Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “accretion”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

TURBULENCE IN THE OUTER REGIONS OF PROTOPLANETARY DISKS. II. STRONG ACCRETION DRIVEN BY A VERTICAL MAGNETIC FIELD

We carry out a series of local, vertically stratified shearing box simulations of protoplanetary disks that include ambipolar diffusion and a net vertical magnetic field. The ambipolar diffusion profiles we employ correspond to 30 AU and 100 AU in a minimum mass solar nebula (MMSN) disk model, which consists of a far-ultraviolet-ionized surface layer and low-ionization disk interior. These simulations serve as a follow-up to Simon et al., in which we found that without a net vertical field, the turbulent stresses that result from the magnetorotational instability (MRI) are too weak to account for observed accretion rates. The simulations in this work show a very strong dependence of the accretion stresses on the strength of the background vertical field; as the field strength increases, the stress amplitude increases. For a net vertical field strength (quantified by β{sub 0}, the ratio of gas to magnetic pressure at the disk mid-plane) of β{sub 0} = 10{sup 4} and β{sub 0} = 10{sup 5}, we find accretion rates M-dot ∼10{sup -8}-10{sup –7} M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. These accretion rates agree with observational constraints, suggesting a vertical magnetic field strength of ∼60-200 μG and 10-30 μG at 30 AU and 100 AU, respectively, in a MMSN disk. Furthermore, the stress has a non-negligible component due to a magnetic wind. For sufficiently strong vertical field strengths, MRI turbulence is quenched, and the flow becomes largely laminar, with accretion proceeding through large-scale correlations in the radial and toroidal field components as well as through the magnetic wind. In all simulations, the presence of a low-ionization region near the disk mid-plane, which we call the ambipolar damping zone, results in reduced stresses there.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

HYDROGEN BURNING ON ACCRETING WHITE DWARFS: STABILITY, RECURRENT NOVAE, AND THE POST-NOVA SUPERSOFT PHASE

We examine the properties of white dwarfs (WDs) accreting hydrogen-rich matter in and near the stable burning regime of accretion rates as modeled by time-dependent calculations done with Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA). We report the stability boundary for WDs of masses between 0.51 M{sub ☉} and 1.34 M{sub ☉} as found via time-dependent calculations. We also examine recurrent novae that are accreting at rates close to, but below, the stable burning limit and report their recurrence times. Our dense grid in accretion rates finds the expected minimum possible recurrence times as a function of the WD mass. This enables inferences to be made about the minimum WD mass possible to reach a specific recurrence time. We compare our computational models of post-outburst novae to the stably burning WDs and explicitly calculate the duration and effective temperature (T{sub eff}) of the post-nova WD in the supersoft phase. We agree with the measured turnoff time-T{sub eff} relation in M31 by Henze and collaborators, infer WD masses in the 1.0-1.3 M{sub ☉} range, and predict ejection masses consistent with those observed. We close by commenting on the importance of the hot helium layer generated by stable or unstable hydrogen burning for the short- and long-term evolution of accreting WDs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Hot versus cold: The dichotomy in spherical accretion of cooling flows onto supermassive black holes in elliptical galaxies, galaxy groups, and clusters

Feedback heating from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has been commonly invoked to suppress cooling flows predicted in hot gas in elliptical galaxies, galaxy groups, and clusters. Previous studies have focused on if and how AGN feedback heats the gas but have little paid attention to its triggering mechanism. Using spherically symmetric simulations, we investigate how large-scale cooling flows are accreted by central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in eight well-observed systems and find an interesting dichotomy. In massive clusters, the gas develops a central cooling catastrophe within about the cooling time (typically ∼100-300 Myr), resulting in cold-mode accretion onto SMBHs. However, in our four simulated systems on group and galaxy scales at a low metallicity Z = 0.3 Z {sub ☉}, the gas quickly settles into a long-term state that has a cuspy central temperature profile extending to several tens to about 100 pc. At the more realistic solar metallicity, two groups (with R {sub e} ∼ 4 kpc) still host the long-term, hot-mode accretion. Both accretion modes naturally appear in our idealized calculations where only cooling, gas inflow, and compressional heating are considered. The long-term, hot-mode accretion is maintained by the quickly established closeness between the timescales of these processes, preferably in systems with low gas densities, low gas metallicities, and importantly, compact central galaxies, which result in strong gravitational acceleration and compressional heating at the intermediate radii. Our calculations predict that central cuspy temperature profiles appear more often in smaller systems than galaxy clusters, which instead often host significant cold gas and star formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Super-eddington accretion in the ultraluminous x-ray source NGC 1313 X-2: An ephemeral feast

We investigate the X-ray spectrum, variability, and the surrounding ionized bubble of NGC 1313 X-2 to explore the physics of super-Eddington accretion. Beyond the Eddington luminosity, the accretion disk of NGC 1313 X-2 is truncated at a large radius (∼50 times the innermost stable circular orbit), and displays the similar evolution track with both luminous Galactic black-hole and neutron star X-ray binaries (XRBs). In super-critical accretion, the speed of radiatively driven outflows from the inner disk is mildly relativistic. Such ultra-fast outflows would be overionized and might produce weak Fe K absorption lines, which may be detected by the coming X-ray mission Astro-H. If NGC 1313 X-2 is a massive stellar XRB, the high luminosity indicates that an ephemeral feast is held in the source. That is, the source must be accreting at a hyper-Eddington mass rate to give the super-Eddington emission over ∼10{sup 4}-10{sup 5} yr. The expansion of the surrounding bubble nebula with a velocity of ∼100 km s{sup –1} might indicate that it has existed over ∼10{sup 6} yr and is inflated by the radiatively driven outflows from the transient with a duty cycle of activity of ∼ a few percent. Alternatively, if the surrounding bubble nebula is produced by line-driven winds, less energy is required than the radiatively driven outflow scenario, and the radius of the Strömgren radius agrees with the nebula size. Our results are in favor of the line-driven winds scenario, which can avoid the conflict between the short accretion age and the apparently much longer bubble age inferred from the expansion velocity in the nebula.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Supermassive black holes with high accretion rates in active galactic nuclei. I. First results from a new reverberation mapping campaign

We report first results from a large project to measure black hole (BH) mass in high accretion rate active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Such objects may be different from other AGNs in being powered by slim accretion disks and showing saturated accretion luminosities, but both are not yet fully understood. The results are part of a large reverberation mapping (RM) campaign using the 2.4 m Shangri-La telescope at the Yunnan Observatory in China. The goals are to investigate the gas distribution near the BH and the properties of the central accretion disks, to measure BH mass and Eddington ratios, and to test the feasibility of using such objects as a new type of cosmological candles. The paper presents results for three objects, Mrk 335, Mrk 142, and IRAS F12397+3333, with Hβ time lags relative to the 5100 Å continuum of 10.6{sub −2.9}{sup +1.7}, 6.4{sub −2.2}{sup +0.8} and 11.4{sub −1.9}{sup +2.9} days, respectively. The corresponding BH masses are (8.3{sub −3.2}{sup +2.6})×10{sup 6} M{sub ⊙}, (3.4{sub −1.2}{sup +0.5})×10{sup 6} M{sub ⊙}, and (7.5{sub −4.1}{sup +4.3})×10{sup 6} M{sub ⊙}, and the lower limits on the Eddington ratios are 0.6, 2.3, and 4.6 for the minimal radiative efficiency of 0.038. Mrk 142 and IRAS F12397+333 (extinction corrected) clearly deviate from the currently known relation between Hβ lag and continuum luminosity. The three Eddington ratios are beyond the values expected in thin accretion disks and two of them are the largest measured so far among objects with RM-based BH masses. We briefly discuss implications for slim disks, BH growth, and cosmology.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Accretion of solid materials onto circumplanetary disks from protoplanetary disks

We investigate the accretion of solid materials onto circumplanetary disks from heliocentric orbits rotating in protoplanetary disks, which is a key process for the formation of regular satellite systems. In the late stage of the gas-capturing phase of giant planet formation, the accreting gas from protoplanetary disks forms circumplanetary disks. Since the accretion flow toward the circumplanetary disks affects the particle motion through gas drag force, we use hydrodynamic simulation data for the gas drag term to calculate the motion of solid materials. We consider a wide range of size for the solid particles (10{sup –2}-10{sup 6} m), and find that the accretion efficiency of the solid particles peaks around 10 m sized particles because energy dissipation of drag with circum-planetary disk gas in this size regime is most effective. The efficiency for particles larger than 10 m becomes lower because gas drag becomes less effective. For particles smaller than 10 m, the efficiency is lower because the particles are strongly coupled with the background gas flow, which prevents particles from accretion. We also find that the distance from the planet where the particles are captured by the circumplanetary disks is in a narrow range and well described as a function of the particle size.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

MAKE SUPER-EARTHS, NOT JUPITERS: ACCRETING NEBULAR GAS ONTO SOLID CORES AT 0.1 AU AND BEYOND

Close-in super-Earths having radii 1-4 R {sub ⊕} may possess hydrogen atmospheres comprising a few percent by mass of their rocky cores. We determine the conditions under which such atmospheres can be accreted by cores from their parent circumstellar disks. Accretion from the nebula is problematic because it is too efficient: we find that 10 M {sub ⊕} cores embedded in solar metallicity disks tend to undergo runaway gas accretion and explode into Jupiters, irrespective of orbital location. The threat of runaway is especially dire at ∼0.1 AU, where solids may coagulate on timescales orders of magnitude shorter than gas clearing times; thus nascent atmospheres on close-in orbits are unlikely to be supported against collapse by planetesimal accretion. The time to runaway accretion is well approximated by the cooling time of the atmosphere's innermost convective zone, whose extent is controlled by where H{sub 2} dissociates. Insofar as the temperatures characterizing H{sub 2} dissociation are universal, timescales for core instability tend not to vary with orbital distance—and to be alarmingly short for 10 M {sub ⊕} cores. Nevertheless, in the thicket of parameter space, we identify two scenarios, not mutually exclusive, that can reproduce the preponderance of percent-by-mass atmospheres for super-Earths at ∼0.1 AU, while still ensuring the formation of Jupiters at ≳ 1 AU. Scenario (a): planets form in disks with dust-to-gas ratios that range from ∼20× solar at 0.1 AU to ∼2× solar at 5 AU. Scenario (b): the final assembly of super-Earth cores from mergers of proto-cores—a process that completes quickly at ∼0.1 AU once begun—is delayed by gas dynamical friction until just before disk gas dissipates completely. Both scenarios predict that the occurrence rate for super-Earths versus orbital distance, and the corresponding rate for Jupiters, should trend in opposite directions, as the former population is transformed into the latter: as gas giants become more frequent from ∼1 to 10 AU, super-Earths should become more rare.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Structure of retrograde circumbinary accretion disks

We evaluate the interactions between a central equal mass binary and a surrounding retrograde circumbinary accretion disk in a three-dimensional, MHD simulation. We find (as widely expected) that the net torque expressed on a retrograde circumbinary disk by the central binary is much (more than two orders of magnitude) smaller than when the disk orbits in the prograde direction. For this reason, unlike the prograde case, there is no “gap” carved out of the retrograde disk, and accreting fluid can travel directly from the disk to the domain of the binary. For the same reason, retrograde disks do not develop the large-amplitude “lumps” generically seen near the inner edges of prograde disks. Although not directly treated in this simulation, the finite extent of accretion disks around the individual masses of the binary can lead to shocks between their outer edges and the circumbinary disk, potentially creating a photon signal modulated at the binary orbital period. The spectra of these shocks should peak in the hard X-ray band as is expected for prograde systems, but retrograde systems would not be expected to display a “notch” in the optical/UV band. Because the disk’s angular momentum is directed oppositely to that of the binary, accretion onto the binary causes a rapid increase in eccentricity. Lastly, we discuss the comparative rates of orbital evolution associated with accretion in prograde and retrograde circumbinary disks, finding that the principal contrast is that e-dot should be rather greater in the retrograde case.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

ALIGNMENTS OF BLACK HOLES WITH THEIR WARPED ACCRETION DISKS AND EPISODIC LIFETIMES OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Warped accretion disks have attracted intense attention because of their critical role in shaping the spin of supermassive massive black holes (SMBHs) through the Bardeen–Petterson effect, a general relativistic effect that leads to final alignments or anti-alignments between black holes and warped accretion disks. We study such alignment processes by explicitly taking into account the finite sizes of accretion disks and the episodic lifetimes of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that delineate the duration of gas fueling onto accretion disks. We employ an approximate global model to simulate the evolution of accretion disks, allowing us to determine the gravitomagnetic torque that drives the alignments in a simple way. We then track down the evolutionary paths for mass and spin of black holes both in a single activity episode and over a series of episodes. Given with randomly and isotropically oriented gas fueling over episodes, we calculate the spin evolution with different episodic lifetimes and find that it is quite sensitive to the lifetimes. We therefore propose that the spin distribution of SMBHs can place constraints on the episodic lifetimes of AGNs and vice versa. The applications of our results on the observed spin distributions of SMBHs and the observed episodic lifetimes of AGNs are discussed, although both measurements at present are too ambiguous for us to draw a firm conclusion. Our prescription can be easily incorporated into semi-analytic models for black hole growth and spin evolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

General relativistic hydrodynamic simulation of accretion flow from a stellar tidal disruption

We study how the matter dispersed when a supermassive black hole tidally disrupts a star joins an accretion flow. Combining a relativistic hydrodynamic simulation of the stellar disruption with a relativistic hydrodynamics simulation of the subsequent debris motion, we track the evolution of such a system until ≃80% of the stellar mass bound to the black hole has settled into an accretion flow. Shocks near the stellar pericenter and also near the apocenter of the most tightly bound debris dissipate orbital energy, but only enough to make its characteristic radius comparable to the semimajor axis of the most bound material, not the tidal radius as previously envisioned. The outer shocks are caused by post-Newtonian relativistic effects, both on the stellar orbit during its disruption and on the tidal forces. Accumulation of mass into the accretion flow is both non-monotonic and slow, requiring several to 10 times the orbital period of the most tightly bound tidal streams, while the inflow time for most of the mass may be comparable to or longer than the mass accumulation time. Deflection by shocks does, however, cause some mass to lose both angular momentum and energy, permitting it to move inward even before most of the mass is accumulated into the accretion flow. Although the accretion rate still rises sharply and then decays roughly as a power law, its maximum is ≃0.1× the previous expectation, and the timescale of the peak is ≃5× longer than previously predicted. The geometric mean of the black hole mass and stellar mass inferred from a measured event timescale is therefore ≃0.2× the value given by classical theory.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Disk formation versus disk accretion—What powers tidal disruption events?

A tidal disruption event (TDE) takes place when a star passes near enough to a massive black hole to be disrupted. About half the star’s matter is given elliptical trajectories with large apocenter distances, and the other half is unbound. To form an accretion flow, the bound matter must lose a significant amount of energy, with the actual amount depending on the characteristic scale of the flow measured in units of the black hole’s gravitational radius (∼10{sup 51}(R/1000R{sub g}){sup −1} erg). Recent numerical simulations have revealed that the accretion flow scale is close to the scale of the most bound initial orbits, ∼10{sup 3}M{sub BH,6.5}{sup −2/3}R{sub g}∼10{sup 15}M{sub BH,6.5}{sup 1/3} cm from the black hole, and the corresponding energy dissipation rate is ∼10{sup 44}M{sub BH,6.5}{sup −1/6} erg s{sup −1}. We suggest that the energy liberated during the formation of the accretion disk, rather than the energy liberated by subsequent accretion onto the black hole, powers the observed optical TDE candidates. The observed rise times, luminosities, temperatures, emission radii, and line widths seen in these TDEs are all more readily explained in terms of heating associated with disk formation rather than in terms of accretion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

STRUCTURAL CHANGES OF THE SUBLIMATION WALL IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS DUE TO VARYING ACCRETION ILLUMINATION: A MECHANISM FOR RAPID INFRARED VARIABILITY

We study the changes in the sublimation wall structure due to variable illumination of a stellar hot spot on the dusty surroundings of a young star. The model includes the settling of large grains toward the disk midplane and the effect of the vertical density profile on the shaping of the sublimation wall. From a survey of objects in the young cluster IC 348, we extract three objects (LRLL 32, 40, and 63) that present typical variability in the [3.6] and [4.5] IRAC bands. We use the Spitzer photometry and ground-based 2–5 μm spectra for comparison with the models. Even though there is a correlation between accretion luminosity and dust emission based on the observations, we conclude from the modeling that the systems with lower mass accretion rates (LRLL 32 and 63) cannot be explained simply by a variable hot spot illuminating a sublimation wall. The observed variability amplitude for LRLL 40 (the system with the largest value of the mass accretion rate) can be obtained using the mechanism presented here. When considering a wide range of hot spot sizes and temperatures, the models can reproduce the infrared fluctuations seen in recent surveys, but only with accretion rate fluctuations that are orders of magnitude larger than is typically observed. These results highlight the relevance of accretion as a variability mechanism as well as its limitations in producing the full extent of the observed infrared variability.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS IN LYNDS 1641: DISKS, ACCRETION, AND STAR FORMATION HISTORY

We investigate the young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Lynds 1641 (L1641) cloud using multi-wavelength data including Spitzer, WISE, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, and XMM covering {approx}1390 YSOs across a range of evolutionary stages. In addition, we targeted a sub-sample of YSOs for optical spectroscopy with the MMT/Hectospec and the MMT/Hectochelle. We use these data, along with archival photometric data, to derive spectral types, extinction values, masses, ages, and accretion rates. We obtain a disk fraction of {approx}50% in L1641. The disk frequency is almost constant as a function of stellar mass with a slight peak at log (M{sub *}/M{sub Sun }) Almost-Equal-To -0.25. The analysis of multi-epoch spectroscopic data indicates that the accretion variability of YSOs cannot explain the two orders of magnitude of scatter for YSOs with similar masses. Forty-six new transition disk (TD) objects are confirmed in this work, and we find that the fraction of accreting TDs is lower than for optically thick disks (40%-45% versus 77%-79%, respectively). We confirm our previous result that the accreting TDs have a median accretion rate similar to normal optically thick disks. We confirm that two star formation modes (isolated versus clustered) exist in L1641. We find that the diskless YSOs are statistically older than the YSOs with optically thick disks and the TD objects have a median age that is intermediate between those of the other two populations. We tentatively study the star formation history in L1641 based on the age distribution and find that star formation started to be active 2-3 Myr ago.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

A DIRECT MEASUREMENT OF THE HEAT RELEASE IN THE OUTER CRUST OF THE TRANSIENTLY ACCRETING NEUTRON STAR XTE J1709-267

The heating and cooling of transiently accreting neutron stars provides a powerful probe of the structure and composition of their crust. Observations of superbursts and cooling of accretion-heated neutron stars require more heat release than is accounted for in current models. Obtaining firm constraints on the depth and magnitude of this extra heat is challenging and therefore its origin remains uncertain. We report on Swift and XMM-Newton observations of the transient neutron star low-mass X-ray binary XTE J1709-267, which were made in 2012 September-October when it transitioned to quiescence after a {approx_equal}10 week long accretion outburst. The source is detected with XMM-Newton at a 0.5-10 keV luminosity of L{sub X} {approx_equal} 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 34}(D/8.5 kpc){sup 2} erg s{sup -1}. The X-ray spectrum consists of a thermal component that fits to a neutron star atmosphere model and a non-thermal emission tail, each of which contribute {approx_equal}50% to the total flux. The neutron star temperature decreases from {approx_equal}158 to {approx_equal}152 eV during the {approx_equal}8 hr long observation. This can be interpreted as cooling of a crustal layer located at a column density of y {approx_equal} 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 12} g cm{sup -2} ({approx_equal}50 m inside the neutron star), which is just below the ignition depth of superbursts. The required heat generation in the layers on top would be {approx_equal}0.06-0.13 MeV per accreted nucleon. The magnitude and depth rule out electron captures and nuclear fusion reactions as the heat source, but it may be accounted for by chemical separation of light and heavy nuclei. Low-level accretion offers an alternative explanation for the observed variability.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2013

X-RAY OUTFLOWS AND SUPER-EDDINGTON ACCRETION IN THE ULTRALUMINOUS X-RAY SOURCE HOLMBERG IX X-1

Studies of X-ray continuum emission and flux variability have not conclusively revealed the nature of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) at the high-luminosity end of the distribution (those with L{sub X} {>=} 10{sup 40} erg s{sup -1}). These are of particular interest because the luminosity requires either super-Eddington accretion onto a black hole of mass {approx}10 M{sub Sun} or more standard accretion onto an intermediate-mass black hole. Super-Eddington accretion models predict strong outflowing winds, making atomic absorption lines a key diagnostic of the nature of extreme ULXs. To search for such features, we have undertaken a long, 500 ks observing campaign on Holmberg IX X-1 with Suzaku. This is the most sensitive data set in the iron K bandpass for a bright, isolated ULX to date, yet we find no statistically significant atomic features in either emission or absorption; any undetected narrow features must have equivalent widths less than 15-20 eV at 99% confidence. These limits are far below the {approx}>150 eV lines expected if observed trends between mass inflow and outflow rates extend into the super-Eddington regime and in fact rule out the line strengths observed from disk winds in a variety of sub-Eddington black holes. We therefore cannot be viewing the central regions of Holmberg IX X-1 through any substantial column of material, ruling out models of spherical super-Eddington accretion. If Holmberg IX X-1 is a super-Eddington source, any associated outflow must have an anisotropic geometry. Finally, the lack of iron emission suggests that the stellar companion cannot be launching a strong wind and that Holmberg IX X-1 must primarily accrete via Roche-lobe overflow.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

X-RAYING AN ACCRETION DISK IN REALTIME: THE EVOLUTION OF IONIZED REFLECTION DURING A SUPERBURST FROM 4U 1636-536

When a thermonuclear X-ray burst ignites on an accreting neutron star, the accretion disk undergoes sudden strong X-ray illumination, which can drive a range of processes in the disk. Observations of superbursts, with durations of several hours, provide the best opportunity to study these processes and to probe accretion physics. Using detailed models of X-ray reflection, we perform time resolved spectroscopy of the superburst observed from 4U 1636-536 in 2001 with the Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer. The spectra are consistent with a blackbody reflecting off a photoionized accretion disk, with the ionization state dropping with time. The evolution of the reflection fraction indicates that the initial reflection occurs from a part of the disk at larger radius, subsequently transitioning to reflection from an inner region of the disk. Even though this superburst did not reach the Eddington limit, we find that a strong local absorber develops during the superburst. Including this event, only two superbursts have been observed by an instrument with sufficient collecting area to allow for this analysis. It highlights the exciting opportunity for future X-ray observatories to investigate the processes in accretion disks when illuminated by superbursts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2014

THE EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET DEFICIT AND MAGNETICALLY ARRESTED ACCRETION IN RADIO-LOUD QUASARS

The Hubble Space Telescope composite quasar spectra presented in Telfer et al. show a significant deficit of emission in the extreme ultraviolet for the radio-loud component of the quasar population (RLQs) compared to the radio-quiet component of the quasar population. The composite quasar continuum emission between 1100 Å and ∼580 Å is generally considered to be associated with the innermost regions of the accretion flow onto the central black hole. The deficit between 1100 Å and 580 Å in RLQs has a straightforward interpretation as a missing or a suppressed innermost region of local energy dissipation in the accretion flow. It is proposed that this can be the result of islands of large-scale magnetic flux in RLQs that are located close to the central black hole that remove energy from the accretion flow as Poynting flux (sometimes called magnetically arrested accretion). These magnetic islands are natural sites for launching relativistic jets. Based on the Telfer et al. data and the numerical simulations of accretion flows in Penna et al., the magnetic islands are concentrated between the event horizon and an outer boundary of <2.8 M (in geometrized units) for rapidly rotating black holes and <5.5 M for modestly rotating black holes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

IDENTIFICATION OF THE HIGH-ENERGY GAMMA-RAY SOURCE 3FGL J1544.6–1125 AS A TRANSITIONAL MILLISECOND PULSAR BINARY IN AN ACCRETING STATE

We present X-ray, ultraviolet, and optical observations of 1RXS J154439.4–112820, the most probable counterpart of the unassociated Fermi-LAT source 3FGL J1544.6–1125. The optical data reveal rapid variability, which is a feature of accreting systems. The X-rays exhibit large-amplitude variations in the form of fast switching (within ∼10 s) between two distinct flux levels that differ by a factor of ≈10. The detailed optical and X-ray behavior is virtually identical to that seen in the accretion-disk-dominated states of the transitional millisecond pulsar (MSP) binaries PSR J1023+0038 and XSS J12270–4859, which are also associated with γ-ray sources. Based on the available observational evidence, we conclude that 1RXS J154439.4–112820 and 3FGL J1544.6–1125 are the same object, with the X-rays arising from intermittent low-luminosity accretion onto an MSP and the γ-rays originating from an accretion-driven outflow. 1RXS J154439.4–112820 is only the fourth γ-ray-emitting low-mass X-ray binary system to be identified and is likely to sporadically undergo transformations to a non-accreting rotation-powered pulsar system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗