynamics. These low-Mach number e
quations include the anelastic equations. Generally, these equations are valid in nearly adiabatically stratified regions like stellar convection zones, but may not be valid in the sub-adiabatic, stably stratified stellar radiative interiors. Understanding the coupling between the convection zone and the radiative interior is a problem of crucial interest and may have strong implications for solar and stellar dynamo theories as the interface between the two, called the tachocline in the Sun, plays a crucial role in many solar dynamo theories. Here we study the properties of gravity waves in stably-stratified atmospheres. In particular, we explore how gravity waves are handled in various sound-proof equations. We find that some anelastic treatments fail to conserve energy in stably-stratified atmospheres, instead conserving pseudo-energies that depend on the stratification, and we demonstrate this numerically. One anelastic equation set does conserve energy in all atmospheres and we provide recommendations for converting low-Mach number anelastic codes to this set of equations.
We present a new algorithm to solve polynomial equations, and publish its code, which is 1.6-3 times faster than the ZROOTS subroutine that is commercially available from Numerical Recipes, depending on application. The largest improvement, when comp
ared to naive solvers, comes from a fail-safe procedure that permits us to skip the majority of the calculations in the great majority of cases, without risking catastrophic failure in the few cases that these are actually required. Second, we identify a discriminant that enables a rational choice between Laguerres Method and Newtons Method (or a new intermediate method) on a case-by-case basis. We briefly review the history of root solving and demonstrate that Newtons Method was discovered neither by Newton (1671) nor by Raphson (1690), but only by Simpson (1740). Some of the arguments leading to this conclusion were first given by the British historian of science Nick Kollerstrom in 1992, but these do not appear to have penetrated the astronomical community. Finally, we argue that Numerical Recipes should voluntarily surrender its copyright protection for non-profit applications, despite the fact that, in this particular case, such protection was the major stimulant for developing our improved algorithm.
From the data release of OPERA - CNGS experiment, and publicly announced on 23 September 2011, we cast a phenomenological model based on a Majorana neutrino state carrying a fictitious imaginary mass term, already discussed by Majorana in 1932. This
mass term can be induced by the interaction with the matter of the Earths crust during the 735 Km travel. Within the experimental errors, we prove that the model fits with OPERA, MINOS and supernova SN1987a data. Possible violations to Lorentz invariance due to quantum gravity effects have been considered.
We analyze the effect of Proca mass and orbital angular momentum of photons imposed by a structured plasma in Kerr-Newman and Reissner-Nordstrom-de Sitter spacetimes. The presence of characteristic lengths in a turbulent plasma converts the virtual P
roca photon mass on orbital angular momentum, with the result of decreasing the virtual photon mass. The combination of this plasma effect and that of the gravitational field leads to a new astrophysical phenomenon that imprints a specific distribution of orbital angular momentum into different frequencies of the light emitted from the neighborhood of such a black hole. The determination of the orbital angular momentum spectrum of the radiation in different frequency bands leads to a complete characterization of the electrostatic and gravitational field of the black hole and of the plasma turbulence, with fundamental astrophysical and cosmological implications.
Simulations of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) result in successful explosions once the neutrino luminosity exceeds a critical curve, and recent simulations indicate that turbulence further enables explosion by reducing this critical neutrino lumino
sity. We propose a theoretical framework to derive this result and take the first steps by deriving the governing mean-field equations. Using Reynolds decomposition, we decompose flow variables into background and turbulent flows and derive self-consistent averaged equations for their evolution. As basic requirements for the CCSN problem, these equations naturally incorporate steady-state accretion, neutrino heating and cooling, non-zero entropy gradients, and turbulence terms associated with buoyant driving, redistribution, and dissipation. Furthermore, analysis of two-dimensional (2D) CCSN simulations validate these Reynolds-averaged equations, and we show that the physics of turbulence entirely accounts for the differences between 1D and 2D CCSN simulations. As a prelude to deriving the reduction in the critical luminosity, we identify the turbulent terms that most influence the conditions for explosion. Generically, turbulence equations require closure models, but these closure models depend upon the macroscopic properties of the flow. To derive a closure model that is appropriate for CCSNe, we cull the literature for relevant closure models and compare each with 2D simulations. These models employ local closure approximations and fail to reproduce the global properties of neutrino-driven turbulence. Motivated by the generic failure of these local models, we propose an original model for turbulence which incorporates global properties of the flow. This global model accurately reproduces the turbulence profiles and evolution of 2D CCSN simulations.
SN2008S and the 2008 NGC300-OT were explosive transients of stars self-obscured by very dense, dusty stellar winds. An explosive transient with an un-observed shock break-out luminosity of order 10^10 Lsun is required to render the transients little
obscured and visible in the optical at their peaks. Such a large break-out luminosity then implies that the progenitor stars were cool, red supergiants, most probably ~9 Msun extreme AGB (EAGB) stars. As the shocks generated by the explosions propagate outward through the dense wind, they produce a shock luminosity in soft X-rays that powers the long-lived luminosity of the transients. Unlike typical cases of transients exploding into a surrounding circumstellar medium, the progenitor winds in these systems are optically thick to soft X-rays, easily absorb radio emission and rapidly reform dust destroyed by the peak luminosity of the transients. As a result, X-rays are absorbed by the gas and the energy is ultimately radiated by the reformed dust. Three years post-peak, both systems are still significantly more luminous than their progenitor stars, but they are again fully shrouded by the re-formed dust and only visible in the mid-IR. The high luminosity and heavy obscuration may make it difficult to determine the survival of the progenitor stars for ~10 years. However, our model indicates that SN2008S, but not the NGC300-OT, should now be a detectable X-ray source. SN2008S has a higher estimated shock velocity and a lower density wind, so the X-rays begin to escape at a much earlier phase.
