ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

A near-IR variability study of the Galactic black hole: a red noise source with no detected periodicity

37   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Tuan Do
 تاريخ النشر 2008
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English
 تأليف Tuan Do




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

We present the results of near-infrared (2 and 3 microns) monitoring of Sgr A*-IR with 1 min time sampling using the natural and laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) system at the Keck II telescope. Sgr A*-IR was observed continuously for up to three hours on each of seven nights, between 2005 July and 2007 August. Sgr A*-IR is detected at all times and is continuously variable, with a median observed 2 micron flux density of 0.192 mJy, corresponding to 16.3 magnitude at K. These observations allow us to investigate Nyquist sampled periods ranging from about 2 minutes to an hour. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find that the variability of Sgr A* in this data set is consistent with models based on correlated noise with power spectra having frequency dependent power law slopes between 2.0 to 3.0, consistent with those reported for AGN light curves. Of particular interest are periods of ~20 min, corresponding to a quasi-periodic signal claimed based upon previous near-infrared observations and interpreted as the orbit of a hot spot at or near the last stable orbit of a spinning black hole. We find no significant periodicity at any time scale probed in these new observations for periodic signals. This study is sensitive to periodic signals with amplitudes greater than 20% of the maximum amplitude of the underlying red noise component for light curves with duration greater than ~2 hours at a 98% confidence limit.

قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

Galaxies that contain bulges appear to contain central black holes whose masses correlate with the velocity dispersion of the bulge. We show that no corresponding relationship applies in the pure disk galaxy M33. Three-integral dynamical models fit H ubble Space Telescope WFPC2 photometry and STIS spectroscopy best if the central black hole mass is zero. The upper limit is 1500 M_sun. This is significantly below the mass expected from the velocity dispersion of the nucleus and far below any mass predicted from the disk kinematics. Our results suggest that supermassive black holes are associated only with galaxy bulges and not with their disks.
324 - N.J. Wright 2009
We present a library of 139 near-IR spectra of cool asymptotic giant branch stars that will be useful for comparison with theoretical model atmosphere calculations and for modeling the integrated emission from intermediate-age stellar populations. Th e source list was selected from the `extremely red region of the INT Photometric H Alpha Survey (IPHAS) colour-colour plane that is overwhelmingly dominated by very late-type stars. The spectral library also includes a large fraction of S-type and carbon stars. We present a number of spectral classification sequences highlighting the various molecular features identified and discuss a number of rare features with uncertain identifications in the literature. With its focus on particularly cool photospheres this catalogue serves as a companion to recent spectroscopic atlases of MK standards in the near-IR. Finally the relationship between IPHAS (r-i) and (r-H Alpha) colours and spectroscopically determined properties is discussed and a strong correlation between (r-H Alpha) colour and the C/O abundance index for S-type and carbon stars is noted. This relation has the potential to separate O-rich, S-type and carbon stars in the Galaxy based on their photometry alone.
Quasars have long been known to be variable sources at all wavelengths. Their optical variability is stochastic, can be due to a variety of physical mechanisms, and is well-described statistically in terms of a damped random walk model. The recent av ailability of large collections of astronomical time series of flux measurements (light curves) offers new data sets for a systematic exploration of quasar variability. Here we report on the detection of a strong, smooth periodic signal in the optical variability of the quasar PG 1302-102 with a mean observed period of 1,884 $pm$ 88 days. It was identified in a search for periodic variability in a data set of light curves for 247,000 known, spectroscopically confirmed quasars with a temporal baseline of $sim9$ years. While the interpretation of this phenomenon is still uncertain, the most plausible mechanisms involve a binary system of two supermassive black holes with a subparsec separation. Such systems are an expected consequence of galaxy mergers and can provide important constraints on models of galaxy formation and evolution.
We present new Adaptive Optics (AO) imaging and spectroscopic measurements of Galactic Center source G1 from W. M. Keck Observatory. Our goal is to understand its nature and relationship to G2, which is the first example of a spatially-resolved objec t interacting with the supermassive black hole (SMBH). Both objects have been monitored with AO for the past decade (2003 - 2014) and are comparatively close to the black hole ($a_{rm{min}} sim$200-300 AU) on very eccentric orbits ($e_{rm{G1}}sim$0.99; $e_{rm{G2}}sim$0.96). While G2 has been tracked before and during periapse passage ($T_{0} sim$ 2014.2), G1 has been followed since soon after emerging from periapse ($T_{0} sim$ 2001.3). Our observations of G1 double the previously reported observational time baseline, which improves its orbital parameter determinations. G1s orbital trajectory appears to be in the same plane as that of G2, but with a significantly different argument of periapse ($Deltaomega$ = 21$pm$4 degrees). This suggests that G1 is an independent object and not part of a gas stream containing G2 as has been proposed. Furthermore, we show for the first time that: (1) G1 is extended in the epochs closest to periapse along the direction of orbital motion and (2) G1 becomes significantly smaller over time, (450 AU in 2004 to less than 170 AU in 2009). Based on these observations, G1 appears to be the second example of an object tidally interacting with a SMBH. G1s existence 14 years after periapse, along with its compactness in epochs further from the time of periapse, suggest that this source is stellar in nature.
In the past decades, the phenomenology of fast time variations of high-energy flux from black-hole binaries has increased, thanks to the availability of more and more sophisticated space observatories, and a complex picture has emerged. Recently, mod els have been developed to interpret the observed signals in terms of fundamental frequencies connected to General Relativity, which has opened a promising way to measure the prediction of GR in the strong-field regime. I review the current standpoint both from the observational and theoretical side and show that these systems are the most promising laboratories for testing GR and the observations available today suggest that the next observational facilities can lead to a breakthrough in the field.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
سجل دخول لتتمكن من متابعة معايير البحث التي قمت باختيارها
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا